Page 91 of Jael

“So itisbad news.”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

She stepped back to let him in. “Coffee?”

“No. I’m fine. Is it strange being back here?” he said, following her to the living room.

“I’ve been sleeping in one of the guest rooms to distance myself from it all, but yes. It’s strange.”

He looked around the living room when they entered. She’d changed it. Most of the furniture had been replaced.

When he sat on a plush cream-colored sofa, he rubbed his hand over the silky leather. “This is new.”

“This is the room where I found my dad. I couldn’t stand having it the same. It was like a memorial to his death.”

“You plan on staying here long?”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do. Even if I sell it all, I can’t have anything unless I marry Christopher. Maybe I’ll give it all away. I still haven’t come to terms with everything. Probably the easiest thing to get my head around is that fact that Artus was responsible for my dad’s death. It makes so much sense. I don’t know how I didn’t see it before.”

Danny looked at the floor, unsure how to proceed. The opportunities for pain in her life seemed to abound. “There’s something else.”

She laughed softly. “There always is.”

“It’s about your mom. When I spoke to the deputy director, I asked her about what happened.”

Jael didn’t flinch. “Why?”

“I thought you might like to know the truth. With so much uncertainty in your life, I wanted you to know.”

“You think it matters how she died?”

“Doesn’t it?”

She shrugged. “You’re going to tell me it was an accident?”

“It was. She was carrying drugs, and they chased her. While on the run, she fell.”

“I know.”

“But I thought?—”

“That I hold them responsible? I was angry. At my mom more than anyone, but she was dead, and I needed someone to blame. The FBI was an easy target. It suited my life the way it was. Gave me an outlet for the rage that was always just below the surface. Vita Nova changed that for me, and I guess that’s why I hang onto it so tightly. I know what my life would be like without it. In a way, the fear of what the future looks like has helped me understand better what her life must have been like.”

How could he ask her to help him now? She was so sad and broken. She’d likely say yes to his request, but he wasn’t sure he was willing to ask it of her.

“Is that why you’re here?” she said. “To tell me about my mom?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so.” When he didn’t say more, she scooted forward in her seat. “The FBI still wants the engagement party, don’t they.”

“How did you know?”

“I know how they work. How everyone works. They’re as hungry for control as my dad was. And I’m always the one in the middle doing the bidding of whoever has the most leverage.”

“I don’t like it, but all they want is an engagement party. That’s it. There doesn’t have to be a marriage.”

“What if they don’t get what they’re after?”

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