My Personal Hell, D. Richardson [ebook reader browser txt] 📗

no doubt to whom he was referring.

“Everyone has a price,” I replied, enjoying Luscious’ anger. Knowing he couldn’t touch me. Ultimately, he had no say in the matter.

“Fifty thousand for the two younger ones. Each.”

“And the third?”

“A hundred thousand for her. She is by far the most useful of the three.”

“Two hundred thousand then?”

“Yes, nothing less.”

I held my hand out for Aden to put my checkbook.

“I’ll write you a check now, but the girls leave with me.”

It was his turn to sneer. I had to say, he was far more practiced at the expression. He knew I didn’t trust him not to dispose of the girls, before I could come back to get them.

“Of course, Mark, go get the paperwork.” His second in command rushed from the room, reappearing in seconds with a manila envelope. The girls gave up trying to be furtive in their eavesdropping, and were now openly watching our exchange.

“Get your things and get out of my house.” He barked the order, and the younger rushed from the room. The older however, tossed her hand towel onto the counter top, walking out at an even pace. Locking eyes with Van on her way past. Distain covering her features.

By the time the papers were signed, and we made it to the door, the girls were waiting. The eldest held a single knap sack over her arm, holding both of the younger girl’s hands. The youngest looked up at me with fear, the middle seemed uncertain, while the oldest just looked resigned.

Adrian opened the door, ushering the girls out blocking the sight of them. Either he didn’t want Van to see them, or he didn’t want them looking back. His behavior intrigued me. He was kind by nature. But the way he had begged for us to retrieve these girls, had me wondering what he had witnessed.

When we were surrounded by sunlight and fresh air, the girls paused to blink their eyes. Once their eyes adjusted to the harsh light the youngest looked around in awe. The second oldest tilted her head back, as if she would soak up the warmth. But the oldest did nothing but squint at the ground. Like the light was to much to handle. They must not have been outside in a while.

I really looked them over, since I could see them clearly. It looked like they had just gotten the nutrition they needed to stay active. Their skin was pale, making the oldest, with her olive skin tone, look sallow. Their hair bordered on lifeless. Though they were clean for the most part, except for the occasional stain on their clothing.

Their initial reactions subsided, and the oldest looked at me expectantly. So I led them to the SUV, opening the back door for them. Taking the back bench seat, they huddled together, taking solace in each other’s presence.

“You should get comfortable, it’s a two hour drive home.” I spoke directly to the oldest, receiving a nod of acknowledgement.

An hour later, I turned to look at them. The little girl was fast asleep. The other one had her head pressed against the window, enjoying her own nap. But the oldest just sat there, staring out the window. She sat as if she were waiting for something.

She woke the girls as we pulled into the driveway. By the time we made the five minute drive to the house, they were all wide awake. After climbing out, they stared up at the house. It was a three story, ten bedroom mansion with a finished basement.

The two younger ones looked impressed, the oldest looked at it in despair. None of them had said a word since I had first laid eyes on them. If it weren’t for Aden and Adrian, I would have thought they couldn’t speak at all.

Adrian escorted them through the front door, careful not to touch them. The grand staircase was at the end of the foyer. The kitchen was to the left, and the living room to the right. Again, the girls gaped, while the oldest looked close to tears, before looking at me with another expectant expression. I didn’t know what she was waiting for.

“Daddy!” Jennifer squealed as she ran down the stairs. I caught her as she threw herself at me.

“Jen, you’re getting too old for this,” I sighed. At seventeen, she still insisted on acting like she was five from time to time.

“But I missed you. Where did you go? What took so long?” she asked in a rush.

“I went to arrange for our new additions to the house hold,” I replied. She looked past me to the girls, her eyes widening and her mouth formed a perfect O.

“Oh,” she whispered, taking in the girls’ appearance.

“Why don’t you go tell the others, huh?”

Something I always enjoyed about Jen, she knew how to take a hint. It wouldn’t stave her off for long, but it would be long enough.

“Okay,” she took off up the stairs.

I led the girls into the kitchen. It had a huge table to fit all of us for meals. We had a formal dining room, but that was only used for holidays and special occasions.

I had hoped to talk to them privately, before they were overwhelmed. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way. My office was the only truly private place in the house, but it being early afternoon, the odds of the kitchen being full was slim. So, of course, it was packed with large male bodies.

Three of my sons and six of my enforcers stood there, hovering over six pizza boxes, laughing and talking in loud voices. I cleared my throat, and all of them went silent turning to me.

Me, Adrian, and Aden stood in the doorway. The girls were small in comparison and hidden behind our backs. Which meant, the boys wouldn’t be as well behaved as they should‘ve been.

