“Not just me you owe an apology to, is it?” Kent said sternly.
>
She turned to the large, grumpy man. “Sorry, Bain.”
The big man nodded.
“Bain, can you give us a while?” Kent asked.
She got a shiver of trepidation at his tone. The big man just walked into his room without another word. They had a suite with a living room and two bedrooms with attached bathrooms. Kent led her over to a sofa.
“Sit down, baby.” He sounded worried. Concerned.
She sat with an inelegant plop. “What is it? Is something wrong? Is it Max?”
He crouched in front of her. “Corbin found him. I’m so sorry, baby. There’s no easy way to say this...”
“He’s dead, isn’t he?”
Kent nodded. “Yes, sweet girl. He’s in a morgue in Seattle. They must have found him somehow. I’m so sorry.”
“Oh God. Oh God.” Numbness filled her. “How long has he been dead? What happened to him?”
“His body was found out by Beaver Lake. It had been dumped there.”
She placed her hand over her mouth. “I feel ill.”
He hastily stood and picked her up and raced her to the bathroom where she lost the burger she’d ordered from room service earlier. Kent held her gently, kept her hair back for her and when she was finished, he wiped her face gently with a wet cloth and handed her a toothbrush.
She leaned weakly against him. “How did he die?”
“I’m not telling you that, sweetheart,” he told her as he picked her up. This time, he carried her into the bedroom and laid her on her side of the bed. Then he lay next to her, curling his body around her back and holding her.
“Please. I need to know. Please, Kent.”
He sighed. “Gunshot wounds. Several of them.”
She sobbed in a breath. Then another one. Then her body started to shake. “I k-know he was a-awful. But he was s-still my brother.”
“I know he was.”
“He d-didn’t deserve t-that.”
“No, baby. He didn’t. It’s all right. Cry it out.”
Tears rushed down her cheeks. “He w-was the s-sweetest kid. I don’t know w-where things went wrong.”
“You know it wasn’t your fault, right? None of this was your fault.”
“But m-maybe I should h-have given him m-money when he called.”
“Oh, baby. You can’t think like that. You can’t predict the future. Max brought this all on himself. It wasn’t your fault. Please, don’t think that. We offered to help him and he threatened me, remember?”
“I know. You’re right.”
“You just let it all out, baby. I’ve got you. I’m here. I’m here. I’m never letting you go.”
She cried until it felt like she was empty. Her tears dried up and her sobs faded. Kent rolled her so she was facing him. He reached back to grab a tissue from the box on the bedside table.