Page 69 of Poisoned Promise
“Okay,” she murmurs. “He’d like that. I’d like that.”
That’s all the motivation I need.
Michael’s funeral is two days later, and the drive there is tense. I sit beside Toph in the driver’s seat to give Dove and Alex space alone but given how frosty Alex has been since he learned the truth, I’m not sure it’s working.
“How are you feeling?” Dove’s quiet voice drifts from the back seat, answered only by a grunt from Alex. “Is there anything I can get you? Anything I can do?”
“Can you open the door and let me leave?” Alex snaps.
My heart lurches slightly and I can’t help but turn to face them. “I’m the reason the door won’t open,” I say flatly. “Not your Mom. So you wanna blame someone, blame me.”
Alex fixes me with a glare, then turns to Dove. “At least he doesn’t lie.”
I immediately turn back in my seat and catch Toph’s amused glance. I tried to make it better, but I think I made it worse, and I can’t bring myself to look at Dove in case she’s just as angry.
Better keep my mouth shut.
The rest of the drive passes in silence and we pull up at the top of a grassy embankment shrouded in tall trees that block most of the sunlight.
Alex leaps out of the car the second the door opens and Dove follows him like a bullet.
I follow slowly, knowing the trusted men around me will keep them from running, just as they will keep anyone from approaching.
But they don’t run.
They stand at the edge of the embankment with the wind carrying a few snatched words from Dove’s quiet explanation as to why we’re so far away from the funeral.
Far below, the graveyard stretches out like a gray sea, utterly devoid of life thanks to another security team in place.
Only one area is clustered with people. Michael’s family.
I’ve done what I can for them, including covering hospital bills and the cost of the funeral.
In a few weeks, after some carefully placed phone calls to certain CEOs, Michael’s mother will receive a promotion that will ensure they receive enough money from me to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.
I can’t imagine the cost of losing a child.
Watching Dove with Alex tells me that the number doesn’t exist, but this is the least I can do.
Music drifts ever so faintly in the wind. I linger at the car with Toph while Alex slowly closes the gap between him and Dove, then they sit down together on the grass.
After a few minutes, Alex turns into Dove’s embrace and a new pain lances through my chest.
It’s sharper than all the others and lingers as I watch Alex cry and Dove do her best to comfort him.
“You’re doing a nice thing here,” Toph murmurs. “You feeling alright?”
I smirk tiredly and nod. “I wish I could do more.”
“More?”
I nod and turn to him. “Caterina. You know the family I mentioned? I’ve set them up to take the fall and frankly, they deserve to be wiped off the map. But what if this doesn’t end? I refuse to lose her but I can’t keep her caged forever. Reese thinks I’m signing my own death warrant with this.”
“Yeah, he mentioned that,” Toph replies. “I can’t tell you what to do. Just know I have your back, and so do countless others. Whatever you do, whether it’s lock up your pretty woman for the rest of her life, or take down Caterina… I’m here.”
“Thanks, Toph.”
He shrugs it off and smiles. “You’ve got life back in you that I haven’t seen in years. It feels good.”
