Chapter 211

Even as I’m walking toward her, I’m surprised when Carrie doesn’t move away or attempt to disappear, like she has done so in the past. This confirms my earlier suspicion that she really just wants to talk to me.

I come to stand beside her. Her gaze has flitted past me and now looks at her resting daughter. I move, standing shoulder to shoulder with her, so that I can share her view. Steven gentle pushes and pulls the stroller back and forth, while he avoids looking over at us.

Carrie’s note comes to my mind. She wants me to continue to watch over Mia. But that’s not something I’ll be able to do for much longer. I should probably tell her that. Maybe that will be the information she needs to hear, that would lead her out of the shadows and back into her daughter’s life.

“I’m sorry, I…”

“You’re leaving,” she says.

I stop and look over at her, surprised. Her face is blank, I have no idea what she’s thinking.

“In a couple days now,” I say. I worry my hands together. “I won’t be able to look after Mia anymore.”

“I suspected it must be something like that,” Carrie says. “Though I hoped I was wrong.”

I shook my head a little. She had no real reason to worry. “The Hayes brothers love your little girl. I’ve trained them myself how to properly care for a baby. Mia will be well taken care of.”

“I suspect that may be true for a time,” Carrie says. “Though I don’t know how well a little girl will grow under the care of such reckless, selfish individuals.”

My first instinct is to stand up for the brothers. They aren’t all that bad all the time, but if I give myself a few moments to truly consider her words. If I push down my defensive reaction, I can see some of the truth in what she’s saying.

In fact, she’s not saying much that I haven’t already feared myself. Will the boys grow up enough on their own to be the father figures to a growing girl? When she’s old enough to look around and see how things are, will they alter their behavior enough to keep her safe and innocent?

I don’t have the answers. So I can’t ease Carrie’s worries, nor my own.

Yet, while my time with Mia and the brothers is nearing a close, Carrie has no such limitations. She’s obviously stuck close for a reason. She seems to be tracking our every move.

She cares about Mia. So why doesn’t she step up?

“Maybe you could reenter her life,” I say. “I’m sure she’d be happy to have her mother again.”

Carrie’s emotionlessness breaks, and sadness touches her eyes.

Sensing she might be close to agreeing, I press, “Mia needs her mother.”

“I can’t,” Carrie says, with blatant heartbreak cracking the words.

“Why not?” I continue to push. For Mia, I’ll do anything to get an explanation.

Mia is such a sweet little girl, and Carrie obviously cares about her. If she were my child, nothing would keep me away from her.

“Alpha King Hayes,” Carrie says.

“Mia’s father?” I ask.

Carrie nods. “Though he publically denies it. I think he’d rather see Mia dead than allow her to tarnish his name. A position I never understood. He has had so many affairs, why should this one matter so much?”

“The Alpha King is after her?” I ask. I’m not surprised, knowing that the man embedded silver into one of his legitimate children. Gods know what he would do to the illegitimate ones.

“He’s after us both,” Carrie says. “Mia, for existing. Me, for taking Mia and fleeing. For refusing to have an abortion. All of this, he sees as a rejection of him and what he stands for.”

What does a man like that even stand for? Certainly not positive family values.

“He’s tried everything to find me. He has traces on all my credit cards and bank accounts. I’m entirely dependent on the goodwill of what few friends I have, and what little cash I’ve been able to stash away. It’s a difficult life. But if he catches me, I fear he might kill me. Or worse.”

I really don’t want to think about what ‘or worse’ might entail.

“The young Hayes brothers will keep Mia physically safe from her father, that much I know. Neil has even helped me lay false leads for his father. With luck, the Alpha King believes I’ve fled the country by now.”

I know that’s not true, because Wyatt had her picture. The Alpha King has been closing in on her for a while.

“I’m afraid he might have some idea you stayed,” I say.

She lowers her head. “I’ve suspected that too. I’m going to have to disappear again, before he captures me.”

She turns her head to look me over. There’s fear in her eyes, but there’s strength too, like a deeply-rooted will that cannot be shaken.

“Have you met him?” she asks me.

“No,” I say.

“Keep it that way,” Carrie says. “Do not ever get into a vehicle with him. And if he somehow manages to get you in the same room of him, trust that no one else in that room is loyal to you. He does not create situations where he is outnumbered. And he enjoys using others to make everyone hurt.”

“I’m leaving the Pyramid in two days,” I say. “He doesn’t like me, sure, but he won’t have a reason to worry about me anymore.” Surely he’ll stop thinking about me entirely when I’m out of the picture right? At least, that’s what I’ve been banking on.

“Don’t count on that,” Carrie says. “Alpha King Hayes holds grudges. He never forgets. Never.” Her eyes on me were full of pity. “When you are on your own, be careful who you trust. One wrong person is all it takes to destroy your life.”

Is this a warning based on her own history? Is the Alpha King the one wrong person she trusted? Or is this something else? Like some kind of watch-your-back prophetic warning?

“I’ll be careful,” I say.

She nods.

Across the room, Mia begins to stir. She’s fussing, and as she opens her eyes, I swear she can see us, even though we should be too far away. She reaches out her grabby hands in our direction as she kicks and cries.

“Go to her,” Carrie tells me. “Be there for her while you can.”

She doesn’t have to tell me twice. I rush forward. Steven is kneeling beside the stroller, waving a toy like he’s trying to claim Mia’s attention. But she is too unhappy. Tears are spilling out of her eyes.

I quickly scoop her into my arms. Usually my presence is enough to soothe her. Today, however, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

She’s crying in earnest, and no matter how many times I try to turn her away from where Carrie is, she always squirms to try to look back.

“We should go,” I tell Steven, even as my heart aches.

Mia wants her mother, but Carrie won’t come to her. Delaying that will only hurt them both.

“Okay,” Steven says.

He pushes the stroller, while I carry Mia in my arms.

But she doesn’t stop crying the entire walk home.