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Her gaze narrowed. Surely, he wasn’t suggesting... “When you say they used you...”
He looked down, his jaw shifting. “They used us in their cons.”
Her heart dropped.
“They used us as pawns to help them steal, swindle, cheat—you name it.”
“Oh, Christian.” She stood and moved to sit against the counter beside him. “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine...” What kind of awful parents would do such a thing?
“The thing is, greed is never satisfied. They kept going for the next big score, pulling off bigger and bigger cons until they conned the wrong guy. A very powerful man in Vegas.” His knee bounced faster.
She reached down, took his hand in hers, interlocking their fingers. “How old were you then?”
“Ten.”
She gaped at him. “Ten? They used you in cons before you were ten?”
“They used me as far back as my earliest memory. There’s not atime I can remember growing up where I wasn’t being used ... or left on my own,” he said.
Tears beaded in her eyes. “They left you guys alone?”
“Bristol split after we left Vegas, but yeah—Deck, me, and Riley were left in sleazy motel rooms for days on end while they worked cons they didn’t need us for or went on benders. ...”
He shrugged, trying to fight back the nearly all-consuming memories. To speak of them without feeling as if he were right back in those desperate moments.
Andi squeezed his hand tighter, tears filling her eyes.
He didn’t want her to feel sorry for him. He just wanted her to know the truth—the full truth—beforetheirfeelings ... He inhaled, reveling in the feel of her hand in his. Before theiractionswent any further. The feelings were already there.
“We moved from town to town...” he continued.
“While you and Riley played your pun games in the back of the car?” She offered a soft smile, but sadness filled it.
He nodded. “We worked whatever they made us do, even stealing food a couple times when money was tight.” His gut seized, but he continued on, before he lost the courage. “That man, the wrong one they conned, eventually found us and took revenge on my parents. My dad died in a fiery car explosion.”
“Oh, Christian.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m so sorry.”
“My mom, he let live but made sure she was caught and imprisoned. She’s still there.” And he hadn’t seen her since. A small voice kept prodding him to go, to give her a second chance like he’d received, but he’d ignored it thus far. Maybe he should listen, but that decision wasn’t getting made tonight.
“I’m afraid to ask, but what happened to you guys?”
“Deck and I took off, but first we made sure Riley was in a good children’s home. We kept tabs on her, and she went on to a good foster home.”
“How old were you guys?”
“Thirteen and fifteen.”
“You were on your own atthirteen?”
“I was always on my own. Well, Deck and I were.” Deckard had always been there for him through good and bad, and he always would be.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, leaning her head against his shoulder.
Man, he wanted to leave things there. To stay like this, but she needed to know what he’d done.
FORTY-ONE
RUBBING HIS THIGHS,his muscles rigid, he swallowed and said, “You might want to sit back for this next part.”
