“Darcy stole Charlie’s soccer ball, and he pushed her into the grass. She hasn’t stopped crying since. Then Charlie felt bad, and he started crying too.”
“And my sister wonders why I don’t want any kids,” I scoff. “You’re a braver man than me, Charles.”
“What’s up?” he asks as I exit the highway onto the main road a couple miles from Moonlight.
“Ezra didn’t get anything from the surveillance tapes, but it’s clear someone is on to me.”
“It’s got to be Ardent Shipping. We should have burned the warehouse and made it look like an accidental fire.”
“No point lamenting it now. I need to up the pressure on Miguel. I’m done playing nice.”
“Tell me when and where, and I’m there.”
“Tonight at ten. I’ll come by and get you and we’ll go together.”
“Okay. I better get back.”
“Later.” I hang up just as I reach the entrance to the facility.
* * *
“Wow, this is fancy,” Vera says, stopping outside the crypt and running her eyes all over it. She was quiet in the car on the trip here. Lost in thought, no doubt.
“Your sister was a queen in life and an angel in death. I felt it was fitting.”
She stares at me strangely before moving toward the gate. I open it up and help her inside, lighting the candles as Vera slowly walks toward the area at the back with the four mounted marble caskets. Her hands shake as she places her flowers in the vase. I walk over and add mine after removing the last bunch I brought, which are now withered. I put them in the compost bin at the door before sitting on the bench behind Vera to give her some privacy.
“I hate that I can’t remember her,” she says in a soft voice that is barely more than a whisper. She moves to the other caskets. “And I hate I don’t know what happened to my brother or my parents. Those bastards took so much from me. My identity. My freedom. My self-worth. My family.”
“I’m going to find who did it and make them pay.”
“It hurts, Drew,” she says over a sob. “It hurts so much. All the time. It’s never-ending.” She turns to me with tears streaming down her face. “Make it stop,” she chokes out.
“Come here.” I pat the bench beside me.
Vera slides onto it and dissolves into heart-wrenching tears. I wrap my arms around her, holding her close as she cries. The empty organ in my chest emits a few aching thumps, slapping against my rib cage as my own pain breaks through the walls I’ve erected. My eyes sting as I stare at Jane’s coffin, and I can relate, in part, to Vera’s sentiments. The pain is always with me. I carry it every second of every minute of every day.
“Drew.” Her eyes are glassy and swollen as she looks at me.
“It’s okay.” I reassure her. “I’ve got you.”
In an unexpected move, her lips press against mine and begin moving. Instantly releasing her, I jump up and create distance between us, sure my horror is written all over my face. “Vera, no.”
“Please don’t be like this.” She scrambles to her feet, swiping more tears from her cheeks. “I love you, and I know you love me too.” I back up as she walks toward me. “I know I can never be her, but I see why she loved you so much. You saved me, Drew, and I don’t have anyone else in my life who cares about me like you do.”
I press my arms to her shoulders, holding her back as she tries to reach me. “I do care about you, Vera.”
“Then be with me. Show me what it’s like to be with a man who hasn’t paid for me.”
Acid churns in my gut, and I feel ill-equipped to handle this situation. “You’re like a little sister to me, Vera. I remember you as a baby. Jane and I used to take you for walks in the park when you were still in diapers and in a stroller. Stop,” I say in a stricter tone as she tries to bypass my arms and get to me. “I don’t want to hurt you, Vera, but I don’t have those kinds of feelings for you, and I never will. Your sister has my heart for eternity.”
“I’m okay with that,” she says, her tears drying out. “We can just fuck and leave feelings out of it, but don’t turn me down, Drew. Please, I need you. I need sex.”
Fuck my life. How is it when I try to do the right thing by women it always ends up backfiring on me? “I’m not having sex with you, Vera. I am your friend, your family, and I will always be here for you, but only in that capacity.”
“Fuck you,” she hisses, shucking out of my hold and storming past me. “You don’t get to reject me and keep me. I’m done with you. I never want to see you again.” She races past me, and I lose a couple of minutes locking up before I go after her.
She’s fast on her feet when she needs to be, and she’s almost to the cemetery gate when I catch up to her. “Vera, stop!” I say for the umpteenth time.
