Three Wishes by Kristen Ashley Read Free Book Online

winner, the man of the house. He’d been that way since he could remember, really, cleaning, tidying, holding her hair back when she’d overindulge and vomit in the toilet, dragging her in and putting her to bed when she passed out in the hall.
    But now he was really the man of the house.
    She, unfortunately, became stupid with their or, more to the point, Nate’s good fortune. She bragged to anyone who would listen that her boy was working for Mr. Roberts.
    She wasn’t proud of his genius or of the budding good looks that were stamped on his features or the tall, lean strapping boy he had become but she was proud that he’d become a gangster’s errand boy at eleven years old.
    This pride caused her death.
    Drunk and bragging to her new boyfriend, an out-of-work, good-for-nothing lazy bum – or at least that’s what she called him, over and over again and very loudly. Her son worked for Mr. Roberts. Her son brought home lots of money. He bought her dresses, got her vodka.
    Considering her boyfriend was drunk, high, stupid and mean he didn’t take to this very well. He got fed up with it quickly and squeezed the breath out of her throat until there was no more which, of course, made her shrill voice stop. Then he took another, very large snort of cocaine that Nate’s money had bought and he drank the rest of her bottle of vodka and he waited for Nate.
    Nate didn’t even have to walk into the flat to know something was wrong but he did anyway. She was his mother. He’d been taking care of her for his lifetime. It was habit.
    He opened the door and saw his mother’s lifeless body. That was all he needed to see.
    Her boyfriend made a grab but didn’t come close.
    Nate was so quick, he was vapour.
    He vanished.
    For a week.
    And missed two scheduled drops.
    Seven days later they found him, picked him up and took him to Mr. Roberts.
    He sat in the back of the limousine. He’d seen Mr. Roberts twice since they first met; both times he’d been friendly and cordial.
    Now he was not.
    “Would you like to tell me what’s going on, Nathaniel?” Mr. Roberts’s voice was very cold and Nate knew this was no request.
    “Me Mum’s dead.”
    This was met with silence.
    Then, “ My Mum, Nathaniel.”
    Nate turned burning eyes to his employer. He didn’t miss her, really, but she was all he had.
    “ My Mum,” he repeated sarcastically perhaps the only living soul besides Mr. Roberts’s two children who had the courage to speak to him sarcastically.
    Instead of making him angry, Mr. Roberts found he admired this in Nathaniel.
    “Where’s your father?”
    “Don’t got one.”
    “Have one, Nathaniel.”
    “That either.”
    Mr. Roberts stifled a chuckle. It was no time to chuckle.
    “Aunts, uncles?”
    Nate shook his head.
    “Your grandparents then.”
    Nate looked at him, square in the eye and declared, “No one.”
    In his line of business Mr. Roberts learned to make quick decisions.
    He liked this boy. There was something about this boy. Something special.
    Mr. Roberts made a quick decision.
    Decision made, he declared, “You’re coming home with me.”
     
     

Chapter Five
    Nathaniel
     
    Victor and Laura Roberts adopted Nathaniel McAllister.
    He did not take their name, that was his decision and they allowed it.
    He wanted to remember where he came from, he couldn’t forget. He had to remember always what he was, who he was so he would never go back.
    It would have been easy to forget with his new life.
    It was almost like a genie came out of a bottle and gave him his every wish.
    They were rich. Victor and Laura (he never called them Mum and Dad, even though Laura wanted him to) lived in a beautiful home on a street where all the houses were gleaming white, all the railings were glossy black and all the window boxes were filled with redder than red geraniums and trailing green ivy.
    They had two children, Jeffrey and Danielle.
    Jeffrey hated Nate with a passion.
    Danielle loved him just the