Am I sorry I did all those things? Or am I just sorry I got caught?
The answer, when it comes, surprises even me. “I am actually sorry. The last thing I want is to hurt our family and I know that email would have done irreparable damage.”
“Then why did you write it?”
“Because I don’t know how to let it go,” I whisper, my voice thick with fresh tears. “How do I turn my back on everything I know to be right and good? Uncle Max and Uncle Gideon… the way they went about bringing Tori and Izzy to the island, it’s justwrong.”
“You’re right.”
Of all the answers I expected him to give, that wasn’t even on my radar. Pushing away from his chest, I stare up at him. “What did you say?”
“I said you’re right. What they did was immoral and illegal. There’s not really any other way to look at it.”
“So how do I get past that? It’s not even about the story anymore, though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t really want that Pulitzer. But what about just doing the right thing? Don’t I owe Tori and Izzy that?”
“Do you think theywantthat?”
Pausing again, I frown as I think back over our bedtime conversation. “No… but what if it’s just like, Stockholm Syndrome or whatever? What if they’ve just been brainwashed to think this is what they want?”
“Well, you’ve spent a good bit of time with them over the past few weeks. What do you think? Do you really think they’ve been brainwashed?”
“No.” Some of the weight lifts off my chest as I blow out a shaky breath. “No. We talked about it a lot tonight and no, I don’t think they’re brainwashed. They really seem to love it here.”
“And do you think they’d thank you for getting their Daddies sent to prison?”
“No… but sometimes doing the right thing means doing the unpopular thing.”
“Can you accept that maybe in this situation, the lines between right and wrong are just a little blurrier than you’re used to?” Holding up a hand, he cuts off my protests before I can even give voice to them. “I’m not saying what my brothers did was in any way right or moral. What Iamsaying is that they managed to build a life here with women who absolutely adore them. Izzy and Tori are happy here, happier than they everwere back in New York. So, maybe, that happiness was worth breaking a few laws.”
“Maybe…”
“Let me ask you this.” His eyes meet mine in the moonlight, so dark they’re like black pools. “Would you want someone to write about me? To send me to prison for what I did to get you here? After all, I was just as devious as Maxwell. I left a trail for you to follow, paved your way, and when you got here, I refused to let you leave. There’s a whole list of laws I’ve broken to make you mine, Natalie. Do you want to send me to prison?”
That answer, for once, isn’t a surprise. “No. And I’d kill anyone who tried.”
A wide grin stretches across his face as he tucks a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “There’s my bloodthirsty little lion. Now, do you thinkyou’vebeen brainwashed? Do you think you’re suffering from Stockholm Syndrome?”
“No.”
“So don’t you think you should give your friends that same benefit of the doubt? That they know their own minds and that despite how they came to be here, the fact that they’re happy now is really all that matters?”
“I get what you’re saying. But it’s not really that easy. I don’t just want to write their stories, Ineedto write them. It’s like an itch under my skin I can’t quite scratch. And the thought of never writing them, of never writing anything again… I don’t know if I can give that up, even for you.”
Silence greets my confession, broken only by the thundering of my heart. After a long while, he speaks, his voice soft yet urgent. “Can you trust me enough, just for a little while, to believe that I’ll find a way to give you everything you want and need?”
Trust. That’s what it always comes down to between us. I’ve put more trust in him than I’ve ever put in another human being.
So what’s a little more?
“Yes, Daddy. I trust you.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Evander
With Natalie in my arms, I head back to the living room. Lucas is already there, watching over three wide-eyed Littles.
“Nelly!” Leaping up from her bed, Victoria races toward us. I put Natalie down just in time for her friends to throw themselves at her, nearly knocking her over.
