Southern Heart by Madison, Natasha (best fiction novels .txt) 📕

mumble to Ethan, who just laughs now. "What is this place?"

"This is the eyes and ears of this town," Jacob says. "Along with a couple of other things that I can’t talk about." He smirks at me.

"Let’s get to work," Casey says from the big desk in front of the wall of five screens.

He’s about to press something when the door behind us opens, and Quinn walks in. "What the fuck are you doing here?" I say, and he just glares at me. "You’re supposed to be with Chelsea."

"She’s fine. She’s with my aunt," he says, looking at the guys. "I don’t know what happened this morning"—he stares straight at me—"but she was pissed."

"Probably just because we got her a babysitter," Ethan says, and I let out a little sigh of relief that he is not questioning it. But I can’t help but think there’s something more to it, and I know that sooner rather than later, I’m going to be face-to-face with Quinn again.

"Mayson," Ethan says, and I turn to look at the screen in the middle. The picture is of my father right outside the diner. It’s blurry, but you can tell it’s him. "Is this your father?"

"It is," I answer him, rage now filling me. I spot Chelsea coming out of the diner and then the look on her face. It was so much worse than it was when she came home, and that was a look I would never forget.

We also spot him taking off for the bushes. "He knew what he was doing," I say out loud and sit down in one of the chairs.

"That’s our thought, too," Jacob says. "We checked out the path he made, and a car's tire tracks were in the grass."

"Two people?" I say, and Casey nods.

"Two people?" I ask, shocked. "Who the fuck is he working with? Who would work with him? He was alone when he got me."

"How can you be sure?" Quinn asks. "You were tied to a fucking tree. He could have had ten people there, and you wouldn’t know."

"I watched him come and go, and he did it by himself,” I say.

"Okay, well, now that we have identified him," Beau says. "We can be on the lookout."

"From the looks of it, he’s not in town." Jacob joins in now.

"How can you be so sure of that?" I ask, my mouth so dry I can’t even swallow. "He could be hiding out somewhere right under our noses. Laughing at us."

"This town is small," Beau says. "If he was here, we would know.”

"Not if he doesn’t want you to," I say. "He was right in front of the diner. He was sending me a message."

"That is clear as day," Ethan says, and he leans back against the desk behind him.

"Now comes the tricky part," Casey says and types something on the table.

"Meet Braxton Michaels," he says, and a driver’s license comes up, and it’s my father. "This picture is from eight years ago."

"Fuck me," I say, and he pulls up all the credit cards that are owed. "How much is it?"

"Close to fifty," he says, and I think I’m going to throw up. "Two years ago, things changed. His second wife died, and his funding ran out."

"What the fuck does that mean?" I ask, confused.

"It means that he tapped out of every option. All the cards were canceled." He looks at me. "The woman he married had SSI benefits, but when she died, so did the benefits."

"You mean when he beat her to death?" I hiss out, putting my head back and looking up at the ceiling. "Everything is just one giant clusterfuck."

"The good news is we have a paper trail," Jacob says.

"Now what?" I ask.

"Now the fun starts." Casey rubs his hands together. "I got you a house. Put your name on the mortgage."

I look at him, shocked. "What the hell for?"

"Because he’s going to come back," Quinn says. "If he’s the way you said he is, this motherfucker isn’t going to be giving up until you stop breathing."

"We agree on one thing,” I say.

"You live your life," Ethan says. "Go out. We give you a job."

"So you dangle me like a piece of meat." I fold my arms over my chest. The rage in me is making my arms shake. "How about we follow him? How about we find out where he is, and then I go there and put a fucking bullet between his eyes?"

"Now you have a plan, too," Jacob says. "Come to work here and see if you can find anything else."

"I have no other option," I say. "My back is literally to the wall."

Casey walks toward me and holds out a key. "This is the key to your place." He dangles the gold key in front of me. My hand extends to take it, and it feels like it’s burning a hole in my palm.

"I’ll take you back to Chelsea’s, and you can get your things," Ethan says, and I just nod.

"I know it’s a lot to take in," Beau says. "If it helps, my father was no father of the year."

I don’t say anything. Instead, I just look at Ethan, and we both walk out. My head spins a mile a minute. I get into the truck and put my head back on the seat. "How’re you doing?"

"Peachy," I say sarcastically.

"Just think of this as a mission," Ethan says. "Just another mission."

"Every time I start a mission,” I say, "I make a plan for after."

"So let’s make you a plan," he says. "Where are you going to go after this is all done?”

I swallow now. "Haven’t decided,” I say. My heart is heavier in my chest than when my mother died. "I’ve never planted roots anywhere." I look out the window as we pull up to Chelsea’s house. My palms are getting sweaty now. "I’ve always liked this town."

He smiles. "I wouldn’t be upset if you decided to stay here when all this is over."

"You never know,” I say with