Evenif it came at the expense of Kiera’s happiness.
Before I could click out of the live feed, Alec stormed into the kitchen. My attention piqued at the way Billie’s eyes widened, and she shrank into the corner of the kitchen, almost like she didn’t want him to notice her. The familiar bolt of rage flowed through me once more at realizing she was scared of Alec.
Fuck. If he hurt her as well as Kiera, I’d ensure James and I made the prick suffer the most excruciating death known to man.
Wishing the cameras had sound, I waited to see what he was going to do. His mouth moved as he spoke to her, and she gave the faintest nod before he stomped from the kitchen.
Changing to a different camera, I watched with my brows furrowed as he tugged the front door open, slammed it closed behind him, and got into his car. Seconds later, the outside camera showed him reversing out of the driveway and flooring it away from the house.
The asshole had left Billie all alone.
Before I could talk myself out of what I was doing, I tapped my fist against the front door, hoping I didn’t scare the shit out of Billie. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure why I wasthatbothered about her being home alone. Ten-year-olds were capable of looking after themselves, right?
But the fear on her face when Alec spoke to her was ingrained in my brain. She’d lookedjustlike Kiera did when she was younger, and was hiding at my house because she was terrified of her father.
It would take hours to calm Kiera down, and the thought of Billie, alone and afraid, didn’t sit right with me. I could’ve called Kiera and told her to get her ass home, giving some bullshit excusethatI didn’t want her out, so she didn’t figure out I had cameras around her place.
I could’ve called James and asked him to check in on his niece, butthatwould have beenwaytoo suspicious. So here I was, waiting for the door to be opened.
Minutes passed, and I started to wonder if Billie wouldn’t open, until the lock turning rang out and the door was cracked open a fraction.
Wide eyes peered through, and for the first time, I acknowledged how much Billie looked like Kiera. The two of them had the same eyes, notjustthe same shade of brown, but both held a hint of wariness to them, as if they knew they couldn’t trust anyone.
Everything from Billie’s bone structure to skin tone was almost identical to Kiera, and while I didn’t know who her father was, it was difficult to see a hint of anyone but her mom in her features.
“Hey, Billie,”I said, waving.“It’s Jackson. From dinner last night.”
She opened the door wider, her worried frown twisting into relief.“Hi, Jackson. Alec isn’t here.”
I feigned disappointment.“Oh, damn. I was hoping to catch him. Do you know where he is?”
“I think he went to work. He said he’d be gone for a couple of hours.”
A muscle in my jaw twitched, and the urge to pummel Alec’s ugly fucking face in was all-consuming. Not wanting to scare Billie, though, I schooled my features.
“What about your mom? Is she home?”I asked, knowing full well Kiera was still at the mall.
I’d checked her tracker before knocking.
Billie shrugged.“She had to go to the mall to pick up some new shirts for Alec. I don’t know how long she’ll be.”
I somehow managed to refrain from rolling my eyes. Alecreallyhad turned Kiera into a fucking doormat.
“So you’re here alone?”Fear crept over Billie’s face as hesitation lit up her eyes. I raised my hand in a placating gesture.“It’s fine if you are. Ijust…I’m not sure your uncle J will be pleased about you being here on your own. Can I come in and wait with you until your mom gets home?”
“Uh…I’m not sure. Alec made me promise not to answer the door.”
I leaned in closer, holding my hand up to my mouth to whisper conspiratorially to her.“I hate to break it to you, kid, but you kinda brokethatpromise.”She giggled, a laugh so much like her mom’s was at her age, but hesitance still shone in her eyes.“I’ll make you a deal,”I added, hoping to bargain with her.“I won’t tell Alec you opened the door if you let me come in and wait for your mom.”
“What if Alec gets back first?”
I lifted two fingers to my head in a salute.“ThenI’ll sneak out, and he’ll never know I was here. Scout’s honor.”
Her eyes darted around as if she was checking none of the neighbors had witnessed her breaking her promise to Alec. Satisfied she was in the clear, she stepped aside, waving for me to come in.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”I slammed my cards down with a huff and folded my arms across my chest.
Billie smirked.“I did warn you.”Leaning over the table, she grabbed the stack of chips I’d moved into the middle of the table, stupidly believingthatthis wasthe round of poker I’d make my money back from the little menace. With the colorful chips on her side, she held out her hand.“Come on, pay up.”
