Page 118 of King of Tides

Ardan shakes his head at me.“They have him. I think we should leave soon. We’ve been here too long. I shouldn’t allow them to be exposed like this for so long.”

“You think this has something to do with magic?”

“We can never be too cautious.”

“Billy, I want to apologize. I see you’re happy,” Carson says pulling us from our conversation. “I’ve been a jerk, but I want to see you happy, even if it’s not with me.”

“I know. We don’t have to talk about this now.”

“No, it has to be now. You’ve been slipping away, and I didn’t know how to stop it. You have always been the prettiest girl in the world to me.

“I was the one who found you that night. Did you know that?”

“What do you mean?”

“The night Mack found you digging in the trash cans. I saw you first. Even as you rummaged through the trash, covered in dirt, I could still see how pretty you were.

“I raced back inside and got Mack. He was always so sad and broken before that night when it was just the two of us. Then you came and everything changed.

“You were our light. You made this a home for us both. I get it now, why you mean so much to him. You were his second chance to raise his daughter.”

“Huh? What daughter?”

“You know the picture in his office of the girl in the boxing gloves?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s her. She was killed by a drunk driver. Mack and his wife got divorced after. A few years later he found me and took me in, but he didn’t start to get better until you came along.”

“How do you know all this? He never answers questions about that picture.”

“Not while he’s sober. He told me about a year ago. She was the same age as you were when you arrived.”

“Wow.”

“You see? You have always been everything to us. I thought we would grow up and you would see we belonged together.

“I didn’t change my last name back to Ramirez to honor my family. I did so I could change your name from Salvado to mine. I was working to buy us a house and ask you to be my wife.

“When you came to me to ask for that favor with Ricci, I thought you were finally opening up to me. You were leaning onme like you do with Eddy. You were allowing me to be there for you … finally.

“I thought you finally understood I would sacrifice any and everything for you. Then this guy showed up and … and … Fuck. I can’t remember.”

Ardan growls in my head. I can feel his temper rising. I look to him and shake my head.

“Easy. He’s no threat to you.”

Ardan grunts in response, but he stops the growling. I look at Carson and note the confusion etched across his face. He continues after a few beats.

“All I know is I’ve been so angry, and you disappeared, and I couldn’t find the flight you used to take off and you stopped going to your place. Everything is so jumbled.”

“Car, maybe you should lie down. We can talk about this tomorrow or when you’re feeling better.”

He shakes his head. “I just want you to know I’m sorry. I would die for you, but I would never get in the way of your true happiness. I haven’t been myself and I’m sorry things got as far as they did.

“All I have ever wanted was to be your person. I’ve always been jealous of the bond you have with Eddy. I tried but you were never like that with me.”

His words hit their mark. I feel bad for always holding him at arm’s length. I thought it was best once I realized he didn’t see me as a sister. Not that I would have been big on showing affection if he hadn’t shown interest.

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