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I sit with her for hours, sometimes in silence, sometimes sharing bits and pieces of my life as though she’s actually here. It’s nearly dawn when Lexie finds me.
My Angel approaches gingerly and sits beside me, lacing her fingers through mine. Neither of us speaks for a long time. The silence is respectful, almost reverent.
“You shouldn’t have come out here alone,” I chide, softly.
“I didn’t. Tamar and Zé are with me.”
I look over my shoulder, and my best soldiers, my friends, keep watch, in the distance.
“Come here,” I murmur, pulling Lexie between my legs and wrapping my arms around her. “I love you.”
She squeezes me. “I love you too. I hoped to bring you peace. Not pain. I never wanted that.”
“To get to the peace, I need to go through the pain. I’m not there yet, but a small part of me is already beginning to feel lighter.” I press a kiss to the back of her head, inhaling her scent. “Thank you.”
The rain starts to come down harder, and while it’s cleansing, it’s also cool, and I don’t want Lexie drenched. “I’ve been here a long time. Why don’t we go home?”
She nods, and I stand and pull her up off the ground. Snaking an arm around her waist, I drag her to my side, where she belongs.
Before we reach the exit, I glance over my shoulder, one last time.
The cemetery doesn’t have enough shade trees and her grave is too low. I’m sure it floods when it rains for more than a day. She deserved better in life, and she deserves better in death.
I was too young to save her then—but I can take care of her now.
EPILOGUE II
Eight years later
Lexie
We’re visiting my parents in London when I get a text from Valentina with the confirmation I’ve been waiting for before I blab the news to Rafael. He’s huddling with my dad, and although my father hasn’t threatened to put a bullet in him in ages, I’m still sure he’d like to be saved.
The library door is ajar, and when I hear my father make an offer, I stop myself from knocking.
“I’m dead serious,” my father says pointedly. “I want you to take over my business. There’s no one I trust more not to fuck it up.”
My father isn’t prone to hyperbole, nor is he effusive in his praise. It took some effort, but they’ve forged a strong relationship over the last several years based on mutual respect and their love for me. I couldn’t be happier.
Dad’s right about my brilliant, sexy husband being the right man to take over for him. Rafael has the Huntsman empire humming. Sure, there are plenty of headaches, but he’s a modern leader with twenty-first century ideals that the company and the industry desperately needed.
“I’m flattered,” Rafael replies, “but my business is in Porto. Too many people depend on me. I can’t move to London.”
“I suspected you were going to say that. What if you put someone you trust here, and you manage the big picture from Porto. It would require frequent trips to London, but you own a damn fleet of planes. Besides, it’ll make Samantha happy to have everyone here more often.”
Only Samantha? I cover my mouth to suppress the chuckle. The truth is no one would be happier than Dad to have us in London more frequently.
“I could put Zé and Tamar here,” Rafael replies, after some time passes. “It would be a great opportunity for him and easier for Tamar to visit her family from here. Her parents aren’t getting any younger.”
“Zé is exactly who I was thinking about, too. He’s been with you a long time. Think he’d be willing to change gears?”
“Before we get too far down this road, you need to make the same offer to your daughter that you made to me.”
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” my father roars. “Just when I think you have some goddamn sense, you say something stupid. Do you think I want this filth all over my daughter? Is that what you want for her?” Some things never change.
“It’s her birthright,” Rafael replies flatly, in that calm way he has when he’s made up his mind. “She’s an adult, and she doesn’t mind a little dirt. But it’s up to her. I won’t agree to anything until she’s been given a chance to step into your shoes.”
I love this man with every fiber of my being.
