Chapter 26-1
Kieran
Words: ‘Back from CA. Need to see you ASAP.’ flashed on the screen.
Fuck it!
Simon really was a master at picking the right time. The fact that what I had been yearning for was almost within reach brought all of my pent-up expectations to a boil, and they exploded at the worst possible moment. But dealing with the consequences could wait, as there was a far more important matter demanding my attention.
I needed no explanation; I had a pretty good guess of what Simon was talking about. And judging by the urgency, I wouldn’t like what he had for me.
~ ~ ~
“I have to admit I was not expecting things to be this serious when I flew down to Sacramento.” Simon was the first to break the silence that enveloped his office after he served me with his findings. “I knew it would be far from what we initially gathered, but this…”
A thousand different thoughts came rushing through my head, shaking the ground I was standing on. I was about to crush under the weight of the knowledge I had come to possess. It tortured me; it set my soul on fire and it threatened to burn me whole.
I leaned over the documents spread all over the conference desk Simon spent the last 20 minutes explaining, desperately hoping they would disappear and take away the burden they granted me.
“Fuck!” My fist met with the marble surface of the desk, but the pain that surged from the point of impact did little to decrease the overall frustration that seeped through my pores.
This changed everything.
Everything I thought I knew about Sophia, every single thing I constructed in my head to make up for the lack of information the previous report failed to provide – was wrong. Each and every one of my assumptions couldn’t be further from the truth and what I just learned made me sick!
Damn it!
“I need more time.” I bit the inside of my mouth so hard it bled. Like I said, ever since Sophia came into my life, I have had a tendency to vent my ‘displeasure’ by torturing myself.
“I’ll stall as much as possible, but the FBI took over the case.”
The circle of bad news kept turning around, and I couldn’t seem to catch a break.
Reluctantly, I collected the papers and stacked them in the folder, knowing I’d be pondering over every detail written in it for many days to come.
But the truth was not unknown anymore, and that gave me the leverage I needed; a vantage point to get where I wanted with Sophia. And that was the future.
“Get me as much time as you can.” I had to get through to her somehow. I just had to.
Simon nodded in confirmation, and it seemed like he was chewing over telling me something else. The strangest sinking feeling in my gut protested, trying to spare me of yet another nuisance.
“Spill!” my brows raised in annoyance.
As if he was expressing condolences, Simon said in a low voice: “Nora’s back in town. And she’s been asking about you.”
My heart stopped beating, my lungs stopped breathing, and my mind? My mind stopped working.
Only my blood screamed inside to work its will!