Page 91 of Sin With Me

“It’s my parents. My father’s dealt with Cortez before, and I’m hoping they’ll be able to help us make sense of all this. Beware, Brook’s coming too. And so are Dean and Jax. It won’t be easy to get a wordin.”

He sighed, then stood up and walked to open the door. A man in a wheelchair appeared first, followed by a raven-haired woman. He was handsome and she was stunning, and I realized that Cameron must have inherited his good looks from his parents. His mother froze when she saw me. I watched her face lose all its color as she let go of the wheelchair.

“Anna?” she whispered.

“No, Mom. This is Kate. She’s Anna’s daughter.”

“I know exactly who she is.” The woman covered her mouth and in a few quick steps was standing in front of me. Her arms flew around me and she squeezed me so tight I had a difficult time breathing.

“Hope, I never thought I’d see you again.” She finally let me out of her embrace but held me by my shoulders. “You look just like your mother.”

“You know my mother? I’m sorry, but I don’t recall when or where we would havemet.”

“Of course you wouldn’t. My name is Mary. You were just a little baby when Anna and Xavier had to go into hiding. We were forced to break our friendship and cut off all ties so that our families wouldn’t be connected. Mateo Cortez was a vengeful man after his brother was killed”

She then reached for the necklace of St. Michael around my neck, took it gently between her fingers, and smiled. “Hope, you’re our goddaughter”

Cameron appeared as dumbfounded as I was. He stood with his mouth wide open, looking from his mother to me and then back. The man in the wheelchair, whom I assumed was Cameron’s father, rolled forward. He stood up with some effort, shuffled toward me, and took me into his arms as well. Though I didn’t know these people, they felt safe. They felt like family.

“It’s so good to see you, Hope. How is Anna? How is Xavier? And what are you doinghere?”

I looked to Cameron for answers, but I could see on his face that he didn’t haveany.

“Kate, this is my father, Jack Madden.”

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