“How long have you known?” I almost whisper.

“That you and Rake were his children? Dad told me a few months before he died, actually,” he says, his hand rubbing his chest.

I bite my lip, gathering courage to ask the next question. “Why didn’t he want us?”

Talon grimaces, then looks down at the table. “As far as I know, Dad was married to my mom when he was with your mother. My mom was his old lady, and yours was . . .”

“His whore,” I supply in a hollow tone.

He sighs. “Anna, it wasn’t—”

“Why didn’t he ever come and see us?” I demand. “What, did he just fuck Mother and run when Rake was born? Then come back to get her pregnant with me and leave again?”

He’s silent for a moment.

“I don’t know exactly what happened. I know that Dad saw Rake when he was a baby. Then my mother found out and she told him if he ever saw your mother she would leave him and never come back.”

My jaw clenches. “So your ‘father’ decided to stay and look after you, his wife’s kid, and ignored Rake and me, his own blood.”

Talon looks ashamed, his face falling. “I didn’t say it was right, Anna, I’m just telling you what happened.”

“And how was I born then?” I ask.

“Dad kept seeing your mother, now and again,” he says with a shrug. “His weak moments, he would say.”

I was born because of a “weak moment”?

Just great.

“So he knew we were out there, with a druggie for a mother, but never bothered to do anything about it. Wow, he sounds like a real winner.”

Talon stays silent.

“Is your mother still alive?” I ask him.

He nods. “Is yours?”

I shake my head. “Drug overdose.”

Lost in my own thoughts, I have no idea how long I’ve been silent for.

Talon clears his throat. “Say something.”

“So you knew I was your stepsister and you still kidnapped me?”

“You weren’t hurt, and Ranger got the shit beaten out of him for hurting you,” he says. “And to be honest, I wanted to see what you were like.”

I run a hand down my face. “You’re fuckin’ insane.”

“And you, Anna, blew me away. You were brave, smart, and beautiful. Trust me, it was Dad who missed out on you, not the other way around.”

A small smile plays on my lips. “I think you’re right about that one.”

“You have his eyes, you know,” he says quietly.

“Yeah, my mother had brown eyes,” I say, staring down at my plate. “I always knew I got them from my father, whoever he was.”

“Your mother never told you?” he asks.

“Nope, she always said she didn’t know who he was.”

He scowls. “I’m sorry, Anna.”

“Don’t be,” I tell him. “It wasn’t your fault.”

I feel tired.

Exhausted and empty.

Hollow.

“Talon, could you please take me to Lana’s house?” I ask him.

He swallows, standing and walking over to me. “I’m sorry, Anna. Come on, of course I’ll take you there.”

I try to smile, but I think it comes out as more of a grimace.

How did everything get so messed up?

WHEN I’m safe at Lana’s, tucked into the guest room bed, I check my phone. Fifty-two missed calls and twelve messages. Not wanting anyone to worry, I send out a message to Rake.

With Lana. I’m safe.

He replies instantly.

Thank fuck! I was worried, Anna.

Another message.

I’ll come and get you.

Yeah, that isn’t happening.

No, I’ll come back tomorrow, I reply.

Fine, love you. We need to talk.

Love you too, bro.

I don’t read Arrow’s text messages, or check my voice mail.

I also don’t sleep.

*   *   *

Lana sticks her head through the doorway. “Morning!”

“Morning,” my voice thick with fatigue.

She frowns, opening her mouth, then shaking her head. “Did you know that Arrow is sitting on my front porch?”

I sit up. “What?”

How did he even know where Lana lived?

“Yeah, no idea how long he’s been there. Mother saw him when she was on her way to work and sent me a text.”

I blink slowly a few times. “Did he scare her?”

Lana smirks. “No. Apparently she was worried about him because he looks like hell.”

Typical.

Lana’s mother was a saint—and she definitely passed on her kind and gentle nature to her daughter.

With a frustrated puff of breath, I get out of bed and walk to the front door. When I open it, I see Arrow sitting there, back against the wall, his head lowered. He looks defeated, and I hate it. He looks up when I clear my throat.

“What are you doing here, Arrow?”

He wets his lips. “You wouldn’t return my calls.”

“And for good reason,” I snap. “I didn’t want to talk to you. How did you even get here? You better not have ridden, because you were drunk as hell!”

He winces, and I wonder if he’s still a little drunk.

“Tracker dropped me off,” he says, running his hand through his hair. “Can we talk?”

I look around. “Why didn’t you push that woman off your lap?”

He swallows. “She just came and sat there. I was so busy feeling fuckin’ sorry for myself that I didn’t even think. She was just sitting there, Anna, it’s not like we were fucking. You know I’d never be unfaithful to you.”

“And how do I know that? You weren’t even faithful to Mary, and you loved her.”

His expression is etched in pain and guilt. “Who told you that?”

“Is it true?” I ask him.

“Not exactly.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Mary knew I wasn’t exclusive with her,” he says, pushing himself off the ground and coming to stand in front of me. “When she died, I knew I’d screwed up. I should have treated her better. But I also learned my lesson, to never take someone for granted. Which is why I would never do that to you.”

“Janet told me,” I say. “And then I walked in and saw that woman get comfortable in your fuckin’ lap while you just sat there, like it was a daily occurrence that someone else’s ass was pressed against your crotch!”

Arrow curses and lifts his hand to my cheek. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to hurt you, Anna. I never did.”

“Don’t be sorry, just tell me why you didn’t think that I deserved to know about my father. Or that Talon is my stepbrother, or that . . .”

I trail off.

“Or that I murdered your father?” he says in a broken voice. “Fuck. I wanted to tell you, Anna. I was going to tell you.”

His voice breaks. “But how the fuck do you tell someone that? Especially someone you love?”

He loves me?

“I don’t know, Arrow, but I know that I wish you’d told me,” I reply, looking away from him. I sit down on the porch steps, defeated.

“I didn’t want to lose you, Anna. I can’t lose you. I need you to know that if I knew . . . if I knew, I wouldn’t have done it. Fuck, Anna. I didn’t know. I didn’t even know you then . . .

“Fuck,” he mutters, going to his knees before me. “I do love you, Anna; do you know that?”

My heart grips on to his every word.

“I wanted to say it back to you when you said it to me, I wanted to . . .”

“Why didn’t you?” I ask.

Why now? I want to ask. Is he just telling me because he thinks he’s going to lose me?

“Because I knew I didn’t deserve to say those words, and I don’t deserve to say them now, but I’m selfish when it comes to you.”

Arrow hugs me, wrapping his arms around me tightly and telling me how sorry he is, how he never knew, how if he could change it he would.

I believe him.

“You didn’t know, Arrow,” I tell him. “But I need some time alone, okay? I just need to work through all this.”

He looks like his heart is breaking, but I need to fix me now. I can’t fix anyone else when I’m feeling so broken.