I was greeted by a chorus of “Dad!” and “Boss!”. Adrian was my second oldest at twenty years old, while Aden was the third, being eighteen. From there it went to Aaron and Jennifer, twins at seventeen, then Camilla at sixteen, and Bailey at thirteen. My oldest, and the alpha set to take my place, once he was married, was Asher. He just turned twenty three. Now that I thought about it, it was better that we had a few more girls around.

My enforcers went as follows; Alexander, Dalton, Justin, Jacob, Macon, Nevin, and Sadler. There were two people not accounted for in the kitchen. Asher and Sadler, neither one of them were much for groups. My enforcers weren’t related to me. They were wolves that left their original packs to join mine, for this reason or that. It could be for school, or a disagreement in their own packs. Regardless they were all good men, and I thanked the heavens for my good luck in having them with me.

“Hey Dad, you want some pizza?” Aaron asked, holding up a slice.

“No, I’m alright. I do need some space though.” They all shuffled around to the other half of the table.

It wasn’t great but it would have to do. Putting the manila envelop on the table, I took a seat. Filling out the adoption papers right away was a necessity. The sooner it was done, the less chance Van had of filing a kidnapping charge.

Several gasps went around the room drawing my attention to the objects of their staring. The girls had lined up in front of the island. The little girl had her arms wrapped around the eldest’s leg, her face hidden. The second kept her eyes on the floor, her hand gripping the eldest’s so hard I could see the beginnings of half moon marks.

The oldest, however, simply looked around, that same blank expression in place. Her eyes roamed the room, taking in everyone and everything. She looked alert and ready. As bad as it sounded the three looked kind of pathetic, almost lost.

Aden reached for the pizza, while Adrian never strayed far from the girls. In the distance, I heard the back door slam shut, light footsteps making their way to the kitchen. The oldest stood ram rod straight, as if hearing the sound of someone new approaching. I was barely able to hear him, it seemed unlikely that she would be able to. But her head snapped to the kitchen door just before Asher stepped into the room.

“Dad, what is Jen talking about? She said you brought new additions to the house hold?” he asked as he arrived. When he spotted the girls he froze, testing the air for their scents.

They stared at him wide eyed, all but the oldest, who looked just long enough to take in his appearance. He stood there in ripped jeans, no shirt, and barefoot. His long black hair hung loose, making him appear wild.

“Where have you been?” I asked absently, taking in their reactions to each other. He tore his gaze from them with obvious effort, the surprise finally fading.

“I went for a run.” That explained his appearance.

“You better not have tracked mud in the house again, your mother will kill you.”

“It hasn’t rained in weeks.”

“Okay.”

I leafed through the papers in the folder and swore quietly, “They didn’t put your birth certificates or social security cards in here. It’s going to make it more difficult. I’ll have to pull some strings to push the papers through.”

I was talking to the oldest, but she didn’t respond, just stood there looking at me. I tried to give a light hearted shrug, but it came with a heavy sigh, “What are your names?” For the first time, one of them spoke.

“Kadi,” the oldest replied, gesturing at the smallest, “Lori,” she continued nodding at the other girl, but then she stopped.

“And your’s?”

“Ailith,” I looked back up at her with a raised brow. It was a beautiful name, it was also old English meaning warrior.

“And your last names?” Her eyes fell to the floor, just as it occurred to me that Van may have gone through the steps to adopt them, but wouldn’t have told them what their last names were.

“Can you tell me your birth parents names?” I asked softly.

She stiffened but instead of answering me, grabbed her knap sack, rummaging through it to the bottom. She pulled out a thin folder, breaking away from the girls to put it on the table in front of me.

“Everything you need should be in there,” she said softly.

It looked like it took a lot for her to give up whatever was in that folder. When I opened it, I could see why. Van may have had the intention of making things difficult for me, but Ailith was far more prepared than I would have believed. In the folder were the girls’ birth certificates and social security cards, as well as, some school records.

“How did you get these?” I asked. There was no way Van would have left these in easy reach. However, instead of answering she just shrugged.

It only took me a couple of minutes to finish filling out the paperwork, and when I was done, I turned to the girls, taking in their appearance. They looked tired, wearing matching clothing, with only one bag at their feet.

“Where are the rest of your things?” I asked. It had just occurred to me, I had seen only one bag so far.

“This is all of it,” Ailith replied, indicating the one bag.

“For all three of you?” She nodded and I took out my wallet.

“Do either of you have your driver’s license?” I asked, glancing up at them. She hesitated but then answered.

“I do.”

“Great. You can take the SUV and my credit card.”

“For what?” she asked. She had so much incredulity in her tone, I looked up at her in surprise.

“To get some clothes, and anything else you might need. I have to admit, I’m lost when it comes to female things. You might want to get some school supplies too. I don’t know how long it will be before I can get you enrolled, but