“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to save you.”
She squeezed his hands. “You’re here now.”
“Carolyn?” A man had stopped next to their table. “I thought that was you.” He cast a suspicious look at Jesse.
“Hi, Luke. This is Kane’s uncle. Luke, this is my brother, Jesse.”
Startled, Jesse stared at her. So much for not telling anyone until it was official. But they both knew it was true, so why not?
“Oh, your brother.”
Did he sound disappointed that he hadn’t caught his nephew’s wife with another man, or was that Jesse’s overactive imagination?
He shook hands with the uncle.
“Didn’t realize you had a brother.”
“I do,” Carolyn said with another squeeze of his hand and a smile that touched his heart. “Jesse is my big brother.”
“Good to meet you, Jesse.”
“You as well.”
“Enjoy your lunch,” Carolyn said.
“You do the same.”
After he walked away, Jesse said, “He thought he’d caught you cheating on Kane.”
“I know,” she said with a laugh. “And did you see how disappointed he was when I said you’re my brother?”
“I saw it.”
“I swear, they’ve all been suspicious of me since the day I met them. I didn’t have a pedigree like the other girls Kane dated. It was just me and the people I thought were my parents and a small extended family we rarely saw, which I can now see was weird.”
“And probably intentional.”
“Are my parents… Are they… Were they in on it?”
“I don’t know, but the FBI will be looking into how they came to have you.”
She nodded. “I want to know. Will you investigate?”
“No, this has been the FBI’s case since it happened. They’ll want to meet with you and talk about what you remember.”
“My parents are good people. I’d be shocked if they were involved in something criminal.”
“And if they were?”
“Then I guess they deserve whatever happens next.”
“You’d be okay with them being arrested and charged?”
“It would break my heart, but I’ve survived worse, right?”
“Yes, you certainly have.”
“Over the last couple of days, I’ve had so many memories of you come back to me, Jesse, how you were always there to make me laugh and keep me safe.”
