My mind plays over the fact he did everything in his power to protect his little sister. He sent food and clothes. He made sure they had electricity and running water. He did all of this despite the fact the horrible adults in the house would also benefit.
Tears stream down my face as I put myself in his shoes. How awful it must have felt. He didn’t want much in return. Only that his baby sister would be loved and cared for.
Did my dad feel the same way? I think in the beginning he did, but then it just became too much for him. To try and try and try and never see your efforts make a difference must have been so discouraging.
I need to find a way to show him that even though it appears it was all for nothing, it wasn’t. It made a wave of energy through the universe somehow. Everything does.
Maybe I should stay. Even though our marriage would be a farce, what does that matter? He tried to play the game by the rules, and the system failed both him and Mila. Just like it failed my brother and me.
The only thing holding me back is my brother’s debt to the Scorpions. I have no other direction in life other than avoiding them. Helping Mila and Rage stay together … well, that sounds like a worthy purpose if I ever heard of one.
Rage stops, his head falling back as he looks up at the stars. The bat hangs from his hand. Sweat and blood glisten in the moonlight over his muscular arms. I’m not sure what all he’s been through in life, but he’s still standing. He’s never given up on her.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to be on the receiving end of that kind of love?”my heart whispers.
I get out and walk over to him, stopping a mere step behind him.
“I thought I told you to stay in the truck,” he says without turning around.
“Well, don’t think I’ll listen any better once we’re married.”
Slowly, he spins around.
I reach out and press my fingertip between his eyebrows. “You really need to start working on that scowl.”
“It’s not a scowl. It’s my resting bitch face.”
A laugh bursts free from my chest. It feels a lot like joy, something I lost a very long time ago. How strange it is to have found it here. I glance around the yard and then back at him. Suddenly the chaos feels less like survival and more like an adventure.
His phone dings.
“Is it Mila?” I ask as he reads the message.
“No. It’s just club business.”
“Who was it?”
He shakes his head. “If we’re going to be together …”
I stop him to clarify. “As a team. Like we’re not together in a romantic way, just to be clear.”
Shadows play over his face as he stares at me. Rage is a man who thinks about what he says before he says it. He chooses his words carefully. “If we’re going to be a team, you should know there are things about my life I cannot share with you.”
My initial reaction is hurt. I return his stare as I ponder this. I just told the man we weren’t a couple, so why would I expect or even want him to tell me everything about his life?
I can’t answer that. At least not honestly. So, I simply say, “Same.”
He rolls his eyes. “You’re an open book.”
“Is that so?”
His eyes bounce over mine. “It makes you vulnerable.”
The words ring true, and I want to look away from him but I can’t.
“It’s also beautiful and pure.”
I swallow hard.