My expression softens. “So, you understand?”
“I understand trauma. I don’t understand how you’d forgive her so easily.”
There’s another pause, then I make an admission I might regret.
“I want to be with her.”
Cass goes deathly quiet then pans his gaze slowly across the happily chattering guests.
“Does she know?”
My grip tightens slightly on the glass. “No.”Maybe.
“Does she suspect?”
“Possibly.”I think brutally murdering three men in her honor might have given her a clue.
“How long do you need?”
What he’s really asking is how long does he need to keep this a secret from Remo and Brando before I quit being a pussy and come clean.
“A few more days.”
He nods and turns back to the bar, waving an empty glass in the bartender’s direction.
“Remo will lose his mind when he finds out you’ve done a full one-eighty. This means everything to him. You know how long he’s wanted retribution for what we all lost?”
“Yeah, I know. Fifteen years.”
“If you choose her, you may not get him back.”
I nod, grief seeping into my bones from the knowledge of what I’m going to do. Because across the city, in my penthouse, there’s a woman waiting for me.
And everything inside me is already choosing her over revenge.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Pfeiffer
Alzheimer’s.
The word bounces around my head like a ping pong ball, familiar and strange at the same time. Dad pulls his hand from mine and starts tapping his leg. It’s a nervous tic he’s had my whole life.
Tears fill my eyes when I glance at him. The verdict, I expected. The grief, I did not.
The doctor continues in a gentle but serious tone.
“It’s mild to moderate, and there was possibly early dementia progression before this.”
The tapping gets faster. I clear my throat.
“What does that mean?” I ask. Nurse training equipped me with more generalist knowledge so I know nothing about degenerative neurological disease.
The doctor smiles sadly and turns to Dad.
“It means your memory is having trouble storing and retrieving information properly.”
Dad nods slowly like he understands, but I don’t think hedoes. The doctor continues to talk through the expected timeline of progression, treatment plans and support. All I hear are things like, “you’ll need to tell your employer,” and “the care can be too much for one person.”
