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“And?”
My throat tightens in the seconds that follow.
“The person who made the call was Assistant District Attorney, Enoch Gadot.”
Reese
“You’re free.”
It’s as if he reached into my chest and shattered my heart with his bare hand. “What do mean, ‘I’m free?’”
He takes a pen from his desk. “Give me your hand.”
I do, dreading what comes next. “I never lied to you. Your sister is in Georgia. You can find her at this address.” He jots the street address on my palm and looks up, finding my eyes blinking back tears. “It’s a safe haven—an underground shelter I’ve funded for several years.”
I suck in a sob. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He shakes his head and finishes writing out the address. “Even when I hated you, I loved you.” Taking my hand, he closes my fingers into a fist, safeguarding the address he knows means the world to me. “I wanted to tell you,” he starts. “I would have soon if this hadn’t happened.”
“Van.” I press my other palm against his cheek. “I’m sure Enoch has an explanation.”
His eyes close solemnly. “I’m sure he does, but that doesn’t change the fact that he let me spend all these years blaming you for something you didn’t do.”
The snark in me flares to the surface. “I did try to tell you.”
“You did,” he agrees, “but I was too fucked-up to believe you. Out of everyone in my life, I never thought Enoch would have been the one to send me to prison.”
I can’t argue with that. “Maybe you should hear him out. See what he has to say first.”
Enoch seems like a really good man. I can’t imagine he wanted Van to suffer.
“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t harbor any ill feelings that you thought it was me who turned you in.” I shrug. “We all make mistakes. Next time, you’ll believe me when I tell you I didn’t do something.”
He smiles, but it’s sad. “There won’t be a next time, Flower. I don’t deserve any more chances with you.”
Have mercy. “Please don’t make decisions during shark week. I’ve learned that the hard way. Now, I always wait until my period is over to make major life decisions.”
I went too far; I realize that now.
Removing my hand, Van stands up straight. “When you get to the address, ask for the widowmaker. He’s a mean motherfucker, but he won’t hurt you.”
“The widowmaker? What is he, some Marvel villain?”
Van shakes his head. “His real name is Kane.”
Well, I’ll be damned. “Might he be related to you?” It seems like an awful lot of Cains are popping up lately.
“Fuck no. We aren’t related. I only know him from tracking down your sister.”
My heart starts beating erratically. “You have been sending money to my sister all these years?” I can’t stop the tears as they leak from my eyes. “You funded the shelter that took her in.”
He sighs. “Someone had to. You kept funding the wrong ones.”
“They weren’t the wrong shelters. I still helped the women there.”
Van tips his chin arrogantly. “Just not the woman you wanted to help.”
He’s got me there. “That didn’t mean you had to help her.”
