Page 78 of Merciless Sinner

"I think so. Evan is currently on a business trip in Florida. He won't be back until early next week. We could bring him in for questioning, but I think it might be wise to wait until he gets back, just so we don't give him a heads-up so he can run or alert anybody else. In the meantime, we can watch him, but it's up to you."

I nod, although he can't see me. "Yes. Let's definitely do that. We can pick him up from the airport the minute he lands."

"Sure thing. That's it from me. I'll let you know if anything else happens, so you can focus your wife. I got things covered here." There’s a smile in his voice. I told him about the mini trip, and he thought it was a good idea.

“Thanks. Speak to you later."

We hang up, and I rest my hands on the banister. This news of Evan sounds like light at the end of the tunnel.

Hopefully, that light will lead us to what we seek.

ChapterTwenty-One

Olivia

We left the house half an hour ago to set off on our journey to the beach house in the Hamptons.

As we drove on the open road, I watched the scenery change from the busy New York traffic to the scenic countryside. I've been lost in my thoughts about Virgo and me.

My thoughts about us have even overshadowed getting my memories back and the investigation about my family.

Just like I knew it would, last night changed me in all the ways I predicted, and I know the closer we get to our destination for this little trip of ours, the deeper I’ll feel for him.

We’re going to be away for two and a half days.

It will be two and a half days and two nights of nothing but us. Seeing him all the time will be quite unlike the last twelve days, when I only saw him at different points in the day.

"Relax," Virgo says, glancing away from the road to look at me. "I don’t want your head to explode.”

"I was just thinking." I give him a little smile.

"About what?"

"About what it will be like to have a break from everything." I'm not used to taking breaks. I haven't been on anything called a vacation in the last two and a half years. It's just been go, go, go. I might've taken days here and there in different cities I stayed in to sightsee, but I wouldn't call that vacation.

"Tell me what's on your mind."

I stare at him for a moment and sift through the million things living in my head about us.

"Is this beach house somewhere we've been before?" It might seem weird, but talking about past places I've been to is one of the things that kind of bother me. I understand why everyone does it, but more often than not, it makes me feel bad that I just can't remember.

"No," he replies. "I wanted to create new memories with you." His answer surprises me.

"Really?"

"Yes. The past was great, and we visited some amazing places, but this is me moving forward with you."

A look of longing enters his eyes before he returns his focus to the road.

I don't look away from him, though part of me wants to ask if he's sure he wants to move forward with this version of me. But I keep the words from spilling out of my mind.

"Doesn't it bother you that I'm different?" I ask instead, but I almost sound like I’m repeating the same thing from last night.

"Just because you can't remember your life doesn't make you different. Not remembering doesn't change the past.”

“But doesn't the past shape your future?" I saw a quote like that written somewhere, and I strongly believe it. I believe that you go through things in your past, learn from them, and they define you.

"Your past is in you, Olivia." Virgo sounds as if those words are the truest thing he's ever spoken. "It's a part of you. Nothing can change that. Not even forgetting."

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