Page 74 of Where He Ended

“You gave the FBI info on everyone?” Dominic asks carefully.

Dad glances at the bigger man. “Only the people who were truly responsible.”

His eyes widen. I cover my mouth, holding my breath, because this is too good to be true. My father kept Dominic out of his talks with the FBI. Then then that means. . .

“Joseph,” he whispers, his head lowering. “Thank you. You didn't have to go that far for me.”

“But I did. Dominic, I'm sorry I used your goodwill against you. The Faith project was a masterpiece, really well crafted. You're a talented young man.” His lips turn down at the edges. “It's a shame your parents never recognized that.” He looks back to me. “I was put under surveillance while the Feds corroborated my info. They were going to move in on Silas's company, and the estate, tomorrow, but then this all happened first, apparently.”

“Apparently?” A foul mood swirls through me. “Apparently,” I say again, chewing the word, letting it fill my mouth and linger. “You're talking like our lives were just another data point you thought you could manipulate for your convenience.”

“Lolly—”

“No. You don't get to call me that.” I think about the message under the bridge and cringe. Heat grows behind my eyeballs. “You don't get to walk in here and pretend you had everything under control. You didn't! You don't know all the things that happened to me. . . and to Kara.”

There wasn't much happiness in his face before. Only a cautious, hopeful energy, but that fades away as he listens to me speak. “You're right. I'm so sorry for letting this happen. All of this terribleness was my fault from the beginning.”

“You could have told me so many things, and you just didn't. Like your history with Annie. Or Kara being taken away, made to go live with Dominic's uncle. I had no idea she wasn't with you.” A thought slams into me. “Did you even visit her while she was living there?”

The grooves around his mouth and temples grow. I marvel at how he's aging in front of me, it calls back the memory of him falling apart in the rain. “Of course I did. I saw you both as much as I was allowed. I worked until my fingers cramped, desperate to please Annie and Silas enough that they'd reward me with a glimpse of my own daughters.” There's anger crackling below his surface. “I know I messed up. I know I made poor decisions. But the brief moments I spent with you and Kara were Heaven to me.”

My voice comes out hoarse. “I thought. . . I was sure you'd left us in the past, moving onto a whole new life without us in it.”

He comes forward, and I don't retreat that time. “I'd never do that. But I should have given myself up sooner. My biggest sin is letting money lure me so deep that I was tempted to do monstrous things. I should have accepted my mistakes and faced my judgment years ago. Instead I ran and ran, so sure I could have it all. Money. . . power. . . family. I wanted everything.”

His hands hover by his sides. He's itching to touch me. He's afraid to breach the space between us. “You want me to accept your apology so you can stop feeling guilty,” I whisper. My mind races with memory upon memory of my fond childhood. Shadowing the edges, creeping in, is the moment I felt the black grief of believing my own father had abandoned me.

All children think their parents are perfect.

This man wasn't even close.

I try to scan my father's face for proof he genuinely feels ashamed, but instead. . . my attention rests on Dominic.They're so similar,I realize with a start. Both men devoted their time to doing what they thought was for the best. Both are flawed. Both of them love me.

“I don't know if I'm ready to forgive you,” I say, watching as my dad hunches forward like I've slammed my fist into his gut. My words have incredible power. “Not right now. I can't pretend everything is alright, I'm not innocent enough anymore to think that.” Reaching out, I curl myself into his embrace, laying my cheek on his shoulder. “But maybe we can figure out how to get back to where we were before this all happened.”

His whole body wraps around me. “Oh, Lolly. Yes, of course, yes. I'd love that. I'm so sorry. I'll never be sorry enough. Your sister and you deserve more than my tears, but god, if you'll let me try. . . I swear, while I'm serving my time, I'll really be serving you both. And when I'm free, I'll become the father I never was.”

“I missed you, Dad,” I mumble into his damp shirt.

“I missed you, too. I love you, Lolly. So very much.”

That sentence feeds into my veins. I believe it in the depths of my soul. My father could have kept running—if not forever, then long after anything could have been done to save me—but instead, he agreed to atone for his mistakes. He took a deal that will leave him locked away in a new kind of cage.

And in exchange, he's set Dominic and me free.

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