Page 3 of Dragon in Denial
His mother reached across the table and rested her hand on top of his. “As happy as I am to see you again, and as much as I would love that drug business to be destroyed, are you sure you are up to this? Does your reeve know…everything?”
“No, not everything. Like you, I prefer not to talk about it.” He stood and took his bowl to the sink, rinsing it before sliding it into the dishwasher. “As to whether I can handle it…” He shrugged. “I don’t have a choice.”
“We all have choices,mijo. You can tell your reeve you are not able to do this assignment. If he is a good man, he will understand and find someone else. Not that I’m not grateful you finally came back for a visit.”
He couldn’t say he would have if Gabe hadn’t asked him to do this. And that made him feel like shit. It wasn’t his parents’ fault Eulalie died. And yet he’d punished them by cutting them out of his life. Or rather, leaving theirs. Gods, had it felt like they’d lost two children?
He was a lousy son. A horrible brother. Did he even deserve to be called a dragon?
“I’ll get through it,” he said. “I have to.”
Maybe, just maybe, this would be the atonement for his sins. It wouldn’t bring his sister back, obviously, but perhaps he could finally do something right.
For once.
