Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 131455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 526(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 657(@200wpm)___ 526(@250wpm)___ 438(@300wpm)
“That's not an answer, Callum!”
“Weeks. I've known for weeks. It seemed obvious the autopsy was altered, which then got me asking questions. I didn't have anything to do with her death—not directly. I was afraid you would blame me once you found out.”
“I'm not stupid. I know you couldn't have done anything to stop this. And I understand you were trying to protect me.” A sudden sob erupts from my chest before I cover my face with my hands. “My poor dad. All this time. He trusted Ken. He's been suffering alone, no one believing him, wondering who he could trust, and the one person he believed in…”
I can't do it anymore. My heart is going to break.
“Come here.” Callum pulls me closer until I'm in his lap, and resting my head on his shoulder while the tears continue to fall like rain. “If it helps, I do believe Ken was trying to do what he thought was best. He was afraid of telling Charlie the truth. I can understand why. Costello paid him to do a job, and he needed the money. He thought he was helping Charlie. I'm not trying to defend him,” he murmurs, rubbing my back, his breath stirring my hair. “However, I can see his side of the story.”
“He let my father believe it was you who killed my mother all this time.”
“And I'm sure that would have worked just fine if it hadn't been for me falling in love with you.”
“That's not fair to you.”
“You think Charlie Cole is the first person who ever hated me? Please. I can handle that. What I can't handle is knowing how that gets in our way now.”
“I have to tell him the truth, somehow, except I don't have the first idea how to do it.”
“It's good that you don't have to do anything right now. Take your time. Figure out what feels best. You don't necessarily have to put a time stamp on when you tell him.”
How tempting, the idea of pretending this never happened. “No. He needs to know he was right. He needs closure. Or else he will spend the rest of his life stuck in one place. I can't let that happen. I don't want to hurt him in the process, though.”
“I understand.” The touch of his lips to my forehead is sweet, comforting. “Although you know, it would be alright to admit this hurts you, too. It's a betrayal. He betrayed both of you, even if he thought he was doing it for the right reasons.”
“The villain isn't supposed to be the person closest to you.”
“No, but sometimes the people who hurt you the most are the people closest to you, and usually they're fighting an inevitable battle between right and wrong. Not everything is black and white. Sometimes you do things to protect the people you care about, even if it's a decision that would hurt that person if they ever found out. Caring and loving someone makes you do crazy things.”
That's true, only I don't think I have a bone of forgiveness inside me. Every time I think about it, all I see is the despair my father went through. He loved his job and lost it. He was so consumed with finding my mother's killer. And all along, Ken had the information.
“Whatever you decide to do—even if you never tell your father the truth about what happened—I'm behind you. I'll support whatever you choose.” Callum squeezes me tight to his chest, and I snuggle deeper, wanting to escape reality.
“Thank you, and thank you for keeping your promise. You said you'd find out who killed her, and you did. Hopefully, Dad can move on, and there won't be so much tension between the two of you.”
His lips twitch like he wants to laugh, but lucky for him, he's smart enough not to. “I won't expect such a miracle to occur.”
CALLUM
Being playful doesn't come naturally to me.
I imagine anyone who grew up the way I did would have the same problem. It has nothing to do with my choice of profession. Maintaining an image. None of that matters when I'm in my own backyard, sitting by my pool. This is where I get to be myself. Life didn't give me many opportunities to kick back and enjoy myself. In my younger days, I was always working, hustling. Fighting to claw my way to the top. There's very little room for fun in that sort of life.
And it goes without saying that my time with Amanda didn't exactly lend itself to laughter and good times.
I want to try for Bianca's sake, which is why I suggested we come out for a swim after announcing I was taking the rest of the day off. Sure, Romero looked at me like I had grown another head, but I didn't expect him to understand.