“But I saw your body. Your favorite T-shirt. Who the hell was that in our house then?”
“Junkie off the street. Vinny was the one who helped me orchestrate it all. We never anticipated you identifying him as my killer,” he said.
“Why did Del Marco kill him?”
His face was filled with regret. “He didn’t. I did.”
I gasped. “What?”
“He found out from someone on the inside that I was DEA. I couldn’t have him blowing my cover. Not yet. I had to make sure you two were safe first. That’s why I sent you the letter. I knew you would go straight to Reid and he would protect you until I could get to you.”
“You sent me that letter?”
He nodded, his expression pained.
“How did you get involved with the DEA?” I asked.
“Two years in they came to me. I knew I couldn’t live that life forever so I bought whatever they were selling. I was sober by then. Thinking a hell of a lot more clearly. I knew that it was the only way to take Del Marco down for good and be reunited with you.” His hand reached out to cover mine. “I’ve done a lot of shit I’m not proud of, and I know it will take time, but I hope that someday you’ll be able to forgive me. That someday we can move past all of this and be a family again.”
I nodded. “I want that, too. I’ve missed you so much,” I said as the tears began to fall.
“I’ll never forgive myself for causing you pain but it had to be done. It was the only way. I would have never been able to live with myself if anything had happened to you…or Reid for that matter.”
I turned my face away, clenching my teeth, because even if his intentions had been in the right place, it didn’t change the hell he put me through.
He squeezed my hand, his thumb stroking smoothly where the IV had been.
“At the end of the day, Cass. It’s always been just you and me. You’re all I have.”
My watery eyes snapped to his, the pain in his voice ripping through my already tattered heart.
“I want my sister back,” he continued. “Please, let me make this up to you. I love you.”
Those words were my undoing, and even though I was still angry, I couldn’t help but embrace him. “I hate you for doing this to me,” I cried, burying my face in his chest, inhaling his familiar scent.
“I know. I hate myself,” he murmured, holding me tighter.
We held each other for a while, soaking one another in. Pulling away, I reached around my neck and released the clasp to his necklace. “Here,” I said, handing it to him. “And you better not ever take it off again.”
Bodie smiled, rubbing his finger across the engraving on the back. “I remember the day she gave these to us.”
“Me, too. She told us to take care of each other and never lose our way.”
“I swear, Cass, I’ll never lose my way again.” He pulled me in for another hug then a few moments later, Reid walked back in. He watched us, his eyes angry, yet it was easy to see he felt the same pain.
The three of us. It had always been the three of us.
My brother stood, his eyes holding Reid’s as he extended his hand.
Reid stared at it for a moment and my broken heart was worried he wouldn’t accept it.
The fear was laid to rest the moment Reid extended his hand, taking it in his own.
“Thank you for taking care of my sister,” Bodie said. “I hope someday you’ll let me make things right again.”
Reid swallowed hard and nodded, but he let the words hang between them. A promise of hope that someday we could all be a family.
We had a long road ahead of us, and deep down I knew things would never be the same again, but with time, we could heal the wounds of our past and find peace for our future.
