Avenging (The Rising Series Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

“So…you’ve met Sara.”
    He nodded. “She’s beautiful, just like her mother.”
    Nicole narrowed her eyes. “So why did you come back?”
    He considered his answers, and decided since he’d already risked his heart coming here, he’d be completely truthful with her. “I’m still in love with you.”
    “Ha! Right.” Doubt clouded her eyes, darkening them. She took slow even breaths as her brows pressed together. “Did you lose all your money? Is that why you’re back? You found out how much I’m worth now?”
    “No. I couldn’t care less how much money you have.”
    “So you wouldn’t care if I were dirt poor?” There was real hurt in her eyes.
    “No! That’s not what I was saying.”
    “So why are you here? And don’t tell me it’s because you love me.”
    “I do love you. But I also needed to see for myself that you’re okay.”
    “You’re twenty years too late, Ty.”
    He sighed. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
    Her eyes narrowed. “You haven’t earned the right to call me sweetheart,” she snapped.
    He nodded. “I know. What’s happened to you? How did you survive alone raising our daughter?”
    Nicole shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
    “I need to know, Nikki. Please… just tell me.”
    She sat for a long time, not speaking, looking at the ground. It appeared she wasn’t going to answer him.
    “Things were bad,” she finally said, still refusing to look him in the eye.
    “Did you go back to your father when you found out you were pregnant?”
    “I went back to him before. Well, actually, he came to me in the hospital.”
    “Wait. You were in the hospital before you found out you were pregnant?”
    She kept her eyes down. “I almost died.”
    “What? When?”
    “I nearly drowned.”
    His eyes darkened. “How?”
    Her voice shook as she spoke. “I saw you go into the water.”
    The realization of what he’d done hit him, and he sank down to the couch beside her. “You followed me.”
    She nodded.
    “As you dove in,” she said, “I saw the tail of a shark splash out behind you. I thought I had to be crazy, I mean, it looked like you’d grown a tail. Mermen don’t exist. So then, I thought you must have been attacked by a shark. I dove in and tried to save you.”
    “I thought I could feel you near,” he said, “but I was missing you so desperately that I’d assumed I’d imagined it.”
    “It wasn’t until Sara was born, that I knew.” She sighed. “What are you? I know about Dagonians. They’re like mermen, aren’t they? Is that what you are?”
    He pressed his lips together and contemplated the answer he would give her. He’d made Sara promise not to tell her mother who he really was. But truly, Nicole deserved to know. But she deserved to hear it from his own lips.
    “No, I’m not a Dagonian. My name is Triton.”
    Nicole shook her head as her eyes widened.
    “Nikki?”
    “You’re Triton.” She wrung her hands together. “Wow. I know it shouldn’t come as a surprise.” Her eyes darted around the room, finally landing on his face. “I mean, I just found out there really are mythological creatures. And I suspected all along that Sara wasn’t completely human. I mean, how could she be? She had a tailfin. The doctors told me it was a deformity. I guess I can see how they thought it was. She didn’t have scales, and her girl parts looked pretty normal—other than they were in front instead of tucked between legs. Even then, I was sure you were something magical. But seriously… you’re Triton?”
    He nodded, giving her a weak smile.
    She shook her head. “This is a lot to take in.”
    He reached to grasp her hand, and she jumped at his touch, but she didn’t pull away. “Nikki, I’m still the same man you knew before. I’m the same man you—”
    “You’re a god.”
    “Yes, I’m the son of Poseidon, guardian of the sea, and King of the Atlantic.”
    “This isn’t the Atlantic,” she said.
    “No, it’s not. King