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With the keys are some kind of deeds to a building. I don’t know the address but it’s in New Orleans. It’s been set up as some kind of trust fund.
“She did all this…”
“And she kept it a secret until you turned twenty-one,” Priest says. “If your father or Leo found out, they’d have taken it from you.”
“My mom was a woman of many secrets,” I say. “I never knew.”
“She was an amazingly strong, very fierce woman, just like her daughter. Now I know where you get your fire from.”
Hearing his words makes me smile, even if it is tentative. “I guess I do.”
“No doubt about it.”
I fold the letter up, sliding it back into the envelope. “Now I have to talk to Jett and Rock.” I shake my head. “I’m their sister. What if they don’t want anything to do with me? I can’t say I blame them.”
“They aren’t like that,” Priest tells me. “Their mother always told them their father was some deadbeat who died long ago. She was a junkie and told so many lies, it’s hard to imagine she’d tell the truth about this.”
“Those poor boys.”
He rubs my knuckles with his thumbs. “They’ll accept you, it’ll just take time. And we have all the time in the world now.”
I look up at him, unable to take everything in. “Take me home, Priest.”
He smiles. “Gladly.”
Rock and Jett wrap me into a hug. It’s been a few days since Priest broke the news. I couldn’t face them. I didn’t have the gumption, nor the heart. And I needed the dust to settle for a few days. I have two brothers. Brothers that were born from violent circumstances, and they suffered at the hands of their own father. Something that I can see has mixed emotions on their faces. It leads me to ask, will this pain ever end?
Will what the Caruso family did ever be laid to rest once and for all? I guess in time it will, but I can’t speed that up.
I also learned that Cash is the one who killed my father. He pulled the trigger during the gunfight. Strangely, I don’t feel any animosity at all toward him. Nothing inside of me feels bad for that monster I once called a father. Nothing can ever prepare a person for that kind of news, but it’s over now. All of it is over.
I’m taken aback when they hug me together.
“This isn’t your fault,” Jett whispers. “And I’m glad we know the truth… Even if it is a little horrifying to know we have that bastard's blood.”
“I’m so sorry.” I can’t help the sob that escapes me. “I didn’t mean for you to find out this way.”
When I pull back, they’re both looking down at me. Rock holds the back of my head, his face intense. “You’re our sister, Bella. If one good thing came out of all this, then it’s you. I admit, it’s taken me a few days to come to terms with it… To not want to kill that asshole all over again because he was our own flesh and blood…” He trails off, gathering himself for a few moments. “What we ever did wrong I’ll never know, but he was clearly born evil and I’m a hundred percent certain you take after your mother.”
He’s right about that. I’m nothing like that piece of shit.
“Did he…” Jett starts. I get his meaning. Did he molest me too?
I shake my head. “I don’t know why he chose to do that to you… I can’t get my head around any man… My mother never left my side until she was killed, then I was with my Grandmother. Maybe that’s why he didn’t…” I swallow hard, my tone a hushed whisper. I know I’m talking in riddles but I can’t get the words out properly. “And after that, my grandmother raised me because my father was too busy building his empire. He never had any time for me, which is a blessing in disguise now that I look back at it. I should feel relief over that, but then I think about what he did…”
“It isn’t your fault,” Rock reiterates. “It’s nobody’s fault that’s standin’ here. You were innocent just as we were.”
“I want to get to know you.” My eyes plead with them. I can’t handle any more rejection. “There’s so much about you that I need to know. Holy shit, I have two brothers!”
While they look just as shocked as I do, Jett manages a small smile. “We didn’t come together under the best of circumstances, but we did come together, and that’s all that matters. It’s not a surprise to learn our mother was a liar. She never told us who our real father was, just he was a junkie and he split when we were small.”
Rock glances at his brother. “So which of us do you think is better looking?” He’s always the first to throw in a joke to lighten the mood.
I can’t help but laugh as I wipe away my tears. “You’re the same.”
“Bullshit.” Jett pulls me closer to his side. “It’s me, right?”
“In your dreams.” Rock punches him in the arm. “We all know I got the looks and the charm.”
