Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Harper
This town looked even more broken down than I remembered.
Ten years ago, when Mom and Dad dumped me and Aiden here, at least there'd been a corner store. The owner used to slip us expired bread on the sly. Now even that place was gone—just a faded sign swinging in the wind, the town's last gasp.
But I was out of options. Aiden had said once that if he died, he wanted to come back to this town. Because this was where we'd grown up together.
Back when we still had a father. A mother. A childhood that was broke as hell but mostly carefree.
"You were always like this," I muttered, wiping my face roughly with my sleeve, forcing a bitter smile at the fresh headstone. "Always the sick one, but you thought farther ahead than I ever did."
Wind moaned through the graveyard, stirring up dead leaves. I watched them spiral through the air and settle on Aiden's grave.
Then I finally broke.
I'd been holding it together since Olga pulled me out of that basement. Told myself I couldn't fall apart. I had things to do. Had to get to the hospital. Handle the paperwork. The cremation. Bring Aiden home.
Couldn't cry.
What good would crying do? Would tears bring him back? Would they let me rewind to that night, be there with him at the end?
No.
But now, having finally laid him to rest, having finally done my last duty as his sister—I couldn't hold on anymore.
"You promised," I choked out, pressing my forehead against the cold stone. "You said when you got better, we'd travel together. You wanted to see the ocean, eat real Italian food, ride a Ferris wheel..."
I couldn't finish.
Because none of those promises would ever come true now.
Aiden was dead. And nothing meant anything anymore.
"It's all my fault..." I curled into myself.
If I hadn't been so naive. If I'd taken that money and gotten Aiden into surgery right away instead of waiting for some goddamn dream team of doctors—would he still be alive?
"If I'd just said no to that money," I dug my nails into the dirt, "if I'd never married him, stayed just another nobody nurse—at least that night I could've been with you."
At least Aiden wouldn't have died alone.
At least I could've held his hand. Told him his sister was right there. Told him not to be afraid.
I'd been greedy. Thought I could have it all—Aiden's surgery, Kirill's love, a happy family.
God must've been laughing his ass off.
Laughing at the broke fat girl who thought she could be good enough for a beautiful mafia boss. Laughing at the kid whose own parents didn't want her, stupid enough to think anyone would ever really love her.
I cried in that graveyard for hours. Until the sun started sinking. Until my voice gave out completely. Finally, I sat up, scrubbed my filthy hands across my face, and looked at the headstone.
"I have to go, Aiden."
My voice sounded like sandpaper on wood. "I don't know where yet. But I'll come back to see you."
The headstone didn't answer.
I stood. My knees had gone numb from kneeling so long—I almost fell. Steadied myself against Aiden's grave, then bent down and kissed the cold stone.
The town had one road out.
I walked it slowly, my only luggage a faded backpack with a few changes of clothes and Aiden's journal inside.
The sun was going down, painting the sky orange-red.
I had no idea where I was going.
I had just enough money for a bus ticket to the nearest city. And then what? Find work? But I had no degree. After all these years as a caregiver, I couldn't do anything else.
And... I touched my stomach without thinking. Ever since Kirill had shoved me into that banister, something felt off. Constant nausea. Smells made me sick.
Not a good sign. But I couldn't afford doctors anymore.
A black car came up behind me and slowed down.
Instinct kicked in. I picked up my pace. Out here in the middle of nowhere, a strange car pulling up next to you meant nothing good.
The window rolled down.
"Excuse me." A man's voice, oddly elegant. "Are you Aiden's sister?"
I froze.
Turned to look. The driver was maybe early thirties, blond, blue-eyed, handsome in a brooding sort of way. Expensive navy suit that stuck out like a sore thumb in this dead-end town.
"Who are you?" I stepped back.
He got out, moved like some Renaissance painting come to life. Polite smile on his lips, but those blue eyes held something I couldn't read.
"My name's Julian," he said. "Julian Dante. I was... Aiden's online friend."
My heart clenched.
"Aiden?"
"Yeah." His expression dimmed. "We met in a game. Ran dungeons together for three years."
My eyes burned.
"You really knew him?"
Julian nodded. "I heard he... passed. So I drove out. But by the time I got there, the funeral was over. Asked around and heard his sister had taken him back to their hometown. Didn't think I'd actually run into you, but I recognized you right away."
Real grief in his eyes.
"He showed me pictures of you two," Julian went on. "Said he had the best sister in the world."
I covered my mouth.
Sank down, buried my face in my hands, shoulders shaking hard. Someone else remembered Aiden. Someone else cared.
"Sorry," Julian said awkwardly. "Didn't mean to upset you."
I shook my head, sniffed hard, tried to pull myself together.
"Cemetery's on the east side of town," I pointed back the way I'd come. "Ten-minute walk down this road."
Julian glanced where I pointed, then looked back at me.
"You alone?"
I didn't answer. My silence said enough.
He frowned. "It's getting dark. There's not even a decent motel around here. Where are you going?"
"I..." I opened my mouth. Realized I had no answer.
Where was I going? No plan. No destination. Didn't even know where my next meal was coming from.
Julian seemed to understand.
"How about this," he said. "I'll go pay my respects to Aiden, then take you to a motel in town for the night. Figure out tomorrow, tomorrow."
"No need," I said automatically. "We don't know each other—"
"We don't," Julian cut in, calm but firm. "But you're Aiden's sister. He always worried about you. Said you were so used to taking care of everyone else, you never learned to take care of yourself. If he knew I ran into you and didn't help, he'd curse me out from heaven."
