Page 25 of What's Left of Us

“And if he was coerced?” I press.

He pauses, dragging his gaze across my face before looking away. “You really want to nail all of this on your mother and see him escape the death penalty, don’t you?”

“Porscha stopped being my mother when I stopped mattering to her,” I say tightly. “I don’t know when she decided to fake her death, but she never tried to find me either. Until she started doing weird things like applying to my club and killing again. Whoever she is now, she’s not the version of my mother that I want to remember.”

“It’s Xeno,” Vinny says, stopping me outside the prison doors. This was similar to getting into CGP, except Sterling stressed a couple times that Vinny can’t go back with me. This is a one-time favor that Sterling asked the warden for. He seriously thinks my deranged mother is going to tell me something that she hasn’t told anyone else. Personally, I think he’s lost it.

“You can take it,” I say with a shrug. I know Vinny’s been talking to his brother more and more, especially since Porscha was caught, but we haven’t really discussed it. His family has always been a bit of a mystery. I know the Ajellos get into a lot of illegal shit, but I don’t want the details. The only time he has shown any shred of violence is when it comes to me, and that’s all because he’s trying to protect me.

Well, maybe he has the same streak for Alastair too.

Vinny lifts my hand, kissing the back of my knuckles. We’re supposed to be following Sterling and Jensen inside the prison, and I can feel their eyes on us. “They won’t let me go in if I don’t follow now-”

“I have… Sterling,” I say in a low voice, glad neither of the agents behind us can see my face. “I know he does some things we don’t agree with, but against my mother I’m certain he would keep me safe.”

Vinny’s gaze softens, and he slides his phone into his pocket before cupping both sides of my face. I guess he’ll be calling his brother back. “You trust him that much?”

I swallow. “I think he makes some dumb decisions sometimes, and he’s definitely going rogue from his FBI duties, but yes. I trust him. He didn’t sleep with the three of us to turn around and betray us. You saw the look on his face when the FBI arrived. He was torn.”

My husband nods, leaning in to skim his lips across mine. It’s a soft kiss, his fingers tracing along my dimple piercings for a moment before he draws back. It keeps our conversation private. “You know he’ll never admit it, but Alastair saved his career by knocking him out. He didn’t have to justify what happened, and we haven’t fucked up the story yet.”

Squeezing his wrists, I try to collect myself before responding. “Hopefully Sterling returns the favor.”

Vinny turns and pulls out his phone, jogging back in the direction of our car. My heart tightens; this is the first time I’m going into a prison without my husband by my side.

“Jo.”

Looking over my shoulder, I’m not surprised to find Sterling standing close to me. If Vinny didn’t truly trust him, there’s no way he’d leave me in his care. My mother might be restrained and under the watchful eyes of the guards, but he won’t trust her. None of us do.

I swallow before speaking, turning to face him. “Vinny told me recently that if he sees my mother again he doesn’t know if he can let her go. He hates her, Sterling. He hated her all through high school, and it’s never changed.”

He stares at me. “So he won’t be coming inside?”

“Vinny doesn’t hate Alastair like he hates Porscha,” I explain. “Alastair, he has empathy for. Porscha, he only has contempt.”

Sterling nods and gestures towards the doors where Jensen stands near the guards, watching us curiously. “Maybe it’s better he doesn’t come in then.”

“My mother treated him like garbage,” I continue, following them through the gates. “No one was ever good enough in her eyes. Vinny had money, even if it was blood money. He was fantastic with me. He treated me better than she did.”

He keeps nodding, and I wonder what he’s learning from my words. I know he’s supposed to profile people, but I haven’t really dug into the science behind any of that. Maybe I’m revealing too much. “She hated him?”

“Anyone I tried to date or be friends with,” I mutter. Sterling knows this, so I’m not sure why he’s asking me to verify it.

“Well then,” he says, shooting me a look, “let’s use that to our advantage. If this is the only time you will agree to come here, Jo, let’s make it count. Come on, I’ll give you a few pointers on how to get Porscha to talk before you have to sit and speak with her.”

Jensen isn’t Sterling, and he doesn’t make me feel as safe as my agent does. I know, realistically, he’s trained the same way, but he doesn’tknowme. He’s just another FBI agent, notmyagent.

I’m being picky, and I blame that on the stress of facing my mother. The two agents coached me a little before we walked in, and Jensen has a slim file that’s supposed to have some papers for Porscha to sign if she agrees to anything. I’m not holding my breath that she’ll sign anything.

Just before we walk into the room, the warden comes in to chat. She’s an older woman who seems fond of Sterling, and now I’m connecting the dots on how he got a favor for this special visitation. She completely derails our conversation, nearly dragging Sterling away while batting her lashes when the two agents are supposed to be going over what I should say. They act like I haven’t done this before.

Sterling barely had time to pull me aside and ask questions before I walked in here with Jensen. The warden definitely has her eyes on him, and he all but turned away from her when he spoke to me.

“Did your mother ever seem to be hiding money?” he asks me.

I give him a look. “She always seemed to be hiding money. I never really cared because we had what we needed,but I don’t think I’m the right person to ask about her secrets. She kept everything from me.”

Sterling shifts on his feet, looking perturbed. I can’t help wondering what’s gotten under his skin now. “We’re investigating new details, and it seems Porscha may have been paying bills in someone else’s name under a shell company. Does the name Citrus Designs mean anything to you?”

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