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“You deserve the truth. Don't you think you deserve better than this?”

My world was spinning out of control. Everything I thought I knew wasn't true.

How was I supposed to feel about the idea that my family might have done this to me?

The little girl in that book was so shattered, she had lost all hope and was left to mend her own broken pieces.

But that little girl wasn't just anyone. . .

That little girl was me.

“Where are they? Where are my parents? Are they really gone like the diary said?”

Nodding, Jones tapped the table with his knuckles, unable to look me in the eyes. “When you're ready to know the truth, I'll tell you. But let's take this one step at a time. I have a safe place all set up for you, you'll go there for now.”

Cocking my head, my brows knitted. “What? No, I can't do that. I need to go back, I need to hear it from them—”

“No,” he snapped, crushing my request with his harsh tone. “You can't go back there. Not tonight, not tomorrow, not ever. It's not safe for you.”

Not safe? How?

Does he hear himself?

I was tempted to laugh in his face. The guy was trying to protect me from the people who had been caring for me. He was worried for my safety. . . Seriously?

Did he really think that the love of my life was suddenly going to change after all these years and strangle me to death?

Was he really that caught up in the mob dynamic that he thought we were all disposable and held no value?

I never felt like I was in danger. Nick had done far too much for me to just wipe me off the face of the earth. And I had done the same for him, I had been there through it all. Through the death of his wife, through business deals and even a triple homicide. He wouldn't hurt me, he loved me.

Right?

He did love me like a daughter. . . Or is that a lie too?

No, he loves me. And so does Birch. But I need answers, I deserve answers.

“Detective Jones, I appreciate the offer, but I'm not going to just run away from them. I deserve answers, and if you don't have any to give. . .” Pausing, I crooked my jaw and hardened my stare. “I'll get them myself.”

Bouncing his hands in the air, his lids opened wide as his lips frowned. I could tell he was annoyed and frustrated that I was going against his idealistic plan for my'safety.'“Let me do my job, I know these people, I know this family—”

Cutting him off, I snapped. “Are you screwing with me? You know this family? I'm not trying to fuck with your manhood, butIknow this family. You know what you want to see, I know them for who they really are.”

He wanted to peg them as the enemy. But it wasn't until right then that all of that was exposed. I had to decide for myself what was real and what was fake. I deserved an explanation, I deserved to know the truth.

Their truth, not the detective's.

I wasn't going to just run away from it. I couldn't. I wanted to hear it from Birch's own mouth. I had to know exactly what happened and why. Those were answers I didn't want to get from some report or testimony on the stand. I wanted to hear it from his lips. I wanted Birch to look me in the eyes and tell me himself.

That was what I deserved.

I was going back to them. Maybe it was a stupid decision to run into the arms of the criminal that had been the spark to the fire that burned my world down.

But I couldn't forget what they had done for me. I couldn't just erase the life they had given me. They had given me birthdays and Christmases, we had Sunday dinners and beach days in the summer. We camped in the backyard and swam in the lake, we laughed at jokes and played stupid board games.

We were normal on some level, with love and kindness. That was what the detective didn't see, that was what he didn't know. He was already blinded by their dark side, he was never going to be able to see what I had.

“Are you going to fight me tooth and nail on this?”