Page 87 of Unfulfilled Promises
I got hugs from a few as the group walked back inside and into the living room. A small voice sounded through the group, and I turned to see where it was coming from.
“Wagan,” DJ exclaimed and ran into the room in a cute pair of dinosaur pajamas. I squatted with the book in my hand, and when he hugged himself to me, I made sure to keep the filth away from him. Not just the physical dirt, but the metaphorical as well.
“What are you doing here, buddy?” I asked as he released his strong hug from around my neck.
“Daddy said you need us, so we here.”
I looked across the room at Devlin and Elise smiling at our interaction. I looked back at DJ and asked, “He said that?” The little bugger nodded with wide blue eyes. “Well, I’m glad you’re here.”
Elise walked over and picked him up and as she turned to hand him to Devlin, I saw her eyes were glassy. She and I hadspoken briefly about the house she and I survived as children, and she felt guilty she was saved, and I was left behind. It wasn’t her fault, and I couldn’t have her and or anyone else feeling guilt over something they couldn’t control.
Seth walked up to me, and I handed him the baggie as I slipped my hand into his free one, needing his support. He gave a gentle squeeze as I began to address the group. “Thank you for staying and for all your support. I don’t know what tonight is going to uncover, but I’m glad that you, my family, are here for me. I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to love me and I can’t say thank you enough.”
Lucian stepped up and handed me an envelope. “It still sealed and whatever it shows, I want you to know how unbelievably impressed I am with you. You stood up to an entire criminal organization and you are the last one standing.” He lowered his voice and whispered, “You’re a badass, so don’t let him forget it.”
I smiled as I took the envelope from him, and glancing up, I saw James and Amaya step to the front with Rhys and Hannah, followed by Stella, Hawk, Hailey, Jacob, Devlin, Elise, and Rylee, Lucian’s wife. My hands trembled as I turned to face Seth, needing him to be the first to know, in case I don’t handle the results well. And I don’t know which would be worse. That these amazing people aren’t my blood family, or that my own father kept me prisoner, and his death led to my torture.
Slipping my finger under the seal, I opened the envelope and pulled the paper out to read the results. Apparently, Sergey’s DNA, along with Devlin’s, Lucian’s and Stella’s was all tested against mine and when I saw the results, tears filled my eyes. Looking up at Seth, I felt the tears fall from my cheeks as I turned the paper so he could read it.
Ninety-nine percent probability that the sample references were a direct familial match. Seth placed his hand on my shoulder and mouthed. “Tell your family the good news.”
I turned and let the tears fall freely as I said, “I’m your sister.”
Stella walked to me with her arms open, and then the rest surrounded me, pulling me into a hug that was filled with love and acceptance. I even felt a small pair of hands wrap around my leg and knew DJ was giving me his loving embrace too.
Everyone stepped back, and I looked at Hannah. “Have you gotten the results for Waylon?”
It was harder to get his results. Ricardo had been given a bone marrow transplant when he was a kid for leukemia, and he was one of those rare people whose body carried two kinds of DNA, his and the donor’s, so there needed to be additional testing for them. The results should have been here a day or two ago, and in all the sadness of the funeral, then the shock of my remembering, I felt like he got pushed to the side again.
And after what he . . . no, what we lived through, I wasn’t going to let him be forgotten again.
Hannah nodded and took my hand as she explained. “Ricardo wasn’t his father. Neither was Sergey. But . . . they did find a match for him in the Syndicate’s DNA database that our brothers . . . weird . . . that our bothers built after all these random people started appearing. Waylon was Kelly and Marco Marcora.”
I looked at Devlin. “The same Marco that . . .”
I let the words die on my lips since DJ was still in the room. Devlin nodded and reasoned, “My guess is Sergey and Marco visited the same . . . establishment, or Sergey used Kelly to seal the deal and he went . . . rambling.”
“Damn. This is all kinds of messed-up, isn’t it?”
Needles, the Death Hounds tattoo artist, stepped forward. He was always a quiet guy, covered head to toe in some epic ink,but when he did speak, his words were always powerful. “Regan, I know the last couple of months have been . . . unbearable. Maybe not in the way you’re thinking, but in the overall scheme of things. I can tell you that this is a small world, and the invisible connections we have with people often root back to someone else in our individual world of friends or family. And this world we have here is pretty good. I know there will always be questions, but after everything, isn’t it time to answer this last one, and let this go forever?”
He and I had some detailed conversations about the work I wanted done to help cover the scars that crisscross my body. He was able to get to the core of some of my problems as we discussed ideas, placement, pain expectations, and long-term results. Needles was insightful, trustworthy, honorable, but most of all, he was a friend. And he was able to help me understand that with Seth, I was safe, and it was his encouragement that instigated this morning. Without my therapist and my tattoo artist, I don’t think I’d ever have a love life again.
Nodding, I turned to Seth, and he smiled as he handed me the notebook. Looking up, I asked, “Is there enough seats for everyone?”
Gunner stepped forward and explained. “We didn’t stay for this part, Regan. We just wanted you to know that no matter what the results of that test showed, we are your family, and we will always have your back. You may not be a Death Hound officially, but you are DHMC family. Never forget that.”
He hugged me, followed by Sadie, Needles, Violet, Rose, Jackal, then Skid, and finally Grace. She whispered, “I’m so proud of you. Call me and we’ll plan a girl’s weekend.”
She pulled back, and I nodded as she and the rest of the Death Hounds left, headed back to Portstill, I assumed.Hailey, Jacob, Hawk, and Stella stayed, since this is now family business. Which makes it their business.
“Let’s go to the war room so we can be comfortable,” Rhys suggested.
“I’m going to stay here with DJ,” Elise remarked.
“Us too,” Amaya said and she, Hayden, Aubrey, Elise, and DJ took a seat on the couches in the living room while the rest of us walked down the hallway.
I followed my brothers and sisters into the war room and took a seat. Seth sat next to me, and he took my hand as James came up to me with his laptop, taking the seat on the other side. Opening it, he began to connect to the overhead monitor as everyone found seats. Devlin, Lucian, and Rylee sat directly across from Seth and me, with Stella next to them, followed by Hawk, Hailey, then Jacob.
