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“If you like.”
Grrrr. “I’d like to be alone now.” I didn’t look at him, couldn’t look at him, so I just focused on cutting into the perfectly tender roast beef.
He didn’t move at first and I could feel him watching me, but I kept my eyes down. Finally, he said, “Fine. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything.”
Only when he’d gone out and pulled the door behind him did I slump back in the chair, covering my face with my hands.
To think that in the next few hours, someone would be contacting the woman who brought me into this world. They would be asking for a full family history and they’d tell her it was because her daughter needed it. What would she think? How would she react? Happy, sad, scared, angry, indifferent? Which one of those reactions would I prefer? Jesus fuck.
CHAPTER 27
Rhett
Istared intently at the name scribbled on my notepad - Laura Atkins. Just a teenage girl from Nashville who found herself in a difficult situation a long time ago.
With a heavy sigh, I reached for the phone, breaking the tense silence of my office. Shelby Mills, my longtime private investigator, picked up immediately. Her voice was all business, as usual. “Mr. Rivers.”
“Shelby, I’ve got a name and last known address for the case you’re working on for me.”
“How the fuck did you get that? Does this mean I’m out of a job?”
I gave a mirthless laugh. Only if she was prepared to break the rules on my behalf. “Let’s just say that the situation has become somewhat urgent, and I took matters into my own hands.”
“I see. Better for me not to know what you did, huh?”
“Exactly.”
“Okay, lay it on me.”
“Laura Atkins, from Nashville, Tennessee. She gave birth as a teenager, seventeen years old, in Charlotte. No father listed on the paperwork. The only attending family member was her mother, a Mrs. Barbara Atkins.”
“Home address on that paperwork?”
“Yep.” I reeled off the address, waiting impatiently as I heard Shelby clicking away on her laptop.
“Okay, no Atkins family in residence at that address. You’re gonna have to leave it with me. I’ll need a few hours.”
“I can give you that, but not much more. This is your number one priority until this woman is found.”
“I’m on it. Expect a call at lunchtime.”
She ended the call, and I dropped my phone on the desk. Jesus, this was exhausting.
I spent the next few hours doing everything I possibly couldnotto think about Scarlett, the babies and Laura Atkins. It didn’t work too well, as my mind churned through the endless possibilities. I mean, what if this woman had moved overseas? Changed her identity? Died? We’d never know, and where the fuck would that leave us? On and on my mind went.
Until my phone beeped, loud enough in my quiet office to make me jump.
Shelby Mills PI:Information in your inbox.
My heart thudded painfully hard in my chest and I almost knocked my coffee cup over in my haste to open my emails.
PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR REPORT
Client:Rhett RiversSubject:Laura Parker (née Atkins)
Findings:
After conducting a thorough investigation, I can confirm the following details about the subject, Laura Atkins: