My mother made me promise, before the cancer took her. She held my hand in that hospital bed, her grip still fierce despite the frailty of her body, and she made me swear that the Moses name would mean something. That I would build a legacy worth passing down. That I wouldn't end up alone like she had, abandoned by a man who couldn't see the treasure he was throwing away.
I've kept the first part of that promise. The Moses name means power now, respect, the kind of influence that shapes cities. But the rest of it, the legacy, the family, the not being alone, I've failed her in that. I've failed her for eighteen years, and watching Rafael hold his daughter in his arms makes that failure feel like broken glass slicing through the space between my ribs.
"Drake."
Persia spots me lurking in the doorway like some kind of melancholy ghost. She breaks away from Rafael with a warm smile, crossing the office to pull me into a hug that smells like jasmine and milk and the particular sweetness of new motherhood.
"I didn't hear you come in," she says, rising on her toes to press a kiss to my cheek. "How long have you been standing there? You know you can always come in."
"Long enough to reconsider my life choices."
She laughs, that bright, genuine sound that makes it impossible to understand how she survived everything Magnus put her through and came out the other side still capable of joy. "Come have dinner with us. Marta made enough food to feed an army, and Sofia wants to see her Uncle Drake."
Sofia is currently drooling on Rafael's shoulder and showing no signs of wanting to see anyone, but I appreciate the sentiment.
Persia takes my hand and squeezes it. I return the sentiment, but a tight smile. "I can't tonight. I've got a date." The lie comes out smoothly, just like all the other nights she invites me over.
Rafael's eyes meet mine over Persia's head, and I see the knowing look there. He doesn't believe me. He knows I haven't been on a date in months, maybe years. He knows the women who pursue me these days are interested in my money or my power, not me, and I've grown too tired to pretend otherwise.
But he doesn't call me on it. That's not who Rafael is. He just nods, a slight incline of his head that saysI see you, brother, and I'm not going to push.
"Rain check, then," Persia says, squeezing my arm. "But soon, okay? Sofia needs to spend more time with her favorite uncle before she forgets what you look like."
"I'm her only uncle."
Persia throws me a wink as she makes her way back to her man. "Which is why you're the favorite by default. Don't let it go to your head," she calls over her shoulder.
“Our brothers would argue about that. Kon loves getting drooling kisses from our sweet girl.”
Rafael holds his baby girl up and kisses her plump cheeks. It’s hard not to go over there and scoop up the little angel and get in on the cuddles, as Luca puts it.
I manage a smile that probably looks more like a grimace and extract myself from the room. The walk to my office feels longer than usual, my footsteps echoing in the empty hallway, the silence pressing against my ears like cotton wool.
Inside, I pour myself a whiskey and stand at the window, looking out at the city that I've spent my life conquering. Chicago sprawls beneath me, a glittering tapestry of lights and shadows, and somewhere out there is Katriana. I know she has to be scared.
I think about the way she looked at me tonight. She remembers the electricity that passed between us when I shook her hand that first night years ago. I know I do. The same electricity I felt arc through my body like lightning then happened again when I caught her in my arms tonight.
She thought I didn't notice her back then. She thought I was just another Moses man, probably as worthless as the brother who was using her.
She was wrong. And still is.
I noticed everything. From the first time I met her I wanted to cross the room and take her hand and lead her away from my brother, away from the family dinner, away from everything that wasn't the two of us alone in a room where I could ask her limitless questions about herself.
But she wasn't mine to take. She belonged to Jonah, and I am not my father. I don't abandon people. I don't steal what isn't offered. I don't break things just because I want them.
So I watched. I watched from a distance while my brother mistreated her, neglected her, eventually destroyed whatever love she'd tried to build with him. I watched her disappear from family events, and finally watched Jonah move on to other women.
And I kept my distance, because the moment had passed, because reaching out would seem like I'd been waiting for my chance, because I didn't want to be another Moses man taking what he wanted without regard for consequences.
But tonight changes things.
Tonight she appeared at Scarlet Thorn and I have every reason to believe she placed a wish in the box tonight. It’s the only reason she would be here and that makes her mine now.
I touch my wrist where my mother's watch sits heavy against my skin. Platinum, simple, the most valuable thing I own because of what it represents. She saved three years to buy it for me whenI turned eighteen, three years of scrubbing floors and slinging hash at the diner, putting aside nickels and dimes until she had enough for something special.
Make me proud, she said when she gave it to me.Build something that lasts. Find someone who sees the real you. Don't end up alone like I did, Drakey. You deserve better than that. Don’t waste your time. Measure it with this and remember it slips through your fingers faster than you realize.
I've let her down for eighteen years. But maybe, just maybe, fate has given me a second chance.
