Page 10 of Twisted Lies

Mia’s face flashes in much the same way Kevin’s had the night he was shot. “No. not yet. But there’s nothing to be worried about. The guards have been doubled. We’ll be sending two men with you going forward.” I open my mouth to debate, but she raises her hand to stop me. “I know you think it’s overkill, but until the shooter is found, I would feel better having everyone covered.”

I want to debate more, but I know it’s no use. “Are you staying in town?” I ask. Mia and her husband, along with Becca, moved to Texas a few weeks ago. Mia said she would be moving back after a couple of weeks. Based on how happy she looks with Alex, I don’t think she’ll be moving back. I’m delighted for them, but that means I’m out of a job. Watching Becca and running some errands paid for my room and board. I won’t be a freeloader.

Mia grins as if reading my thoughts. “I’ll be in town for a few weeks. We need to figure some family stuff out. Alex is taking Becca back to Texas. He’s been away from work too long. I’ll feel better having Becca there till…well, you know. But I know things have changed for all of us, but I still want you to stay.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re family, and we look after family. You have been good to us. Let us return the favor.”

“Mia, I’m the one in your debt, not the other way around.” Now Mia looks ready to debate, and I have already had my morning sparring with her brother. I’m not in the mood to continue with the other sibling. “We’ll talk about it later. Now go see if your brother has managed to slip through a window.”

She smiles at the picture. “More likely, someone pushed him. I’ll see you when I get home.” She grabs my arm, squeezing it in comfort as if she senses I’m leaving. I don’t say anything because I don’t want to lie. But it’s time for me to go. I have already overstayed my welcome. With Becca staying in Texas, there is no job for me here. Mia speaks about family, but I don’t need one of those.I had one, and that never ends well.

* * *

ELIJAH

“I hear you’re going on a hunger strike,” Claire states, entering the room. She interrupted my mental debate on if I could survive the fall from the window or tie enough material together to escape. “Claire, I’m not in the mood.” I was sick of being in this bed and this room. I’m ready to get the fuck out of here and get back to work. I need to find Rebecca, and I need to do it now. I have been sitting here long enough. Connor was at the hospital earlier, waiting for me to wake up. He was the first person I spoke to after the surgery. He wanted to know everything I saw that night. I could obviously not tell him the truth. Thankfully, Claire and I were the only ones who saw her. Alex knows the truth, but no one else can. If Connor finds out who Claire and I really are, we are both as good as dead. As far as the world knows, Claire, Elijah, and Rebecca Rossi died in the explosion. From the ashes rose Kevin and Mia. Come to find out, and a Rebecca.

Not much shocks me. Rebecca being alive is the shock of a lifetime. “What are we going to do?” Claire asks, taking a seat.

“I’ll handle it.”

“E. I need to know. I can help.”

“No. I said I’ll handle it. That’s the end of it,” I say crossly. Her eyes flash, and I know she wishes to debate. Something in my face must have changed her mind because she says nothing, very unlike Claire. “Claire, I’m going to find her. I swear.”

“How is she alive? Where has she been this whole time? E, we left her all by herself. She must have been terrified. How did we not know?”

Good question. I still have a few eyes and ears back home. How none of them knew is surprising. She was in the house when the explosions happened. I had just spoken to her a few minutes earlier. Nothing is making sense. If she knew where we were, why did she wait, and why did she shoot me? What is going through her mind?

“We’ll have answers soon. It’s complicated things.”

“Having our sister alive is a complication?” Claire snaps.

“That’s not what I said! It’s just a fact that things have gotten harder. I was getting closer to making my move. Rebecca is an unknown element. For God’s sake, Claire, she shot me. Who knows what she has planned or what she will do next?”

“Elijah, it’s Rebecca. She won’t do anything to put us in jeopardy.” I know she’s trying to convince both of us.

“Ha. You were there when she shot me, right? Who knows what she has been through these last few years? She’s changed, Claire. She’s not that innocent little girl anymore. Shit, the old Rebecca couldn’t hold a gun, let alone pull the trigger.”

I understand Claire wants our sister back, but the woman who shot me wasn’t her, she may look like her, but the coldness in her eyes was not my sister. She was another person—a different lifetime. Claire doesn’t want to admit it, but whatever happened to her after we left made her into something different. I recognize the darkness in her eyes because I see it reflected back at me every time I look in the mirror. I know Claire knows the look as well. Time has changed us all, none more so than Rebecca.

“Our main priority has to be to find her,” Claire mumbles, glancing at the white tile floor, not wanting to see the truth in my words.

“It is. But things have been set in motion. Things I can’t just call and stop. We need to be ready to make a move. Is Alex with us?” I ask.

“What are you going to do about Connor?” she asks, avoiding the question about Alex.

“If everything falls into place the way I want it to, I’ll tell him the truth. He’ll be pissed. But I’ll be more useful to him alive. That’s what I’m counting on.” I owe Connor and his family much. They took us in and gave me a purpose again. They never would have done that if they knew the truth, but I did what I had to do to protect my family and would do it again.

“Knock knock,” Connor says, entering the room. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Connor is fit for his age. His hair is light blond with shades of red. He does not appear as strong as he is, and that seems to be an unpleasant surprise for some. I’ve seen him shove and pick up men twice his size. He is quick to temper, and once he gets to a point, there is no talking him down. I’ve learned to step back and not be the subject of his fury. Connor can cut a man to pieces and not blink an eye, but he is anal retentive about his skin. His skin is pale, as he avoids tanning and burning at all costs. He spends a fortune on sunscreen. It’s very funny to watch him on his yacht in the summer rubbing inch after inch of the stuff on his body. The women eat it up.

“Of course not, Connor,” Claire says standing, becoming Mia. “I was just leaving. Kevin, I’ll be here in the morning to take you home. Don’t piss anyone off too bad between now and then.”

“Had lots of visitors?” Connor asks, standing near the small window in the room, looking out at the parking lot.

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