Page 128 of Haunted

Over seven years ago, I was fortunate enough to find the one man I was meant to be with for the rest of my life. I knew it the instant I met him. We only had weeks before our happiness was ripped away. The years I was in my coma I was lost, just floating in space, neither here nor there. The first person I saw after I came out of my coma was again the man of my dreams, the other half of my soul, but I was still lost. Even before I regained my memory, my soul recognized Luca for who he was, and I slowly started feeling whole again, like I belonged and was exactly where I was supposed to be.

With Luca and our daughter.

Now I have my sister and my parents back, and I know that no matter what happens, no matter what troubles life throws at us, it’ll never shatter the complete feeling I carry in my heart.

I introduce my sister to Aria, and she takes to her like a flower to the sun. We stay for dinner and Teresa tells me everything I’ve missed over the last seven years. I soak up every word, glorying in hearing her voice again and seeing the excitement in her eyes.

It’s dark by the time we leave. We all exchange numbers,and I promise Teresa and my parents that I’ll be back in a couple of days to visit again.

As Luca navigates the streets of the north side of town back to the south side, my hand in his on his thigh, I can’t help the smile that stays plastered on my face. I look over at him when I feel his eyes on me.

“I love you,” he says quietly, then brings the back of my hand to his lips.

“I love you, too.”

He looks back at the road, but I see the smile curving his lips. I look to the back seat of the truck and find Aria sleeping peacefully.

A single thought comes to mind and my grin widens.

My life couldn’t get any more perfect than it is right in this moment.

Epilogue

LUCA

MY BOOTS THUMP heavily against the hard linoleum floors as I follow the guard to a room filled with small dividers. Each divider has a pane of bulletproof glass and a telephone on both sides. I take the seat the guard indicates and wait. Sweat beads on my forehead. Not because I’m nervous. It’s from the ferocious anger coursing through me. It’s been a year since Theo was sentenced to life in prison for all the crimes he committed. At the fifty-year mark, he’ll be up for parole, but by then, he’ll just be a frail old man.

Sexual assault, sexual battery, rape, domestic violence, and two counts for attempted murder. Those were only the worst charges he was convicted of. There were several more. The jury was only out for ten minutes when they came back with their decision.

I’m reclined back in my seat, my ankle over my knee, when I see a guard leading Theo toward me. My jaw tightens at my first glance at him since the day he was sentenced to life in prison. The anger I felt toward him is still just as strong as it was theday I found him hovering over Jules, getting ready to rape her for the second time.

He glares daggers at me when he takes his seat and yanks down the phone receiver then brings it to his ear. I don’t grab mine right away, opting to just stare at him. I hate that we look identical.

Dropping my boot to the floor, I pick up the phone.

Theo’s voice sounds small when he growls, “What do you want?”

“Answers,” I grunt heatedly.

He barks out a laugh and it grates on my nerves. Originally, I wasn’t going to wait this long to pay him a visit, but I knew I needed to have a level head when I came, and it’s taken me this long to accomplish that.

“Why would I tell you anything?” he asks.

“Because you’ve got nothing to lose, and because you fucking owe Jules and me.”

He scratches the scruff on his face and doesn’t say anything for several minutes. Finally, he nods, and I get right to the point. I want this over and done with as soon as possible.

“Why?”

“Because I wanted her,” he answers simply, like it’s perfectly normal for someone to do the shit he did.

Theo’s lawyer tried to play the insane card, but the prosecuting attorney knocked that shit out of the water real fucking quick. My brother isn’t crazy, he’s just really smart and determined.

I move on to my next question. “Why did you take Jules to the hospital after you attacked her?” And why not blame me and have me arrested when I woke up with no memory? They saw the damage done to her. Someone had to be blamed for it.

He shrugs. “I freaked out when the bitch hit her head andwouldn’t wake up. I took her to the hospital and told them someone broke into her house.”

My jaw tightens, but I hold back my snarl as he continues.

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