Page 38 of Perilous Healing

The two of us against the world.

Then she’d met her husband while I was on my first tour, and the three of us grew close despite me trying to keep my distance so they could flourish as a couple.

The day I buried her, part of me died. And I know, without a doubt, had I not been standing there holding Eloise as they lowered my sister’s body into the ground, I might have just jumped into the grave right alongside her.

Losing her felt like losing a vital piece of myself, and I haven’t been the same since.

I try to recall seeing Bianca or anyone who looked like her, but I’d been so overwhelmed with grief I doubt I would have recognized anyone, least of all someone I was earnestly trying to forget.

“How did you know?” I ask. “That she was gone?”

“You weren’t the only one who couldn’t forget the other.” Bianca crosses her arms, the closest she’s come to putting up those walls, though her eyes remain clear. Soft. “I couldn’t let you go, either. You were constantly on my mind, and one day I had the urge to look in on you, so I did an internet search and saw an article on the accident. I know how much Sierra meant to you. How much you loved her, and that you had no one else. The thought of you suffering through that alone was too much for me, so I booked a flight to Texas.”

I’m not a man of many words by choice, but right now, even if I wanted to, I have no idea what I would say. The fact that she was there, that in the pain of losing my sister, Bianca showed up.

Bianca continues, “You were wearing a dark suit, your face clean-shaven. You looked so broken.” A tear slips down her cheek. “Eloise was in a black dress, but you’d given her a bright yellow flower to hold. I remember it being such a happy color. A splash of life amidst death.”

“A yellow tulip,” I recall. “I’d picked it outside of their house so she could take it with her.”

She smiles. “I was going to say something. Talk to you. But when I saw you with Eloise, for a moment, I thought?—”

“She was mine?”

Bianca nods, tears glistening in her eyes. “I thought that maybe you’d found someone else and moved on, and the last thing I wanted to do was be a reminder of the nightmare we suffered through. Not when you may have found some sliver of happiness.”

I open my mouth to respond—with what, I’m not sure—but right as I’m about to start speaking, a shrill cell tone slices through the air. Bianca reaches onto the countertop behind her and checks the readout, then answers.

“What’s up?” Her gaze locks with mine. “We’ll be right there.”

After battlingwith myself over the need to be close to Bianca and the desire to shove her away, I drive the both of us over to the hospital, where the shooter was currently recovering.

Wasbeing the key word there because, according to Lance, he’s now dead despite being expected to make a full recovery.

Lance and Jaxson are both waiting for us at the entrance.

“Jaxson, good to see you back,” Bianca says as she embraces him.

I try not to be jealous. After all, Jaxson is happily married to Michael’s sister, Margot, but seeing Bianca wrap her arms around another man makes my stomach churn. I want it to be me. I’ve always wanted it to be me.

“Glad you’ve come back,” I say, offering my hand.

“When Lance told me Bianca was shot and we had a potential crime war on our doorstep, I knew I needed to come back.”

“You shouldn’t have left because of me,” Bianca insists. “You’ve had a lot going on yourself.”

After being estranged from his father for most of his life, they reconnected when his father showed up to apologize after receiving a terminal diagnosis. He passed almost two months ago, and Jaxson has been in California ever since.

“Things were wrapped up,” Jaxson replies. “I was ready to come home. How’s the arm?”

“I’m managing.”

“Glad he missed.”

Bianca smiles. “Same.”

“So, what happened?” I ask, desperately needing a change in subject.

“We’re not sure yet. Doc says it could have been a blood clot, but we won’t know until the autopsy comes back. Personally, I’m betting on foul play. I think somehow, someone got to him. Elijah is with Sheriff Vick running down the names of everyone who had access to his room.”

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