Chapter 18
Kendrick
“I heard you’re insisting on going to that concert in Chicago.” I laughed, hearing the little snort she always gave when irritated. Lately, that had been way too often.
“That concert is the hottest one of the year. Maybe of my lifetime. Are you kidding me? She’s all the rage and the tickets are bitchin’. Besides, I’m an adult so you can stop playing the big brother card.”
“You just had to use the word bitchin’, didn’t you?” My sister had the smartest mouth on her of any girl I’d ever known. She was lucky she was beautiful, but the boys didn’t know her true personality. She was a ballbuster just like my mother.
“Hey, you’re old. I just thought I’d remind you of the days you were a rockin’ dude. Didn’t you traipse around the West Coast following Aerosmith?”
“If I could reach through this goddamn phone, little sis.”
We both laughed and for a few seconds, she jabbered on about her excitement.
Meanwhile, I wanted to tell her that Chicago wasn’t like Montana, but she’d just turned eighteen, determined to experience new adventures.
I’d been exactly like her at her age. My mother had reminded of that particular fact when she’d called me, begging me to convince Emily not to go to the concert.
“Stop worrying about me. Remember, I’m going to be with my friends.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“Let me guess. You want to be our chaperone. I don’t think I could tolerate Betsy hanging all over you.” Every girlie sound she made reminded me of when she’d been the little princess of the family, all four older brothers doting on her.
Now she was all grown up and I couldn’t bring myself to coerce her into canceling the trip. She had to live and enjoy her life. “Um, I don’t think so, but thank you for the offer. Besides, I doubt I can get any time off.”
“Party pooper. All work and no play. Oh, wait. You were already a dull boy.”
“You are so going to get it when I come home for Christmas.”
“Sure,” Emily cooed. “You’re on. I’ll bet you a hundred bucks I can beat you in an arm-wrestling match.”
“You’re on, little princess.”
“Don’t call me that!”
I closed my eyes, reaching for the Glock I’d placed on the nightstand. There was comfort in knowing the weapon was close. While I had no intention of falling asleep, being a sitting duck even inside a lavish house kept my nerves on a sharp edge.
When I felt movement beside me, I turned my head, uncertain how I felt about having Reese sleeping next to me. Not because I didn’t want her near, but because the entire situation felt out of control. That didn’t suit my personality.
Plus, in thinking about the last conversation I’d had with Emily, I was reminded of just how precious life truly was.
Without making any noise, I threw back the covers, sitting on the edge of the bed. The ache in my heart was exactly the way I’d felt when I’d received my father’s call. The deep intense emotions were threatening to derail the goddamn mission. I’d come to realize I’d made the mission very personal.
A sudden warmth shot through me the moment Reese placed her hand on my shoulder.
“You’re not sleeping.” Her voice was soft, comforting. Completely different than the role playing before.
Although muddled in the thoughts about my sister had been wondering if either one of us had been playing at anything. Our actions had seemed completely natural.
“Yeah, I doubt I can until this is over.”
“Then you’re going to be a walking corpse.” She crowded closer, pressing her cheek against my arm. “Why don’t you talk to me?”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“Whatever it is that’s haunting you. I saw a significant change in you tonight. I was certain you were going to head to the beach and kill whoever was watching us.”
“I thought about it.”
“Yet that’s not you. I understand you have an innate need to bring justice to victims you and the others believed weren’t served, but you’re not a killer by instinct.”
“Maybe you don’t know me very well.”
Her lilting grumble was just a reminder that I was no hero, at least not the one she needed.
“Maybe I don’t, but you can tell a lot about a person in only minutes.
You have a good heart and came from a very close family.
This mission you’re on isn’t only about my plight or even the other women.
You’re evening a score. Right versus wrong. Good versus evil.”
She was too damn intuitive for her own good. “Just something I’ve had to deal with.”
“Who was she?”
“What do you mean?”
The rustling of sheets tugged at my attention and I glanced over my shoulder just as she covered her breasts and crawled closer.
“I saw your face when I was talking about Briana. You felt the same pain at that very moment and it had nothing to do with her, although you’ve been very empathetic.
So, who was the girl who caused that much pain in your life? A girlfriend?”
