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“He cares for me.”
Her hand wraps around mine and I can see her will cave slightly, although I’m not sure to what extent.
“You’re married?” she says as if it’s a question but it’s not.
“Yes,” I answer quietly, feeling the tension shift slightly.
My mother blinks away the tears and noticeably calms herself.
“I’m married and I’m happy that I am.”
My words bring her gaze to me and she stares me down like she’s done before. As if she’s testing to see if I’m telling her the truth. “I mean it,” I reaffirm, “I love him, Mama.”
Mama watches me very carefully when I say these words. I look back at her, my gaze unwavering. I’m telling her the truth, and she needs to know that. “I want you to meet him.”
“Well.” A nervous laugh. I’m not sure if there’s relief now, or if she’s simply going along so she doesn’t lose me entirely. “Do I have a choice?”
It’s another half-joke that breaks my heart.
“Mama, please. When I tell you I love him, I mean it.”
For a few seconds, she looks exactly the same. Afraid. Haunted. Guilty. But gradually, her expression softens. When she looks into my eyes, I can tell she’s really seeing me.
“You really love him?”
“Yes.” I nod, then dab at the corners of my eyes again.
“Then I will meet him.”
“You will?” I ask her again to make sure. I’m quick to grab her hand and squeeze, and she squeezes mine back. I know she’s still worried. I know, honestly, that she has a right to be worried. But if she’s willing to meet Declan, then there’s hope.
“I’m so happy,” I tell her even though I know I must look like I’m on the verge of tears again.
“I will meet your husband,” she says, more firmly. Then she pats my hand. “Has this cocoa been sitting here long?”
I shrug. “Fifteen minutes, maybe?”
“It’s a little cold.” She waves at the waiter, who makes his way over with a relieved smile. “We’ll get something stiffer. And then you’ll tell me everything, won’t you?” she asks me, staring me down once again.
I look my mother dead in the eyes, a small smile on my face while I lie to her, “I’ll tell you everything.”
DECLAN
There’s something we’re missing and it’s driving me mad. I toss the fucking book on Carter’s desk. My older brother eyes me warily. It’s fucking late and I should be in bed with Braelynn, but I can’t fucking sleep.
I’ve flipped through every page of the notebook and there was someone else working with Scarlet. Someone who knew a female cop and reported to her. I’ve watched every security video with Scarlet on repeat until my eyes feel as if they’re bleeding. Every video with my Braelynn.
It doesn’t fucking make sense. None of it. It’s as if I must be staring at the fucking rat and yet he’s hidden.
It would be so easy to simply get rid of the detective. And everyone he’s worked with. I have a list…but I’m all too aware at least one name is missing.
“Who the fuck do we have to torture to figure it out?”
“The female cop is gone. N got a hold of her with the issue he’s going through,” Carter murmurs. He has his intel and I have mine. She would have been the only lead to the name. Even this detective doesn’t know how she got her information. Which is partly a blessing. Hearsay isn’t enough to grant an arrest warrant.
“The only info he gave me is what I told you last night.”
I clear my throat, breathing in deeply. “And I’m guessing he didn’t get a name.”
