Page 29 of She's Mine

I didn’t even realize I’d been crying until I turned around to face David, and he gently wiped the tears from my cheeks. He wrapped his arms around me tightly, and I laid my head on his shoulder, as he stroked my hair.

“Don’t worry, I know Jeffrey will make certain all remaining members of the Bloodline are caught. Then they will never be able to hurt you or your family again, and your brother’s killer will be brought to justice. I know that won’t bring him back--”

“--But I’m sure Joey will be at peace knowing his killer is behind bars,” I agreed softly. I backed up a little and wiped the tears from my eyes. “Sorry about bringing the mood down.”

David’s eyes widened. “Please, never think of your grief like that. If you ever want to talk about your brother, I’ll always listen.”

I gave David a soft smile and entwined my fingers with him. “Thank you. I appreciate that. Now, come on, you promised to show me your book collection.”

We finished off in the bath, and got dressed into fresh clothes for the day, and then headed downstairs. After David and I had loaded our breakfast things into the dishwasher, we made a fresh pot of coffee and settled in the main sitting room.

David strolled beside the large mahogany bookshelves, pulling out various books and laying them on the coffee table. I peered at the pile with interest, seeing titles likeThe Lord of the Rings, Le Morte d’Arthur, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

“Oh my God! I love this one,” I said, grabbing the book that had influenced the movie we watched the night before.

David chuckled. “I wondered if you’d read it.”

“About a million times. The Oz books, along withThe Chronicles of Narnia,were my favorites as a child. How about you?”

“I loved all the heroic stories about knights and battles. The Lord of the Rings was my most favorite. I had this friend, Paul, and we used to make wooden swords and reenact battles together.”

“Nerd,” I teased, as I flicked through the book and felt a wave of nostalgia crash over me. I sighed. “I miss those simpler times when life was easy.”

David laughed and joined me on the couch. “Yeah, there’s something to be said for eating ice cream for breakfast and staying awake until the early hours reading your favorite books.”

“Was it always just you and your mom?” I asked, curious to know more about David’s life.

“Yeah, my father walked out on Mom when she was pregnant,” David said, and I could sense the tension in his voice.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly, gently taking his hand in mine. “That explains why the two of you are so close.”

“Yeah, she’s all I’ve ever had. Well, her and then Jeffrey. He’s like a surrogate father to me. He came into my life when I was in a really bad place and helped me turn my life around.” David glanced away, unable to meet my gaze as he told the rest of his story. “I’m ashamed to admit I was caught up with a gang not dissimilar to the Bloodline. It was when your father was Captain of the LAPD. He would have had me behind bars if Jeffrey hadn’t gotten to me first.”

“Oh my God! Did you … did …” I couldn’t bring myself to ask the question.

The way David’s body went tense told me he knew what I was getting at though, and he shook his head vehemently. “No, Jeffrey saved me from that, too. He caught me when I was having my trial with the gang and offered me an alternative. I worked with him and J&J Security, and together we helped your father bring down some members of the gang.”

My eyes widened. “Does my dadknowyou were involved with a gang?”

David shook his head. “I don’t think so, no. I didn’t meet him until sometime after I’d started working for Jeffrey. I think I met your brother once or twice. I don’t remember ever meeting you though.”

“No, you wouldn’t have. Dadhatedgetting Joey and I involved in his work. I think that’s another reason his death hit Dad so hard -- because he feels like it washisfault.” I shook my head. “Sorry, I’m bringing the mood down again. Please, show me what other books you have there.”

David pulled the pile of books onto the couch, but even as we flicked through them, the mood between us remained somber, and my thoughts lingered on Joey.

I hadn’t thought about my brotherthis muchfor a long time, and in a weird way, it was good that I could be so vulnerable and honest with David. I’d never had this sort of connection with another person before.

13

DAVID

As Alyssa and I flicked through the old books, we both lapsed into silence, lost in our own respective thoughts.

The mood between us was a lot quieter and more reflective than it had been the last few days, but I actually took that as a good sign. It was one thing to have fun with a person and enjoy their company, butrealrelationships only lasted if you were with someone you could be yourself with during the good times and bad.

I felt honored Alyssa had opened up to me about her brother, and in turn it was the first time inyearsI’d been this forthright and unguarded with anyone who wasn’t my mom or Jeffrey.

It killed me that I wasn’t there for my mom. I knew she’d be okay with Denise, especially as she was between chemo cycles, but it was still weird not being just a few blocks away from her. As an adult, even though I’d wanted my own space, I’d never moved far away from my mom. Moving to another city seemed completely out of the question.

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