Page 85 of Enthrall Shadows
“Apparently she doesn’t share that sentiment.”
“Send Shay.”
“I need him here.” I threw a couple of sweatshirts into the case and then turned to face my brother.
“This scenario has sinister undertones,” he said.
“Could someone have found letters from her past and replicated her handwriting? Yes, totally possible. I’ve only my gut to go on.”
“Reese choosing to disappear and never reach out to anyone is a travesty.”
“I have to hear why she did it.”
Why, after all these years, had she contacted me?
“It wasn’t your fault,” he said quietly.
“I was her boyfriend, Cam. The one meant to protect her.”
“You can’t blame yourself. You were young. She went abroad willingly. Taking a gap year is totally normal. Hell, it’s encouraged.”
“I get that.”
“This is about you finding resolution for the guilt you’ve always carried around.”
“I’m not disagreeing with you.”
“We pay people to do this kind of thing.”
“I have to find out the truth for myself.”
“This is Shay’s territory.”
“I have the same skills.” I stood my ground. “I outrank him, remember?”
“You’re well-trained. Still, this could…”
“Go on. Say it.”
“It could be the one thing that destabilizes you. Don’t go through with this trip. The work you’ve put in to get to where you are now is profound. Don’t forget where you once were.”
“You believe the letter is a fake? Someone is trying to get me to break?”
“It’s a convenient time.”
“They might come after you, too.”
“I’m used to it. Solving emotional obstacles is what I do.”
He wasn’t wrong. Even I’d challenged him to the point of madness. Yet he’d hardly wavered.
“How do you do it?” I asked. “How do you navigate life’s pitfalls so calmly?”
He mulled it over. “I once punched someone in the face and tried to drown them when they hurt Mia.”
I pointed at him. “See, you and I are rational.”
“I’m usually more philosophical.”
