Page 57 of Kian

“Sorry.”

“You’re in love with her.”

Kian looked at his brother and briefly considered denying it, but he knew Killian could see right through him. He gave a small nod.

“I fell for her hard and fast. I hate leaving her, but I have to go back to work.”

“Dave will probably want you to see a doctor first.”

“Yeah, I assumed so. I even mentioned it to Gretchen.”

“You seem healthy. It’s lucky she found you.”

Kian smiled. “Actually, Lobo found me, Gretchen just brought me back to the cabin.”

“She’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, she is. She’s an incredible artist too.”

Killian chuckled. “You’ve got it bad.”

“I think I said something similar about you with Celine.”

“You did, and you were right.”

Kian sighed. “I can’t wait to see Mom and Dad.”

“I hate to tell you this, but they were a mess. We all were.”

“I want those bastards, Killian.”

“Me too, and I’ll help you find them. I’ve stayed in touch with Sam, but without any leads...”

“Damn it! I forgot.” Kian reached into his pocket, pulled out the baggies containing the casings, and held them up. “I grabbed one from the tree and the other from the ground.”

“That’s great news. Maybe we can get some answers now.”

“I hope so.” Kian leaned his head back against the seat. “Justthinking about going home makes me anxious.”

“I paid your apartment rent for you. I didn’t even think about it until they called looking for payment. I told them you had to leave town unexpectedly.” Killian shrugged.

“Thanks for that. I’ll pay you back. I need to go to the bank and get new cards, but I have to get my ID first. I’ll have to find my birth certificate, get a new social security card, and call my credit card companies.”

“Actually, your cards weren’t used. We checked on that as soon as we realized you were missing.”

“That’s one good thing.”

“I can lend you money until you get everything taken care of. You can’t even withdraw cash from an ATM.”

“I’d appreciate it. I will need money to get a phone too.”

“Not a problem. How are you feeling?”

Kian sighed. “I’m fine.”

Killian nodded, but Kian knew his brother knew better. He had been in a similar situation with Celine when they broke up over her ex-boyfriend being in town and she didn’t tell Killian. They worked it out, but Killian was miserable without her until they did. Now Kian understood how he felt because he had only been away from Gretchen for a few minutes and already missed her terribly.

The brothers didn’t speak again until Killian parked the truck in front of the MDOL department building and turned to Kian.

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