Atone (Recovered Innocence #2)(15)

“I should ask if you know where this Javier lives and if you have any other information on him other than his name,” I tell her, changing our perspectives, moving things out of the personal and into the professional. “It might help me find Marie. I might even be able to follow him to her.”

“He won’t be living where he was back…then.”

“What kind of car does he drive? Where does he like to shop? What habits does he have? I need anything you can tell me about him.”

“I told him about Marie.” She twists her hands together. “About my dream for us to be a family again.”

“It’s not your fault, what he’s doing to her.”

“No? Then whose fault is it? He wouldn’t even know about her if I hadn’t told him.”

“You think he might be using her to get to you?”

She nods. “I know he is.” She looks so small and vulnerable.

I edge closer. “What does he want?”

Her eyes are red-rimmed and tired as she stares at me. She dares me with her gaze to draw my own conclusions and to not make her say it out loud. He wants her, and he’s willing to use her sister to get to her. Another man wanted Cassandra, and that man took her. I couldn’t save Cassandra. I couldn’t prevent what happened to her and I’ll regret it until the day I die, but I can save Vera.

“Go back to Colorado,” I tell her. “I’ll find Marie. I promise.”

“No.”

“You’re not safe here.”

“I’m not safe anywhere.”

“But you’re safer in Colorado.”

“I’m not leaving until we find Marie.”

Sitting in the chair across from her, I put my forearms on my knees and lean toward her. “Be reasonable—”

“There’s nothing he can do to me that he hasn’t already done. I’m staying, and I’m helping you find my sister.”

“Vera—”

“I’m not changing my mind, no matter what you say.”

“I really don’t think—”

“I hired you. I’m your boss, not the other way around. I’m staying, and that’s the end of it.”

I need to try another tack. “You don’t have anything to prove here. You don’t have to put yourself in danger.”

“Maybe I have something to prove to myself.”

I don’t have an answer for that. I know about putting myself through shit just to prove I can do it. For a long time after I got out of prison, something as simple as getting out of bed in the morning was an exercise in self-assurance. Sitting through the trial of Cassandra’s murderer, listening all over again to what he did to her, was an act of defiance. If she needs to face this Abano guy to prove to herself she’s over him and what he did to her, who am I to stand in her way?

Just because I’m giving up the protest doesn’t mean I like the idea of Vera putting herself in potential danger. He can’t have her. I won’t let him.





Chapter 8


Vera


I can see the moment Beau decides to give up fighting me on this. I appreciate his concern. It’s been a long time since someone thought about my best interests before their own. It might actually be the very first time. I let that sink in for a moment. Since I met him, Beau has backed me at every turn. Even against his sister. I don’t know what he sees in me that makes him take up for me—sometimes against his better judgment—but he does. If our roles were reversed, I might not do the same for him. Or maybe I would. I like to think that I would. I mean—why wouldn’t I?

He’s not like anyone I’ve ever met. He should be angry at the world or at the very least use what happened to him to his advantage. He could’ve written a book that might get made into a movie. He could’ve hit the rounds of TV morning shows and talk shows. He could’ve cashed in a thousand different ways. But he didn’t. He didn’t grant a single interview after his release. I know, because right after I met him I scoured the Internet looking for one. I wasn’t interested in what everybody else thought about what happened to him. I was only interested in his thoughts and feelings.

And there was nothing.

I tried talking about what happened to me once. It was a horrible mistake. I could’ve written a book and maybe done the same TV morning-show and talk-show rounds. I could’ve, but like Beau I didn’t. I don’t know if that makes Beau and me normal or abnormal. All I know is that for whatever reason, he’s on my side. I need him on my side to find Marie.

We don’t stand any chance of drawing Marie away from Javier if I run and hide again. She’ll never leave him on her own. In the beginning, I would’ve died if someone tried to tear me away from him. I thought I was in love. I thought I knew everything. I thought I was so smart. I didn’t know there were people like Javier in the world. I didn’t know how far he took me away from everything and everyone I knew until it was too late and there was no going back. I didn’t know that someone who professed to love me so totally and completely could turn on me so brutally and cruelly.

I’m not going to let Marie make the same mistake I did. I know Javier’s strengths, but I also know his weaknesses. It’s not going to be easy getting Marie away from Javier, and we might have to resort to some things I’m not sure Beau is willing to do. I might have to do things I don’t want to do. But I can’t let Javier have Marie. I just can’t.