Chuckling, I took her hand in mine, taking a few seconds to concentrate on the lifeline on her palm. Even tracing the long line. “I haven’t had a girlfriend since college.”
“Hmm… Not that you’re old or anything, but that’s a very long time to go without.”
I gave her a hard look, able to smile in hearing her laughter. “You sound exactly like my sister. She used to call me very old.”
Her eyes narrowed. “That’s who almost all your thoughts have been concentrated on. Admit it.” She poked me and had no idea she was poking the bear.
“I can’t imagine how much you’re hurting and angry about your sister. I can feel it buzzing in every sentence and everything you do, but this subject is… Off limits.”
With a heavy sigh, she looked away. “My dad was rarely home when Briana and I were kids. He was always working, traveling to foreign countries. While my mom tried to keep us engaged and doing all the things for two parents, I was Briana’s best friend. We did everything together. Everything.”
“I know. You became her guardian angel.” My thoughts drifted to her father. No dirt had been found on the man, yet my instinct was never wrong. Somehow, either he or his company had some involvement in the Privileged. I certainly wasn’t going to mention that to Reese.
“You don’t understand. Briana was three years old when she was first diagnosed with cancer.
We thought she beat it nine months later, but it came back.
Years of her life were spent in hospitals.
As you might imagine, with my mother mostly running the household, it put a strain on her. Briana and I got even closer.”
Twisting on the bed, I locked eyes with her. Seeing tears in them yanked at the protectiveness inside. “I’m so sorry. She beat her disease though, right?”
“Only after a bone marrow transplant. See, I’d promised her I’d find a way to help her and I was able to.”
As a single tear slipped past her lashes, I held my breath, finally rubbing the tip of my finger through the tiny drop. “You were her donor.”
She nodded, closing her eyes briefly. “A perfect match. We didn’t know if it would work.
The doctors said it was her last hope. Just a few weeks later, her body truly started responding.
It was incredible to see her gain weight and her color return.
A few months later, she was healthy and happy, able to live like a kid.
I’d promised her that I would always be there for her. I failed.”
“You didn’t fail her, Reese. You had your life to live.”
“But I should have checked on her. By the time she hit seventeen, it was as if her personality had changed. Talk about sowing wild oats. She destroyed fields to plant them.” Her laugh was bittersweet. “I know for certain she was angry with me for leaving her.”
“You can’t blame yourself.”
“I know you’re right but try telling my conscience. That’s why I dropped everything and didn’t think about what I was getting into. I just reacted out of love. “
“Did you tell your parents?”
“Only that I planned on having a conversation with the Jacksonville police.”
“So they have no clue you’re in Miami.”
She shook her head sheepishly.
“Woman, you’ve got balls.”
“And I’ll be honest with you. I’d do it again. I’d do anything for this. I just don’t care. I need to tell my sister that I’ll always be there for her even if she refuses to have me in her life.”
As soon as she dropped her head, several additional tears falling, I lifted her chin with a single finger.
“And you’ll get that chance. I made you a promise I intend on keeping.
Love is difficult. Whether it’s for a family member, a friend, or someone you long to spend the rest of your life with.
But in loving someone, you need to realize that no matter what you do, you can’t cocoon them from all evils in the world. It’s not possible.”
“Is that what you hoped to do with your sister?”
The woman was going to continue pushing me.
I rubbed my eyes, feeling the exhaustion once again.
“She was the princess of our family, much younger than her older brothers. Far too protected if you know what I mean. For her eighteenth birthday, our uncle got her tickets to a hot concert. You know that girl singer that’s all the rage? ”
“You mean Janey Wilson? Yeah, the entire world knows who she is.”
“Well, my sister thought the sun rose and set on her. But the concert was in Chicago and a few of her friends were going. I was in charge of talking her out of it. She was just too young, too na?ve.”
“But you didn’t.”
I shook my head. “She was so happy, so excited.”
“What happened?”
It was a memory I didn’t want and didn’t need, but one Reese deserved to hear.
“There was a shooting outside a club. One of Emily’s friends managed to get the girls in. They were all fucking underage and Emily knew better. I have no doubt she was just going with the flow. A stray bullet hit her. There was nothing the doctors could do.”
“And you blamed yourself.”