Page 89 of The Shadows We Keep

She doesn’t listen shaking her head.

“Open those beautiful eyes for me, baby, or I swear to God I will thrash that ass right here in the middle of your father’s hallway for all his men to see.” The threat hits its mark as she opens them slowly.

“Did you really think I didn’t know.” Her glossy honeycomb eyes widen.

“Maybe not at first, but when I saw you that day on the curb you woke something in me.”

“But how?” she asks settling down enough to listen to me.

“Babe, computer genius, remember?” I joke and the small sad smile that pulls at her lips leaves a sharp pang in my chest.

“I’m serious Harkin, what do you know exactly?”

“You know, I’m flattered.” I smile down at her. “You spent years following me online.” I brush a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “I can’t blame you, sweetness. You found Alina, and it’s only natural that you’d be curious. Curiosity can spin into a wild of obsession if left unchecked. Trust me, I know.”

“So, you’ve known this entire time, and you didn’t tell me? You don’t care?”

“If I did, we wouldn’t be here right now.” I shuffle us to stand up against the window, it’s progress from the scene I found her in. “We can talk about this later. All of it if you want to know, but what’s important now is getting us both out of here.”

“Out of here?” She looks shocked. “What about what Alina said? You can’t just run out on that, not for me. I won’t be the reason another little girl grows up without a dad, Harkin.”

“Yeah, Harkin you can’t just run out on your responsibilities,” Alina’s voice mocks from the other end of the hallway.

Her tiny heels clack against the marble floors as she slowly makes her way toward us. She’s living for this moment of being the center of chaos. Her ugliness hides in plain sight, under a thick veil of makeup and designer clothes. Taking her in again after the last couple of years, it’s clear to me now that she was never more than a placeholder in my life.

Keira’s entire demeanor shifts the closer Alina gets to us. Gone is the girl on the floor in shambles. Now, her back stiffens as she steps away from me, but my body automatically follows, refusing to let her stand on her own.

The tension between the three of us is suffocating. “I already said everything I need to say to you, Alina.”

“Mhm, but I don’t think you did.” She plays with the giant diamond on her finger, drawing my attention there.

“What is it you want from me exactly?” I ask her.

“I told you, Harkin, your daughter needs you. She’s sick. I got tested but I’m not eligible to donate to her. But you might be what we’ve been praying for.”

“Wait.” Keira pipes in. “Were you a match?” she asks Alina.

“Yes, but I’m not able to donate.”

Keira’s eyes swing to mine, a look of apology under the surface. “I’ll do it.”

THIRTY-EIGHT

KEIRA

Crazy Girls – TOOPOOR

The longer I’m here, the more I realize I don’t want to be. Wanting a family was never supposed to be this convoluted. Alina’s too focused on one-upping Harkin to get under his skin. She’s overlooking the obvious answer. I don’t know if it’s because she never mentioned me to her daughter’s doctor, or she would rather rope Harkin in and tie him down, even though she’s already attached to someone else.

“I didn’t ask for your help,” Alina snarks back.

“God, have you always been such a stuck-up bitch, or has it gotten worse with age?”

She rolls her eyes, but I can tell my words don’t affect her like they would anyone without her confidence.

Harkin stands quietly next to me. He gets it, but he’s waiting for me to put the offer on the table.

“Listen, you two have your own problems to work out. But as much as you seem to hate me for whatever fucking reason, all I’m hearing is that your daughter, my niece, needs something. You must have skipped high school biology when they explained identical twins share exact DNA, meaning whatever you could have donated, I should also be able to.”

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