Page 3 of Sinner's Storm
Then there was Robin Calloway. The voice of reason. The decisive one. The one friend who saw it all and could defuse a situation faster than an expert bomb tech. Robin had taken her skills and put them to good use, becoming a detective for the NYPD.
Finally, there was sweet Arabella Flannigan. The shy, non-assuming wallflower of the group. Stunningly beautiful, Arabella spent most of her life in magazines and on billboards, before she garnered the courage to finally speak up and tell her parents no more.
As for me, well, I was the mother of the group. Literally and figuratively. I was the one they all came to for advice. The one who got woken up at two in the morning because some jerk either pissed someone off or broke a heart.
“Look.” Finley smiled, waving her arm frantically. “There’s Arabella.”
“Sorry I’m late, but traffic was horrible.” Arabella sighed, taking a seat next to me. “It’s a bloody mess out there.”
“You’re not late, Bella.” I smiled, giving her a quick hug.
“No Ares?” she asked.
Finley smirked. “Oh, Ares will be here. In what state is anyone’s guess?”
“She still with asshole?”
“Not for long,” Finley and I both said at the same time.
“Well, Robin texted. She can’t make it. Another kid was murdered.”
“Jesus,” Finley muttered. “I hope they catch that son of a bitch soon. What kind of sick son of a bastard kills a kid?”
Yeah, that was something I didn’t want to know. I mean, I knew there were sickos out there, but to kill a child? No. All I cared about was that Robin and her team found the person responsible, and fast. Just thinking of something happening to my daughter sent a sense of dread coursing through my body.
“How’s Harlow?” Bella asked, concerned. Out of all my friends, Bella was the closest to my daughter Harlow and doted on her every chance she could get. In fact, it was Bella who held my hand while I gave birth. She never left my side. Not once. “Did the fever go down?”
“Fever?” Finley looked up from her phone. “Harlow’s sick?”
“It’s nothing. Just another cold.”
“This is the third cold in two months, Delany. What do the doctor’s say?” Bella questioned.
“That it’s allergies.”
Which I didn’t believe for one second.
“Maybe it’s time to get a second opinion?” Bella whispered, looking at Finley, who nodded her agreement.
“Bella is right. This has gone on long enough. Harlow shouldn’t be constantly sick. Call Dr. August Lansing. He works at St. John’s Presbyterian Hospital. He’s fantastic. If there is something wrong, he will find it.”
“Find what?” Ares Malpas asked as she slid next to Finley, looking haggard and worn out. Which was unlike her.
“What the fuck happened to you?” Finley not-so-kindly asked.
“Fucking Preston, is what happened. Whiny little bitch. Fucker pissed me off. We got into a fight and the jag-off thought he’d flex some muscle. Big mistake, because the only muscle I flexed was my foot, right before I buried it in his crotch.”
“He hit you?” Bella gasped as Ares leveled her signature ‘Do you even know me?’ look, then smirked.
“Hell no. Pretty-boy knows better than that. Nope. Instead, he thought he’d be funny and bring my father’s past into our argument.”
Finley whistled. “Big mistake.”
Ares’ dad, Col. Hercules Malpas, died down-range when the team he was with was ambushed by insurgents, almost thirteen years ago. His death caused an extensive investigation that resulted in the incarceration of a member of his unit, while several others were forced to resign their commissions. The military believed the matter was settled. Ares felt strongly that there was more to the story.
“Your dad died in combat thirteen years ago. The man is a decorated hero. Why did he bring him up?” Bella asked.
“Who fucking knows; to hurt me, maybe?”