Page 5 of Tales of Obsession Epilogue
Three
CADEN
A VALENTINE’S DAY WEDDING
“There.”Rose pointed at a bench. “That’s where I met Enzo and his sister.”
Behind me, I heard Poppy’s measured steps. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.” Rose’s fingers wrapped around my wrist, tugging me forward.
I followed silently as she circled the bench, studying every weathered slat and iron armrest with careful attention, as if they would tell her where the children had gone.
“They must be here somewhere.” Rose walked around the deck, feet tracing the cracks in the weathered boards, hands cradling the white insulated tote bag that held enough calories for a week.
“You were hungry and confused,” Poppy said, sounding bored. “How could you have remembered a specific bench?”
Poppy was a realist like me. We both knew this was a lost cause. The kids were long gone, potentially even dead. Children didn’t last long on these streets, but Rose’s hopeful eyes forced back my cynical statement.
Damon stepped forward. “Maybe we can look around the surrounding area,” he suggested. “I’m sure we’ll find them.”
I glared at him. Technically, Damon hadn’t done anything wrong. The goody-two-shoes side of him wanted to find the kids as much as Rose. But the way his empathetic side bonded with Rose pissed me off. My little discovery before we left the Bahamas had only made matters worse.
“What do you mean you used to like Damon?”
Rose shook her head like a deer in headlights. “I didn’t like Damon. I thought he was you. On the rooftop, you said your name was Damon Maxwell.”
Abysmal flaw in my execution. I didn’t think Rose remembered our interaction when we first met, much less my name. After we made up, I pressed her about what she remembered. It seemed she had been in love with my twin because she thought he was me.
Suffice to say, I punched Damon in the face when I saw him next.
To his credit, Damon took the punch like a man and insisted that now we put things to rest once and for all. My guess was that it had little to do with me and everything to do with how Rose’s previously misguided feelings might make Poppy uncomfortable. As for me, I never wanted to relive those thoughts or entertain the idea that Rose might have liked anyone else, let alone my brother. It made my blood boil, especially since it wasmymistake.
Why had I given her the wrong name?
Fuck. The thought still pissed me off.
On the flip side, whatever awkwardness I had anticipated between the four of us was nonexistent. After learning we were engaged, Poppy was no longer angry at me for ‘kidnapping’ Rose. She was grateful Rose’s feelings were for me, not her husband. Much to my relief, Rose never spared Damon a secondglance. Considering everything, the four of us had gotten along great—well, after I punched Damon in the face. The newlyweds decided to hitch a ride back from the Bahamas with us, and the moment the boat docked, Rose insisted we track down the two homeless children she had come across while living on the streets.
I glanced warily at the bench.
“This was where I saw them,” Rose pressed. My silence made her turn toward me. “I swear, they were here. They were searching for food.” Her lips pressed together. She wanted me to believe her.
How was I going to break it to her that the kids were probably dead? Or perhaps they had been trafficked for organs. “I believe you, Little Rose,” I said instead.
“If you’re sure, then we’ll keep looking until we find them,” Damon added softly. He still sported the black eye I had given him, and I considered adding another one to match. Did he ever give it a rest?
Rose’s bottom lip trembled adorably. “They’re probably still hungry and scared.”
A lone tear slipped onto her cheek. I found myself stepping up to kiss it away and saying, “I’m sure we’ll find them.”
Poppy was also on the verge of tears, though hers was from boredom. She knew this was hopeless, but like me, she loved Rose too much to burst her bubble. “Let’s keep looking,” she said with a sigh.
It seemed the four of us were committed to a lost cause, all to bring a smile to one girl’s face.
Rose beamed, grabbing my hand once more. I watched her from my peripheral, couldn’t look away even if I wanted to. God, she was beautiful, and utterly optimistic and bright. And I was going to marry the fuck out of her.
“What happens after we find them?” I asked just as she nestled against me. The cold bite of winter hung in the air, and she melted against my coat in search of warmth. My arm circled her shoulders to pull her closer.