I stopped.
That did sound like Aiden.
Seeing I wasn't arguing anymore, Julian smiled slightly. "Get in. It's cold out."
Julian drove me to the town's only motel, a shabby two-story building. He paid for my room, told the owner to take care of me, then said goodbye.
"I'll come see you tomorrow," he said before leaving. "Get some rest."
I nodded, watched his car disappear into the dark.
Honestly, the old me never would've trusted some strange man's kindness. But now... I was too tired. Too tired to question anything.
I dragged myself upstairs and pushed open the door. Small room. Basic. But clean. I dropped my backpack on a chair and collapsed on the bed.
The next morning, violent nausea woke me up.
I bolted to the tiny bathroom and heaved over the toilet. My stomach churned, but I'd barely eaten yesterday—just brought up some acid.
I leaned against the cold tile, gasping.
What the hell?
I thought back over the past few weeks. Nausea. Exhaustion. Sensitivity to smells. Constant drowsiness...
A terrible thought flashed through my mind.
No... couldn't be...
I tore through my bag, counting days. When was my last period? The more I thought, the more my stomach dropped.
At least six weeks.
I sat on the floor, cold all over.
I practically ran out of the motel. This town might be dying, but it still had a barely-functioning pharmacy. I bought three different pregnancy tests and locked myself in a public restroom.
Five minutes later, three tests lined up in front of me.
Two lines. Two lines. Two lines.
I was pregnant.
I was carrying Kirill Orlov's child.
I squatted in that disinfectant-reeking public bathroom, staring at those three tests, mind blank.
Was God messing with me? When my life was already this fucked?
Letting me find out I had a tiny life growing inside me. A life connected to mine by blood.
Aiden's nephew or niece.
I sat in that bathroom forever. Until someone banged on the door, complaining I'd been in there too long.
Finally, I stood up, threw the tests in the trash and walked out.
Julian was waiting outside.
He'd changed into casual clothes, but still had that bone-deep elegance. Seeing my pale face, he frowned.
"You okay? You look awful."
I opened my mouth. Didn't know what to say.
Of course I wasn't okay. I'd just found out I was pregnant with that bastard's kid, and I was broke and homeless.
"I'm fine," I forced a smile. "Probably just low blood sugar. Didn't eat yesterday."
Julian clearly didn't buy it, but didn't push.
"Let me get you some food."
We went to the town's only restaurant—a burger and fries joint. Julian ordered for me, then sat across from me, watching quietly while I ate.
His stare was too direct. Made me uncomfortable.
"Why do you keep staring at me?"
Julian smiled. "I'm thinking you might be in danger."
I put down my burger, eyeing this weird guy suspiciously.
"What do you mean?"
Instead of answering, Julian pulled out his phone, scrolled, then handed it to me.
"Look at this."
I took the phone, looked down—
My face.
My photo on a wanted poster with a line underneath.
"Seeking Harper Evans Orlov. One million dollars for credible information."
My blood turned to ice.
"This is..."
"A bounty Kirill Orlov posted," Julian said calmly. "Started circulating nationwide three days ago. Cops, private investigators, bounty hunters—everyone's looking for you."
My hands started shaking. Nearly dropped the phone.
Why? To keep humiliating me in front of Genevie? To punish me for something I didn't even do?
"How do you know about this?"
Julian took back his phone and pocketed it. His expression turned complicated, like he was weighing whether to tell me something.
"I'm mafia too, I guess," he said slowly. "The very fringe kind."
My brain buzzed.
"What?"
"Don't be scared," Julian's mouth curved slightly. "I'm not connected to Kirill."
"I don't understand," my voice came out like sandpaper. "Why are you telling me this?"
Julian looked at me, something unreadable flickering in those blue eyes.
"Because I want to help you."
"Help me?" I almost laughed. "Why would you help me? We don't even know each other."
"Because of Aiden," Julian said. "He asked me to take care of you."
Something dangerous in his words.
But right now, I was past caring what was safe and what wasn't. All I knew was Kirill was hunting me. A million-dollar bounty meant nowhere to run.
And I had his child inside me.
"How would you help me?"
Julian stood, walked to the window, and back to me.
"A bounty this high is serious. Usually reserved for the worst criminals. Looks like Kirill hates your guts. Right now, you'd better come with me to San Francisco. Kirill's reach doesn't go there. I can give you a new look, new identity. Make you disappear completely."
He still wouldn't let me go.
Even after I'd lost everything. Even after Aiden was dead. Even after I'd left his world—he was still coming after me.
I took a deep breath.
"Okay," I said, each word forced through clenched teeth. "I just want to disappear. Completely. Forever. Where he'll never find me."
"Then come with me." Julian held out his hand. "I promise you—starting today, you're Luna. Harper Evans is getting buried in this town and staying buried."
I looked at his outstretched hand. Hesitated.
A stranger. A man I'd known less than twenty-four hours. Why should I trust him? How did I know he didn't have his own agenda?
But what choice did I have? I had an innocent child in my belly.
I had to protect it.
Had to let it be born safe. Grow up healthy. Give it what I never had.
A whole childhood. Full of love.
Even if its father was that man.
Three hours later, I sat on a train to San Francisco, watching the landscape fly past the window.
The girl named Harper Evans, along with all her love and pain, stayed behind in that broken-down town.