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He presses his lips together before saying, “Can I ask you a favor?”
“It depends.”
“Just remember that there are people who love you and have missed Archer for almost eight years. Think about visiting them.”
I swallow the laugh. He’s seriously pushing his luck. “What am I supposed to tell them? Hey, I was told I used to be your child, but I’m not interested in being a part of your family.”
“But what if—”
I wave a hand, shaking my head. “Sorry, but I have my own family. I don’t need anyone else.”
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to tell them that you’re alive.”
“So they’ll forgive you?”
He sighs and shakes his head. “No one blames me for what happened except myself. They’re good people who have suffered a lot. Knowing you’re still around might lighten their hearts.”
“It’s up to you. As I told Lang, I can’t turn off Finnegan just because you miraculously found me.” That guy Lang seems nice, and maybe in another life we could’ve been friends, but he wants something from me that I can’t give him—his cousin.
I’m not Archer fucking St. James.
I walk up the metal stairs of the jet, feeling the weight of the conversation dragging behind me. It’s not until I’m almost at the top that I hear him again. “By the way, Piper was Archer’s wife and the love of his life.”
I freeze, my feet heavy. His words hit me hard, and I spin around to meet his gaze, but he’s already walking away. He can’t just fucking leave without giving me more than she’s the love of your life. Well, the love of Archer’s life.
She is… I’m the man she’s been waiting for. That ring she wears. It’s my ring.
She’s mine, isn’t she?
Then why the fuck did she leave me?
Because she was expecting Archer fucking St. James, and she realized I’ll never be half the man he was. I’m just some broken asshole who barely survived and is more lost than when I woke up without a memory.
ChapterThirty-Nine
Finnegan
I fly to New York,where Derek arrived after the mission in Europe. Instead of calling him to me, I go to his house, and the woman leaving the building where he lives smiles at me. “It’s good to see you back, Mr. St. James.” She dares to take my hand and squeezes it. “Thank you again for saving the building and everyone who lives here. Ms. Piper has been good to us too.”
“It was nothing,” I say, confused by the encounter, but I’m thankful she lets me inside without even asking who I’m visiting.
When I get to the fifth floor, there’s a casserole outside the door. I knock, and I hear Derek’s voice, “I’m in the shower, but if you need me to help you with something, leave a note.”
I pick the lock and enter, finding him sitting at his desk, focused on the big screen.
If I was in a better mood, I would say something like, ‘I was hoping to find you naked and ready for me, babe.’
But that’s not why I’m here.
“Someone left a dish outside your door,” I say, placing it on the table.
“Good, I’ll have food for today. What the fuck do you need?”
“Piper,” I mumble.
“Her number is no longer available. She left a message with our business manager. She’s on sabbatical, and I’m in charge of the practice.” He finally looks at me and says, “What the fuck did we do?”
“She’s my wife,” I mumble.
