Read Online RISE - Part Three (The RISE Series Book 3) by Deborah Bladon - Free Book Online
Authors: Deborah Bladon
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time to read through the article because the picture that accompanied the story said it all. A petite blonde woman was sprawled across the hood of a police car, her hair covered with blood. I remember clearly that a fireman was on the hood of the car with her, his gloved hands holding her head in place.
"That woman is having my first grandchild. That was Bridget. She's going to marry my son."
***
"W ill you ask Landon to come see me?"
His demeanor may have changed since he first sat down across the table from me, but his past can't be erased with some confessions about how much he misses his children.
He'd literally been stalking the two of them for years. He can't expect to find forgiveness because he wants to play a role in his grandchild's life. Dane doesn’t strike me as the type of man who will push everything that's happened aside just so his child can know a grandfather who didn't care enough about his own sons to choose them over a woman.
"I'm planning on telling Landon about our meeting," I say quietly. "I don't think he'll want to come and see you."
He nods in resignation. His chin bowing with the realization that there's little he can do now to erase his past.
"I gave the police those documents because I thought it would help my own case."
There's no shame in that. I would have done the same. I imagine most people would grasp onto any hope when they're faced with a prison term.
"What's going to happen to you now?" I motion towards a table near us where three men are visiting their families. "Will you be serving your sentence here?"
He looks up and across the table at me. "That was part of my plea deal. I want to be here, close to my family."
I'm not surprised. I imagine he's going to continue to try and forge a relationship with both of his sons. I doubt either will ever step foot in this place.
"I took a sentence of ten years." He glances quickly around the room. "I stole the identities of three men to survive financially. There was identity fraud too. I worked briefly for an investment company in Maine."
It's more than I wanted to know.
"I did it for my boys," he says the words as proudly as any father would, who worked hard his entire life to provide for his children. "I did it so I could watch them grow up."
The words are vile. They mirror the things that my own father might say when asked about why he worked so hard selling insurance, even after he knew he'd broken the law.
"All your boys wanted was you," I point out as I push my hands on the edge of the table so I can finally stand. "That day in the boat with Landon changed him forever."
"He loves me," he says quietly, his bottom lip trembling. "My son held onto me for hours after I tipped the boat. He didn't want to let me go. That shows how much he loved me."
I pull myself to my feet, smoothing my hands over the legs of my jeans. "He loved you. Your son loved you once. You lost that when you left him in that water so you could save yourself."
Chapter 18
––––––––
"Y our dad and Gianna?" Landon rakes his hands through his hair. "They had a thing?"
I nod as I reach for his hand. "I spoke to Gianna about it two days ago. She told me that they still see each other, but anything romantic between them faded away a long time ago."
"That's wild." He furrows his brow as he studies my face. "How long did that go on for? The meeting in hotel rooms?"
"On and off for years." I half-shrug my shoulder as I lean against him. I've been sitting here since I arrived at his apartment. He'd called me once he landed and I agreed to meet him right away. "She said they both needed something then and found it in each other. She apologized. She felt badly that she hadn't told me sooner."
She had felt horribly about it she said when I met her for dinner after I saw Frederick. I had wanted to postpone my meeting with her because I felt so emotionally raw already, but she was insistent. I sensed that she could tell that I knew about her
"That woman is having my first grandchild. That was Bridget. She's going to marry my son."
***
"W ill you ask Landon to come see me?"
His demeanor may have changed since he first sat down across the table from me, but his past can't be erased with some confessions about how much he misses his children.
He'd literally been stalking the two of them for years. He can't expect to find forgiveness because he wants to play a role in his grandchild's life. Dane doesn’t strike me as the type of man who will push everything that's happened aside just so his child can know a grandfather who didn't care enough about his own sons to choose them over a woman.
"I'm planning on telling Landon about our meeting," I say quietly. "I don't think he'll want to come and see you."
He nods in resignation. His chin bowing with the realization that there's little he can do now to erase his past.
"I gave the police those documents because I thought it would help my own case."
There's no shame in that. I would have done the same. I imagine most people would grasp onto any hope when they're faced with a prison term.
"What's going to happen to you now?" I motion towards a table near us where three men are visiting their families. "Will you be serving your sentence here?"
He looks up and across the table at me. "That was part of my plea deal. I want to be here, close to my family."
I'm not surprised. I imagine he's going to continue to try and forge a relationship with both of his sons. I doubt either will ever step foot in this place.
"I took a sentence of ten years." He glances quickly around the room. "I stole the identities of three men to survive financially. There was identity fraud too. I worked briefly for an investment company in Maine."
It's more than I wanted to know.
"I did it for my boys," he says the words as proudly as any father would, who worked hard his entire life to provide for his children. "I did it so I could watch them grow up."
The words are vile. They mirror the things that my own father might say when asked about why he worked so hard selling insurance, even after he knew he'd broken the law.
"All your boys wanted was you," I point out as I push my hands on the edge of the table so I can finally stand. "That day in the boat with Landon changed him forever."
"He loves me," he says quietly, his bottom lip trembling. "My son held onto me for hours after I tipped the boat. He didn't want to let me go. That shows how much he loved me."
I pull myself to my feet, smoothing my hands over the legs of my jeans. "He loved you. Your son loved you once. You lost that when you left him in that water so you could save yourself."
Chapter 18
––––––––
"Y our dad and Gianna?" Landon rakes his hands through his hair. "They had a thing?"
I nod as I reach for his hand. "I spoke to Gianna about it two days ago. She told me that they still see each other, but anything romantic between them faded away a long time ago."
"That's wild." He furrows his brow as he studies my face. "How long did that go on for? The meeting in hotel rooms?"
"On and off for years." I half-shrug my shoulder as I lean against him. I've been sitting here since I arrived at his apartment. He'd called me once he landed and I agreed to meet him right away. "She said they both needed something then and found it in each other. She apologized. She felt badly that she hadn't told me sooner."
She had felt horribly about it she said when I met her for dinner after I saw Frederick. I had wanted to postpone my meeting with her because I felt so emotionally raw already, but she was insistent. I sensed that she could tell that I knew about her
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