Read Nowhere to Run for Free Online

the line was disconnected.”
    “It’s been reconnected for over a month.”
    “Under whose name?”
    She hesitated briefly. “Mine.”
    “No matter what you may think of me, I’m no mind reader,” Liv said. “I’ll leave that to Hague.”
    Her nose twitching in annoyance, Della stepped aside and Liv was allowed into the dim recesses of her brother’s den. The place smelled like bleach and lemon and everything clean, which was a relief given the fact Liv’s eyes were adjusting to a whole lot of clutter. Hague might be a hoarder of sorts, but everything had to be squeaky clean, per his decree and by Della’s hand.
    “He’s in his room,” Della said, leading the way to the northwest corner of the apartment. She knocked on the door panels and when he barked, “What?” she said, “Your sister is here.”
    A long silence ensued, before Hague bellowed, “Well, let her in!” as if Della’s interference were just that, interference. She ignored his tone and opened the door and when Liv crossed the threshold, Della was right on her heels.
    Hague sat in a brown leather chair that nearly swallowed him whole. He was lithe to the point of wispiness but he was tall like Albert—his biological father and Liv’s adoptive one. He looked a lot like Deborah, too, Liv realized, seeing those hauntingly large blue eyes of her dreams stare at her from Hague’s thin face.
    “What do you want?” he asked gruffly.
    “Nice way to greet me. I came to find out if you know anything about this.” She held up the manila envelope and his eyes followed it, a frown creasing his brow.
    “What is it?”
    “Guess that answers my question.”
    “What is it?” he demanded more loudly and Della moved to his side and laid a comforting hand on his shoulders.
    “It’s from the law firm of Crenshaw and Crenshaw. Ever heard of them?” Liv asked.
    “ No.”
    “They were directed to send me this package when I turned twenty-five.”
    “Last Friday. Happy birthday.”
    She smiled faintly. Hague didn’t live by the world’s time line though he understood it perfectly. “It had pictures of our mother and some other people inside.” She handed him the series of pictures she’d pored over throughout the last two days. This morning she’d decided to go visit her brother directly after work and see what he made of the package’s contents. “And it has my real birth certificate and several other papers.”
    “Who directed the lawyers?”
    “Our mother.”
    His eyes caught hers. “What?”
    Liv explained how the lawyers had gotten hold of her and sent the package. “She—Mama—wanted me to have this, but I don’t really understand why. My birth certificate, okay, and personal stuff, but who are these people?”
    “That’s our father.”
    In one of the pictures Albert was standing beside Deborah in a grassy field, possibly the one behind their old house.
    “But who’s this?” she asked, pointing to the man trying to grab for the camera.
    Hague was ignoring her as he selected a piece of paper, holding it up between his thumb and index finger, away from his body, as if it might bite him. He glanced at her expectantly.
    Liv had read the missive, knew what it was. She said carefully, “It’s a note from Mama to me.”
    Hague was utterly silent. Liv gazed at him and her heart squeezed. Framed by his scruffy hair and beard were a pair of glittering blue eyes and a handsome face that he would never—could never, apparently—let the world see.
    “Read it,” Liv urged him gently.
    Hague brought the note closer and stared at it hard for several seconds, then he said in a monotone: “ Livvie, my sweet girl, if you’re reading this then everything I’ve feared has come to be, and I’m not around to tell you these things for myself. You know you were adopted. Your biological parents are listed on your birth certificate. I’ve enclosed some snapshots for you to have of me. Know I love you. . . . Mom .” He peered at the