Page 86 of The Killer Who Kept Me

“Yes, you did. Sometimes just being there is something, Em. Thank you for being with my boy.”

“Well, you’re welcome, I guess.”

Saros entered the room and walked right over to us. “I see you two have met.”

I glanced at his hands, where fresh bruises were blossoming. “Yes.”

“Sorry to have kept you waiting, Governor.”

“Pfft, I have a feeling you have a lot on your plate right now. Everyone has been lovely. I do need to return home by the end of the day, and Andre’s mother wants to see him.”

“Of course. Shall we go into the study to discuss everything?”

“Sounds good.”

Saros rubbed my arm. “Do you want to come with us?”

“What for?”

“You’re involved in this, and you have a right to see it to the end.”

Part of me really didn’t want to go, but another part, one that desperately needed to heal whispered in my ear.

“Sure.”

I followed them to the study. Cosmo, Benny, and Mike were in there already, and I went over to the couch. I didn’t know what I had to contribute but just being there, knowing I was wanted, was enough for me.

“Ramsey can’t walk away from this, and jail will only breed more hate. Eventually, he could rise from it. Even if his power is only in prison, it could be enough to hit back.”

Eugene nodded. “So then what you’re telling me is that the location I provided you based on Ramsey’s intel was flawed? My son was there, but Ramsey Brookes was not?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

I didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to know the governor had just signed off on Ramsey’s death.

“However.” Saros sighed. “His son—there might be something fixable about him.” He met my gaze. “Em has a say here.”

RJ had been awful. But not always—he’d ignored me a lot, called me things. He’d maybe hit me once.

“I don’t ever want to see him again, but I don’t know if he’d have been a different person if he knew I was his brother. Ramsey wasn’t a father to anyone. I always wondered why RJ fucked up as much as he did in his life, and maybe it’s things I don’t understand.”

Eugene nodded. “What do you suggest, Saros?”

“I have an organization in Greece. I could give him a chance to prove he really can change. But he’ll only get one chance. I won’t risk another.”

Eugene pursed his lips and looked at me. “Do you agree?”

“Uh, yeah. I mean, that’s generous of you, Saros.”

“I just hope it doesn’t bite me in the ass.”

“What of Shyla?” Eugene asked.

“If she survives her detox, well, there’s nothing she has to come back to and unfortunately, she’d spill anything and everything for a bump.”

“I see.” The governor scratched his chin. “So Mr. and Mrs. Brookes couldn’t be found, then.”

And that sealed the deal on my parents.

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