Page 134 of Faded Gray Lines

“Leighton!” she called out as Mateo took my hand and pushed the door open.

I couldn’t resist one last look at her. “That’s Mrs. Cortes to you, bitch.”

Forty-Six

Mateo

“Areyou sure you won’t come with us?” Leighton begged.

Brody smirked. “And leave this quiet little town? Not on your life. Besides, I have to bury my grandparents, make my mother’s life a living hell, quit my job, and oh, yeah, play the grieving brother for my presumed dead sister. I’m swamped.”

Leighton’s guilt-ridden face fell. “There’s no other way, Brody.”

“I know,” he said, lowering his eyes to the floor. “I want you to go. The Harcourts don’t fare too well around here.”

I wanted to punch him, but as long as he talked, Leighton was happy, and as long as Leighton was happy, I’d keep my hands in my pockets. Besides, no matter what we said, he’d set himself on a dark path, blaming himself—not only for Luis—but for telling his mother about Stella in the first place. He’d intended to reunite his estranged family but ended up destroying what was left of them.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” I watched curiously as he pulled her gold necklace from his pocket. “I think this belongs to you.”

The second he clasped it around her neck, her fingers dove for the pendant. “I won’t say goodbye,” she said, her voice breaking. “Promise me you won’t either.”

He nodded, although she couldn’t see it. “How about, ‘I’ll see you later.’”

“See you later,” she whispered, squeezing the pendant between her fingers. At the last minute, she spun around and threw herself in his arms. This time he awkwardly held her for a few beats before catching my eye in a silent plea for help.

“Hey,” I said, standing and running a hand down Leighton’s back. “Why don’t you go check on Stella? I’m sure she’s in the car talking Eden’s ear off.”

“Yeah.” Letting her brother go, Leighton wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and pasted on a smile. “Good idea.”

Once she was gone, Brody handed me an envelope. “Fake passports to get them out of the country,” he explained. “Consider it my last official illegal act as ADA.”

I tucked it under my arm. “Speaking of which, there’s an opening as the head of Houston operations.”

“I thought it took years to earn that kind of position.”

“Time is measured by sacrifice, not a clock. You deserve the title. I’ve talked to Val, and it’s yours if you want it.”

He shrugged, and I saw a glimmer of the old Harcourt in his eyes. “Why the hell not. This one foot in, one foot out shit was getting old anyway.”

I held out my hand, and Brody stared at it before finally accepting it. Just as I turned to leave, he grabbed my shoulder.

“After being in that fire, she needs to see a doctor. Both of them do.”

Way ahead of you, counselor.

“I’ve already called our doctor in Mexico. She won’t have a choice.”

“Good.” He seemed satisfied with my answer but still held onto my arm. “Take care of them, Mateo. They’re all I have left.”

“With my life,” I promised. “Anything else?”

“Yeah.” Nodding his head toward the open door, I followed his eyes to where Stella sat in a car seat next to the window. “Don’t let her grow up and marry a man like us.”

* * *

We waited in the car outside Hobby Airport as workers prepared Val’s private jet for departure. Stella pressed her forehead against the window and gazed up at the sky with curious eyes.

“Have you ever been on an airplane before, Stella?” I asked.