Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
By the time Sylvie got home, she was an exhausted wreck.
She’d spent hours poring over the code that she’d modified to trap the Syndicate’s hackers.
With the help of her entire team, she’d created her decoy hard drive, slightly altering the Bennett Security data so that nothing sensitive would be compromised.
Even by her standards, she’d gotten an insane amount done. But she still had more to do tomorrow before she returned to Dominic’s house.
Despite all her anxiety about targeting the Syndicate, she still felt a thrill of eager anticipation to see him again.
Not just to get naked with him, but to hold his hand and talk through everything they were both dealing with right now.
She knew Dominic would listen. And he would share with her, too.
Who would’ve thought he’d be so easy to talk to?
But Dominic was the same as he’d ever been. She was the one who’d been making unfair assumptions.
That made her wonder about other assumptions she’d been making. Including about her former best friend, Faith.
The birthday card was still sitting in her drawer, waiting to be opened.
Sylvie went through the door into the kitchen. Ethan was stirring a pot on the stove, and Luis was setting the table. Both men looked up and smiled as she came in. Between Dominic’s house and the long hours at work, it felt like forever since she’d seen them both.
“Ethan, you’re cooking? Did my birthday already come around again?”
Her cousin shrugged, but Luis barked a laugh. He’d worn his shoulder-length dark hair in a messy bun, and the sleeves of his white button-down were rolled up. “I’m the one who cooked. Ethan’s just standing there stirring and hoping to take the credit.”
“But I do make this part look good,” her cousin said, posing with the spoon, which was all the more comical given his pleated khakis and polo. Stylish, Ethan was not.
Luis had made spaghetti Bolognese. Sylvie threw together a salad, and the three of them sat down to eat.
“Ethan tells me you’ve had some drama lately. You met someone?”
“And she spent the night at his place.”
Sylvie passed the spaghetti. “I did meet someone.”
“Is he special?” Luis asked.
She felt the smile inching across her face. “Yeah. He is.” She thought about what she could say. “I feel good when I’m with him. Like I can say pretty much anything. We didn’t get along at first, but that’s because I didn’t want to give him a chance. But he’s won me over.”
Luis and Ethan were both grinning, exchanging an amused glance.
“Sounds familiar,” her cousin said. “So when do we get to meet him?” He bumped her foot under the table. “Or at least see a picture.”
Sylvie figured she could dig up a mug shot of Dominic pretty easily, but no way was she doing that.
She wasn’t ready to reveal his identity to them yet.
Not because she was embarrassed, but because it was all so new and uncertain at this point.
And she didn’t want them to see Dominic’s past and make the same assumptions she had.
“I don’t know. Things are a little difficult right now. He has a lot going on.”
And she didn’t even know if Dominic would want to meet her family.
They liked each other, but was this just a fling that would end as soon as Dominic was out of danger?
That was completely setting aside the possibility of some sort of witness protection. He could be moving across the country, and she’d never see him again. She didn’t like to think that would happen, but it was far from unlikely.
“Actually, I’ve been thinking about my old friend Faith from high school. Ethan’s been bugging me to open a birthday card she sent me. I think I should go ahead and do it.” She got up and went over to the drawer where she’d left the envelope.
When she turned around, Ethan was rolling his eyes. “Now that’s a deliberate change of subject. But I’ll allow it. Go ahead and open your letter.”
She sat back down at the table, cradling the envelope in her hands.
Using the tip of her finger, she carefully pried it open along the top.
She didn’t want to tear the paper where Faith had drawn the balloons.
She couldn’t even say why. It just seemed like she should leave them intact, since Faith had taken the time to draw them.
The front of the card was a typical birthday message, a sweet one rather than the beginning of a joke.
She opened it, and there was only Faith’s handwritten message inside.
As if her friend had chosen this card specifically to let her own voice speak, without the interference of words written by some impersonal card company.
Dear Sylvie,
I know it’s been a really long time, and I probably don’t even deserve a response from you. So don’t feel like you owe me one. I just wanted to say I still think of you. I’ve never stopped, not since you left.
How’s Ethan doing? Last I heard you two were still close, and I hope that’s true.
If you’re willing to talk, then I could tell you all kinds of things about why I stopped speaking to you. I’m not looking forward to that part because it makes me sound like a complete jerk and a coward. But it’s the truth, and I owe that to you.
If you’re willing to listen, you can text me at the number below. I don’t expect anything more, not even forgiveness. But at least you’ll know what happened, and that it’s not what you probably think.
I’m going to hope you do write back, because hope is all I have going for me at this point.
Faith
Sylvie held up the card so Ethan and Luis could read it.
Ethan whistled. “Wow, I got a mention. That was nice of her.” He wasn’t even being sarcastic.
Sylvie dropped the card onto the table. “Then why didn’t she bother to write you? She abandoned you as much as she did me.”
“But she was your best friend. You were the real connection between us. And it’s your heart she broke, not mine.”
She squeezed her eyes shut so the tears wouldn’t escape. “I don’t see what explanation she could have that would justify not speaking to me for over a decade.”
But maybe there were more factors at play in Faith’s life than Sylvie knew. If Dominic had taught her anything, it was to give someone a chance. That taking the risk might be scary, but it was worth it.
She pulled out her phone.
“Are you going to write her?” Luis sounded hopeful.
“I think you should,” Ethan added.
“Both of you chill. I’m doing it.”
Sylvie: Hey Faith, it’s me. Sylvie. I’m pretty busy the next few days but let me know when you’re available, and we can find time to chat. Talk to you later.
She hesitated, then hit send.