And then those imaginations became part of his alternate reality, and he’d known they would never come true. But here they were, coming true in a spectacularly fucked-up fashion.
Chapter Fifty
“It’s a long story,”Maya said.
“I’ve spent myentireadult life looking for your body; I think I have time,” Dante said.
Maya winced at the harsh tone of his voice and bowed her head. Cassidy rested her hand on his knee.
“Let her talk,” she whispered into his mind.
Dante inhaled a deep breath as he worked to subdue his resentment. He’d been frantically searching for her, had giving up dreams and his mortality in the hopes of finding her, and here she was. She wasn’t dead; he had his sister back, or at least he might have her back. She’d stayed out of his life for twenty years, which meant she was fine with not being a part of it now.
A bolt of anguish tore through his anger and struck deep into his heart. His last twenty years centered aroundher, and he wasn’t a blip on her radar. If he didn’t want answers so badly, he would walk out, but he’d waited decades for the truth.
His fingers entwined with Cassidy’s on his knee, and he squeezed her hand. Feeling abandoned by one of the people he loved most, he needed Cassidy’s love and support more than ever.
“What happened?” he asked more gently.
Maya turned toward the doorway; when she spoke, she confirmed Dante’s suspicions she knew her children were there.
“Kids, go upstairs,” Maya commanded.
“Aw, Mom,” they both protested.
“Go!”
They grumbled something more, but their heads vanished, and the stairs creaked beneath their weight as they retreated. Maya’s head remained tilted toward the kids as a door closed above.
“What are their names?” Dante asked when Maya turned back toward him.
A small smile played at the corners of Maya’s mouth. “Mateo and Jade.”
Dante felt as if she’d socked him in the chest. “You named them after Mom and Dad?”
“I did.”
“They’re dead, you know.”
Tears shimmered in Maya’s eyes before she ducked her head again. “I know.”
Fresh fury burned through him as he stared at her bowed head. “You know?”
Maya looked at him again and gulped. “I saw their obituaries. I kept track of them until they died, and I tracked you the best I could, but you vanished about ten years ago.”
A breeze could have blown him over. She’d kept track of them? “Well, you vanished twenty years ago.”
“Dante—”
“Mom and Dad were broken shells of the man and woman they were before they lost you. Theydiednever knowing what became of you, and once they were gone, I believed I’d losteveryoneI loved. I was so angry and lost, but you knew about their deaths and never came back.”
“Dante—”
“Whathappened, Maya?” he bit out from between his clenched teeth.
The idea of hearing any excuses or apologies from her caused acid to burn up his throat. He was sitting in the middle of her perfect little home, in the middle of her perfect little life, and he’d never been sofuckingangry.
Cassidy’s hand tightened on his as Maya glanced at her. Sorrow radiated from the woman’s eyes, but Cassidy was too worried about Dante to have any pity for Maya. Tension vibrated from every inch of him, and rage hummed across their bond. She wanted to take him away from here, hug him, and assure him he was loved, because that was what he needed most right now.
