Page 106 of In the Dark

Making it right would be hard—impossible—but still, even when you couldn’t, you had to try.

I met with her and Callahan while his men watched the building, giving her and me privacy. I held her hand, I listened to her pain, and I asked her what I could do because no apology from my family would be enough.

She didn’t want anything from Callahan or me. She wanted justice. Not just because of Paolo, but because of the men who’d abused her. Helping her find the men who’d hurt her was at the top of her list.

My uncle was to blame.

But so many others were too.

And when I told Callahan that was my new life’s mission, that I wanted every single name we could find, he didn’t even ask why. He just made a call and told someone to start pulling lists and addresses.

We were on the way to the dress shop like it was just another day before the wedding, and casually, he said, “If you’re killing them all, Jas, I get to be by your side while you do it.”

I think I might have fallen then.

He threaded his fingers through mine and murmured, “I think you should know, Monte and Perla might want to discuss this with you.”

“Why would they? I’m helping these women,” I responded. He was hinting at something with them again. Something I didn’t want to see.

Maybe I should have consulted Perla and Monte. But maybe this was the path of my life, not theirs. Maybe, sometimes, our choices were bigger than the ones we thought we loved.

And when I got to the boutique and saw my cousins, I hugged them extra tight in hopes they would never have to make a choice bigger than their family.

Both of them were alive and buzzing in skintight dresses. They both squealed when they were let in by Archer and a few more of Callahan’s men. They ran over to me when they saw me. Annarose pulled me in for a hug first and whispered in my ear, “He sent a freaking Rolls-Royce to pick us up, Jas. And look at him. The man he is. Tell me you hate him so I can have him instead.”

“Quit it,” I said with a chuckle, hugging her back.

Then Maribel pulled me into her arms next. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, not sure how to tell her I was better than okay but wrecked all the same. My life was being slowly dismantled, but it was a life I never wanted to have, one of lies and secrets that needed to be unearthed.

“Of course I am. Tía come with you?”

“She had to stay with Papa over something. They were yelling about nonsense when we left.”

My eyes flicked to Callahan, and he shook his head like he wasn’t going to worry about them.

“Dress time?” Annarose singsonged, because my cousin was ready for our most vain part of the day more than anyone else.

“We can take you ladies upstairs,” a slender woman wearing a name tag and a slimming black dress said.

Callahan started to walk with us, and I spun to tell him, “You can go work or do whatever you need to do.”

He looked at me like I was silly. “I could go, but I’ll stay.” Him and that phrase. And me and that phrase, actually. Why the hell did I love it every time he said it?

I think I was actually blushing as I whispered fast to him. “You’re not really supposed to see me in my dress before the wedding.”

“Not really supposed to sleep with you before the wedding either, but here we are,” he retorted loud enough for both of my cousins to hear. Their eyes bulged, and my jaw dropped.

“Callahan!” I tsked at him, but he just smirked like he couldn’t care less that they knew. “Why do you insist on being here?”

He sucked on his teeth before he leaned in and told me quietly, “Because your cousins bulldoze you, and I want you to get the dress you actually want.”

Oh. “I’ll be fine.”

“And I’ll be here, seeing you in fifty dresses instead of one.” He chuckled, sliding his hands in his pockets before nodding toward the saleswoman. “Pull every dress that will look good on her. Matter of fact, pull every dress because she’ll look good in them all. We need to make sure we get the best one.”

“Callahan, absolutely not. I’m not trying on every dress. That will take forever. You don’t want to sit through all that—”