Page 15 of Secret Love

“And what did I tell you about lingering in front of windows?”

I smile. “Don’t?”

“You know, kid, I’ve guarded dictators who were easier to deal with than you.”

“Not nearly as pretty, though, right?”

He sneers in my direction and walks into the living room. “Ma’am,” he says, addressing Cora. “You have a visitor out front. He refuses to leave.”

My father turns up his hands. “So, make him leave. What else do I pay you for?”

“Who is it?” Cora asks.

Smith places his hands on his hips. “He says he’s your son.”

Cora pauses and slowly sets her wineglass on the coffee table in front of her. “My son?” she repeats.

“Said his name is Fox.”

I turn toward the door. I raise my hand to my mouth without thinking. My fingertips graze my lips, feeling the long-forgotten tug of him drawing my bottom lip between his teeth.

“Fox?” I breathe his name, excitement stirring in my breast.

Cora shoots off the couch. “Show me,” she says, following Smith outside.

“Let’s not get too excited…” my father warns. “It could be a prank.”

He’s right. Lamb announced in front of dozens of cameras that Fox was killed in action. That video hit one million views in less than an hour. There are plenty of people out there willing enough to toy with someone’s emotions like that.

Hey, look, Roxie! It’s me! Fox! I’m home!

I stand back and wait in the front hall while they all pile outside. I can’t help but think of the last time I saw him. Racing hearts and wrinkled sheets…

I tried to stop. I tried to shut it off and ignore it, but I can’t.

It’s always been you, Dani.

Cora screams. I abandon my trance and rush outside to join them. She’s on her knees in the circle drive. My father’s doing everything he can to bring her back up but she’s sobbing way too hard. Smith stands near them with his hand lingering above the gun strapped to his hip. They’re all looking forward at the car parked in the drive and the brown-haired man standing in front of it wearing a jet-black suit with no tie.

Fox.

He looks at me and I tremble in my shoes.

“Get back inside, Roxie,” Smith says at me, holding up a hand.

I ignore him and walk down the concrete stairs to get a better look at him. My father gets Cora to her feet and I pause near them, staring up into the brown eyes of a dead man.

“Hey, Dani,” he says to me.

His voice is deep, far deeper than I remember. He never had a beard either. His skin was smooth as butter back then. Now, it’s calloused and gray with hard lines on the edges of his eyes. There’s a darkness in them that wasn’t there five years ago. That playful twinkle has completely vanished. Wherever he’s been…

I’m honestly scared to find out.

Cora stumbles toward him. “Fox?” She reaches out and cups his shaggy face. “My Fox?”

“Yeah, Mom,” he says, his eyes soft. “It’s me.”

Tears stream down her face and she leaps up to throw her arms around him. “You’re home!”

He hesitates for a moment before returning the embrace.

Then, he looks at me.

“We need to talk,” he says.

Fox.

The man who fucked me and bailed without saying goodbye.

You bet your ass we need to talk.

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