Page 983 of One More Kiss

I remember. I’d barely managed to dodge a blade to the gut. The only reason I survived was because Mags threw a brick at him. She’d been so scared, so terrified, that she’d been unable to use her power.

She’d frozen. Until she hadn’t.

“I didn’t, though, did I? And I was there for you. I stood by your side, held you while you cried, and when it came down to it, you bailed. You abandoned me.”

“I needed time,” she cries. “I was so young.”

“Same. But I knew what I wanted. I loved you, Mags. So fucking much, but it never mattered to you.”

“That’s not true,” she replies, taking another step toward me. This time, I don’t retreat. “You were my best friend, Drex.”

“Were,” I point out. “I have a new life now, and I’m not looking to expand my friend base.” Now, I move around her, stomping out into the hall but stopping in my tracks when I see the man standing on the other side of the living room. “Who the fuck are you?”

He grips a hat in aged hands, his expression a mixture of fear and sadness.

“He’s the guy who has been following me.” Mags moves to my side. His heart beats steadily, at a human rate, which only proves to confuse me even more. How the hell did he get in?

“I—I need to speak with you,” he says.

Taking a step forward, I place myself between Mags and the stranger, my fingers twitching, already ready for the blade strapped at my back. “You need to tell us who the fuck you are and how you got past the wards?”

His gaze doesn’t leave Mags’s. “Because I am human,” he replies. “And I am your blood.”

“My blood? That’s impossible.”

“It’s not,” he replies. “I am your uncle. Your mother’s brother. And I’ve been trying to find you ever since—”

“I don’t have an uncle,” she replies.

His eyes widen, his expression shifting to one of pain. “Your mother and I had a falling out over your father. I wanted her to—” He shuts his eyes and shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. I was a fool, and when I was called, when they told me what happened and that you were missing, I’ve been looking for you ever since.”

“It’s not possible.”

He reaches behind him and withdraws an envelope. When he takes a step forward, I move too.

“You can leave it on the table and get the fuck out.”

The man nods frantically and sets it on the table. “I’m in town. My address is on a sheet of paper in the envelope. I won’t bother you again, but, please, if you can find it in your heart, I want to talk to you. You look so much like her.” His bottom lip quivers as he reaches into his pocket and withdraws a hairbrush. Then, he sets it on top of the envelope and moves back. “I needed your hair to make sure it was you. I ran a DNA test. It’s in there, too.”

With a smile, he turns and leaves, the door shutting quickly. Mags rushes forward and slams a deadbolt on the door in place then stares out the window, her shoulders slumping.

I head for the envelope and open it, pulling out a stack of papers.

A deed to a house, bank account numbers, and as he said—a DNA profile on Mags and—if this is him—a Henry Kleppe.

“What’s inside?” she asks.

“What he said was.” I offer her the documents, and she takes them, scanning each one fervently. “It’s not possible.”

“I find people who mean you harm rarely deed you a house,” I tell her. I’m pretty damned good at reading people—a skill I picked up from Rainey. And that man—he meant her no harm. He almost looked like he didn’t want to be here. Like seeing her reminded him of what he lost.

“It’s my parent’s old house. The one where they were—” She closes her eyes, and when she reopens them, a tear slips down her cheek. “I’m never going back there.” Tossing the documents to the table, she looks up at me. “I need some time. I’m sorry.”

She retreats, heading back into her room and closing the door behind her. I start to leave but instantly shake that idea off.

I’ve always been there when Mags needed me. At least, until she took off, so the idea of walking out when she’s hurting is not one I can swallow. Not unless I go to her now and she pushes me aside.

But I have to at least try.

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