“Ready to go home?” I ask, making her jump and drop the sweater she was holding.
“Jesus, you scared me. You move awfully quiet for a guy your size.”
“So I’ve been told.” I chuckle.
“And yes, I’m ready to go back home and be with my mom and dad for a while. I’ve missed them so much.” She picks up the sweater and places it back on the bed.
“How come you never visited or had them come and visit you?” I ask, trying to keep my voice casual, so this sounds less like an interrogation. I could easily get the information out of Amelie, have her crying, and telling me everything I want to know, but she’s Fallon’s sister, and whatever happened to her when she was being held captive is something she will talk about when she wants to.
She shrugs. “You know… everyone is so busy.”
I know that’s a lie. Her parents have asked multiple times to come over while she’s been here. I don’t doubt that they would have closed the store to fly over to France to visit her. Amelie dropped out of college and moved in with her rich boyfriend. Neither time nor money should have been an issue for her to visit them either.
Something else kept her from seeing her family, and I’m going to find out what.
“You know what I do for work, right?”
Amelie’s body tenses at my question and her next words are hesitant, almost scared, “Yeah, I mean, kind of. Not exactly, but you work for the mafia, I know that much.” She swallows thickly. “If you are worried about me saying anything, I would never.”
“I know, that’s not where this is going. I just wanted to let you know that if you ever need anything, you can ask me. I’m in love with your sister, and I’m planning to be with her indefinitely. That makes you family, and I protect my family. I won’t tolerate someone hurting my family.”
“Um, thanks.” She bites her bottom lip nervously like she is unsure of what to say. I decide to come right out with it.
“Did someone hurt you? Before you were kidnapped? Maybe your boyfriend?”
She looks at me out of the corner of her eye. “What if he did?”
I don’t even hesitate with my response, “Then, I would hunt him down and kill him for you.”
She shakes her head. “You can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s already dead.”
“Already dead?” It takes a lot to shock me, but her response does. “Did you kill him?”
Amelie is a small thing, short with little muscle mass. I doubt she could fight off an aggressor, let alone kill someone.
She shakes her head again. “No. I didn’t kill him.”
“Then who did?”
“I don’t want to talk about this,” she whispers and squeezes her eyes closed.
“I understand that, but if you didn’t kill him, someone else did. Who are you protecting? I’m not asking you to tell me your darkest secrets. I just want to know who did it. Maybe I can send him a thank you card or something.”
Amelie doesn’t laugh, so I figure I’ve missed my chance at convincing her to tell me, but then she says, “It was one of the guys… the men who held me prisoner.”
She doesn’t continue, but I know there is much more to this story. I try to think of a reason why they would kill her boyfriend, and only one comes to mind.
“Did he try to come for you?”
Her eyes flicker away before returning to me. “Yes, that’s what happened,” she explains, nodding her head. I didn’t think it was possible, but she is an even worse liar than her sister. Something else happened, something she doesn’t want to talk about.
I decide to let it go for now. I’d rather have Felix do some more digging on the boyfriend.
“Please, don’t tell my sister… about Leon. I don’t want her to be upset. She’s been through enough, and I know she would feel bad.”
I had to agree with Amelie. Fallon would be upset. The idea of not telling her didn’t sit well with me, but I could always explain later to Fallon what her sister had told me.
“Fine, but you need to make me a promise.”
Amelie nods her head profusely. She didn’t want to hurt her sister any more than her sister wanted to hurt her. They were both selfless when it came to each other.
“What promise?”
“If you need anything, you come to me. You get into any kind of trouble, you call me. I will destroy anyone that fucks with you. Anyone, do you understand?”
“Yes,” she whispers and looks me right in the eyes. “I’ll call you if I need anything.”
I can only hope that’s the truth because if anything happens to Amelie again, I’m not sure Fallon will survive.EpilogueFallonOne Year LaterWe get married on a Sunday. The sun hangs high in the sky, shining down on us. Waves crash against the private sandy beach, and the wind blows through my hair. There couldn’t be a more picturesque moment. My dress is perfect, white, and elegant. Markus looks dapper in his tux, his hair sculpted perfectly against his head.