Page 8 of The Price of Forever

I snapped up my cell phone and raced toward the kitchen, pacing back and forth as I struggled to remember where I’d stashed Damian’s number. He’d given it to me on his second visit to the coffee shop, about two days after their first visit with Mercedes. He’d begged me to call him and Axel, to at least put his number somewhere safe. In case I ever needed them or wanted to connect. I’d saved the business card—only after digging it out of my work’s trash.

If I connected with them for anything, it was going to be to ream them new ass holes.

Through my panic and frustration, I remembered I’d tossed the card in a pile of junk mail on my bookcase. I rummaged through the stacks, mail flying to the floor as I hunted the matte black card. Finally I found it, looking worse for wear.

The Fairchilds.

I scowled. They’d been born Haynes, just like me and Kaylee, but completely forgot about us once they changed their names to their foster-turned-adoptive parents’ name.

Was I slightly salty they’d lucked out on the foster front? Of course. Especially when Kaylee and I had lived through nightmares for years on end. And Kaylee hadn’t made it through to the other side alive.

My throat tightened as I looked down at the floor. If Kaylee were here, she probably wouldn’t let me call them. She’d died resenting them. And every last bit of resentment that she wasn’t able to carry on, she passed to me.

I ground my teeth for a moment, mulling my options. Anger won. I swiped my phone on and called Damian.

It rang a few times before he picked up. “Hello?”

“Damian.”

A pause. “Jordan?”

“That’s right.” I tugged at my upper lip with my bottom teeth, suddenly at a loss for words. I was still mad, but I hadn’t planned out my speech. What the fuck was I supposed to say now? I’d blanked.

“How are you?” he asked.

“Furious.” The pieces came crashing back, and I suddenly remembered what I had to say. “You sent a stalker to follow me?”

Damian sighed gently. “He’s not a stalker—”

“What gives you the right to send someone to hunt me down and follow me all over fucking Manhattan like I’m a mouse to be caught? Do you know how fucked up this is?”

“Jordan,” he said more forcefully this time, “he’s a protection expert—”

“I don’t care if he’s an expert in saving babies from treetops. You don’t send a stranger to track me like a serial killer. How do I know if this guy is really on my side or not? How do I know to trust him? I don’t, Damian. That’s the thing.”

“But we trust him. We would never send someone untrustworthy—”

“And do you think I trust you?” I asked, my voice coming out a shriek.

There was the first thump of silence between us. “I would hope so.”

“Well I don’t,” I spat out. “You two might be my brothers, but I don’t even know you. So why would I just welcome this strange man into my life?”

Damian sighed again. Finally he said, “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

I took a few deep breaths. My chest was practically heaving from getting all those thoughts out of my head and heart. Fuck, I felt lighter now.

“We should have approached you before we went ahead with the plan,” Damian went on. “But you didn’t reach out, and we didn’t want to leave you vulnerable. There’s a lot you don’t know. A lot we want to protect you from. And that’s all this is about—protection. Now that we know you’re alive, we want you to stay that way. Because whether or not you know us, you’re still our family. Our baby sister.”

I scoffed, but my throat clamped before I could say anything.

“We never dreamed this day would come—finding you alive. So now that our wildest dreams have come true, we just…want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Why the fuck wouldn’t I be okay?” I asked. “I’ve made it four years in New York on my own, perfectly fine. Not to mention the absolute hell I survived for almost twenty years before that. I think I can handle continuing my daily routine.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about yet. And I’d love to tell you more about it. I’d love to see you. Can we meet sometime?”

The hopefulness in his voice sliced through me. God, it was easy to believe that tone. The words. But I couldn’t. Not after everything Kaylee and I lived through.

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