The cold night air felt good against his hot cheeks. As he walked to the car, he breathed deeply. Charlene Caraway wasn’t going to get away with her crimes. Even if she did get a plea deal, he and Dakota would figure out a way to make her pay. There was always room for vengeance.
After removing his recording device, he did the same with Dakota’s.
Neither said much in the car. What was there to say? Sin had known for years that he was adopted. Dakota, on the other hand, had only learned hours prior that his parents weren’t his birth parents. At the traffic light, Sin glanced over. Dakota’s brow was furrowed and he was staring straight ahead, deep in thought.
They arrived back at Dakota’s to find Sammy asleep on the sofa, her head in Evangeline’s lap, a throw blanket keeping her small body cozy warm. Evangeline glanced from one man to the other with raised eyebrows.
“We got her to—” The moment Sin started to speak, Sammy lifted her head, then popped up.
“Daddy! Uncle Lalla! E-Leen was so nice to me. We played tea party and she drankallthe water.” Sammy giggled. “She had to pee-pee a lot.” She ran over to her dad. He lifted her up and hugged her.
Evangeline went to Sin. He pulled her into his arms, then dropped a soft kiss on her mouth.
Sammy giggled again. “Uncle Lalla kissed E-Leen.” She crinkled her nose and hid her face in Dakota’s chest.
“Did you two have a productive meeting?” Evangeline asked.
“Very,” Sin replied.
“I love you, Sammy,” Dakota said. “You know that, right?”
To Sin’s surprise, his brother had tears in his eyes. Sin’s heart broke for what Dakota was going through.
“Of course, Daddy! You love me this much.” She widened her arms as far as they could go. “And I love you, too.” She threw her little arms around his neck and tears rolled down Dakota’s cheeks.
Sin’s throat tightened, but he refused to let the emotion get the better of him. Evangeline squeezed his hand. “Dakota, can Sammy and I make you a cup of tea?”
He wiped his cheeks. “Sorry. Tonight was a little overwhelming.” He kissed his daughter and set her down. “Sure, that would be good. Thanks.”
Evangeline held out her hand. “Sammy, can you help me make your daddy and Uncle Lalla some tea?”
Sammy scampered over and tucked her small hand in Evangeline’s. As the two disappeared into the kitchen, Sin threw an arm around his brother. “You okay?”
“Fuck no. Everything I thought to be the truth is a damn lie.”
“You had two loving parents. No lie there.”
“They bought us, for Christ’s sake.”
“Charlene’s broker sold them a story and they believed it because they wanted to be parents that badly. There’s nothing we can do about that now. They’re gone. We’ve got to move on. All we have is today and, from where I stand, today is looking pretty damn good.”
Dakota shook his head. “I wanted to pump some bullets into her and call it even.”
“Too easy. She’s gonna spend decades in prison.” Sin grinned. “Trust me on that. If anyone can ensure she goes away for a long, long time, it’s me. This is one problem Icanfix.”
“Daddy, Uncle Lalla, come and have a real tea party with me and E-Leen!” Sammy called from the kitchen.
“Your daughter is the best part of your life,” Sin said. “And she’s here now.”
“I’m damn lucky to have a brother like you,” Dakota said as they walked toward the kitchen.
Sin slapped him on the back. “You sure as hell are.”
29
A Very Important Question
Saturday morning, Evangeline sat at the kitchen island, a coffee mug in one hand while she re-read the DNA report on her laptop. A match had been found that named Charlene Caraway as Dakota Luck’s biological mother with ninety-nine percent accuracy.
