“Emma.” Rex’s growls her name, his patience clearly waning.
“No, he didn’t tell me that, and to be honest that’s not something I’m excited to hear, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s not a bad boy, er . . . man. He’s a great man.”
“Gia—”
“No, Rex.” I shrug out from under his hold. “I know what you’re thinking, and I’d be thinking the same thing if I were in your shoes. But I’ve known Rex since I was eight years old and loved him every day since. He’s a million different things, but the one thing he absolutely is not is a man whore.” My hands shake with the need to defend him. “Now, I realize you two have history, and again, it’s not something I’m interested in hearing, but I won’t just stand here and listen to you call him names.”
She studies me for second, and the anger in her eyes is replaced by a softness that leads me to believe she not only heard what I said but that she agrees.
“Well, as fun as this is for me, ladies, I’m going to have to say”—he looks at his neighbor—“Emma, goodnight. We’ll have to talk later, as you can see now’s not a good time.” He throws his arm over my shoulders and pulls me to his side.
“Right.” She shakes her head. “Forget it. It’s not worth it.” With wave off, she turns and walks away.
He shuts the door and folds me to the front of his body, wrapping me in his arms. “Damn, that was sexy as hell you going all alpha female defending my honor.” There’s humor in his voice.
I take a shaky breath. “I don’t know what happened. It was like I was eight-years-old again.”
“Mountains to overcome.” He mumbles the words, and I wonder if he meant for me to hear them.
I tilt my head back to look up at him. “What?”
His hands run up and down my back. “Us. We have a lot to get through, but, baby, we can do this. We can.” He’s trying to convince me?
“I know.” Hell with Rex is better than heaven without him. “You should know, when we overcome those mountains, I’ll still never be okay with anyone talking bad about you.”
“Shit, so bringing you around the guys is out of the question.” He kisses my forehead, chuckling against my skin. “That’s all I need is to be breaking up fights between you and the boys.”
I shake my head and breathe easy, knowing that the guys he fights may tease him, but he’d told me they all had his back when he came looking for me, so I know they love him. “Now that there’s a good chance that you’re related to one of them, I think they’ll take it easy on you.”
He huffs out a long breath. “Yeah . . . that.”
I squeeze him tighter and pray that he knows no matter what the future brings I’ll be there to support him. “Guess you’ve got a lot to do tomorrow, huh? Make peace with your neighbor, meet Raven at the clinic for a blood test, and break the news to Jonah that you’re Sadie’s uncle.”
“All in a day’s work, baby.” He sounds so relaxed, but the way his body tensed in my arms at the mention of blood work makes me think his easy humor is more for my benefit.
Thinking about it now, ever since he found out that Dominick claimed him as his son, he’s seemed . . . fine—a little distant, thoughtful, but all around okay. I was expecting furious, irritated, even crabby would’ve been more appropriate, but fine? I can’t help but wonder what’s going on in his head.
“So . . . you and Emma.”
He kisses my forehead. “Yeah.”
My stomach plummets, hearing the affirmation from his lips. “How long?”
“A few months.”
I have no right to be jealous. After all, I wasn’t exactly in a platonic relationship with Hatchet. And if what Emma said about him refusing to have sex with her is true, then what I was doing with Hatch was the furthest thing from platonic.
The doorbell rings and we both stare at it, wide-eyed.
“You gonna get it?” I ask.
“I’m afraid of what’s waiting for me on the other side.”
“I’m starving. Maybe for Chinese food we take our chances?”
He smiles down at me. “For you, I’ll take my chances.”
And that’s what we did. We took a chance on each other, knowing that things will be hard, that our future is unclear, and that we have a lot of work to do. But nothing good comes from running away from the difficult times. Turning your back on the pain doesn’t make it go away; it just saddles up on your shoulders and slowly drives you into the ground.
We still have so much to learn, obstacles to overcome, but blessings don’t come cheap and I refuse to allow a demon from our past or hurdle in our present to rob me of a single second of our future.
Thirty
Beware of what you pray for because you just might get it.
And once the truth is revealed, it can never be forgotten.
Rex
It’s ten a.m., and I’m sitting in Jonah’s living room. Gia’s at my side, her body curled into mine with one hand on my thigh, grounding me.
I hold her there, communicating how badly I need her, especially now.
Raven’s tucked into Jonah’s side while she explains to her mom, Milena, why we’re all here today. The woman who doesn’t look much older than Raven with long black hair and big brown eyes wide with shock, stares at me. She’s sitting upright, and her hand grips her neck as we wait for a reaction.
Wait for answers.
And hopefully hear the truth.
“. . . and because of all that, Gia believes that Rex is Dominick’s son.” Raven finishes off the story that Gia told me last night and we shared with the Slade’s this morning.
Milena’s eyes, dark and comforting, find mine. They narrow as she studies my face for so long I fight the urge to look away. “I can see the resemblance. As awful as Dominick was, he was very handsome. Your eyes, mouth”—she tilts her head—“jawline, you could very well be his.”
Jonah clears his throat, his face still registering disbelief from when I told him this morning. “Milena, Rex is three years older than Raven. Do you remember anything about Dominick having other children?”
She knots her fingers in her lap and then looks up at Jonah. “Dominick was the most egotistical man I’d ever known. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had several illegitimate children.” Her eyes find mine. “What was your mother’s name?”
Emotion burns my throat. Her name and her medical records are all that I have. Even when my memories came back, not a single one of my mom resurfaced. “Sofia Marie Carter.” My voice cracks at the last word as all that I’ve lost crashes over me. Gia squeezes my leg.
Milena squints, her gaze moving from me to just over my shoulder. “Sofia . . .” Silence hangs in the air while we wait.
Is it possible that Milena might have known her? Nothing in the paperwork said anything about her being a prostitute. As far as I know, she was employed as a cleaning lady. Not the most glamorous job, but it was honest. Legit. None of the bullshit a man like Dominick was messed up in.
“Is there anything else you can tell me about her?” Milena says.
I shake my head, and the hope of learning something new about my mom slips through my fingers.
Gia shifts at my side and leans forward. “Sofia committed suicide when Rex was five. She was found in her car, not far from her apartment, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
Milena’s face pales, and she slowly covers her mouth with a shaky hand. “Oh God.” Her eyes go distant again. “Mary.”
Gia and I look at each other quickly, and Raven rushes to her mother’s side.