Page 53 of Savage Prince
That brings a smile to my face, and I wish he was still around so I could prove him wrong.
“Temperance?” Valentina says.
“Sorry, just counting back. It’s been a lot of years. Really, since I was a kid. It was something to do. A way to keep myself entertained.”
“Well, I’d say that it has the potential to be much more. Now, let’s go look at it.”
Shaking off the memory, I give her a bright smile. “More sounds pretty great to me. It’s in the back of my Bronco. I parked a few blocks away.”
The excitement on her face mirrors mine. “I’ve got a reserved spot in the alley. Why don’t you go get your car and pull up there? It’ll be easier to bring it inside too.”
“Okay.” My reply sounds coherent, but inside, I’m doing cartwheels and blocking out the image of my dad breaking everything he ever saw that I made.Screw you, Dad.
When I walk out the door, I can’t even believe that I’m going to get my Bronco to sell my artwork to areal gallery.
See, old man, you werewrong.
Laughter bubbles up in my chest, and I practically skip to where I parked.
My stomach drops to the pavement and curls into a tight knot as I search for my Bronco. But it’s gone, and all that’s left is an empty parking spot.
Chapter 23
Temperance
This can’t be happening.
I blink, looking around as though I forgot where I parked. But I didn’t. I know exactly where I parked, and it’s gone.Gone.
People walk up and down the street but no one makes eye contact. There’s a kid on the corner playing for tips on a couple of five-gallon buckets. He must have just set up shop, because he wasn’t there when I parked.
“Hey! You!” I call out, interrupting his drum solo.
He looks up at me. “What?”
“Did you see an old Bronco across the street?”
He twirls his drumstick and shrugs.
I suck in a breath and reach into my purse to pull out a five and shove it at him. “Did you see it?”
“Maybe.”
With an animalistic growl building in my throat, I grab a twenty and hold it just out of reach. “Come on, kid. This matters.”
He bounces up quicker than I expected and snatches it from my hand. “It was there. Now it’s gone.”
“Who took it?”
Another shrug. “Don’t know. Didn’t pay much mind to it.”
“You saw nothing? At all?”
He tilts his head to the side. “It’s a fuck-ton safer for me to see nothing, lady. I gotta live out here. You don’t.”
My entire body practically vibrates with helpless rage. “Fine.” I pull out my business card and drop it in his hat where he’s collecting tips. “If you remember anything, call any number on there.”
He rolls his eyes. “Yeah. I’ll get right on that.”
