Chapter Forty-Two All’s Well That Ends Well
Adelina
Two Weeks Later
Sacramento, California
“Are you still mad at me?” I ask as I join Lily on the wraparound porch. The summer heat here in California is very different from the heat back in Vancouver. It’s dry, toasty. My skin is already a little burnt, and I was only playing with Jack and Michael in the yard for twenty minutes.
My sister sighs. “I’m not mad, Addy. I’m just…processing.”
I almost laugh. Lily has been processing ever since I told her the truth on the plane.
We’re in the lying low phase of West’s master plan, and while I’m grateful for the breather, being subjected to Lily’s silence is its own kind of torture.
I know my sister. She doesn’t get upset often, but when she does, her anger is the kind that simmers and stews.
Jack has invited us all to a princess tea party in the backyard.
I have to admit there’s something incredibly funny and utterly adorable about seeing Michael, big and burly man that he is, seated cross-legged on the grass with a tutu on his lap (because it doesn’t fit) and a plastic tiara on his head.
I probably wasn’t the only one worried about how Jack would take the news that he was her father, but children her age will believe anything, apparently.
(“Your Papa is a superspy, too,” West explained when we got back. “And he’s finally back from his secret mission!”)
If only my sister were as accepting. Then we could sweep this whole thing under the rug.
“I wish you’d told me sooner,” Lily says.
“I didn’t exactly know how to bring it up.”
“Is it always this dangerous?”
I shake my head. “Normally I do this from the comfort of home. It’s usually very safe.”
“How many people have you stolen from?”
“I don’t keep track.”
“How much have you stolen?”
“I don’t keep track of that either.”
Lily grips the railing, the wood creaking beneath her fingers. “The other people you’ve taken from…are they just as dangerous as Berruci?”
I take a deep breath, watching Jack pour her father a cup of tea. (It’s just water, but Michael drinks like it’s the most delicious thing he’s ever tasted.) “Some of them are,” I say quietly. “But like I said, it’s usually very safe.”
“What if they come after you? Find you the same way West managed to find you.”
“That won’t happen again.” I glance at her, chewing on the inside of my cheek.
The moment I had a solid enough internet connection, I scrubbed that damn article off the face of the internet.
Although I did download a copy for myself.
It was a gift from Dad, after all. It will be for me and Lily to treasure, but for us alone.
“You don’t approve,” I say after a moment.
Lily runs her fingers through her hair. “That’s not it. I think…Well, I think it’s really fucking cool what you’re doing.”
“You do?”
“Of course. Stealing from the rich to give to the poor? That’s awesome, Addy.” Lily sets her jaw. “It’s just that I’m studying to be a lawyer. Do you have any idea how conflicting this is for me?”
“I understand.” Jack skips in a circle, waving at Lily and me. We wave back. “You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?” I ask.
“No,” Lily says firmly. “No, I’m not going to tell anyone. Snitches get stitches and all that, but…”
“But?” I prompt.
“Is there really nothing else you could do?”
I smile gently. “I don’t know what to say. I’ve found my calling. Whatever consequences may come, they’re mine to bear.”
Lily takes my hand and gives my fingers a squeeze. “But I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
I squeeze her hand back. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”
My sister nods slowly, contemplative. “Alright,” she whispers. “Not that you need my approval or anything. I’m sure you were going to keep doing this regardless.”
“Probably.” I pick at a loose thread on my sleeve. “You should call Mom. She worries when you don’t check in.”
“About that. I think I’m…Well, I’m not going no contact, exactly, but I want to limit how much we interact from now on.”
I arch a brow. “Is this a solidarity thing? Because you don’t have to not talk to her just because I’ve chosen not to.”
“Being around Mom is like putting my hand on a stove element. Sometimes it’s on and burns me, other times it’s not and I’m okay, but I’d rather not risk it on a coin toss.
” Lily shakes her head. “I just wasn’t brave enough to stand up for myself…
or you. Don’t get me wrong—I love her, but I love you too.
I’m tired of seeing what she puts you through.
And I think moving to Nova Scotia for law school will be good for me. It’ll give us the chance to breathe.”
I smile, bumping my twin with my shoulder. There isn’t much to say. I’m proud of her, and I respect her decision. Maybe one day, we’ll all be able to exist amicably in the same room together. But until then, the only way to protect ourselves is to take some space.
“Lily! Addy!” Jack calls, racing over to us with something balanced on her palm. She climbs the low steps of the porch and takes Lily’s hand. “Papa and I just made a fresh batch of cookies. Do you want some?”
The cookies in question have been crafted out of Play-Doh, topped with an obscene amount of neon-pink glitter. Lily breaks out into a big smile anyway, graciously accepting Jack’s offering.
“That sounds delicious. I’ll be right over.”
“Is Uncle West feeling better?” she asks, looking specifically at me. “I want him to come play too.”
“He’s still resting, sweetie, but I’m sure he’ll be up and about really soon.”
“His cold must be really bad,” Jack reasons aloud. “Can you give him a hug and kiss for me? That always makes me feel better.”
