“You say the when, we’ll do the how,” Lena declared.
She exchanged a fist-bump glance with Toni, them being toofar away from each other for an actual fist bump.
I felt my belly being tied up in knots with nerves.
Could I be close to getting everything I wanted, everythingI wanted for my son?
Could we be close to making a family with Darius?
“You hold a mean grudge,” Lena noted.“What snapped you outof it?”
I shook myself out of my happy-terrifying thoughts andshared, “Darius told me to get out of his truck, but before that, he had a lotof other words to say that made me put myself in his shoes and see the truth ofit.”
“Glad that happened,” Lena said quietly.
Toni shot me a small smile.
“He also told me about some guy who got angry with him forfiring him, or whatever they do in that life, who found out about Liam and mesomehow, and he was going to hurt us.Darius put a stop to it, but obviously,it really tweaked him.So I understood pretty well why he went to such lengthsto keep us safe.”
I was talking into my martini, wondering how I was going tofinagle a meeting with Darius that he couldn’t shut down, at the same timewondering if I needed another olive.
So when Toni said a vibrating, “Lena,” I looked to mysister.
She was swirling her olives in her martini with acuteprecision and attention.
“You didn’t,” Toni whispered, her words still vibrating, nowwith fury.
Lena dropped the olives and looked to me.“He put ittogether, I didn’t tell him.”
Cold washed over my skin.
“Who?”I asked.
“Who do you think?”Toni ground out.“Michael.”
My gaze flew back to my sister.
“I didn’t tell him!”she exclaimed.“I swear.I was talkingto you on the phone, I mentioned Liam.He asked who Liam was.I didn’t think.Ididn’tknow.So I said he was your son.He said, ‘She’s kinda young tohave a son.’And since I didn’t realize it was supposed to be secret, I toldhim you got knocked up in high school.That was it.He put together the rest.And seriously, it’s a surprise other people didn’t too.But saying that, youdisappeared to Fort Fun, and this was around the time Mister Morris was killed,so I can see people not making the connection.Darius and you were well throughbefore you vanished, and you weren’t showing yet.And then you came back, andDarius found out, and then Eddie Chavez was everywhere, covering for you guys,laying it down to anyone who would listen that you met some asshole in FortCollins, and he’d done a runner and what a dick guys could be, because you’re agreat gal and deserved better.”
Eddie again, looking after his brother.
I had a feeling I owed those boys a lot.
“Whatever happened to Michael?”I asked.
“I know what’s gonna happen to Michael if Darius knows hewas the one who gave up the goods to that guy who wanted to go after you andhis boy,” Toni said by way of answer.
“He’s not in that business anymore, and it’s no longer asecret,” I said.
“Tony isn’t into any of this shit, but you know he’s gotfriends who are.And I don’t have to ask his input to tell you, beefs like thatdo not just disappear because you found the righteous path,” Toni shot back.
“Well…shit!” I swore, because damn it, I did notneed to be trying to figure things out with my man and for my family and haveto keep something this huge from the man part of that.
“Maybe you can talk him out of whacking Michael,” Tonisuggested.
I gave her big eyes.
Did shemissthe last fourteen years of our liveswhere he knocked himself out and scored his own soul to keep his woman and kidsafe?
