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I clear my throat and read it aloud for Mum.
I look over to see her crying in Michael's arms when I finish; Ana is curled into me crying too. I'm unable to feel anything but peace now that he's gone.
Michael is whispering quietly to Mum, and she is nodding. He kisses the top of her head. I kiss Ana's head and stand up. I walk to Mum and pull her up into my arms while smiling at Michael.
“Mum, it was never your fault, and I'm truly sorry I couldn't kill him that night.”
“Son, no, it was better this way, I don't think you would be the man you are now if you had killed him that night.”
“What did he mean by releasing you?”
“Remember when he had Bradley take me to him all those years ago?”
“Yes.”
“Well, he made me swear that I would end things with Michael or he'd kill you both.”
“Oh my God, Mum.”
“What?” Michael bellows as he stands.
She turns from my arms and looks at him.
“I'm sorry, but all I could think about was protecting you and Joshua. I lied to you, I never stopped loving you.” Her head drops as she makes her confession.
“Damn it, woman! I knew there was something.”
“Michael, please forgive me.”
“Joshua, you take care of your girls, tomorrow we can get to those safety deposit boxes. I'm going to discuss with your mother her lack of trust in my abilities to keep her safe.”
He bends down and throws my mum over his shoulder and stalks from the room. I don't interfere because if my girl had done the same thing, I would react the same way.
“Okay, Michael. Night, Mum!”
I smile as I watch him take her into the room and hear the lock click. Interesting, they're staying in the same room. Guess Michael is finally doing something about them. I turn to see Ana watching them too.
“They really do love each other. I hope they can finally show it.”
“If I know Michael, he'll claim her for everyone to see very soon.”
“Claim her? You're so funny, my love.”
“They've been tiptoeing around each other for eighteen years. At one point they were seeing each other, but I guess, as we just found out, my mum called it off because of Nathan. Plus I'm not joking, because all I want to do is bury myself in you and claim you.”
“Okay,” she says breathlessly as I walk to her.
I lift her in my arms and carry her to the bedroom where Bella is sleeping. I lay her on the bed and cover her with my body, and she wraps her legs around me. Kissing her lips and claiming her mouth is all I can do right now. I almost lost her again. I'll never let her out of my sight.
“Angel, I love you and will never let anything happen to you again.”
“Joshua, you can only protect me so much. I love you too, but we need to get this guy that killed my mum and Maya's parents.”
“Okay, but no more shopping trips without me.” She smiles at me like she thinks I'm joking. “I'm serious, Angel, no more.”
“Joshua, will you tell me about the shooting?” she asks me.
“Of course, I didn’t want it to change your feelings for me, or I would’ve told you sooner, sorry. I was twelve when I heard him beating Mum up one night. I was scared for her, and when I heard a loud bang against the wall, I ran into the living room. She was on the floor covered in blood and could barely look out one of her eyes. He saw me and came at me. She begged him not to, but he still kept coming. I was tired of watching him hurt her. His .44 revolver was sitting on one of the end tables. I crawled under a table to get away from him and get to the gun. In my mind, I thought if I just pointed it at him and threatened him he would back off. He didn't do that, he came at me and said he was going to kill me. My hands tried to work, but that big gun and my shaking caused the gun to lower from his head. I hit him in the shoulder, it was enough to cause him to fall back and hit his head on one of the other tables. I dropped the gun and a neighbor must have called the military police; we lived on base at the time. The neighbors did nothing to help us. My grandfather flew in the next day and took us away. We found out later that he only served a few months in the brig for his abuse and was dishonorably discharged from the Army. He came after her again using Bradley, she almost died that time. He never stopped stalking her after that. I joined the military to prove to myself I was better than him. That I wasn't dysfunctional. Yesterday when you were taken, I saw how close my anger could get to that.”
