Page 78 of In the Dark

“Yes, but Tía Perla took me in when no one else would have, and …” I let my voice drift off, not sure I needed to share more with him. Yet, he waited, closing his laptop and motioning for me to carry on. “I don’t know, Callahan. I didn’t have any other family that would take me in. They sacrificed a lot when my parents died.”

“What happened to them?” He had questions in his eyes, not pity, like he wanted to understand me. Callahan was a reader of emotions, of people, and I think he was always looking for the full picture to everyone’s story because it gave him leverage.

Yet now it seemed he just wanted to know me.

“I don’t remember what happened. Only can tell you what came after. I remember the sirens. And the police lights. I remember standing there staring at them. My dad and mom’s shirts were such a dark red. Blood was everywhere. Someone had come for my dad, and my mom loved him so much I’m sure she fought to save him. They were shot to death, but I must have been in shock … Or I think maybe I thought they would still be all right. And my Tíos Monte, Paolo, and Tía Perla were standing between the police and me. They wouldn’t let them take me. Tía Perla sat with me on the way to the station, and was there while they asked questions. That was it. I don’t know how they handled it, but from that point on, I stayed with my tía and Tío Monte.”

“They raised you.” I nodded. “Did they find your parents’ killer?”

“No. Of course my family searched, but I guess they were meticulous, trained.” I shrugged. “It was a long time ago.”

“And still, you feel you owe them the world?”

“I do.”

“You don’t owe someone the world for the choice they made whether it benefited you or not. It was their choice.”

I shrugged, because that may have been true, but I lived my life by the idea that I did owe it to her and Monte. I cleared my throat. “Do you have specific people you don’t want at the wedding?”

“Sure.” He dragged out the word, both of us knowing I was changing the subject.

I hummed. “I have certain people I don’t want there too.”

He held my gaze. “Want me to go first?”

“Please do.”

“I don’t want your ex, Romeo, there. Only Romeo the cat. And no Tomás. No exes in general.”

Poor ex Romeo. He was never even invited anyway. Although, I did take extra-long before I sighed and agreed. “I guess I can make that work. Want to know who I don’t want there?”

“Demi’s not on the guest list, Viper.”

“How about all the other women you’ve slept with?”

His jaw ticked. “I’ll make sure they aren’t.”

“Care to go through the names with me?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Not really. I have a feeling they’ll be on your shit list, and I don’t need women turning up dead in Paradise Grove.”

22

Jasmina

AFTER THAT MORNING, IT seemed Callahan and I found a friendly rhythm. And a whole week passed with my wounds healing nicely while Callahan and I planned most of the wedding. Of course we found more things to bicker about, but we didn’t threaten to kill anyone else.

Nor did we spend it in his bedroom with my legs spread.

He didn’t attempt to and his lack of trying was, I’ll admit, irritating.

I thought of him more than I should, went to take showers more than I should, and wondered what he was doing at night alone in his room more than I should.

In the daytime, he was ever present while being the perfect gentleman. Except that he wasn’t a quiet Diamond businessman in the background while I made choices about the wedding.

Instead, he gave his opinion on absolutely everything.

When I sat down with the event planner—who supposedly helped with every event in Paradise Grove—we had to pick out linens, and I shrugged and said an inexpensive white would be fine. He corrected me with hues of blue in the most expensive material.