Not much of it was good.
My biological father had been known for being ruthless and above the law. Dominic had followed in his footsteps. Insanely rich, internationally powerful beyond what any family should be, and tainted by scandals . . . the Corisis were dangerous. If they were anything like my bio-father, my mother had been right to fear them.
I wouldn’t begin to know how to fight them if they came for us. All I could do was hope they wouldn’t and that my sister was smart enough to stay away from them. I texted her: Mom won’t handle this well.
I know.
We should tell her together.
Okay. After a pause, Riley added: We have two brothers and a sister, Kal. That’s kind of exciting.
I didn’t need time to think about my response to that. You and Mom are the only family I care about. Don’t rush off and do something that will only hurt Mom more. She needs us on her side.
I would never hurt Mom.
I didn’t answer that text because Riley would never intentionally hurt anyone, but she did sometimes rush forward without thinking about the damage she might leave in her wake. In some ways, she was a boat dropping anchor without thought of what lay below.
When it only affected me, I did my best to accept that side of her, but I couldn’t this time. Our mother had endured too much already. Riley needed to respect that.
The Corisis needed to as well.
I’d make sure of that—somehow.
Together, that night, we told our mother about our conversation with Teagan. Riley asked so many questions about our bio-father and his family that our mother excused herself to cry in the other room.
The next day things went just as badly. Mom begged Riley to have nothing to do with the Corisis, and although Riley promised not to, we all knew she couldn’t keep that promise. Fucking Riley. She wanted everyone to be happy, and even though I was furious with her, part of me envied the way she saw the world.
To her, there was nothing broken that couldn’t be fixed.
I’d stopped believing that was true a long time ago.
When the dust settled, I flew off to Europe to start my first international tour. I called home every day, talked about anything but the Corisis, worked out until I barely fit in a wetsuit, and told myself everything would be okay. It had to be.
I took Jade’s book with me and jotted notes throughout it as I dove in areas that were mentioned in the book. If I found myself in an area near any of the marine biologists from the book, I sought ways to connect with them.
I didn’t tell them I was a dancer, and they didn’t ask. I told them I was a huge fan of their work, had them autograph the book, and was even invited on dives with a few of them. When my notes became too much for the margins of the book, I began to record them in a journal I kept on a laptop.
My entries all started the same way: I wish you were here, Jade. Today I . . .
Invio paid the bills and stayed on stage.
The real me hunkered down and made the best of the situation.
Even though I had no intention of sharing my journal with Jade, the idea of her kept me from losing my mind every time Dominic Corisi sent me a text or a voicemail saying he wanted to meet me.
I didn’t want to meet him.
I was afraid I might kill him if I did.
CHAPTER FIVE
Jade
After months of not seeing Sasha and Nikki in person a trip home was a much-needed treat. We met at our regular table in our favorite breakfast restaurant. After putting in our food orders we sat back and simply smiled at each other.
Sasha rested a hand on her rounded stomach. “It’s so good to see you.”
“We chat online all the time. You see my face more than some of my coworkers do,” I answered easily. I loved these ladies and there was no way distance would diminish our friendship.
Nikki looked me over before saying, “You look happy—and tan.”
I brought a hand to my face. No amount of sunblock could counter the effects of being out in the sun all day almost every day. “I am. Right now, I’m with a state conservation agency and I’m low man on the team so I get assigned whatever everyone else doesn’t want to do, but I don’t mind. I’m learning about invasive species inland and aquatic plant permits. There is so much opportunity to move within departments once I prove myself.”
“That’s fantastic,” Sasha said. “I was half-hoping you wouldn’t like Florida, but I’m so glad to see you finally doing something you enjoy.”
I let out a happy smile. “Every day is different, but I’m surrounded by people who get excited about the same things I do. On my day off a bunch of us volunteered for a sea turtle conservancy. We spent the day setting up artificial lighting that would lead them toward the ocean instead of across the street to well-lit hotels and condominiums. The beach nests are protected, but hatchlings instinctively crawl toward the brightest light, which used to be the waves. We can’t stop people from encroaching on their territory, but we can give them a fighting chance to survive despite the change in their environment.” When I finished, I made an apologetic face. “Sorry. You know how I get.”
Nikki leaned in. “I miss having you drop in and pester me while I’m trying to study, but I’m so glad you didn’t marry Robert.”
Sasha kicked her under the table. “Don’t bring him up.”
I shrugged. “It doesn’t bother me. Things were dicey with me and my grandparents when I canceled the wedding at the last minute. I’m still paying them back for the money they’d put toward it, but I was over Robert as soon as I found out about Daphne.”
“You don’t miss him? Not even a little?” Sasha asked.
I shook my head. “Weird, huh?”
Nikki rolled her eyes. “Your quick rebound probably has nothing to do with you meeting your soul mate that night.”
The waitress delivered our drinks and I mixed sugar and cream into my coffee before answering. “I don’t even remember saying that to you, but I know he and I shared a connection. I wouldn’t have broken free and gone to Florida if I hadn’t met him.”
After sipping on her water, Sasha said, “I wish you’d included me in on the call that night. All we have is Nikki’s take on it and she’s so analytical.”
Nikki shrugged. “What do you think I left out? She was drunk. He was a good guy who took her home. They talked. They seemed to have a lot in common. He said he wanted to stay in touch but must not have meant it because he ghosted her after she sent him a gift.”
Sasha waved for Nikki to stop. “Yeah, that’s not the version anyone wants to hear. Jade met a man who put a halt to his dream of also being a marine biologist so he could help his family. He encouraged her to follow hers. That’s not a ‘good guy’—that’s a good man—the kind you don’t let get away. And have you seen him?” She pulled up a photo of Kal from his latest tour and flashed it at Sasha and me. “I’m just saying that when all of that comes in this package you check to see if he got your gift. For all we know, he didn’t.”
Heat flooded my cheeks and I looked away. “Do you really think a man like that is pining for me? For anyone? There was even a woman throwing herself at him when he was walking me to my room.”