Chapter 49
Chapter 49. Paisley Comes Home
Ethan
“Ethan please!” Eve wails, still huddled on the floor and sobbing like an actress in a soap opera.
If I’d been angry before, my fight with Jane had pushed mepletely over the edge. Her words cut
me incredibly deep, mostly because I know they were true. This was all my fault.
Yes, Eve is clearly an unforgivably cruel, borderline heartless woman, but I’m the one who let her stick
around even after | knew what she was. Thew enforcement officers had agreed it was for the best,
but now I can see only to clearly that what was best for their case and what was best for my child were
two very different things.
“Stop your sniveling this instant.” Imand, my booming voice echoing around the room. “I want you
out of my house within the half hour, anything that’s still here after that is going to be thrown out on the
street.”
“No!” She keens, “You can’t, you don’t understand. I don’t have anywhere else to go!”
“Then you should have thought of that before you abused my pup!” I bark.
“I didn’t! I never touched her!” Eve exims, “and she provoked me into saying those things.”
“She’s a toddler!” I snap, “if she can trick you then you deserve to be tricked. And no amount of
provocation could ever forgive saying such horrible horrible things. You might not
have physically harmed her but I swear to the Goddess, Eve. If you do not get out of this house I will
have you charged with emotional abuse.”
“Please,” she begs again, “I’ll do anything to make it up to you, just say the word.”
Clenching my jaw, I squat down to her level, letting my wolf glow through my eyes and relishing her
tremble of fear. “Do you have any idea where she might have gone?”
She sniffles hesitantly, “If I tell you will you let me stay?”
A savage snarl bursts from my chest, and it actually takes serious effort not to let my wolf take over
completely. “I’ll tell you what, if you know something and you don’t tell me it won’ t matter whether or
not you have a ce to live or not – because you will no longer be breathing!”Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org.
She flinches, rolling onto her back to expose her belly despite being in human form, and clenching her
eyes shut as if in pain. “I don’t!” She sobs, “I swear I don’t know anything.”
“Then get out of my sight!” I thunder, taking true relish in watching her scramble to get away from me.
Rising to my feet again, I begin to pace, trying and failing to catch my breath. I catch sight of my mother
out of the corner of my eye. Her arms are wrapped around her body, and she’s frowning deeply. “Do
you have a problem with the way that was handled? I question, more roughly than I intended.
“No.” She whispers, looking truly devastated. “I still can’t believe this happened. I always thought Eve
loved Paisley.”
“Yes, well she’s a very good actress.” | grouse, turning my attention to Frank. The bodyguard is
standing by the door with his hat in his hand, the normally stoic man looking very grave indeed. “If you
want to fire me sir, I’ll understand.”
“If we don’t find her, you will be.” I rumble, barely able to stand the idea of Paisley nevering home.
She’s so small, and still so fragile. Anything could happen to her in a city of this size. Law enforcement
is already scouring the streets trying to find her, and they advised me to stay at the house in case there
was any news – like Paisleying home or Goddess forbid, a ransomt call.
“I can’t stand just waiting here.” I admit, scrubbing a hand over my face. “Think – where would she go?”
“She’s too little to get anywhere on her own.” My motherments, “I mean even if she wanted to go
somewhere specific, it’s not like she can call a cab or buy a metro card.”
The more I think about it, the clearer it bes that there may not be one ce she would try to find,
but there’s
certainly one person she would seek out. “She’ll be looking for Jane.” I murmur, trying to put myself in
my daughter’s shoes, she’d only ever met Jane out in the city, she wouldn’t know how to get to Linda’s
apartment or even Jane’s new one.
“She might try to get to one of the ces where they’ve met, the hospital or the park.” I reason.
“I’ll go to the hospital, and Frank can go to the park or anywhere else she’s seen her.” My mother
offers, “You should still stay here though.” I open my mouth to object, but she raises her hands
defensively. “You need to make sure Eve actually leaves, and somebody does need to be here if she
“Meaning you were so wrapped up in yourself that you didn’t notice someone hurting your child, you
never taught her how she should expect to be treated or to tell you when someone crossed a line.”
“I’m sorry I’m not a perfect parent, like you.” I remark, clenching my hands into fists, “I’m trying to figure
all this out as I go, I didn’t even know I was a father until she was ced in my arms.”
“That’s no excuse!” Jane mutters, “all parents are just figuring it out, but they don’t all make mistakes
like this. And that has nothing to do with perfection.
“Well forgive me if being a single father to a pup with as many medical problems as Paisley has
distracted me from other dangers. If you’d ever been here in the past, you might
understand what that’s like.”
Jane looks like she’s biting back a sharp retort. I’m not sure what she wanted to say originally, but she
settles on, “Why on earth would I have ever been here in the past?”
“You know why!” | growl. Her fair skin is bing flushed with color, whether in anger or difort I’m
not sure. “You wouldn’t be this upset if Paisley was just another pup! Tell me, are you attacking me this
way because you actually me me for what happened, or because you feel guilty about leaving her in
the first ce?”
“I’m not-” she begins angrily, undoubtedly preparing to offer up another lie.
“Just admit it, Jane!” | explode, advancing on her. My wolf is wing to get out again, but this time for
very different reasons than with Eve. “Stop lying, stop all the games, just admit that you’re her mother.
Admit that you were my wife!”
“Fine!” She bursts, her voice louder than I can ever remember her raising it in the past. “It’s me! There
is no Elise Carrington. I intercepted your DNA test and switched out the samples so you’d get a false
negative. Paisley’s mine and I was your wife – but I’m not anymore, and I never will be again!”