Page 83 of Fighting For You

"I'm Knox. I'm with your sister."

His jaw tightened.

"You don't know me. You don't have a reason to trust me, and I'm not going to pretend I've earned that. But I need you to hear a few things, and then we're done for tonight."

His eyes moved to me.

"I had an older brother." I kept my voice even. "His name was Gage. When I was a kid, I did something stupid and reckless, and he paid for it. He died because of a choice I made." I let that land. "I spent the next twenty years trying to make up for it, and I couldn't, because that's not how it works. You don't get to earn back the thing you cost someone. You just carry it."

Ian's arms loosened.

"I look at you and I know exactly who you are. You're not a bad kid. You're a kid who wanted somewhere to belong, and the place you found wasn't what you thought it was. That's not the worst thing a person can be. I've been worse."

He swallowed.

"But here's what I need you to understand." I leaned forward. "Your sister has been carrying you since she was twenty years old. She gave up everything. Not some of it. All of it. She didn't date, didn't travel, didn't have a life outside of making sure you had one. And I know you're angry. I know you think she wasn't there. But you know, somewhere in there, you know, she wasn't gone because she was leaving you. She was gone because she was working doubles so you could eat."

A tear slid down his face. He wiped it with the back of his hand, hard, like he was angry at himself for letting it out.

"She loves you more than anyone in this world. And I know you know that, because you love her the same way."

Ian's chin dropped. His shoulders came down.

"I'm sorry," he said. His voice was rough. "I didn't mean what I said to her."

"I know."

He wiped his face again. Sniffed. Pulled himself together enough to look at me.

"Now here's how this is going to work." I sat back. "You're living here. This is my home, and your sister is the person I care about most, and I'm not going to watch you hurt her. Not with words, not with choices, not with silence. You treat her with respect under this roof. You follow the conditions the court set. You don't contact Jesse, Wayne, or anyone else from that shop. And when school starts, you go."

He nodded.

"I'm not your enemy, Ian. I'm the guy who's going to make sure you and your sister come out the other side of this. But I need you to meet me halfway."

He was quiet for a long time.

"Okay," he said.

I got up and pulled sheets and a pillow from the hall closet. When I came back, he was still sitting at the table, staring at his hands.

"Get some sleep," I said. "Tomorrow's a new day."

I set the sheets on the sofa and went down the hall to the bedroom. Nora was sitting on the edge of the bed with her hands folded in her lap, waiting.

"He's okay," I said.

She looked up at me with red eyes and a face that had been crying quietly behind a closed door.

"He said he's sorry, Nora."

She pressed her lips together and nodded. I sat down beside her and pulled her into me, and she let out the breath she'd been holding since the precinct.

CHAPTER 20

Death Traps

NORA