Rise - Part Three (Rise #3)(2)

My dad was my superhero when I fell off my bicycle when I was six-years-old and scraped my brow so badly that I had to have two stitches. He was my best friend when our dog ran away and never came back. He was my protector when a red-haired boy I thought I loved in grade school told me that my eyes were too big for my face.

He has been the only true, and strong, constant in my life since I was a child. Letting go of that to accept that his personal failings are so deep that they've hurt others is something I can't do quite yet.

"I've had a busy day," I say because wandering aimlessly through the streets of Manhattan in shock creates its own unique disarray. "I'll call Clive when I go back to my office."

"You're going back to your office?" She takes a cautious sip of the coffee before her tongue darts out onto her bottom lip. "This is almost cold, Tess. When did you buy it?"

I glance at the pearl encrusted watch on my wrist that Ivy gave to me. It's near six now which means that soon Lilly will take the subway back to her place so she can cuddle her daughter before she spends the evening with her husband.

I want to stall her so I can find the courage to ask her to help me. My father's crimes aren't nearly as severe and life changing as those of her father, but she'll be one of the only people who can sympathize with the dull ache that I feel inside.

I want to believe that Landon will too but it's not that simple anymore. His father knew enough about my dad's sins to land him in jail. At least I think he's in jail. I've built such a tightly woven cocoon around myself today that I haven't looked online, glanced at a television or read any of the headlines on the newspapers at the bodegas I passed.

"Tess?" Her voice is softer now. "Tell me what's wrong."

My bottom lip quivers slightly. I pull my fingers across it to quiet it. I don't want to cry. If I cry I don't know that I'll be able to stop. "Do you need to go home soon?"

Her brow furrows as a piece of her hair falls against her cheek. She pushes it back almost instantly, tucking it behind her ear. "Something's not right. You're not yourself. Clive sounded off too. What is it?"

I've seen Lilly upset before. It happened twice. The first time was when the nanny called to say that Haven had a low grade fever. Lilly had rushed from the restaurant we were dining at and had been in a taxi on her way home within moments.

The second time was when we were at a deli grabbing a sandwich before we went to the Saturday matinee of a musical on Broadway. A woman waiting in line was brushed aside when an elderly man had pushed his way to the counter to order his lunch.

The woman had been harsh and unrelenting as she unleashed a verbal assault on the small, quiet man. His mind, obviously, wasn't as sound as it might have been a decade or two ago. Lilly stepped into the uneven fray and silenced the outraged woman with several well-chosen words about understanding and respect.

I was proud of her then. I've never told her that. We'd simply taken our sandwiches and ate them as we strolled down the street, neither saying a word about what had happened.

"You're scaring me, Tess." She's on her feet now, her hands wrung together in a knotted mess. "Clive was preoccupied on the phone when he called and you look like hell. What are you two trying to hide from me?"





Chapter 2


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I can't speak for Clive Parker but I can certainly speak for myself.

"My father was arrested this morning," I spit the words out quickly and brazenly. "I saw it on the news. He was handcuffed."

Her hands both leap to her mouth in unison. The gesture does nothing to hide the shock in her eyes. "What? Arrested? Why? What did he do?"

She fires the questions at me so fast that I barely hear one before the next hits me.

"Things," I say before I exhale harshly. "It's all related to the job he used to have. He sold insurance. On the news they said he stole money. "

I look down as I take a deep breath. Telling Lilly that my father is a suspect in the case of a missing woman only gives weight to something I don't want to be true. My father may have done things with money that will land him in prison but I won't add my voice to those accusing him of actually hurting another person. I won't believe that until he tells me to my face that it's the truth.

"I didn't know," she pauses as her eyes scan my face slowly. "You and your dad are close. Did you..."

"No," I interrupt her before she can finish. I don't want to have the memory of my best friend accusing me of knowing that my dad is capable of doing horrible things. She may be trying to form it into an innocent question, but the implied inference is there. "I had no idea."

She takes a half step back, her hand reaching for the side of her desk. "You must be in shock, Tess. You said you saw it on the news. Have you talked to your dad since then?"

"I haven't." I pull myself to my feet. "I haven't talked to anyone. You're the first person I wanted to see."

I can tell the words touch her by the way her bottom lip quivers slightly. "I want to help. Tell me what I can do."

Lilly is capable of many things but turning back time isn't one of them. She also can't erase my father's past. "I don't know what to do. I have to go home and call my brother."