And another tear fell.
And another.
I wiped them away furiously, even managing a little laugh when she squeezed my hand and turned her head. It was impossibleto tell whether she was focusing, but I sensed she knew I was looking out for her.
“Fal… lon.”
“Don’t try and talk, baby sis. You need your rest.”
“Wha… What… happened?”
I’d thought of what I should tell her a thousand times. Nothing seemed right. I tried to plaster a smile on my face even though I knew she’d see right through me. Still, I had to pretend or I’d be the one falling apart. “We rescued you. You’re safe now.” Safe. Was there such a thing in this great big, fabulous world of crime syndicates and monsters?
As she swallowed, she slowly looked around the room. “Daddy.”
Her single word wasn’t a question, just a statement that brought another wave of angst, like a knife being stuck in my heart. What the hell was I supposed to tell her, that her father had abandoned her, allowing her to be used in some treacherous game?
“Everything is fine,” I told her, the lie far too easy to whisper.
Nothing was fine.
I stroked her forehead, licking tears off my lip as soon as they fell. “Why don’t you just rest? We’ll talk more later. Okay?”
Brooke shifted her gaze, blinking a few times as if trying so hard to concentrate on what I was saying. My sweet baby sister had been through so much, her frail body fighting so hard, and I was so angry I could barely keep it together. What kind of monster did this to an innocent girl?
The kind that Navarro could be.
But did I believe it?
The ache in my system intensified as she slowly closed her eyes. I waited until her breathing was even before easing away from the bed. My legs were just as shaky as before and I was forced to grip the arm of the chair as I sat down.
This was such a nightmare.
As the sounds of the machines Brooke was hooked to created a twisted rhythm in my mind, I tried to put everything the two of us had been through in a neat basket. The why and how would make it easier to explain to her, but there were far too many missing pieces.
Another damn bug bite was driving me bananas. I started scratching my arm, barely paying any attention to what I was doing. When I finally looked again, my skin was covered in strings of fresh blood, the deep scratches just another reminder of what we’d been through. All of us.
Grief and despair had many layers. Along with feeling out of control and so tired every joint hurt, I was on the verge of tears feeling as if there was nowhere to turn.
The truth was I hadn’t allowed myself to cry, to really ugly cry since Brooke had disappeared. I’d shifted into a person I didn’t recognize any longer so I could pretend to be someone I wasn’t. A hero. Even with her lying in a hospital bed safe for now, if I looked into a mirror, I’d call myself a failure.
The true hero was Navarro. Never wavering. Never lying. Just telling me how it was.
He’d remembered me, the young girl who he’d insisted had altered his life.
And forgiven me for almost killing him.
But could I forgive him for causing the death of my mother?
With hot tears sliding down both cheeks, I did my best to hide my sobs. The last thing I wanted to do was to disturb Brooke. She was so fragile yet so strong, my little rock who’d been through so much.
God. What was going to happen to us? What about my father? Had he returned to his old life? Did he not care?
The tears fell easily and even as I tried to wipe them away, they continued to fall.
An electric surge drew my attention, but it was the softness of his touch as he placed his hand on my shoulder that wrapped me like a warm blanket. His sigh was heavy, concentrated, and he walked in front of where I was sitting.
All my senses were on edge including my nose. The instant smell of freshly roasted coffee caught my attention enough that I lifted my head. He appeared more boyish than before, still completely disheveled even though he’d changed shirts. With his dimple showing because of a goofy smile, I could easily laugh.