I laugh softly. “Of course. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”
Jack drags Lily toward her tea party, giving me the chance to dip back inside the house.
It’s a little strange, getting to see where West lives.
The walls are painted a light blue, the wooden floors a stained walnut.
Jack’s toys are everywhere, not a single surface free from her particular brand of bubbly chaos.
I climb the stairs and make my way to the room at the very end of the carpeted hall, knocking on the door before I enter. West is in bed, propped up on a throne of pillows, a laptop balanced on his belly. He looks up and grins at me.
Diana, who’s seated across the room, tosses her newspaper aside. “Thank God you’re here,” she grumbles. “All he does is complain.”
“You said you wanted to make it up to me, remember? You know, for accusing me of being a snitch and putting our lives in danger and—”
“Yes, yes. I get it. I just didn’t think you’d have me playing nurse.”
I laugh lightly. “When is your flight to New Delhi?”
“Tonight,” she replies as she rises from her seat. “I’m…excited, I think. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my family.”
“I hope you take this the wrong way, but I hope I never see you again.”
Diana grins. “Don’t you mean ‘I hope you don’t take this the wrong way’?”
I shake my head and give her a hug. “Not at all.”
She kisses my cheek. “Stay out of trouble.”
“You, too.”
When she leaves, I close the door after her and make my way over to West. I take a seat on the edge of his bed.
“You’re making waves online,” he says, turning the screen toward me. He has a CNN news article pulled up.
Multimillion-dollar donations given to World Central Kitchen and Global Fund for Women by anonymous donor
I set his laptop on the bedside table. “You should be sleeping.”
“But I feel fine,” he insists.
I pin him with a hard look. “Lift your arms above your head.”
West does so but fails to hide a wince. “I’m just tender, that’s all.”
“Mm-hmm,” I reply dryly as I curl up with him beneath the covers. I hug him gingerly and press a kiss to his cheek. “These are from Jack.”
West combs his fingers through my hair and hums contentedly. “Who’s watching her now?”
“Michael and Lily.”
“Do they know how to test her blood-sugar level? What about—”
I press my hand to his chest. “Relax. You went over it with them a hundred times. Jack’s in very good hands.”
“Right. You’re right.” He eases against his pillows and takes a deep breath.
“Is it weird?” I ask him. “Seeing Michael with Jack?”
“Not at all. I’m glad that they’re together again.” He smiles down at me. “And you made that all possible.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You got us all out of there alive.”
“That’s nothing. You took a bullet for me.”
West chuckles. “Take the damn compliment.”
A comfortable silence falls over us, the distant sounds of Jack, Michael and Lily’s laughter filtering in from outside.
The air is warm and heavy, nothing but the soft whir of the room’s ceiling fan to keep us company.
Sunlight streams in through the cracks in the venetian blinds, painting the room in soft, golden hues.
When I’m wrapped up in West’s arms, all is right with the world.
But as I rest my head against his chest and listen to the steady beat of his heart, a question lingers over our heads, one that neither of us seems particularly eager to answer.
“When do you have to go again?” West asks, the first to break the delicate peace we’ve found.
“Tomorrow afternoon,” I whisper. I’ve been counting the days, dreading every hour that passes us by.
He holds me tighter, breathes me in. I can tell he has a lot on his mind.
It’s in his eyes, which are brimming with thoughts unsaid.
A part of me wonders if he’ll ask me to stay.
Another part of me wonders if I’ll agree to.
Our lives were momentarily perpendicular, running alongside one another at the same speed.
But now the tracks are diverging, and I’m unsure how or if it’s even possible that we’ll ever cross paths again.
“I guess we’d better make good use of our time,” he murmurs, his hands sliding down to my waist.
I tilt my head up and kiss him deeply, relishing the taste of his lips and the warmth of his body. “I guess we’d better.”
We move slowly, taking our time to explore and savor now that victory is ours.
I help him out of his shirt, ever mindful of his injury, my eyes sweeping over the canvas of his arms and chest. Greedily drinking in every detail, I dip down to press my lips to the line of his jaw, down the crook of his neck, and then to his collarbone.
My hands sweep over his chest, tracing the outer edges of his bandages.
He’s healed nicely, and I believe West when he says he feels fine, but that doesn’t stop me from being careful.
What he did isn’t lost on me. If he hadn’t thrown himself in front of me, that bullet likely would have found its way directly to my heart.
West saved my life, and I don’t think there’s anything I could ever say to express how grateful I am.
So I show him instead.
Undressing is a sensuous affair, every inch of exposed skin awarded with a give-and-take of reverent kisses.
I straddle his lap, memorizing the way his rough palms sweep up my sides, grasping and caressing and mapping out every curve and line available before him.
There is nothing quite so thrilling as the sensation of his want between my thighs and the low moan I pull from his lips with the gentle rocking of my hips.
“Je veux te conna?tre,” I murmur against his ear as we approach the crescendo together. “In every sense of the word.”
“My darling, you already do.”
We fall apart together, these stolen moments belonging to us alone.