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He stepped in and looked around. She was tense, but all she saw in his face was acceptance. His eyes widened as he looked at her. At first she thought he was shocked by her outfit.
Then she realized he was staring at Wally.
“You still have that toy I made you?”
“Of course I do. When you disappeared . . . we thought you were dead. And Wally was all I had left of you.”
He sighed and gestured to her nest. “May I?”
She nodded and he sat facing her.
“I’m so sorry, Greer-bear. I was young and stupid. And scared. So scared. I should have figured out a way to contact you both. But by the time I got over the shock of everything, I was under Diaz’s control. He’s not a bad guy, but when you enter his family, you have to leave your past behind. I probably could have figured out a way to get word to you both, but by then Aidan was in jail and you were in Savannah. I figured the best idea was to stay hidden but watch over you.”
“So you sent Ortega?”
“He was the best person. I knew he could watch over you without being discovered. And Dante let him do what he liked. So long as he was there when he needed him. There’s no controlling Ortega. But Ralen and I . . . Ortega considers us family. And you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. He thinks of you as a little sister.”
“Did he . . . did he tell you about any of the things he might have done for me?”
“No. He refused to. He’s probably done a whole lot of shit we don’t know about. I know this likely creeps you out. That he had tabs on you this whole time. He wasn’t always there, watching in person. But he would have had cameras . . . maybe other people looking out for you.”
“It . . . it’s weird and yet . . . I always felt that my stalker was more like a guardian angel.”
“Christ. I’m not telling him that. He’ll think that’s a great joke. Do you think you can ever forgive me?”
“For Ortega?” It seemed he’d done that to look after her.
“For all of it. Leaving. Not getting back in touch. The way I acted when I came back . . . truth is, I didn’t want to tell you and Aidan what happened. I went to Aidan’s house on Christmas Day because I couldn’t stay away knowing how close he was. But I never intended to stay in Billings. I was only here to watch over Bonnie temporarily.”
“And now?”
“I want to stay. If I can. If you and Aidan want me to.”
She dove at him, ignoring her bruises. He fell back onto the mattress, but he grabbed hold of her, hugging her lightly.
“Of course I want you here. I forgive you. I love you. Even if you are an idiot.”
He huffed out a breath and sat them up.
“I wanted to open up my online account again so I could thank Ortega, but Hack wasn’t impressed. He gets a bit possessive.”
“A bit?” Cash scoffed. “I’ll tell him you said thanks.”
“Thank you. And if he ever needs anything . . .”
Cash snorted. “That will really impress Hack. But I’ll tell Ortega.” He grinned wickedly and she grinned back. Then he sighed. “I hope to fuck he’s in New York and not hunting down the guy that hurt you.”
Hack walked in, carrying a tray of food. He was wearing his tea party outfit. Which was a big orange tutu with black shorts underneath, a T-shirt that proclaimed he was a Glitter Daddy, knee-high blue socks and his own set of pearls. His were blue, though. “Duke’s coming over with Aidan. The Fox wants to talk to us.”
She stared at Cash. Could this be it? Had he found the guy?
“We’ll have to have your tea party later, baby.” Hack put the tray down and held out his hand to her.
He helped her stand and then started leading her to the living room.
