Finding Elvis Ch. 05

Gretchen rocked me slowly and whispered comfort into my ear as I cried. I felt the car stop, but didn't pay it any mind. By the time Devon got back in the car, I had cried myself out. I felt drained, empty.

"Go to this address," Gretchen said to Devon, handing him a card. "And let's ease off on Hawk for a bit."

Devon nodded and started driving. Gretchen handed me some tissues and I tried to clean up.

"I don't know what to do," I told Gretchen. "This scares me like nothing else ever has. What if I screw up?"

"Then you'll be like every other parent out there," she said and blinked in surprise. "Well, I guess Daddy and I do have some talking to do."

-----

The drive to the estate was quiet as we all were examining our own thoughts. When the Hummer pulled up to a massive stone and steel gate, I forced myself to focus on what was happening around me. There was time enough to panic later, in private.

Gretchen told Devon the code to punch in, and the gate swung open ponderously. The sculpted drive made all the ones I'd ever seen in movies pale in comparison. Then the house came into view. Dear God, it was a mansion. It was huge. Huge and elegant, with the kind of aura that only age and money can give a pile of rock.

Devon parked in front of the wide stone steps and opened the door for Gretchen. I slid out behind her and straightened my coat.

Gretchen walked up the steps and was almost to the door when it opened on its own. I gritted my teeth when her evil stepmother came out onto the broad porch of stone. This was all I needed.

"Well, well," she sneered. "The tramp and her common little friend. You just turn right on around and get off our property. You're not welcome here."

Gretchen tensed up, but I pulled her back before she could tear into Kat.

"Don't even start," I warned her. "Today has been the day from hell, and if you say one more thing, I'm not responsible for the bodily harm that befalls you. I mean it."

She chuckled in a throaty kind of laugh that just dripped contempt. "You think because you're getting paid like this whore it makes you something? You're trash and will always be trash."

I took a deep breath and half turned to look at Gretchen. "See how lucky you are that I'm here to keep you from doing something precipitous?" Then without further warning, I rabbit punched Kat right in the gut.

With a whoosh of air, she doubled over and I grabbed her by the lapels and dragged her face to within an inch of mine.

"That's my wife you're talking about, bitch. Keep a civil tongue in your head or I'll teach you a lesson that you'll never forget," I said in a voice so cold I was surprised her hair didn't turn into icicles.

Kat's eyes widened and she struggled for breath. "No! You can't be!" She grew so pale I thought she would faint. Good. She yanked herself away and rushed back into the house like the hounds of hell were right behind her.

I frowned. "I can be scary, but not that scary. What the hell is going on?"

Gretchen snatched me into a hug. "You hit her! I'm so proud of you!"

The sound of footsteps on the foyer floor pulled both of our attentions as her father came into view.

"What in the hell is going on here?" he asked, a confused look darkening his face. "Kat just ran up the stairs like she'd seen a ghost."

Gretchen let go of me and held her father in an unexpected hug. "Oh, Daddy. I have such great news!"

He blinked in surprise, but his arms wrapped around Gretchen, a look of genuine pleasure on his face. "Tell me."

"We just got married and Hawk is pregnant!" Gretchen said as she kissed his cheek.