Never Let You Go (a modern fairytale) Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Holden Croft,” she found nothing beyond the news of their abduction. No hits. Not one. Which always made her grief intense and painful because it made her wonder if Holden was dead, how he died, and when. Had he been frightened? Alone? Was he thinking about her in his final moments?
    Staying hopeful that Holden was still alive was the most gut-wrenching and exhausting challenge of Griselda’s sorry life. But she could not—she would not—give up on him until she knew for sure that he was dead. Until then, she would keep looking . . . because she owed him, because once upon a sweet and terrible time, she’d loved him, and he’d loved her in return.
    Internet research had finally led her to the Browne & Castle Agency in New York City, one of the best private detective firms in the country, and rather than throwing away any more money on scams, Griselda had decided to book their services as soon as she was able. The catch? The retainer was $5,000 up front, which she had, but the per-hour expenses ranged from $40 to $100. If Caleb Foster had driven Holden all over the country, it could take weeks or months to track down their trail and what had eventually happened to them. Griselda figured she’d need about $20,000 before she could retain Browne & Castle’s services, and right now she was more than $5,000 short. So she worked. And she waited. And she hoped that next year she’d have enough money to find Holden, to help him, to spend whatever she had to make up for leaving him behind . . . or at least find out what had happened to him.
    In the meantime, giving Jonah $100 here and there hurt her heart, because every dime she gave to Jonah was another hour further away from finding Holden, the only human being whom she knew—beyond any shadow of doubt—had ever truly loved her.
    Taking a deep breath, Griselda gave Maya, who was still waiting for an answer, a sidelong glance. “Honey, if it ain’t your tail . . .”
    “. . . don’t wag it,” finished Maya, quoting their foster mother, Kendra, with whom they’d lived for the first two years of high school. “Damn, but she loved saying that.”
    “Yes, she did.”
    “You deserve so much better than Jonah.”
    No, thought Griselda. No, I don’t.
    “ Why, Zelda? Why stay with him?”
    Because I should have gone back with Holden and I didn’t. Because we were supposed to make it together, but one of us got dragged back to hell. Because life is only bearable when it’s more bad than good.
    And, her heart added in a guilty whisper , because when Jonah shuts up and falls asleep, his arms are warm and solid around me, and sometimes I can trick myself into believing he’s someone else.
    “Forget I asked,” said Maya, sighing heavily. “Ain’t my tail.”
    Griselda nodded, watching Prudence run from the slide back to the ladder. “Jonah’s not always mean, you know.”
    “Yeah, sometimes he sleeps.”
    “He can be sweet to me sometimes.”
    “He’s mean enough, often enough. A little sweet don’t make a difference,” said Maya, suddenly sitting up straighter and tsking. “Niall, don’t you grab that child’s braids. You leave her be, now.” She turned back to Griselda. “Most days I don’t know if I’m grateful that you got me this job or not.”
    “You’re grateful.”
    Griselda paused, thinking how much better this weekend would be if Maya and her boyfriend, Terrence, were in tow. She had nothing against Jonah’s friend Shawn, and his girlfriend, Tina, had been pretty nice the one time Griselda had met her. But still, they were practically strangers.
    “Can’t you and Jonah be friends?” she asked.
    “Not going to happen, Zelda. He and me is like oil and water—hell, oil and a match .” Maya chuckled, shaking her head. “I’d belt him good if he came after me the way he gives it to you.”
    You’d lose , thought Griselda, and her upper arm throbbed where it was covered with the black-and-blue imprints of his fingers. She’d exchanged