Inevitable (King Crime Family #2) - J.L. Beck Page 0,21

with little words scribbled across it.

“What does it say, Daddy?” I asked with excitement and curiosity in my voice.

“It says, ‘You can always count on me.’ Things are going to get bad with Mom, but I want you to always remember that no matter how bad they get, you can always count on me. Always.” His voice cracked as he turned me back around. This time it was him pulling me into an embrace.

“Always, Amara… always.”

I allowed his words to soothe me as I took every single one of them in—and they did.

I pull myself from the memories, no longer able to digest what happened. If John was really so bad, then why did he act like he cared? All those years, he pretended to be something he wasn’t. Why?

Picking up the soap, I vigorously scrub my body, trying to rid myself of the emotions swirling within me. I want every memory of who he was scrubbed from my mind. I want Enzo gone. I want the pain to go away. It completely consumes me. I should’ve known it was all too good to be true.

My hand hovers over the door handle as I prepare myself for what I’m going to find on the other side of the bathroom door. I don’t want Enzo to be there, but I’m almost certain he will be. To make matters worse, I have no clothes. The only thing covering me is the large fluffy towel wrapped around my body.

Taking one more calming breath, I grab onto the brass knob and turn it. Exhaling, I push the door open. My eyes fall onto the man sitting on the edge of the bed. Surprisingly, that man is not Enzo.

“Jared?”

He stands up, his eyes locking with mine as he takes a tiny step toward me.

“Please hear me out. I know you’ve been through a lot, but I have to tell you something, and I’m scared that I won’t get the chance if I don’t tell you right now.”

“Why wouldn’t you get a chance?”

“Because I know you’re going to try to get away the first chance you get.” The side of his mouth tucks upward slightly. Yeah, he has a point.

“Fine. Tell me. What’s so important that it can’t wait?”

“I had to dig deep when trying to find you. I even went to my dad, which I don’t normally do for the simple fact that he normally doesn’t help me… but he did this time. Because as it turns out, you and I are more connected to everything than we realized.”

“Meaning?”

“My father agreed to help find you because you are his biological daughter.”

My face deadpans. Did he just say we are siblings? I let his words sink in for a moment, ignoring the fact that I’m standing half-naked in a room with a man who is possibly my brother.

“No.” I shake my head, finally finding my voice.

“I swear to you, I had no idea about any of this before. I had no idea I had a half-sister. My father never mentioned you before.”

“You’re making this shit up.” I’m still shaking my head profusely, my wet hair flying into my face.

“Why would I make this up?”

“I don’t know why half this shit is happening. Two months ago, I was a college student at North Woods University with a farmer as a father. None of this makes sense.” I throw my hands up in the air dramatically before wrapping them securely around myself again.

“I get it… I just had to tell you,” he lowers his head like a sad puppy dog, “I brought you food too, and I convinced Enzo to give you some space. Please just get some rest, and don’t try to leave. I promise, I’ll make sure you are protected in this house.”

With that, he turns his back to me and leaves the room, leaving me utterly confused.

I’ve never noticed it before, but I could see the resemblance. Our noses were the same, our eyes held the same warm brown, and his lips were shaped the same as mine. Even though the proof is right in front of me, there is absolutely no way I will simply believe it. I can’t trust Jared.

I can’t trust anyone anymore.

6

Mack

“They killed John,” Miller says as I push the slut off my body. Fuck. This is both bad and good news. It means one last person to deal with when this is all over, but it also means my guy at the FBI is gone. Will those assholes honor the