Hailey: If you’re not busy, Charlie’s working late again. He said you two had a stressful week, so I’m here if you need some stress relief.
How lonely was she to offer herself up like that? Too fucking lonely considering what I read in the texts between her and Vaughn. It was like another bucket of ice-cold water over my head.
I knew he escaped into work after his wife’s death but, given how worried he was about Hailey, I expected they were close.
Unfortunately, their texts painted a very different picture. He worked non-stop. The document had a wall of messages, all on the same theme.
Dad: Working late. Don’t wait up.
Dad: I’ll be home late. Order a pizza.
Dad: Got an emergency here, won’t be home for hours.
I purposefully cross-referenced the date of Hailey’s blowjob text to Alex against the Hailey-Dad texts.
Dad: I’ll be home around seven, sunshine.
Hailey: Don’t be late. I rented out your favorite movie and I’m making pasta.
Dad: Sounds perfect.
And then, two hours later, close to eight in the evening, Hailey sent another text.
Hailey: Where are you? The food’s getting cold.
It took Vaughn another hour to reply.
Dad: Sorry, kiddo. Guys from work dragged me out for a drink. Leave me a plate in the fridge.
My imagination immediately pulled Hailey’s sad face to the front. I could easily picture her hunched over a dining table set for two, the food on her plate cold as she read that text.
It’s been days since I read it, but it still kills me to think about her spending hours in the kitchen, getting everything ready, then clearing the table because Vaughn preferred a drink with his buddies to an evening with his daughter. It wasn’t the only time that happened. The same pattern repeated itself every ten days or so. He told her he’d be there; she made an effort to cook, clean, rent a movie or set up board games, and then he stood her up.
But she never gave up. She kept trying and trying, getting nothing but disappointment in return.
Both Alex and Vaughn took her for granted. It’s good she can’t remember it. She keeps her father on a fucking pedestal and he doesn’t deserve it. He failed her time and time again.
Gritting my teeth, I shake off the moment, frustration amplifying the headache I’ve been battling for a week.
Waiting for Rhett or my men to find confirmation that Noretto has Hailey feels counterproductive but, save for driving to Pittsburgh without a plan in place, I have no other choice.
???
“Carter, wake up.” Broadway’s poking my shoulder, standing over me with my phone. “It’s Rhett.”
I sit up, running a hand down my face to chase the sleep away. It’s barely three in the morning, which means I nodded off for two hours after settling into the leather couch with a glass of whiskey and Broadway for company.
The faint sound of fingers tapping at a keyboard echoes in the quiet space while my men still work behind me.
I grab the phone, sliding my thumb across the screen. “Working overtime, I see. Any news?”
“Would I call for a chit-chat?” he spits back. “Of course I have news. Hailey’s right where we thought she would be.”
My heart lurches and my mind whirs around all the things Noretto’s men could’ve done to her by now.
I inhale a deep breath, marshaling the worry gnawing at my frayed brain. “Are you sure?”
“Yes I’m fucking sure, Carter.”
