Chaos (Phoenix Undercover Book 2) by C.A. Harms Read Free Book Online

she was holding to her chest and secured it there. I realized it was a photo; I assumed of me.
     
    ***
     
    “I can’t fucking do this.” I was pacing my living room as Greyson and Mike sat on the couch watching me. I had my phone gripped tightly in my hand as I tried not to lose my shit. “I need to get out of here. I can’t live like this, Frank, I’m not an animal. There are people that need me, fuck, I need them. You can’t expect me to fucking live like this.”
    “Josh, I need you to calm down,” Frank instructed me, and it only infuriated me more.
    “That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one stuck here. You’re out there living your fucking life, going home to your wife.” I was barely holding it together. I wanted to fucking punch something. “One fucking week, Frank,” I stated. “That’s all you have to figure out how to get me the fuck out of here and back to my life.”
    I hung up and turned to face Greyson and Mike. “Let’s find this motherfucker. I’m done with this. It’s time to take back the life these assholes stole from us.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 10
     
     
    Gabriella
     
    Today was a hard one. One I wasn’t sure how to get through without losing it.
    Libby called and asked me to meet her at Josh’s apartment. She had to start going through his things, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to do it alone. I wanted to say no. I wanted to tell her I wasn’t strong enough. I wanted to make up an excuse to change my plans, but I couldn’t. I knew his family was suffering, and I had developed a bond with them over the baby, so I felt I owed it to them to help them grieve too.
    I stood outside Josh’s apartment door, and after taking in a deep breath, I knocked. I could hear a commotion behind the door, so I pressed my ear against the cold steel. The smashing of glass, or something breakable, filled the silence, and panic shot through me.
    I twisted the knob, and to my surprise it was unlocked. When I burst inside, I never expected to find Libby standing in the center of what appeared to be a ransacked apartment. Tears streaked her face as she bent down and picked up the television controller and heaved it across the room.
    “Libby?”
    She turned to face me and crumbled to the floor. “I can’t believe he left.” She looked up at me, and my heart broke for her. Here before me was a girl that had lost her mother at a young age and had now lost a man that was not only her brother, but one of her best friends. She had been devastated twice and had been forced to hold it together for the sake of her father and her son, who also adored Josh.
    Now it was her time to fall apart, when she was alone with no one around her to stay strong for. I stepped over the heaping amount of couch cushions and other items that now littered the floor and knelt before her. “Hey,” I whispered, and her gaze met mine. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and for the first time I saw just how exhausted she looked. “I know it hurts. The day he was taken from us the world lost one very amazing man.” My own tears threatened to fall, but I chose to fight them. Libby needed to feel as if it was okay to fall. She deserved this time to feel weak, and I was going to give it to her.
    “I miss him so much,” she confessed. “I miss being able to complain about Will’s irritating habits and Jonah’s grumpy days. I miss the way he and I used to gang up on Dad when he tried to get all serious with us. He was my go-to person. The one I called when everything became too much. He always made things better.” Her gaze shifted around the room, and she sobbed heavily. “Look what I did.”
    Panic set in, and the sorrow in her eyes was hard to witness.
    “It’s okay,” I assured her, and I moved in a little closer and placed my arm around her shoulders. “I know it’s not the same, but you can always call me to talk.” She smiled, and I could sense it was forced. “As long as you don’t mind