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Lamise
“Dad, Dad, Dad.”
I glanced up in the rearview mirror, saw Rhys’s adorable face in the mirror attached to the headrest facing him in his car seat, and smiled. The little boy was such a breath of fresh air, and he’d changed my whole life.
“Dad’s going to be so excited if you keep that up, Rhys,” I told him, focusing my attention on the road again.
“Dad… Dad,” he repeated his new favorite word.
Rhys and I were on our way back from the park, where Henry had joined us. The mere thought of how I’d spent my day filled me with such warmth and happiness.
It had been three months since Banks located Henry and rescued him.
Three months since he’d asked me to move in with him.
Three months I’d been living my life feeling the happiest I could ever remember being.
Sometimes, when that thought passed through mymind, there was a twinge of guilt. But it never lasted more than a few seconds, because I’d quickly remind myself what Graham had said to me. He wanted me to move on and find happiness, and I had to believe if he could, he’d tell me he was relieved I’d successfully done that.
Of course, things had been a little crazy over the last three months. Not only had I officially moved in with Banks and Rhys, but I also had to cope with learning the truth about what happened to my former fiancé.
In the first few weeks that followed the takedown at the house where Henry had been living, presumably since Graham died, there’d been an unmistakable edge of determination in Banks. It was clear he wanted me to have the answers I deserved, the truth about what happened to Graham, but he needed to respect the process of making that happen. Banks had to exercise his control and restraint in the situation to give the authorities the time they needed to complete their investigation.
Fortunately, they’d managed to do that, convincing one man of many who’d been arrested in the whole operation to share the truth in exchange for reduced charges and sentencing.
While it was a relief to know they’d gotten to the bottom of it, I wasn’t sure it gave me the feeling of peace I’d been hoping it would.
Because it hadn’t been good, even if it was all just as Graham had said it was in the video he’d left for me.
There’d been a mix-up at the dog park. As it turned out, the backpack Graham lost roughly two months before he died hadn’t actually been lost. It was simply that two of them existed—one was Graham’s, and one belonged to one of the men in the drug running operation.
At the end of a trip to the dog park where Graham hadset his backpack down, he must have picked up the wrong one. I could only assume Graham hadn’t realized his mistake until sometime well after he’d left the park, either later that same night, or possibly even the next day.
Unfortunately, the man who wound up with Graham’s backpack had no problem locating the house we’d lived in, since he had Graham’s wallet. Another assumption I’d made was that when the man came to the house, I must not have been there. Either that, or this man stayed outside our house until Graham left, followed him somewhere, and talked to him afterward.
My gut was leaning toward the man having arrived at our home, because I’d been threatened. Apparently, the backpack Graham had picked up contained cash. Lots of it, too. While there was no concrete proof of just how much was there, it was believed to be no less than a hundred thousand dollars based on the amount of drugs and cash that had been seized following Banks’s investigation.
Detective Shaw shared that the man he had in custody who was talking revealed that those in charge weren’t willing to allow Graham to do a simple exchange of the backpacks and belongings. Wanting to make sure he wouldn’t go running to the police, Graham had a choice. Either he’d have to make a drug run, one where they’d have their own pictures and evidence against him, or they’d come after me.
It broke my heart. That was the thing Graham had done that he wasn’t proud of. He’d gone and done what they’d asked him to do, clearly under duress, simply to protect me.
And he’d done it believing it was a one-time thing. Evidently, that wasn’t the case, and it was ultimately what led to him being killed.
Following that first drug delivery, Grahamhad been told he was part of their operation now. They wanted him working regularly with them, and he refused. Instead of coming to me, so we could go to the police, Graham kept quiet. He never even altered so much as his routine, likely an attempt on his part to pretend everything would be okay and to prevent me from ever thinking something was wrong.
A liability for these drug dealers, Graham was murdered. The snake bite was purposeful, having been executed as a means to make his death look like an unfortunate accident.
It had been harder than I expected to hear the truth. Though I knew in my heart before I’d ever been given the details that it wasn’t going to be good, it still hurt worse than I’d imagined it would. The only positive thing I could take from it was knowing how much Graham loved me, how far he was willing to go to protect me and keep me safe. But even that conclusion wasn’t easy to draw, as I questioned how he could keep something so important from me.
Banks had been wonderful. He was understanding and compassionate about everything, and he had no problem discussing the whole situation with me. I’d wondered if there’d be jealousy or frustration, but it was never there.
He understood Graham had been an important part of my life, just as Violet had been monumental in his. Graham and Violet would always be there in our hearts. Banks and I talked at length about that, knowing we both had reasons to feel frustrated with them for the way things turned out, but also knowing it was important to remember the best about both of them. In the end, Banks and I had each other, and we could only hope, wherever they were, Violet and Graham were happy for the both of us.
Because we were deliriously happy.
I knew I was.
And as I pulled up outside the house, Rhys and Henry in the backseat, I continued to lean into the good I had in my life now.
