Page 40 of Treasured
“No, it’s not.”
I was weaker near him, and if I was depending on him, then I hadn’t learned anything I preached about. I turned away from him. “I shouldn’t have dragged you into my mess.”
“Mary, it’s my mess. My brother started the company Arthur works at, and he and my almost-sister-in-law are selling illegal weapons.”
I turned back to face him and backed away.
“I went to Pittsburgh to discover who Wanda hired,” he went on. “I even knew you were involved with him and intended to talk to you before we ever met.”
“What?”
“From the first conversation, I knew you were innocent and not part of anything illegal, which is why I need to wrestle control of my company out of Wanda’s hands.”
Fuck. If I would have kept my hands to myself, then maybe he would have stopped all this faster. “So I distracted you, then, from your mission.”
He didn’t budge at all. “Arthur was gunning for you, even without me there.”
He was right. “Maybe you could have stopped him before he blew up my car if we…”
I broke and couldn’t see. I collapsed on the couch. I had invited a monster into my life, and all of this was because I made bad choices.
Maybe I was doomed to repeat that, though I’d tried for my son’s sake to be better.
Dwayne’s strong hand massaged my back. “Mary, Bruce sees you’re crying.”
I sat up fast and tried to smile so my son could see me. “I’m scared.”
Dwayne was on his knees next to me. “It’s okay to be scared. I was scared on every mission I ever went on as a SEAL.”
I raised my eyebrow and asked, “Yeah?”
He nodded. “My brother died on one of his. I could have easily shared the same fate.”
I rocked in my seat and hoped he would understand me when I asked, “Then why did you do it?”
He shrugged like his actions didn’t matter, but we both knew they did. “Because I was there for my team, and I signed up to serve.”
Brothers were important. I’d not be this strong without having family even though my father had done a number on Joseph and myself. “Why did you sign up, though? Your brother had died. I don’t understand that decision of yours.”
He took my hand and said, “I was eighteen, and I had always looked up to Devon. He was the best, and then he… failed. He left me his company shares and warned my mom and me about Wanda. I was the one who didn’t listen when I had the chance.”
My eyes narrowed, and I squeezed his hand. “He didn’t fail. He died.”
He let out a small sigh like he lived in a memory and then said, “I was eighteen and cocksure of myself and thought he’d failed. He’d always fixed my messes when he could, and at the time, I thought I could make up for his mistakes. If I hadn’t trusted Wanda to stay in touch with my mom, Arthur wouldn’t have a job or a means of hurting you.”
“That’s a stretch.” He’d saved me already, and even when confronting Arthur, he’d not been angry, just sure of himself. I’d never met anyone like Dwayne. “You don’t seem to have a chip on your shoulder.”
“After my first mission, I realized the real stakes, and he died a fucking hero out there. I was proud he was my brother then, but I think I needed to see that for myself.”
We had opposite backgrounds. Joseph had been the only good person in my life until Bruce, and I’d run away from my brother. I curled up my legs closer to my chest and said, “I don’t know what to do right now.”
Dwayne, like he was someone with all answers, just said, “It’s okay. Nothing is happening. Your brother will be fine. The only decision you have right now is what movie you want to watch on TV.”
A movie on TV? Seriously? I fucked up my life and Bruce’s and everything. I jumped up as my body tingled everywhere and needed release, so I pointed to his other door. “I’m…”not good enough for you, but I couldn’t bring myself to say that. Instead, I bounced and asked, “Is it safe to go on your back porch to look at the ocean?”
Dwayne then reached out for Bruce’s hand and said, “Sure. We’ll all go.”
My son took his hand and held his palm out for me. I took it and he swung between us as we went to the beach to breathe the salty air. “You said your security team knew your brother.”
