He leaned in and lightly kissed her lips, shocking the breath out of her. “No, baby. I don’t think you are.”
“I could be,” she insisted. “I could do it if I had to.”
“Are we really arguing over whether or not you would be able to murder someone?”
She huffed out a breath. “I guess it’s a pretty stupid thing to argue about, right?”
He gave her a full-blown smile and warmth filled her belly. “Yeah, baby. That’s a pretty stupid thing to argue about.” His face grew serious. “And I hope you never have to find out whether you could do it or not. In fact, I’m going to make sure you never know.”
That sounded like a declaration, and she had to force herself not to read more into it than he meant. He was caught up in the memories. Of course he wouldn’t want anybody else to live through what he had.
“How did you get away? How did the cops not find you? How did the family not find you?”
“Remember how I said Alec was working on something? And he asked me for time? Time that it turns out Lana didn’t have.” She nodded her head
“Well, Marceras’
s son, Mateo, wasn’t happy with how he was running the family. Especially wasn’t happy with him giving away his baby sister to one of his enforcers. He and Alec were working in the background to have Mateo overtake Marceras. When I murdered the old man, it moved the timetable up. Mateo helped to set things up so it looked like a rival family killed his father. We disappeared.”
“Didn’t it look suspicious that you guys disappeared after he died?”
“I don’t know what Mateo told everyone, but he helped us all get new identities. Alec had been putting away a lot of money, and Mateo gave me even more. Alec bought this place.”
“Right. Hell of a payoff.”
West shrugged. “Mateo got what he wanted. We moved here. And we’ve lived here ever since. Never thought I’d ever end up on a ranch. What a learning curve that was for all of us.”
“But you like it?”
“Yeah. I do. My brothers drive me insane on a daily basis, but this place is ours. We’re under nobody’s rule but our own.”
Might explain how wild the younger Malone brothers could be.
“Your father?” she asked.
“He left. No idea where he is. Don’t care.”
He’d never done a thing to help any of his sons, to protect them from Marceras, so she wouldn’t lose any sleep worrying about him.
“I’m so sorry that happened to you, West. To Lana.”
He gave her an intense look. “Happened years ago, but I always carry her with me. Wherever I go, there she is.”
“I get it,” she whispered. “It’s okay, I understand.”
“Do you?” He tilted his head. “Cause I haven’t really explained it all yet. What exactly do you get?”
“That she was your one.”
“My one?”
“The person for you. That perfect match. I get why you were so harsh with me the other night. I can be sort of persistent. You made your point. You loved her. You can’t love anyone else.”
He sighed. “Yeah, I figured you didn’t get it. I’ve carried Lana with me always, like a shield. She was a lesson. Never get involved. Never care. Because having someone you love ripped away from you hurts like a motherfucker.”
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “It does.”
He gently squeezed her hand. “And so I was bound and determined to protect myself, not caring if anyone else got hurt in the process. And they did. You.”