Page 96 of The Wrecked One

“I’m not mad at you. These hormones are just . . . well,” she said while sniffling, “have me off. Thank God the morning sickness is over. Although, it was all-day sickness.”

Fixing my posture, I sat upright and regretted it immediately. Opposite the bed was a mirror over the dresser, and the last person I wanted to look at was myself.

The “open house” event was in an hour, and I already had my black slacks and shoes on, but my dress shirt was open, and my brother’s tags were visible. I wrapped a hand around them and brought my fist to my chin. I’d said my share of apologies in the last twenty-plus hours of being there, but this one was really choking me up.

“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I kept you in the dark, and that you were stressed about me while pregnant. I should’ve reached out. Tucker would have my ass for that.” I blinked back tears, swearing that the reflection in the mirror was no longer mine, but it was my brother there. “I’m so fucking sorry,” I added again, my voice catching that time.

“I’m sorry you didn’t feel you could come to me, and that you were hurting and alone,” she whispered.

“I wasn’t alone. I had my dad.” She had to have known that already, but I still felt the need to be the one to tell her. “He was at Tuck’s funeral. My mom’s, too. He was even going to try and save me in Dubai, but you beat him to it.” I let go of the chain to swipe the tears from my face. “He was there for me all that time, I just didn’t know it.” I was still upset with him, but I also understood him now. And I had every intention of letting him know I forgave him before I stepped into that ring with Hugo. I didn’t want to die without him knowing that.

“Oh, Oliver . . .” She was crying. A hard sob now.

“It’s okay. I’m . . .” Better? Not quite. But I couldn’t help but wonder if it’d be possible to get there if Mya stayed in my life. The problem was, even though I could forgive my father, I couldn’t forgive myself, and I wasn’t sure what that meant for my future.

While waiting for Julia to continue, I thought back to yesterday in that room with Mya. After I’d replayed her, I love you, inadvertently said or not, my knees had gone weak, and I’d almost given in to my heart instead of my mind and went to her.

I wanted to scoop her into my arms and promise I was back, and she’d never lose me again. That if she really loved me, that was enough for me. Her love could right any of my wrongs. And I’d do anything and everything she wanted, right down to forgiving myself for committing murder just to be with her.

But my brain won over. Logic and reason reminded me I couldn’t be with her. My mind emphasized in bold bullet points that my heart was a dirty liar. So, I didn’t respond or go to her. Instead, I walked out that door, destroying the last piece of hope still shriveled up inside me for good.

“Is that Oliver?” I overheard a male voice in the background, but it didn’t belong to Finn. “Can I have a word with him?”

“Don’t yell at him. He’s been through enough,” Julia warned, and I hung my head, knowing I was about to get another well-deserved lecture.

“Give me a second, will ya?” he asked her, and I connected the dots, realizing it was Michael Maddox, Julia’s older brother. It made sense he’d want to be with Julia while she was in danger. His overprotectiveness was what brought Finn into Julia’s life to begin with. “Oliver, hi,” he came back on a moment later, presumably now alone.

“Hey,” was the best I could come up with. I stood, avoiding the mirror on my way up, and held the phone to my ear with my good shoulder while I buttoned up my black dress shirt.

“Finn spoke with Wyatt earlier today, and he filled me in. With Echo Team staying Stateside, I think you should pull in more help. I know you’ll have Bravo and Charlie Teams backing you up against the Sorens, but you have me, too. Mason’s brother, Connor, is also in.” He listed off more names. More Marines. Bravo Four’s wife’s brother, Jake Summers. Aiden O’Connor. Ben Logan. “I think you need all hands on deck for this,” Michael continued, drawing me back to the fact I was still on the phone. “Even call in the McGregors for an assist.”

The Irish family, the McGregors, had helped us out last November when we’d been working to stop the EMP weapon attack. Our paths had also crossed a time or two in the past.

“You don’t need to get involved. None of you do. This is our problem.” Finished with the buttons, I held the phone again and went toward the window. I parted the blinds to look out at the courtyard where the party was being held.

It looked like a wedding was about to begin, with lights strung up and white tents and sapphire-blue flowers everywhere. But for me, it felt like I was attending a funeral. Perfectly dressed for it, too.

“If the Sorens accept this plan, they’ll hit you with everything they have,” he said as I let go of the blinds and faced the room. “They’ll do anything to stop you, and you know it. You need all the help you can get.”

He wasn’t wrong, but I didn’t want anyone else risking their lives.

“When it’s a done deal, Wyatt will let us know. And we’re coming. I guess I didn’t choose my words correctly. It was never a question. I was giving you a heads-up we’d be there.”

I knew better than to argue with Michael. He was as stubborn as his sister, which was probably one reason I’d avoided her the last four months. Julia would’ve persisted and fought like hell, just like Mya, to try and get me to come home. Avoidance was the easier route. The fucking cowardly one. “If you die, so help me.”

“Same for you, man. Same for you.” I’d thought he was going to call Julia back into the room, but instead, he added, “You know as well as I do that my sister blamed herself for your brother dying. She asked him to pick her up from that party that night, but she didn’t know he’d been drinking.”

Where was he going with this? Why’d this memory fuck me up so much all over again?

Was it because I wasn’t there when it happened? Because I didn’t know my brother had a drinking problem? Did I not call enough? Did Tucker not feel he could be honest with me?

The pain in my stomach doubled in size, and I closed my mouth, grimacing.

“It wasn’t her fault, Oliver, and if it weren’t for you, I don’t think she’d have ever accepted that. She’d have let the guilt destroy her,” he rasped. “You saved my sister, and for that, I’ll forever be indebted to you. And from what I know, you’ve saved a hell of a lot of other people in your life.”

He took a pause, letting the weight of his words sink in, nearly taking me to my knees.

In a gravelly tone, he added, “Think about all the people you’ve helped, and somehow find a way to stop blaming yourself for the ones you couldn’t. Those kinds of thoughts will take you to a dark place, and, Oliver, from what I know about you, that’s the last place in the world you belong.” And just like that, he was done with the call.

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