Letting Go by Sloane Kennedy Read Free Book Online Page B

had been included in the spontaneous trip from their suburban Connecticut home to the fast paced world of New York City.
    Although the girls spent most of the trip in the care of the hotel babysitter, the time spent with their mother had been a blessing of sorts since the death of James Carver only two months earlier. Desperate for their mother’s love and attention, both girls had thrived on being near her even though she paid them little attention. Within a week, their mother had shed her housewife image and inherited the lifestyle of a socialite. And three days before they were scheduled to leave for home, Caroline’s good looks and financial insatiability paid off and led her straight into the arms of Elliot Dane, a successful Hartford pediatric surgeon in town for a medical conference. Caroline’s plan had worked and the fated trip that had meant so much to two little girls had suddenly become the catalyst that would ultimately consign them both to a living hell.
    Despite the heated leather seat, a chill went through Casey as she was assailed with memories of her mother and stepfather. She shifted her weight and turned her gaze from the window. If she couldn’t see the city, then maybe none of this was happening…maybe she could delay the inevitable. But the man across from her was impossible to ignore. He was punching keys on his laptop like a man possessed. The few minutes that he had managed to drag himself away from it had been spent on his cell phone, his deep, commanding voice undoubtedly sending tremors through the poor soul on the other end. She recalled that he’d been on the phone last night when she had gone to his hotel room. He had been speaking to someone about his son – his wife probably. It struck her then how little she knew about this man and the situation he was about to throw her into.
    “How old is your son?” she asked.
    He looked up from his work as if surprised to find that she was speaking to him. “He’s seven. His name is…”
    “Ryan,” she interjected. “I know. I heard you call him that when you were talking to your wife last night.”
    “I’m not married. My wife died a long time ago.” He dropped his gaze back to his work.
    “What happened to my sister?”
    He hesitated and then removed his fingers from the keyboard and gave her his full attention. “She was taking Ryan to soccer practice but she got lost on the way there and ended up in a bad neighborhood. While she was stopped at a light, a man walked up to the side of the car, pulled out a gun, and forced her to get out.”
    “And did she?”
    “Yes,” he responded.
    “Then why did he shoot her? Why not just let her go?” Casey couldn’t keep the anger and hurt out of her voice.
    “Because she tried to stop him.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “Ryan…she tried to stop him from taking Ryan. He wouldn’t let her get him out of the car. When he tried to get in, she grabbed him and he shot her. Witnesses said the guy panicked and took off. He left the car and my son behind.”
    Casey was stunned. Her sister - her shy, frightened sister had attacked a man to save the life of a child that wasn’t even her own? Despair filled her as she realized that the sister she had left so many years ago had become an entirely different person – a person she would never have the honor of knowing. The irony hit her then. This man, this stranger that sat across from her, was her only link to learning who her sister had become. She almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of it all. And then another realization hit. Amanda had saved his son.
    “So that’s it – that’s why you’re doing all this – payback. Amanda saves your son, you secure her daughter’s future. Now it all makes sense.”
    Instead of attempting to defend himself, he remained silent and returned to his computer. Casey struggled with the new found knowledge. He didn’t care about the little girl – he just wanted to repay his debt. Isabel was a