Page 76 of Violent Little Thing

Just because they’d aged didn’t mean they didn’t age well.

Then Charleigh made the connection, and I saw the moment the realization hit her.

She stiffened, pulling away from me only to step in front of me and shield me with her body.

“What are you two doing here?” she barked.

My little junkyard dog.

I wrapped my hand around her and pulled her back toward me, my hand splaying across her entire chest.

Even the feel of her breasts underneath my hand didn’t pull me out of the anguish coursing through my veins at the sight of my parents. The people who were supposed to love and support me no matter what.

“We’re here to make amends,” my dad tried, holding his hands up when he saw how upset she was.

“Amends.” Charleigh snorted out a laugh. “Where were your amends when your son was wrongfully imprisoned for a crime that he didn’t commit? Where were you when your precious friend was lying to public officials and getting payments from car companies that were the real reason both your daughter-in-law and your unborn granddaughter were killed? Oh, that’s right. At a society party snorting coke off of Seth Cottonwood’s asshole.”

My mother stiffened. “I have never once done coke…”

“Well, you could’ve fooled me.” She pointed at her. “You had a responsibility to your son, and you bobbled the ball. Now, leave before I call security.”

I felt a sense of pride at her words.

Damn, this woman was the best woman on Earth.

And that was saying something because Lauri was pretty great, too.

But Lauri would’ve never stood up to my parents or even her parents. Not even for me.

“I…”

Charleigh pressed the button for the elevator again and pointed at it. “Like I said, next time send a letter. If he doesn’t respond, take that as your sign to kindly fuck off.”

My mother and father left, but not before saying, “We bought a house in the area. We are serious about making amends.”

Charleigh waited until they were safely ensconced in the elevator before saying, “What twats.”

I burst out laughing, pulling her toward me.

When the crick in my neck got the better of me, I picked her up, feet dangling and said straight into her face, “You know what this means, don’t you?”

She blinked. “What what means?”

“You defending me.”

She smoothed my hair back into place. “No, what?”

“It means that you’re stuck with me now.”

I put her down on her feet when she started to giggle. “I’m sure there’ll be more to come. Where do you think they moved to?”

“My best guess, near the ski resort.” I shrugged. “They got a lot of my money when I first started out in professional soccer. Invested it well. By the time that I was allowed to keep my own money they’d tripled my income with investments. Then they met the Cottonwoods, and Seth offered my dad a position at his company. It came with a lot of perks. Needless to say, they’re pretty rich now.”

“You’re telling me that the only reason your parents have what they have is because of you?” she asked.

“Yep.”

“And they didn’t give it back to you?” she asked. “I mean, you made that money. It should’ve been held in an account that was in your name. Not used by your parents.”