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Cane considered the words, his mouth heavy in a frown. “I know he’s right. It’s just hard for me to accept. He’s good with change. I’m not.”
“And Adelina will come back.”
He stared at the TV. “Just because you did doesn’t mean she will.”
“I think so. It might take her a few weeks to figure it out, but I know she will.”
He held the beer on his thigh and rubbed his thumb across the mouth. Back and forth, he moved, fidgeting quietly. “It was nice of you to come all the way down here to talk to me. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to.”
“I’m a lucky guy. So is Crow. He can have you deal with me so he doesn’t have to.” He chuckled quietly, but his heart wasn’t in it.
“He’s worried about you, but he thought you wouldn’t want to talk right now.”
“He’s right. I don’t want to talk right now.” He turned his gaze back to me. “But it doesn’t feel so bad when I talk to you. Kinda reminds me of the way I used to talk to Vanessa. You know, she was the one member of our family who could humanize me. I wanted to be a better person because she looked up to me. I felt that way toward Adelina too…wanted to be a better man for her.”
My hand reached for his.
He squeezed my fingers back. “Crow would be so jealous if he saw us right now.”
* * *
“Crow is always jealous, so it doesn’t matter.”
“He should be jealous. I have the best sister in the world. That’s something he doesn’t have.” He gave me a slight smile, the best he could do with the pain he was in.
I smiled and rested my head on his shoulder. “And I have the best brother in the world.”
Chapter 20
Adelina
My parents couldn’t believe their eyes when I arrived on their doorstep.
They were in shock.
They were in tears.
And they could barely stand.
I was welcomed back into their home, and like I was a child all over again, my mother slept in my bed with me because she didn’t want to be apart from me. Like I might slip away again, she hung on to me tightly.
The next day, the news media was there to interview my parents. Apparently, my story had gotten a lot of coverage since my parents hired so many private investigators to track me down. Lizzie’s parents did the same, making us some of the most recognizable people in the United States.
I had no idea.
Giving the horrible news to Lizzie’s parents was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do. I felt guilty for surviving when she had a terrible death. I couldn’t even tell them where her body was so they could have a funeral. They cried—and I cried too. They said they were happy to see me, but I knew any parent would be devastated that I came back when their daughter never did.
Time seemed to move in slow motion, but everything was going so fast. The police interviewed me a few times and asked me the details of what happened. I told them the truth, but I kept Crow’s and Cane’s identities a secret. I told them Tristan and his men were dead, so there was no need to continue the investigation.
I got a lot of requests for interviews on daytime talk shows, but I declined all of them. The world was curious to know the things I had suffered, but I wasn’t interested in sharing. The details weren’t appropriate for television anyway. I didn’t want my parents to have to listen to those tales.
I spent the first week at my parents’ house. My old bedroom was exactly how I left it. They didn’t change a single thing or throw anything out. When I was going to college, I still lived with them because it saved money. The college was down the road so I didn’t need to commute far, but it was jarring living with them again.
I used to live with a gorgeous man in a mansion that I had all to myself most of the time.
My parents breathed down my neck, constantly asking I needed anything or if there was something that would make me more comfortable.
I knew they meant well, so I didn’t get irritated about it.
I was having dinner with them when my mother asked about Cane. “That man who brought you here a few months ago…”
My dad stared at his food, blocking out the conversation.
“Yeah?” I said.
“He was the one who set you free?” she asked.
“Yeah.” I picked at my corn and mashed potatoes. “He is the one who killed Tristan and his men. He got me out of there, took care of me, and put me back together. He wanted me to stay with him, but I told him I had to get home.”
