Page 100 of Bleeding Hearts Duet

“Frankie’s wife found out about Brayden,” she said. “And she put a hit out on him. But Brayden thinks she knows about you too that’s why he’s coming to San Francisco.”

Her words were a sucker punch to the gut. I knew that Frankie was a dangerous man. And I knew he had a wife and other kids, but I had no idea how much trouble we’d be in if she ever discovered us. But it all made sense when I pieced it together. Why we lived in some shit hole in the middle of nowhere for as long as I could remember. Why our mother had changed her name and given us her father’s last name. All the secrets that had piled up over the years, never fitting together, suddenly made perfect sense.

Had Norma really lived that way to protect us from Frankie’s family? It wasn’t something I could reconcile in my head. She didn’t have a maternal bone in her body, and yet Brayden’s words came back to haunt me.

She had a rough go of it, Brighton. Things weren’t easy for her either…

I wanted to ask her. But it wasn’t the right time.

“When’s he getting here?” I glanced at the clock on the wall.

“He’ll be there at 7:15,” Norma rattled off. “You have to take care of each other, Brighton. You have to hide. You don’t understand what these people are capable of…”

The panic in her voice scared me. Norma-Jean had never panicked over anything except for money. But right then, it was clear as day how much she loved us. And I couldn’t believe I was only just hearing it now.

“I’ll protect him,” I assured her. “I’ll figure something out.”

“Okay,” she sniffled. “Please make sure you do.”

“What about you, mom?” I croaked.

For the first time in forever, she didn’t reprimand me for using the word.

“I’ll be okay,” she assured me. “I have a cousin in Springfield who’s going to let me stay with her a while.”

A cousin in Springfield? Again, something I hadn’t been privy to.

“Okay.” I glanced up at the clock again. “I have to go get ready. Please be careful, Norma.”

“You too, Brighton. I love you.”

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