Free Uncovering His SECRET by Crystal Perkins Page A

the past eleven years,
and I’ll be damned if I’m going to lose you. You can stay in
Faith’s old place.”
    “I love you, Tegan.
You’re the daughter I never had, and I would never put myself in
the line of danger.”
    “Unless it was to
help a kid. I get it. That’s what your support staff’s for,
though. You’ve trained everyone well, and they’ll step up.”
    “Only for you will I
do this.”
    “Thank you.”
    “We need to go,
Teeg,” Isa tells me.
    I hug Brad and follow
her outside. The ambulance doesn’t have room for me, so I grab my
bike and follow them. Yasmin lost consciousness, so I’m really
worried. She shouldn’t have been put in this position, and Brad
shouldn’t have been, either. We need to figure this out, and soon.
Before anyone else gets hurt.

Chapter 8
    Caleb
    Ethan’s trying to
pretend like he’s not worried. He keeps telling me how tough Tegan
and her friends are, which I already know. I can tell he’s scared,
though, and I keep trying to distract him with movies. I’d throw in
a video game, too, but I’m not sure if I should lift his
punishment, even now. This parenting stuff is just as hard as I
thought it would be. Well, with all our other issues, it may be
harder right now.
    We’re both out of our
seats the second we hear the door opening. It’s Uncle Brad and
Darcy, and Tegan’s not with them. My heart is racing hard. If
something happened to her, and the last thing we did was fight…I…I
don’t know if I could survive it. Hell, even if we weren’t
fighting, losing her like that would do me in.
    “Where’s my mama?”
Ethan asks, tears in his eyes.
    “She’s fine, E.
Yasmin Griffin got shot, and your mom wanted to go to the hospital
with her,” Darcy says.
    “Will Yasmin be
okay?”
    “Yes. She’ll
probably need surgery, but her injury wasn’t too bad.”
    “I should go to the
hospital, too. Scott might need me.”
    It’s my uncle who
pulls Ethan into his arm as he answers him. “Your mama wants us
here, Ethan. She’s worried about everyone being safe. You can call
Scott later and let him know you’re thinking and praying about
Yasmin. Okay?”
    “I’m worried about
Mama too, Uncle Brad. That’s my job, you know. I’m the man of the
house.”
    Well, shit. I’d be
lying if I said that didn’t just hit me in the heart like a bullet.
    “Yes, you are, Ethan.
You do a wonderful job. No one could do it better.”
    “Well, maybe my dad
could,” he says, making me smile.
    “That would involve
him putting his pride aside as he removes his head from his ass. I’m
not sure he’s ready to do that yet.”
    “Gee thanks. It’s
nice to see you still have the same sense of loyalty that you did
when you left eleven years ago.”
    “Darcy, can you stay
with Ethan while Caleb and I have a talk upstairs?”
    “Of course. Faith’s
apartment will be open for you when you get there.”
    “Thanks.”
    “Are you going to
punch him for Mama?” Ethan asks him.
    “Probably,” he
replies.
    We ride up the elevator
in silence, and the silence continues for the first few minutes we’re
inside the apartment. I look around and take in the giant kitchen
that’s covering most of the first floor. And then I subtly move in
front of the knives. I don’t really believe my uncle will hurt me,
but now that I have a good idea why he left us all those years ago, I
know that his loyalty lies with Tegan.
    “You don’t deserve
her, or that boy,” he says, finally breaking the silence.
    “You’ve known about
him all this time and never told me?”
    “When I came to visit
and brought up her name, you spewed so much venom that it’s a
wonder the trees didn’t shrivel up and die.”
    “She cheated on me. I
loved her more than anything. I would have done anything for her. Yet my love wasn’t enough to keep her out of some other
guy’s bed.”
    “You believe what you
want to believe. You did it then, and you’re doing it now.”
    “I believe the
truth.”
    “Greg’s