The Sinister Silhouette

Teresa turns back to me and lowers her voice. “He’s cute.”

He hears her and chuckles. Dad grunts, and Mom and I giggle.

“I know.”

She frowns again, her eyes flickering back to Luca before looking back at me.

“The little girl…. She’s your daughter, isn’t she?”

“She is,” I confirm.

“Wow,” she breathes. “That makes me an aunt.”

I put my arm around her shoulders. “It does. Would you like to meet her?”

“Yes,” comes her immediate answer.

I pull her into my arms one more time, needing to feel her there to know that this is real. My eyes meet Luca’s a

gain, and they shine with love as he watches me with a soft expression.

As I lead my sister to the living room to meet Aria, my parents and Luca following behind us, I think about how lucky I am.

Over seven years ago, I was fortunate enough to find the one man I was meant to be with for the rest of my life. I knew it the instant I met him. We only had weeks before our happiness was ripped away. The years I was in my coma I was lost, just floating in space, neither here nor there. The first person I saw after I came out of my coma was again the man of my dreams, the other half of my soul, but I was still lost. Even before I regained my memory, my soul recognized Luca for who he was, and I slowly started feeling whole again, like I belonged and was exactly where I was supposed to be.

With Luca and our daughter.

Now I have my sister and my parents back, and I know that no matter what happens, no matter what troubles life throws at us, it’ll never shatter the complete feeling I carry in my heart.

I introduce my sister to Aria, and she takes to her like a flower to the sun. We stay for dinner and Teresa tells me everything I’ve missed over the last seven years. I soak up every word, glorying in hearing her voice again and seeing the excitement in her eyes.

It’s dark by the time we leave. We all exchange numbers, and I promise Teresa and my parents that I’ll be back in a couple of days to visit again.

As Luca navigates the streets of the north side of town back to the south side, my hand in his on his thigh, I can’t help the smile that stays plastered on my face. I look over at him when I feel his eyes on me.

“I love you,” he says quietly, then brings the back of my hand to his lips.

“I love you, too.”

He looks back at the road, but I see the smile curving his lips. I look to the back seat of the truck and find Aria sleeping peacefully.

A single thought comes to mind and my grin widens.

My life couldn’t get any more perfect than it is right in this moment.

EPILOGUE

Luca

MY BOOTS THUMP heavily against the hard linoleum floors as I follow the guard to a room filled with small dividers. Each divider has a pane of bulletproof glass and a telephone on both sides. I take the seat the guard indicates and wait. Sweat beads on my forehead. Not because I’m nervous. It’s from the ferocious anger coursing through me. It’s been a year since Theo was sentenced to life in prison for all the crimes he committed. At the fifty-year mark, he’ll be up for parole, but by then, he’ll just be a frail old man.

Sexual assault, sexual battery, rape, domestic violence, and two counts for attempted murder. Those were only the worst charges he was convicted of. There were several more. The jury was only out for ten minutes when they came back with their decision.

I’m reclined back in my seat, my ankle over my knee, when I see a guard leading Theo toward me. My jaw tightens at my first glance at him since the day he was sentenced to life in prison. The anger I felt toward him is still just as strong as it was the day I found him hovering over Jules, getting ready to rape her for the second time.

He glares daggers at me when he takes his seat and yanks down the phone receiver then brings it to his ear. I don’t grab mine right away, opting to just stare at him. I hate that we look identical.

Dropping my boot to the floor, I pick up the phone.