“Sure,” Devon said softly. “I’ll call them now and ask them to come over.”
“Do they know I’m here?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I wanted to make sure you wanted to see them first.”
Part of me didn’t, but most of me did. I could only hope they’d be as forgiving as Devon. “I do,” I said.
“Okay,” Devon responded and then he was getting up, presumably to make the calls.
“Devon, can I use your bathroom to clean up?”
He nodded. “You can use the one in the guest room next to my room.” He looked at Cain. “I have a second guest room you can use tonight.”
Cain rose to his feet. “We can’t stay here tonight. It’s not safe…Eric might be having the house watched.”
I stiffened at that.
Devon rose to his full height and said, “I can protect my brother.”
Before Cain could respond, I got up and stepped in front of Devon. “Devon, I trust Cain and if he says it isn’t safe, it isn’t safe. I can’t,” my voice broke. “I can’t put you and our family at risk.” When he didn’t respond right away I whispered, “Please, Devon.”
He didn’t like it, but he nodded and then his arms were aroundme again. “Okay little brother, we’ll do it your way. But when this is over, you come right back to us, do you hear me?”
I nodded and barely managed to hold back my tears.
“Go get cleaned up,” Devon urged.
“Are you coming?” I asked Cain, more because I was afraid to leave him and Devon alone together than anything else.
“You go on. I’m sure your brother has some questions for me.”
That was what I was afraid of.
I nodded and stepped past Cain. I accidentally brushed his hand with mine, but before I could apologize, he actually grabbed my fingers and gave them a gentle squeeze. Air rushed out of my lungs as heat and electricity shot up my arm and spread throughout my entire body. I looked up at Cain in surprise and was startled to see his eyes light up with…something.
But just as quickly as it was there, it was gone and he moved out of my way to let me pass.
By the time I got upstairs, my body started to give out on me and I was forced to sit down on the bed. Sitting down led to lying down and before I knew it, I was out. By the time I woke up, an hour had passed. I jolted upright, ready to jump off the bed and run downstairs to make sure Devon and Cain hadn’t killed each other. But just as I swung my legs off the bed, I saw Cain sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, his eyes on me and his hand holding my letter.
My final farewell letter.
And he did not look happy.
Chapter 11
CAIN
Dear Devon,
I don’t even know how to start this letter except maybe to tell you I’m sorry. And to tell you I’m at peace now.
You guys were right about Eric. I knew that even before I walked out of your lives that day and returned to D.C. with him. But I needed what I thought he was offering. Love, acceptance, validation, commitment…all those things Mom and Dad had. I wanted that for myself. I wanted to someday have a family like ours…where love is freely given, not earned. I wanted to someday give to someone else what our family gave to me.
I’ve done part of that, Devon. I found someone who needed me, but it wasn’t Eric. Her name is Lucy. She’s Eric’s stepdaughter. I need you to keep her safe for me. She has no one left…Eric took her mother from her. Worse yet, Lucy witnessed it and she’s suffering.
He’ll kill her if he finds out she knows the truth about how her mother really died. I took her to protect her, but if you’re reading this letter, I’ve failed. I can only hope Lucy got away. You need to find her, Devon. Please. Take care of her. The enclosed phone belongs to Lucy – she was able to record her mother’s death with it. Use it to prove to the world Eric isn’t the hero they believe him to be. Set Lucy free from the fear of being hunted.
If you can’t get the phone fixed, there’s evidence of Eric’s crimes in my safedeposit box at Meridian Bank – it’s a few miles from my hospital. I put you down as an authorized user of the box so they will give you the key when you show them proof of who you are.
