Abigail
"And then I said, ’You have a problem with me eating chips, Carla? That’s nacho business!’" Angel cackled. "Get it? Not your business, but Nacho’s business?"
Our picnic blanket was spread out under a cluster of shady trees in the park that Finnegan’s men had cleared out completely for us. The afternoon sun filtered through the leaves in golden patches.
Angel was laughing so hard she was clutching her stomach, River was trying and failing to keep a straight face, while Annette shook her head.
"I guess the dry jokes run in the family."
"Oh, you have no idea," River groaned.
"Finnegan’s jokes are the driest."
"Hey, that’s my baby y’all are talking about," I shot back playfully, leaning back on my elbows. "His jokes may be dry, but they sure as hell get me wet—"
"Abby, there’s a kid here," Annette coughed.
"Set," I covered up quickly. "I meant he gets things set."
Angel blinked between us, eyes clouding with confusion. Oh, great — she didn’t catch the dirty joke. The last thing I wanted to do was corrupt the poor kid’s innocence.
Angel had insisted on this girls-only outing, and I was so glad she did. We’d played a wildly chaotic game of frisbee earlier, with Angel and me teaming up to destroy River and Annette.
And destroy them we did. Now we were lounging and munching on nachos, which I was starting to think were Angel’s favorite.
My mind, however, kept drifting to Finnegan.
I wondered what he was doing right now. Was he still brooding after the confrontation with his mother?
Did he miss me the way I missed him? The thought of his strong hands on my body had me shivering lightly with pleasure.
He had snuck into my room last night, and I’d slept with his cock buried in me. Heat pooled low in my belly. I shifted on the blanket, pressing my thighs together.
I slipped my phone out, angled it carefully, and snapped a quick picture, arching my back slightly so the sundress rode up my thighs.
I smiled to myself, biting my lip.
God, I was so gone for him. I was so going to crawl into his lap the second I saw him again.
Angel nudged me with her foot. "Earth to Abigail. You’re smiling at your phone like a lovesick teenager. Is it Dad?"
I laughed, tucking my phone away. "Maybe."
River smirked. "He’s been smiling more lately, too. It’s disgusting how cute you two are."
We kept chatting and playing silly games —truth or dare, where Angel dared Annette to do her best impression of Finnegan being grumpy.
Yeah, it was scarily accurate. I dared River to belt out the national anthem in a terrible British accent.
For a while, everything felt... good. A little too good. I should have known it couldn’t last forever. Robert Greene did say nothing gold can stay.
"Why would she do that?" Annette asked from the front seat, throwing her hands up. "That just sounds like terrible decision-making."
"Because she’s my mom, and all she does is ruin everything!" Angel snapped, flinging her hands up. I pulled her against me in a hug.
"She’s trying to paint herself as the victim to make the divorce harder. Classic manipulation." I scoffed, running my hands down Angel’s back.
River’s hands tightened on the wheel. "She knows Finnegan values Angel’s privacy above everything. This is her way of striking back."
When we arrived at the current penthouse, security was already detaining a few paparazzi lurking near the entrance. River cursed under her breath.
"We can’t stay here," she said. "It’s too exposed. We’re heading to one of Finnegan’s private homes in the suburbs. It’s more secure."
The drive to the suburban estate was tense. The house was beautiful — a sprawling mansion with high walls and heavy security, and I had to admit, the moment we stepped inside, I felt a little safer.
Annette pulled me aside into one of the bathrooms while River helped Angel settle in.
"What’s the plan?" she whispered urgently.
"The device location is still with Gavin. It hasn’t moved much."
I nodded, my mind racing. It was weird that the location of the device just popped back up like that. What was going on?
Wasn’t the tracker destroyed?
"He’s baiting me. But we can’t go after him tonight and I can’t leave Finnegan like this. On Monday we’ll... we’ll take action. But for now...uh, is the Sanctuary open?"

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