Cole and I look at each other for a long time, our mouths hanging open.
“Well, Cole is his middle name. Murphy is his mother’s maiden name. You said the man was young. How young?” I ask.
“I don’t think he could have been older than twenty. He was a baby himself. He looked so scared,” she replies sadly.
“Is it this man?” I ask, pointing at a picture with my Uncle Michael in the background.
She shakes her head but wrinkles her forehead. “Where did you get these photos?”
“Shelley left them to me in a box. Why?”
“That kid—that’s Mark,” she says confused as she points at another one of the photos of a little boy—photos of Shelley’s family, not mine.
“Really?” I ask shocked. “How do you know?”
“He’s Shelley’s son. I met him when he was about that age. That was the last time I saw him, too,” she says sadly.
I know that Shelley knew Maggie, but I didn’t know how well they knew each other.
I frown and look at Cole as he holds my hand tightly in his.
“Are you sure that’s him?” I whisper.
“I’m positive,” she says without doubt.
I let out a breath. This shit is exhausting...and confusing...and crazy.
Tuesday creeps up on us and I’m kind of freaking out about Mark seeing Cole and vice versa. I told Cole that Mark was the one who took us that night, mainly because I was scared of Cole remembering him and getting physical with him.
When we step into the building, I stop walking and hold on to his arm until he faces me. “I need you to behave,” I say seriously.
He chuckles and dips his head to kiss me. “Baby, I’ll be fine. Even if he is the guy, I’m fine. Right now, I don’t care about any of it, Blake. If this wouldn’t have happened, we might not be together,” he murmurs against my lips.
“Cole,” I say through gritted teeth. “My mother is dead. My father is dead. I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that. Besides, we might have still ended up together.”
He gives me a long, lingering kiss and a smack in the butt before we get in the elevator.
We arrive on Mark’s floor and Office Barbie greets us with a real smile as she blatantly checks out my boyfriend. My mouth pops open in disbelief and I turn my head to look at Cole, who’s watching me—with a smile on his smug face. I narrow my eyes at him and dare him to say anything to her. He chuckles lightly, reading my expression correctly, and gives me a loud kiss on the lips. I look back at Office Barbie and tell her we’re here to see Mark and watch as she calls him, never taking her eyes off Cole. It pisses me off, but I decide not to push it.
When Mark steps out to greet us, his eyes are nothing short of surprised. He frowns at me, and I shrug at him in response before he introduces himself to Cole and leads us to his office. I look at Cole, but his smooth expression doesn’t give away what he’s thinking. I’m not sure if he recognizes Mark or not.
Suddenly, he says, “So, Blake tells me she trusts you, for whatever reason. I personally don’t understand how she can—knowing who you are and what you did.”
Mark shakes his head slowly, chastising. “You two really are meant for each other. I already told Blake that if I wanted to harm you, you wouldn’t be here. What I did was help you. I know you don’t see it that way, but that’s the truth.”
“Finally,” I deadpan.
“Yeah, well, two against one,” Mark says, cocking his head to one side. “Are you here because you remembered and wanted to drill me for answers? I told you that you’re better off not searching for trouble.”
“Maybe, but now I know who my parents are,” Cole says in an even tone.
Mark’s eyebrows shoot up, and he looks at me for an answer.
“I went to Aimee’s house after I had gotten pictures from Shelley. Aimee let me look at pictures of her dead brother.” I emphasize the last part. “You can imagine how I felt when I saw Cole...or Nathan...looking back at me.”
“Does Aimee know?” Mark asks concerned.
“Yes, but she’s not going to tell,” I say.
He looks at Cole. “You better hope not. Your father is a very public figure, and you’re popular in your own right. If people find out, it’ll be a circus—and when the wrong people find out, it’ll be a bloodbath.”
I feel my eyes pop out of their sockets. “What?” I ask horrified. “What do you mean a bloodbath?”
Mark takes a deep breath and perches up on the corner of his desk. “Blake, everybody thinks Nathan and Cathleen are dead. If people find out they’re not, it’s not going to end well.”