Page 15 of Redemption's Inferno

“To my mum’s.”

Her eyes widened as he started tugging her towards the waiting car. “Wait, what? Your mum’s?!”

Chapter 6

They were quiet on the drive. Emilie sat in the passenger seat of Chains’ rental car and leaned back into the soft leather seat. She closed her eyes, letting her mind wander. Despite her overall situation, she was struck by the turn her life had taken since she’d married Viggo and moved to the U.S. For the first time, she had real friends. Even though Viggo had technically been her husband and was her daughter’s father, he was actually one of her best friends. The ordeal Therese had put them through had brought them from childhood friends who had crushes on each other to adults with a deep, lasting bond that went beyond marriage and even their daughter. He’d stood at her side when Therese posted the video of them having sex with an acquaintance of theirs, Otto. Even though it revealed Viggo’s bisexuality to the whole world—which had been humiliating for a professional athlete—he hadn’t wavered. His only concern had been helping her through it to make sure she was okay.

After it was over, and Therese had been arrested, she’d asked him for one night together. She had wanted one romantic evening that could erase the past and leave her with good memories of a man she’d loved for years. Fate had other plans, however, and she discovered she’d gotten pregnant that night. Instead of telling him, though, she’d opted to hide their baby from everyone. There had been no doubt in her mind he would think she’d done it on purpose and be furious with her. So she’d moved in with their friend, baseball phenom Dante Lamonte, and hid. It had given her time to think, to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. At the time, it seemed like going back to school so she could have a career was the best idea; she realized how difficult that would be once Simone was born. Then circumstances arose that forced her to tell Viggo about his daughter, and within a few weeks they’d gotten married.

It suddenly seemed like a long time ago, even though it was just over a year, and she sighed aloud.

“You all right?” Chains glanced over at her. “What’s got you sighing like that?”

“Just thinking about my life,” she said quietly.

“What about it?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Viggo…our daughter…”

“Do you still love him?”

“I’ll always love him. He’s such a sweet, sexy beast.” She smiled faintly. “But if you’re asking if I’m in love with him, the answer is no. He’s one of my best friends but I don’t…” Her voice faded and she cocked her head quizzically. “I guess I’ve never really been in love. Young, teenage love, of course, but not real love. I knew something wasn’t right with us—I liked being with him but other than the fact we had sex, there was nothing different than being with a friend. It wasn’t until I saw him with Jamie…” She sighed again. “Well, I knew then that what they had was different.”

“They’re good together,” Chains murmured. “They take care of each other in ways I’d never thought about.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, looking over at him.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever truly been in love either,” he admitted slowly, staring straight ahead. “Yeah, had some girlfriends over the years, had a couple of relationships, but between the job and not finding the right woman, I’ve never felt that. Never even thought about it, really. No time for that kind of thing, and until I left MI6, I never had married friends I was close to either. So after moving to Vegas, and being around everyone there, I saw love in a new way. Especially with Viggo and Jamie—everything they’ve had to fight against to be together and they just do it. It’s intuitive, I think. Despite his physical injuries and how much he’s had to do to get better, Jamie is in tune with everything Viggo needs, whether it’s a kiss or a beer or even to be left alone. At first I thought it was bloody ridiculous—two gay guys in love, being a bit sappy and such…”

“And then?”

He smiled, though he didn’t look at her. “Then I realized that’s what love is. The kind that most people doubt they’ll ever find. You see it when they talk, when their eyes lock across the room, and even when they talk about each other—those things aren’t sexual either. Their connection is tangible, the way they sense what the other needs and wants. I didn’t know there were people who loved each other like that.”

“Weren’t your parents in love?” she asked softly.

He shook his head. “My father left before I was born, and Mum never remarried.”

“I thought my parents were in love,” Emilie admitted. “But it turns out they weren’t.”

He glanced at her. “No?”

She shook her head. “It’s a long story.”

“We’ve time.”

She laughed. “Do you really want to hear about my parents’ romance?”

He shrugged. “If you want to tell me.”

“It’s not a big deal. Mum got pregnant by a man who was already married and he left at the end of summer. She never told him she was pregnant so he went home to his other family. My dad had always been in love with my mum so he offered to marry her and say the child was his—that’s my brother Karl. Karl only found out a few years ago and then Papa started acting strangely towards him. Turns out he’s always resented Karl’s success because Sebastian and I have…struggled.”

“Sebastian’s your twin, yeah?”

She nodded.

“You don’t talk about him much. Aren’t you close? I thought most twins were?”

“We used to be, but he was furious I hid Simone from him and then even more furious that I married Viggo—he still believes the marriage ended because Viggo is gay and that he used me somehow.”

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