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

like Sara. I tried to work to support us, but I couldn’t find anyone to watch her. All it took was one diaper change and they’d freak out and never come back. I tried to find help. My father wouldn’t answer my phone calls, my friends… well, they’d let me stay until they got tired of me eating their food and hearing Sara cry throughout the night. When I tried to get government help, I found myself at the mercy of people who thought I was a bad mother. They told me I couldn’t take care of my baby, and they said she needed medical help. When I refused to let a doctor poke, prod, and study her in a lab, they threatened me. They would have treated her like an animal, not like the sweet baby she was.”
    Tears streamed down Nicole’s face as she looked at the floor. “I tried to find you.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “I kept going back to where I saw you last. I’d carry her into the water and wait for you to come and get her. I know it was crazy, but I thought that, surely, you could sense her, feel she was there in the sea. I didn’t know what you were, but I knew you were something supernatural. I got angry with you for not coming for her. At my lowest point, I figured perhaps you needed better motivation. Maybe if you’d thought I’d abandoned her, you’d come to get her. So I tossed her into the surf and hid myself. It broke my heart, hearing her cry. I wanted to die hearing her. I really believed you’d come, but you didn’t. That’s when I knew we were completely alone. All Sara and I had were each other.”
    Triton felt hot tears on his cheeks. He wanted to tell her he was sorry, that he would make things up to her. But it would be a lie. There was no restitution for what he did, no words he could say to make things right. Instead, he pulled her into his arms. It was a miracle she didn’t push him away.
    As she clung to him, he vowed to never hurt her again.

 

    In a moment of weakness, Nicole let Ty see her vulnerability. She fully intended to rectify the situation and let him know exactly who was in charge around here.
    “You are sending me to bed?” he asked as she tried to push Ty through the bedroom door. He turned toward her in the doorway. His brows were pressed so tightly together that they could squeeze a lemon. Actually, he looked like he’d been sucking on one.
    “You don’t have to go to sleep. I just need to make a business call.”
    “And what business are you in? Espionage?”
    “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “I’m a wedding planner. I run a bridal shop.”
    “So why can’t you talk in front of me?”
    “Client confidentiality,” she answered.
    Triton shook his head. “Nicole, I’m not an idiot. What kind of confidential information do wedding planners have?”
    “Dress size, shoe size, allergies… there are lots of things women would not want the general public to know.”
    He gave an exasperated sigh. “Fine. You have ten minutes to make your call, but then we have to talk. We have important things to discuss.”
    You should tell him what the doctor said.
    She frowned at the voice in her head. It seemed to be especially annoying lately—and it gave her an immediate headache. I’m not talking to you, she told the voice.
    “Fine,” she said to Ty. “We’ll talk later.” Pushing him into the room, she shut the door. She could hear him walk across the floor and lay down on the bed. Okay, the coast was clear.
    She stepped into the living room and dialed the shop.
    “Nicole!” Lea’s voice screeched into the phone. “Are you okay? You’re not still at the hospital, are you?”
    “No, no. I’m fine. The bullet just grazed me. It was barely a scratch.”
    “It didn’t look like a scratch. The whole side of your skirt was soaked in blood. I can’t believe it. You should sue that idiot cop. They should take away his badge. He should at least lose his gun.”
    “I haven’t really thought about it.”
    “Liar.”
    “No, really. I have a