Page 61 of Encircled in Darkness
“I think today is the perfect day to get to know each other. We’re having a picnic at the lake to remember Natalia.” Her voice stuttered and she wiped a falling tear. “I’d like it if you could be there.”
“It would be my honor.” He said and nodded his head to me. Looking at Amaya, he smiled before walking to his car parked behind the lengthy line of motorcycles.
The DeathHounds watched Preston intently as he got into his car and drove away. I never had to worry about Amaya’s safety as long as they were around. Linking hands with her, we turned toward the car, seeing Devlin and Elise leaning against the door with smiles on their faces.
Helping Amaya into the car, I turned to my brother. “I should kick your ass for calling him.”
“I told him to call.” Elise explained. “She has family. Someone that loves her, and I can only imagine how hard losing her sister has been for her. I thought...” she turned her head to Devlin with a worried expression. “You said he was a good man. Was I wrong?”
Tears filled her eyes and Devlin cut his deadly gaze to mine. Anyone who upset hislambbecame a target for his wrath. Being pregnant had her overly emotional and that made for a very unstable Devlin.
“I wouldn’t have called him if I didn’t agree, lamb. Preston is a good man, and I’m sure James was just surprised.” His voice took a tone that let me know it was time to calm Elise.
“You weren’t wrong, Elise. I would have just loved a heads up.”
“I sent you a text.” Devlin helped a waddling Elise to their car and muttered. “Dumbass.”
Pulling my phone from my pants pocket, I saw it was still on silent. There were two texts letting me know about Preston and I shook my head. Climbing in the car with Amaya, I pulled her against my chest, and she exhaled deeply. Kissing her as we pulled away from the cemetery, I glanced down at her.
“Do you think he’ll like me?” she whispered, playing with the end of my tie.
“He already loves you, sweetheart.” She looked up at me, a sad smile on her face. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“I remember him.” She spoke, her eyes moving to the side window, and I raised the partition between us and the driver. “It was my tenth birthday and my mother was in a terrible mood. I was outside, trying to stay out of her way, when Natalia returned from the store. We were eating a chocolate bar, which for us was a rare treat.”
I nodded, remembering life in the Flats. Candy was a luxury and to enjoy one, you usually had to steal it.
“A car pulled up and a man we had never seen asked for her. He was dressed nicer than I had ever seen, and Natalia dragged me away from him. Things were getting worse at home and she was afraid our mother would...” she shivered and continued with a hollow stare. “We got home that night from the playground and she was gone. For a month we hid in the trailer, not knowing if or when she would come back. That’s when the state found us and put us into the group home.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
“The man. It was him, James. My father. Why would he show up then never return?”
Sighing, knowing today wasn’t supposed to be about dragging up the past, I answered. “He gave your mother five thousand dollars and told her to find a better place to live. He knew when he saw you she had been telling the truth all those years ago. You were his and he was furious she had allowed you and Natalia to be neglected so badly. The following week, his father died, and as the oldest son, he had to deal with a large estate, making sure all the legal details were handled. When he went looking for her again, for you and your sister, he came up empty-handed. Your mother used so many fake names that it was impossible for him to find you. He tried so hard to locate you, but with different last names and no proof of paternity, he was lost.”
“So, he wanted me?”
“He wanted both of you, even knowing Natalia wasn’t his, he wanted to take you both and give you a home filled with love. He’s beat himself up for years over not taking you when he first saw you.”
“And she left with his money.” Her words were filled with hurt, but she looked at me and smiled. “At least she’s gone so she can’t hurt anyone ever again.”
Amaya
We changed clothes at James’s apartment after the funeral, choosing to wear less formal clothes for the picnic. He found me on the balcony with my gaze locked on the park as I watched the caterers James insisted on hiring setting up the tents and tables near the water’s edge of the lake.
He wrapped his arms around my waist, and I brought my hands to rest on his. He nuzzled against my neck; I tilted my head and felt him place a soft kiss on the column of my throat. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a joint and offered it to me. I had been smoking more since Natalia had died, needing the numbness to help ease the pain. It probably wasn’t healthy, but after all the shit I’d dealt with, I would cope however I could.
“Do you think you and I would have met if everything hadn’t happened the way it did? If Preston took us to live with him and we never got put into the system. Do you think you and I would still know each other?” I asked, exhaling a deep lungful of smoke.
James turned me to look at him, brushing a piece of hair from my face and caressing my cheek. “I have no doubt that even if your life had been different; you and I would have still found each other.”
He picked up my left hand and placed a kiss on my ring finger before he winked and took a draw off the quickly disappearing joint. We stood, looking as the wind pushed small boats around the lake, the sounds of children laughing echoed up to our apartment. I fed Nova before he left the apartment.
James took my hand and we met Devlin and Elise in the lobby downstairs. I liked Elise, and when she told me about her kidnapping and subsequent escape during our first meeting, I realized she and I had similar pasts. We’d become fast friends and I’d spent a lot of time with her - while our men had been working - over the last couple of days. It made it easier to watch us if we were together, she joked.
Arriving at the private area James had reserved, I found the Deathhounds helping set up chairs and carrying food from the catering truck. I giggled as a tiny woman with fire red hair barked orders to them and they fell in line quickly.
There were yellow roses, sunflowers, carnations, and daisies decorating the tent and the buffet line was almost finished. Elise put her nose into the air and squealed, causing Devlin to jump and grab her stomach. “Are those pigs in a blanket?” she asked and licked her lips.
