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“Yes, Mom.” She tried to feign annoyance, but her lips quirked and her cheeks flushed, and her half-hearted scowl melted into a blindingly gorgeous yet timid smile that made my knees weak. She leaned into me, tucking her hand into mine and squeezing, giving her true thoughts away.
She was scared. Could see the cloud of it hovering over her from a mile away. Seeing Jen and Vinny for the first time since before the girls were abducted had caused her more than one panic attack this week.
But she’d insisted we come here. She’d insisted I drag her kicking and screaming if I had to. While I wouldn’t put her through that—through something her still-fragile heart couldn’t handle—I knew how important this was for her.
For everyone.
Vinny’s penthouse door swung open and an older woman with long, graying black hair peeked out. One of her thick eyebrows rose as she tilted her chin up to look at me, and something resembling a smile carved itself into her face.
“Lee Bridgewater.” Rose Goretti, Vinny’s family’s housekeeper, shook her head before putting her hands on her wide hips. “Never expected to see you again.”
“Rose.” I dipped my head, then peered down at my side. Kelly’s grip tightened on my shirt. I squeezed her closer, then spoke to the older woman. “This is Kelly O’Connor.”
Rose turned her sharp brown eyes onto Kelly, and the hard look on her face seemed to soften in a way I’d never seen before. “Welcome, Kelly. Come on in. I do believe there’s someone here who’s been dying to see you.”
Kelly didn’t move at first, and for a minute I thought I’d have to drag her inside or drag her away. But after a long, awkward moment, she nodded her head. “Thank you.” She slipped her fingers between mine and held on with a fierce grip as she stepped into the apartment.
She’d likely have broken my fingers if I didn’t go with.
Rose shut the door behind us, then motioned to us to follow her through the bright, sun-filled room. She led us to the room next to Vinny’s office and knocked on the door.
“Come in!” At Jen’s voice, Kelly’s grip tightened on my hand and her frantic, frightened gaze turned to mine. I cupped her cheek, lowering my forehead to hers as I looked straight into those gorgeous blue-green eyes.
“It’s alright, baby,” I said as quietly as I could, though I knew the rumble of my deep voice could likely be heard through the cracked door. “I’m right here. Ain’t gonna let nothin’ happen to you.”
Kelly closed her eyes, then tilted her face until her lips met mine. “Love you.”
“Love you too, Kell.”
With a steadying breath, she nodded to Rose, and the older woman pushed open the door. Kelly let out an audible gasp as her best friend came into view across the room. I gave her a gentle nudge, and only then did she take a cautious step forward.
One step led to another, and finally, we were inside the nursery. Jen smiled up at us from her rocking chair, a tiny bundle in her arms.
“Hi.” The word was just a whisper from Jen’s lips, like she was trying not to scare the baby or scare her best friend. The wide, happy smile I’d grown used to seeing on my accountant’s face was tentative and almost shy.
Kelly cleared her throat, then licked her lips and raised her free hand. “Hi.”
“This is Rosie.” Jen gestured to her baby, that smile going soft as she glanced down at the child.
I nudged Kelly again, and she stepped forward once more, rounding the small table to the chair at Jen’s side.
“I’m so sorry.” Kelly’s voice broke as she said it, and it took everything in me not to run to her and scoop her up into my arms.
I couldn’t protect her from this. Not when it was her choice to come.
Jen reached a hand out and took Kelly’s, and tears filled her eyes. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”
“But I do!” She wiped a tear from her cheek. “I’ve been a horrible friend.”
“Don’t say that,” Jen told her. “You’ve done the best you could.”
Kelly shook her head, and I couldn’t hold back any longer. I went to her side, then took her hand in mine, hoping my presence could offer her some sort of comfort. She gripped my hand with the ferocity she’d had when she entered the apartment, but she didn’t turn her gaze from Jen.
“I shouldn’t have shut you out. I shouldn’t have gotten involved with Rhys to begin with. I’m the one who dragged you to Chicago and got you the job at Guardian Group, and look how it turned out.”
“Actually…” Jen gave a grimace and a shrug. She went on to tell Kelly the real story. How Vinny and his friends had lured Jen back to the city so he could be with her again. I knew parts of it—I’d gotten a brief rundown when Vinny’d asked me to find Kelly after she went missing and the cops refused to help. But as she spoke, I could see the words soaking into Kelly’s brain in a way I knew it never would have had I been the one to explain it.
Kelly was stubborn, there was no doubt about that. She was wild and independent and fun-loving to a fault, even after all the changes she’d gone through and the hardships she’d endured. She wasn’t the kind of person who would accept platitudes to make her feel better, and anything I could have told her would have been just that.
