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“I’m so—”
“Don’t even say it. We both know we’ve heard the words I’m sorry a million times. It doesn’t help heal the pain. I’m just telling you this because our father hasn’t had anything truthfully to live for in years. He didn’t even know where you were. He knew about you but had no idea where you were.” Jared sounded tortured, and my heart started to ache.
“I didn’t… I had…”
“We know you didn’t know. We never expected you to have a clue. I know you have been through so much, Bree. I know everything has been thrown at you at once, but I’m begging you to see things for more than they are.”
“I’ll talk to him, Jared. I never said I wouldn’t. It just breaks my heart how my mom isn’t here to answer my questions. It hurts me to know my life was a lie and there’s not a damn thing to fall back on.”
“Well, buck up, Princess, because it’s about to get ten times harder,” Jared said. There was no emotion in his voice, but I knew my words had made him feel better.
“Thanks, asshole,” I said before taking another sip from my cup. I was getting anxious. I wanted answers, but I was also afraid. I wanted to run. To hide.
“Anytime. How are things with you and Zerro?” Jared asked nonchalantly as if he didn’t know we were hooking up.
“We’re fine. I understand his need for revenge. There wasn’t anything I could do anyway. I need to be strong, and I’ll hold onto my strength until I can’t anymore.”
He smiled, rubbing a hand over his face. He still had stubble, and the bags under his eyes said he was stressing over something at night instead of sleeping.
“Yeah, you sounded fine, last night…” he teased. My cheeks reddened. I wasn’t a prude, but with Jared considered family, it was quite strange to know he heard us having sex.
“Ahh, don’t be shy about it. Not like Zerro ever was,” he joked. I turned my face away from him and out toward the rising sun. I wasn’t even sure where we were anymore. All I knew was we were forty miles from my father’s house. North, East, South, or West, I wasn’t sure.
“Ha. Good to know, I guess.” I tried to joke as well, easing all the tension from the room.
“I’m going to make breakfast. You hungry?” he asked.
“Fuck, yeah, I am,” Zerro chimed in his voice causing a cascade of goose bumps to form over my body.
Jared shook his head, causing dark locks to fall to his forehead. “I bet you are. I heard you last night…”
“Oh, really. I bet it wasn’t me you heard, but your little sis over there…” Zerro commented, throwing a wink in my direction. I couldn’t help the smile that popped onto my face. It felt strange being able to be happy after what I had been through.
“Ha. Don’t even bring that up.” Jared got up from the table and headed for the fridge. I just stood there ogling at Zerro, who was shirtless. His hair was in a fuck-me kind of way sideways, and his body didn’t look a bit damaged, even though he had taken numerous bullets. I was stunned he had lived at first, but something in me told me he couldn’t have died. I would’ve known.
Jared’s phone rang, and my attention automatically slipped from Zerro to him. He answered it within a second bringing the phone to his ear.
“Dad,” he said coolly. I pretended as if I wasn’t listening to the conversation, but Zerro caught me out of the corner of his eye.
“Eavesdropper…” he teased, grabbing an apple from the fruit dish in the center of the table. His mouth opened showing white teeth as he took a chomp out of the apple.
“Yeah, 102 Hickory Lane, right past the Piggly Wiggly, and left at the gas station,” Jared rambled. He must be giving him directions. Weird how I hadn’t noticed any of those things as we passed them.
“Don’t be nervous, Piccolo,” Zerro said calmly as if he was trying to calm my raging nerves.
“I’m not…” I lied, forcing my attention to something else. I was tired of talking about me.
“He is a nice man, I promise you,” Zerro said, taking another enormous bite of the apple. Only he could make eating an apple look sexy.
“You know him?” I asked. I wasn’t aware Zerro had met him. Hell, I wasn’t aware of a lot of things.
“Yes. Jared’s family and mine go way back. No worries, love, you’ll be fine.” He sent me one of those smiles that made my knees weak before he got up from the table and tossing the apple in the garbage all at once.
“I have to shower. I’ll be back.” And just like that, he was gone.
“Yup, see you soon,” Jared said hanging up the phone. See you soon? Gah. This meant I would come face to face with my real father soon.
The rest of the afternoon passed with ease. I set in the living room most of the time reading. I was bored, and basically, on house arrest. At least, until we got rid of Mack and the FBI.
I was told not to turn the news on, but I did anyway. It turned out I shouldn’t have. John, my so-called father’s face was plastered on the screen. The news channel was talking about his murder, and how the FBI was on the lookout for anyone with any answers to how his death came about. I had two words for them—Alzerro King. Though I’m sure they knew it already.
“He’s here,” Jared said from across the room as he paced the floor for the twentieth time. My stomach was in knots by the time I heard the doorbell ring, and I was about ready to vomit on the floor the second I heard his greeting. It sounded unlike anything I had ever heard.
“Son,” my dad said as he greeted Jared. His voice was a mixture of honey and gravel mixed together.
