″I don’t know. Why didn’t you tell me you brought Satan with you?”
″Because I knew you wouldn’t want to see him.”
″You’d be correct.”
″Haley. Listen. Let’s…let’s sit down and talk.” Her father runs a hand through his hair. I glance between the two men, then toward Haley. They all have the same shade of hair, hazel eyes, and round faces.
She huffs, waving a hand at the two family members still hovering by the elevator. “Cal, meet my father, Charles Savino, and my little brother, Lucas. Dad, this is Callum Murphy.”
″Nice to meet you, son,” Charles steps forward, approaching me to shake my hand. “I go by Charlie.”
I don’t take my hand from Haley’s side. Instead, I pull her closer. She sags into me, exhaling sharply, no doubt from pain.
″Callum’s my…boyfriend,” she says
I can’t help the smile on my face hearing the title fall from her lips. Though the word boyfriend sounds so juvenile, it also sounds so beautiful coming from her mouth. Her admission of our relationship is a huge step, especially in the midst of her avoiding me the last week.
I haven’t spoken yet, so I give him a nod. “And what brings you to Boston?” Right to the fucking point. He doesn’t get pleasant Cal when he allowed Haley to be on the streets as a teenager.
″Well…” Charlie sighs. “I was… I don’t know if Luke’s told you, Haley, but Jason’s gone missing.”
The sociopath in me remains calm, not giving away a hint of emotion to the news. Of course, he is missing. He’s been held up in a warehouse for two and a half weeks. And he will stay there until Haley is strong enough to fly to Washington.
″Why would I give a fuck?” She asks, her tone tight. She puts on a good show, but her muscles tense beside me despite her apprehension.
″Jesus, Haley.” Charlie sighs. “Look at you. You’ve grown so much.” He attempts to touch her again, but she steps back more. And he’s ignoring her question.
″It’s been eighteen years, Dad.”
The fact she is still calling him Dad makes me wonder if there is hope to rekindle their relationship. I guess it will depend on how this meeting goes.
″Can I offer you anything to drink? Tea, coffee? Whiskey?” I ask.
″Tea would be great,” Luke says.
″Great.” I pull away from Haley. Grabbing her hand, I tug her toward the kitchen with me.
Luke and Charlie follow, settling into the stools at the breakfast bar as I start a kettle on the stove.
″Is that an Irish accent I hear?” Charlie asks.
″Aye. My family moved here when I was a lad.”
″Your mother’s Irish, too, Haley.”
″I don’t have a mother,” she grumbles.
″You do. She misses you.”
″Does she miss me enough to admit that she allowed her husband to fuck her teenage daughter under her nose?” Haley raises an eyebrow, leaning against the counter across from him. Her cheeks redden with her frustration. With each breath she takes, she bites her lip through the pain.
Charlie sighs. “She misses him too. He’s been missing, you know? He left a letter before he went. He mentioned you in it.”
″What?” She straightens. “Why would he do that?”
I know why, but I keep my mouth shut.
″He admitted he had feelings for you. We were hoping that he came here to be with you. I see now that isn’t the case.”