She exhaled a slow, deep breath, knowing full well that she couldn’t hide forever, nor would she want to.But how could she bring Jarek to justice?She’d been too afraid of getting caught escaping to collect evidence while living under his roof.It was bad enough that she’d taken some of the blood-stained money.Stealing from him had been a necessity.Spending the money to escape was poetic justice.But that didn’t change the fact the money was dirty.It came from illegal weapon sales, drug trafficking, and extortion, among other crimes she could scarcely fathom.
Going to the Feds meant possibly going back to Jarek or letting him catch her.What then?Wear a wire?Gather evidence?How long would it take before he figured it out?Killed her this time?
She would be no good to anyone dead.
At some point, Kade and Chloe got up and started heating up food.The smell of sour cream chicken enchiladas filled the room, reminding Cassie that it had been a long time since she’d eaten anything.
Plates were handed out as others got up to make drinks.Beau returned with a filled backpack, set it down next to the door.
“Stay and eat,” Chloe said in a tone that left no room for doubt that Beau was wanted.He nodded, and then took a seat a few chairs over from Cassie.
She started to get up, but Hudson shook his head before standing.“I got this.”
She drummed her fingers on the table, looked up, and realized the only other person at the table was Beau.So, she scooted over three chairs to sit next to him.“We’ve already been introduced, but I wanted to say hi.”
From the corner of her eye, she caught Hudson’s glance from across the room.His eyebrows shot up, but then he smiled.
“Sucks to meet under these circumstances,” Beau said, setting his phone aside, screen down.
“You can say that again.”There wasn’t a normal-life scenario she could think of that would have their paths crossing, though.“Have you always lived in Texas?”
“Yes, but I moved around a lot when I was a kid.”There were no pictures of Beaumont on the walls.She wondered how much he looked like his father.“So, there’s not exactly one place I’d call home.You?”
“Same,” she said.“I was in foster care from a young age, so I moved around a lot, and family to family.”
Beau’s face wrinkled like he’d just taken a bite out of a sour pickle.
She laughed.“I had some good experiences.”
“Really?”
“No.Not really.I had some tolerable experiences.I got used to making the best out of every situation, or I would’ve lost my mind.”
“I can relate there.My mom has a lot of issues that made her unreliable as a parent.”
“You didn’t get put into the system?”she asked, surprised.
“No.I became good at covering for her and making it seem like our life was fine.I was tall for my age, so I lied and said I was older to get jobs washing dishes at restaurants.It kept us from starving.”
“Where do you think your mom is now?”She almost hated to ask.
“That’s the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question.The landlord said she packed up and disappeared with some guy.That’s never a good thing when it comes to my mom.Her taste in men is the worst.”
“I’m sorry, Beau.”She glanced around the kitchen.His comment hurt a little.She also understood how charming a guy could be in the early stages and how well he could hide his darker side until you were trapped.“I can only imagine how worried you must be.”He’d stepped into this family situation not just blind but unwelcomed.“Did you know who your father was?”
“Not until after he died.”Beau dropped his gaze to the table; a classic move when you didn’t want someone to see how truly upset you were about something.
“Everyone here seems lovely, but this is a lot to have thrown at you out of nowhere, and with no notice.”
“They weren’t ‘lovely’ to me.I didn’t exactly make it easier for myself by coming in hot.”He issued a sharp sigh.“But then I had no idea what to expect or how to act.I was angry at Beaumont for the fact that he knew I existed and did nothing to help my mom.She received no money from him.Nor did she ask for it from what I can gather.But, damn.If he knew about me, then I’m guessing he watched from the sidelines, which means he didn’t give a shit about us going hungry some nights.”
“From what Hudson has told me so far, the man was a monster.”
Beau tapped his finger on the back of his face-down cell.“What does that say about the rest of us?”
“That you were all dealt a crappy hand, but that doesn’t mean you’re anything like him, not unless you choose to be.That’s a whole different story.”She studied Beau.Really looked at him.“I’ve been around a truly horrific individual.Trust me when I say that none of you could ever be like that.”
“You don’t know me,” Beau said.“How can you be so sure?”