Alexander was a very lonely man, close to his family yet able to keep them at arm’s length because the love was entirely different. The loneliness he’d suffered had taken a toll.
Once the name caught my eye and my heart, I knew the death had stripped him of his ability to embrace compassion or love for himself.
“Who was Sebastian?” I asked, no longer looking at him for fear the very anger keeping him prisoner would surface.
He was so explosive, so unpredictable, a caustic tale of his experiences. Dangerous not only to those who crossed his path, but to all who knew him.
“My brother.” The deep intensity of his tone, the way he muttered the two words with a snarl on his face presented the same rage I’d seen one too many times. Sebastian’s death had shaped him, the reason for his decisions and every determined aspect of his life.
This was the guilt surrounding him, keeping the demons just out of reach.
And the reason he had no qualms about taking risks.
He believed he should have been the one who’d died.
“He was only…” I glanced at the tablet again, putting the years together in my head, once again studying the lines onAlexander’s face, the way the wind swept through his thick strands of hair and the perfection of his features.
“He was nine years old when he died. Taken from his family. My family. He should be here where I am standing now, leading the family through this crisis.”
That’s the reason he’d brought me here. This wasn’t just some random attempt to pull at my heartstrings. This was a very personal moment shared with someone he’d dared place some trust in, a woman who could do him great harm. The private pain he’d kept beneath his complex layers for thirty years.
With my eyes still locked on him, I thought about the timing once. The two were close.
Not just close.
They’d been inseparable.
Twins.
CHAPTER 18
Alexander
“What did you discover?” I stood off to the side, studying the interaction between Catherine and Emmeline. They acted as if they were old friends, my sister enjoying providing samples of pastries and showering my guest with attention. All the while I couldn’t take my eyes off the beautiful woman.
I still wasn’t certain why I’d brought her to the cemetery other than providing proof my father was dead. Maybe I’d hoped she would realize the effect his death had on me. And it had. A dagger swiftly driving through my heart.
There’d been no more questions about my family, but I sensed there were several she longed to ask. Perhaps she’d gathered an understanding that by learning more about me, she’d placed herself further in harm’s way.
So yes, my father’s death had changed me.
As had the effect her presence had on the simmering darkness threatening to become unleashed, which was very much unlikeme. She unnerved me in ways that shouldn’t occur, tormenting me with every smile and every brush of her hand and I was beyond being able to simply let her slip away.
Or maybe there was something even more sinister in my decision to allow her into the most private aspect of my life.
I was at a distance, unable to hear their conversation, but I wasn’t surprised when her eyes continually tried to locate where I was standing. She’d been allowed to see the most vulnerable side of me and had been unprepared to handle the information. Now I was questioning my motive for doing so.
Jarvis sighed. “You’re not going to like it.”
Stiffening, I turned away to mask the tightness of my face. “Talk.”
“Her father is Philip Devereaux. Ring a bell?”
Obviously, it did with him. “Cut to the chase.”
“A former prosecutor that almost convicted your father for murder turned state senator before retiring last year.”
Bristling, I swept my gaze toward my lovely captive once again. “Interesting.” The name of Devereaux was generations old within Louisiana, akin to Smith in various cultures. Plus, the case against my father had been from years before, the trial in Baton Rouge, but I should have made the goddamn connection. What the hell was wrong with me?
