“We’re taking your bike?” I nod and hand her the helmet. She puts it on and I make sure it’s on correctly before grabbing mine and putting it on. I climb on and she climbs on behind me. “Have I ever been on this bike before?” she asks through the headpiece in our helmets.
“You have.” I grab her thigh and pull her closer. She wraps her hands around my waist and I soak in her closeness for a moment before starting the bike and heading down the driveway. “We’ve even fucked on it.”
She rocks against me. “Nix,” she moans, and I chuckle.
“Since you can’t remember it, I’ll have to remind you later.” I’m sure she’ll get all her memories back eventually. Now that things have settled down, I’m going to make weekly appointments with Dr. Pearl to help McKenzie. We can finally focus on ourselves and move forward.
I enjoy the ride with her arms wrapped around me, and she points out things she sees during the trip. When we get to the port, Rex and Jason are waiting. I park the bike and help McKenzie off. She grabs my hand and clutches it. She hasn’t seen her father since I bought her. That’s been four years now.
We greet Rex and Jason and they lead us inside the gate. Marcus is standing there leaning against a forklift, waiting for his daughter. McKenzie stops as she takes him in. He looks the same, maybe a few more gray hairs, but the same as he did four years ago. He pushes away from the forklift when he sees his daughter. His mouth tips into a smile. McKenzie releases my hand and claps her hands.
“Daddy!”
It takes everything in me to stay rooted where I’m at and allow her to run to him. Until I hear his side of the story, I’m not sure I can trust him. Will I be able to trust him even after I hear his side of the story? I wonder if James, the security Kenz told me about, still works for him. Maybe I can talk to him and make sure their stories align. She runs into his arms and he wraps her up, holding her tight. My throat grows tight, a little envious of their display.
She had the parents I always wanted. Marcus pushes her away for a moment to look at her, then pulls her into another hug.When he does, his gaze catches mine. He waves at me. “Come here, son.”
I walk toward the two of them, wondering what he’s going to say and do. I stop in front of them and he offers me a smile. “McKenzie says she remembers,” he says.
I tilt my head at him.How did he know she lost her memory?
“Larry and I are very good friends,” he answers my unasked question. McKenzie pushes back from him and gapes at him. I’m sure my facial expression looks the same as hers. “I’m sorry, but I had to find a way to keep track of you two. When McKenzie wound up at his house all those months ago, he told me. He also told me how possessive and protective you are of Kenz.” He slaps a hand on my shoulder. “I knew you’d take care of her.”
He chuckles as Kenz steps back and stands next to me. I wrap my arm around her waist. “I knew Richard, or Dick, as you called him, was on your mother’s payroll. I took a huge risk allowing him to bid on McKenzie. I was prepared to kill him if he wound up winning the bid that night, but I knew when you started bidding, he wouldn’t win.”
“Dad, you came downstairs and watched.” McKenzie sounds disgusted.
“I didn’t watch. I was in the room, yes, but I promise I didn’t watch. I followed you two to the parking lot to make it look believable. Kenz, I’m so sorry for deceiving you, but it was the only way.”
“How did you know I would protect her?” I ask.
“Because Richard told me how much you were around her. He even told me once he couldn’t believe you allowed her to have a boyfriend.” He glances between the two of us. “McKenzie and I wrote to each other, and she talked about you a lot. She said she didn’t have to try to get close to you, that it just kind of happened. So, I knew.” He chuckles. “Admittedly, I didn’t know you two would get married. I do hate that I missed that.”
McKenzie and I share a look.So he doesn’t know everything.I try to communicate with her through a look that it’s up to her if she tells him or not, but she shakes her head lightly.
McKenzie huffs. “I don’t remember everything. I forgot you told me to get close to Phoenix.” She pulls her lips between her teeth. “And I don’t remember the letters.” I think back to the day Anna gave her the letter and how sad McKenzie looked.Does she remember that day?
Marcus gives her a sad smile. “Maybe the accident altered your memories.” He glances at me, then back at her. “Maybe someone can help.”
McKenzie and I share another look realizing he thinks she lost her memories because of an accident. “Nix called Dr. Pearl. I’ll start seeing her next week to help.”
“That’s good, Kenz. That’s good,” Marcus says. He looks at me and claps me on the bicep. “How are you doing? I know everything that’s happened over the past several weeks. I know you might still hate me, but I’m here if you need me.”
“I need some answers,” I admit. I have to know what all he was planning before I’ll be able to trust him.
“I know you do.” He looks between the two of us. “I am sorry I deceived you. In the end, I never found Alice. As hard as I tried. I’m sorry you had to kill her.”
I take a deep breath and nod. Maybe he’ll turn out to be more of a parent to me than both of mine were.
Chapter 40
Phoenix
McKenzie and I spend the day with Marcus. He tells us he’s the one who found Anna in the shipping container and made sure we found out about it. We’re sitting in his kitchen and I understand what McKenzie said about this house feeling like a museum. Maybe when he comes to our home, he’ll see that you can have nice things and still be comfortable.
“Why did you want McKenzie to stay close to me?” I ask him.
Marcus sighs and runs his hand through his hair. “I knew you thought I took your mother. I knew what your father told you.”
