AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Or he’ll rush in. Panic. Get everybody killed. I guess we’ll see.”
Sabrina steps forward. “Can you show some sensitivity, please? This situation is very tense, and talking like that isn’t helping, okay?”
Ramirez raises her hands. “I hope I’m wrong.”
“Nobody’s dying,” Sabrina says, looking at Ramirez and me. “Got that?”
Suddenly, my cell phone starts ringing. Every officer in the room tenses up. When I tell them it’s Kylie, their shoulders sag. There’s this weird desperation in the officers as if everything relies upon them finding Jamie quickly. Maybe that’s because therewascorruption back then. Perhaps they helped Dad fake his death, and now they want this whole thing over with.
“Lucy,” Kylie says passionately, her voice cracking.
“I’m here.”
“Our flight had to be grounded because of technical difficulties. We’re coming, but we’re going to be delayed. Any news?”
“Still nothing. I’m sorry.” I let out a breath, almost sobbing, walking to a private corner of the room. “I just keep waiting for him to walk through the door with that smirk on his face.”
I can hear her smile when she responds. “It’s so funny. I keep thinking you must be strangers to each other, but when you say things like that, I know exactly what you mean—Jamie’s special smirk. He always protected us,me. He took punishment from Dad and stood up for me so I didn’t have to. Then I believed it. I really believed he was a killer.”
She breaks down, sobbing, as I try to say comforting things, but it’s difficult to say anything that will heal the pain of Jamie not being here.
“He did it all for me,” she whispers. “For me and his nephew, but we wouldn’t let him see him, would we, Sebastian?”
In the background, I hear a man’s voice, torn. “We didn’t know.”
“Yousaid you’d let no son ofyoursmeet a killer. You said I should disown him. You said he was a monster.”
“We all thought he was,” I say, voice cracking. “Oh, Kylie.Ithought he was a killer.”
“But you said you fell for him when you saw him in the documentary.”
“I did.”
“Buthow?If you thought he did that? You remember the details of the body. They said my big brother hacked your dad to death, refused to explain why, and youstillwanted him?”
“Yes,” I yell, causing several police officers to turn and look at me.
I walk into the kitchen, shaking my head when Sabrina raises her eyebrow as if to say,Need backup?
“Yes, I did,” I continue, lowering my voice, “because your brother’s that special. He’s that unique. He’s the best man I’ve ever met. It goes beyond words. It goes beyond shared experiences. I don’t care if I sound like I’m fixing to write the world’s cheesiest ballad right now.”
Kylie miraculously laughs.
“But it goes beyond time, seriously. I must’ve known deep down he didn’t do it. I never could’ve imaginedthis, so I accepted their version.”
“I’m sorry,” Kylie says.
At first, I think she’s talking to me. Then I hear Sebastian respond. I think they hug.
“I have to go,” she says a moment later. “I need to check in with Vanessa.”
Vanessa is Sebastian’s mom. She’s taking care of Kyle while they travel. They didn’t want to put him through the stress.
“Okay. I’ll speak to you later.”
“Lucy,” she says. “I don’t know how this happened. I didn’t know love like this existed, but I have to say this. I don’t care ifIsound like I’m writing a cheesy love song. I’m glad you’re in his life. I’m glad you could forgive him. I just hope he can forgive me.”
“He already has,” I say. “There was nothing to forgive, anyway.”
