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I melted, unable to do anything but open underneath him, letting his tongue slide in and tangle with my own for one delicious, heart-stopping moment before he pulled away, steadying me on my feet with a hand at my back.
And then he was gone, down the hall and out the doors before I could fully catch my breath, leaving me alone in the terminal with my aunt, who was staring at me like she’d never seen me before.
Epilogue
Camilla: What is a chemist’s favorite carnival ride? …A ferrous wheel! I miss you. I hope you’re staying safe.
I hit send, listening for the tiny sound that indicated the message had been sent, before waiting, watching for a reply. It came not two minutes later.
Devan: Why did the germ cross the microscope? …To get to the other slide! I miss you too. Only 18 more days.
I grinned down at my phone, then dropped it onto the tile next to me and looked out over the shining blue waters of my aunt’s pool. I’d been so determined to spend as much time as possible away from the house over the summer, I hadn’t even realized her ridiculous mansion had an indoor pool, complete with a domed glass ceiling which let the sunlight spill in, allowing me to pretend it wasn’t the dead of winter outside. It was no Pacific Ocean, no Lost Lake, even, but it was water, and it was warm and blue, and best of all, I didn’t even have to leave the house to sit by the edge with my legs swishing through the water. Which was good, since my aunt wasn’t letting me out of the house at the moment. It’d only been three days so far, but even a house this size was starting to feel stifling.
The guys had been keeping me amused though with a constant string of texts and nightly phone calls, and even though they wouldn’t tell me where they were or what they were up to, it eased my mind to know they were safe and I would see them again soon.
It also helped having their company throughout the day, even if it was only through text, considering that I’d seen my aunt all of maybe half an hour in the three days I’d been back. She was always gone when I awoke and tended not to return home until late, and I didn’t know if she was just that busy or if she was deliberately avoiding me.
To be fair, I imagined it probably took a lot of work to run a giant crime organization. I’d spent the small sliver of time when I had managed to pin her down firing a string of questions at her, everything from what exactly the organization did, to how high up the ladder are you anyway, to pumping her for information about the guys.
She clearly didn’t want to answer my questions at all. She’d been completely closemouthed about anything involving the guys, and informed me rather vaguely that the organization was involved in many different activities, from politics to securities to trade, none of which actually told me anything. But I had managed to learn that the Shattered Sun was essentially run by a council of six—made up of one high-ranking descendent from each family, and my aunt was the Moretti family’s high-ranking descendent, inheriting the role from my grandfather when he’d passed away.
Apparently, in reality, that council of six was actually one of four, since Garrett’s family had been wiped out, and their existence was only now coming to be known by the other members. I wondered if that would give Garrett a seat on the council, or what that meant for the internal politics and power dynamics of the organization. I wondered if he would even want to be involved. I didn’t ask though; it didn’t seem like a topic to bring up over text.
In addition, it appeared that one of the other original families had dwindled over the years, leaving behind a leader who was only tangentially involved in the organization, and preferred to stay out of most of the day-to-day operations.
In the few minutes I’d had of my aunt’s time, I’d also demanded she explain why my parents hadn’t told me about any of this. She hadn’t had much to say about that either, just commenting that my parents hadn’t wanted to be involved in the organization whatsoever and had left it at that.
Which left me where I was, legs swinging idly through the water, phone by my side and envelope in my lap, potentially ready for the first time to read my parents’ words.
The idea didn’t fill me with loss and sadness like it had before, and while I still didn’t really feel like I had a place in the world, or a plan for the future, I at least had a support system, and a feeling that my life wasn’t just stuck in limbo like it had been.
I reached out to that support system.
Camilla: I’m going to read the letter.
They’d know what I meant. They’d asked on more than one occasion if I’d read it yet, or if I planned to, and while they didn’t pressure me to do so, I knew they were as curious as I was to know what was in it.
I’d sent the message to the group text, and the replies were instantaneous.
Micah: We’re here for you, sweetheart.
Garrett: Call if you need us.
And from Devan, just a string of heart emojis that made me smile. I ran my thumb over the fading ink of the return address, then took a deep breath and carefully opened the envelope.
Inside was a thick sheet of white paper, filled with my mother’s handwriting. She’d been an incredible artist, but her handwriting had always been terrible, as if her hand couldn’t move fast enough to keep up with the words in her head. My eyes filled at the sight of those crabbed letters, though I smiled through my tears. I smoothed the letter out on my lap, holding it well away from the side of the pool, and began to read.
Camilla, my love,
I hope with all my heart that you never have to read this. But if you are, I know your life has changed drastically and I’m so sorry I did so little to prepare you for those changes. The decision your father and I made, to keep you entirely separate from, and ignorant of, the lives we led before your birth, was not a decision we made lightly. I regret that you never had the chance to know your grandparents, or your aunt or cousin—“
Cousin? I blinked.
—but I have to believe we made the right choice, both for us and for you.
If you are reading this now, then your aunt has filled you in, explained our family history and your role in it, so I will not go into the details here.
I snorted at that. Aunt Naomi had still managed to tell me jack shit. Almost all my information had come from the guys. I kept reading.
