Lorcan nods at me. “She was Adrien’s childhood sweetheart?”
“He was her stalker. She had a restraining order against him in Italy. He tracked her down and killed her when my mother tried to start a new life in England.” Lorcan’s hand on my thigh tenses. He opens his mouth to say something soothing, but now I’ve started, I can’t stop. “She met my father when she was an exchange student here. He was Rebecca’s brother,” I continue.
“So Rebecca is your aunt?”
“Adrien married her after he killed my parents.” I wait a few seconds before adding, “He burned them in a fire.”
Lorcan takes my hand as he drives, squeezing it as I let him. “So Hawkes is your real name?” he asks when the silence between us drags on.
“It is. And this is my mother,” I say, opening the pendant that was stuffed into the file. A note attached to it said as much in Dante’s handwriting. On one side is a picture of two chubby toddlers, one older and fairer, the other darker and more sullen looking. A photograph of a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes is on the other side.
Lorcan glances at the open pendant in my hand before turning his eyes back to the empty road ahead. “She’s beautiful.”
“I take after my father,” I snort.
“Who wasn’t a psychotic monster,” Lorcan reminds me.
“No, no, he wasn’t,” I say after a few minutes while that sinks in.
“And neither are you,” he adds with surety.
I look at Lorcan then, knowing he’s got me and that I also have him, Dino, and Jude. Even Dante has a place in my heart. I used to not want to get caught. I used to be careful. I trusted no one. But now, with them beside me, it’s like my heart has started beating again. Hot, rich blood has started pulsing through me, opening me up to the light, chasing the cold and dark from my veins.
I wouldn’t say it’s love.
But it feels….warm, like the smooth metal on the sleek weapon in my pocket when I close my fingers around it.
Maybe one day, I’ll know what love is.
And just maybe…
I’ll wear all four rings for them.
And finally, admit what’s carved into my stained, monstrous stone-cold heart.
The End