Read Online The Red Roots by Andrea Johnson Beck - Free Book Online

know if she was aware of Jules’s impending arrival. Would Henry stay as well? What would he think of Ronan’s death? Henry hated him just as much as Isla. He was careful not to see her right after she escaped Walker Plantation but once enough time had passed—when Isla was starting her third trimester—Henry moved them to Montana. When Jules celebrated her second birthday, they moved to the ranch in Colorado. It was there that Isla decided it was time to visit Carys.
    Carrying the Pierce name would give Isla the power she needed to destroy Ronan. Over the years she’d circled and picked at him like a piranha. The prey was now the predator. His IT department was no match for her advanced computer skills or the malicious code she fired off to his servers. It was around the time the Stuxnet computer worm was released into the wild, so the authorities lumped it in with the worm.
    Idiots.
    Isla backed off Ronan as Ellis contracted her for more jobs. Fight and protect was Pierce code. After Reed slipped the wedding band on, training started. Isla was taught to shoot by an ex-FBI agent, and her instructor at the gym trained some of the best UFC fighters. She excelled and practiced until each target was hit and each takedown was flawlessly executed.
    The pull of the trigger along with the bloody, swollen lips was her therapy. Discussing her abuse on a stranger’s rigid couch did nothing for her but push the trauma deeper. Jules didn’t deserve a broken mother. She deserved a mother who fought to keep the evils of the world away from her.
    Cross-legged like a child, Isla devoured her food and listened to Rosa share stories of her family back in Gotland, Sweden, a quaint island in the Baltic Sea. She was Erik’s aunt, which explained their spirited interaction.
    “I have known the Pierces for many years. Reed and Carys are good kids.”
    “What of the other two? I’ve never heard much about them. I didn’t even know this house existed.”
    “Jealousy. The eldest son and daughter always have more say in the business. The Pierces are protective of their privacy, especially after the affair. Ellis never forgave his wife.”
    “Is that what happened?”
    Rosa nodded.
    “Who was it?”
    “Reed walked in on his mother and another man. She begged him not to tell Ellis. He did, and when she was banished from their home, Reed blamed himself. I believe he still does.”
    “Jesus, can’t people keep their pants zipped and blouses buttoned in this family?
    Isla understood guilt. The house of mirrors, its reflective torment. No matter which way Isla turned, the echoes of shame confined her.
    “Ellis say, love is a fast way to die.”
    “Do you believe him?”
    “Love is to live.” Rosa patted her chest. “Love makes us human. Do you love?”
    Isla said nothing. She brushed crumbs from her fingers onto the plate.
    “I believe you do.”
    “Why do you say that?”
    “Because I love. I show you love, then you show him love.”
    Rosa retrieved the empty plate from Isla’s lap and waved off any further protest. The bedroom door cracked open, Reed stuck his head inside. “May I come in?”
    Talk about timing.

HE BROUGHT ISLA’S bag in with him and laid it on the loveseat. Rosa squeezed Reed’s arm before she left.
    He walked deeper into the room. Isla’s lips tingled. Her mouth dried.
    Rosa laced my food with some funky love poison. I know it.
    Admitting how she felt terrified her but she didn’t want to run. She glanced down at her wedding band. Without him, she felt empty.
    “You look scared.” Reed said.
    “I am.”
    “Why?”
    “You.”
    “Me?”
    “I have no self-control.”
    “Good.”
    Reed’s voice resonated inside her chest as she released a breath. His fingertips outlined her lips. Soft. Refined. Her awareness of him overwhelmed Isla. She’d been dead inside for years.
    Lost.
    Lost and scared.
    A wrecked mess.
    Visions of what Ronan had done—the lashings, the degradation—flashed. She couldn’t