“Obviously something changed recently that helped you move past all this.”
Drawing in a deep breath, he stood up and walked to the wet bar to refill his glass. A glow from the approaching dawn began to filter through the hotel room window, the city still blanketed in a sheet of gray.
Another miserable day.
Pacing, he eyed Rayne, unnerving her. She pulled her robe tighter, never feeling so exposed and vulnerable as she did at that moment. Mark’s dark eyes penetrated her. Then he stopped, a bright smile crossing his face, lighting up his entire body. He buzzed with happiness. Rayne grew envious. She wanted to know the secret to moving on. She didn’t care what it entailed. She couldn’t go on like this anymore. Whatever Mark said he did to pull himself out of his grief, she would do. She had to.
“I knew I wouldn’t survive if I didn’t do something to cope with my grief.”
“Which was…?” She raised her eyebrows.
Stopping in his tracks, Mark hesitated, unease covering his face. “I wish I could tell you,” he admitted finally, lowering himself onto the bed again. Taking her hand in his, he continued. “I may be walking a fine line of legality with what I did. I’d hate for you to get wrapped up in all this, too. The last thing you need is any more pain in your life, especially when I can prevent it.”
“What did you do?” she asked, her voice heavy with suspicion and intrigue.
“What any good brother would do. I found who was responsible for taking Sabrina and made them feel and understand my grief, my anger, my loss. For years, I was empty, thinking nothing and no one would ever be able to fill the gap left in my heart, but I was wrong. Finally confronting those responsible, making them understand my anger, healed me in ways I didn’t think possible.”
“Did you…?” Rayne trailed off, her mind racing with a thousand different scenarios of what Mark’s words could imply. Did he kill Omar? Was someone else responsible for her disappearance? Did he find Sabrina?
“I told you,” he said, his voice calm. “I—”
“I know. I just…” She took a deep breath, lowering her walls for a brief moment so she could begin to heal. “I want that, too, Mark. I need it.”
“Then go after it. Get the closure you need.”
Her shoulders shrinking, she pulled away. “It’s not that simple. The people responsible for what happened to Landon live on the opposite side of the world,” she scoffed. “What am I going to do? Head over to the Middle East and knock on every door until I find the right person? Great plan.”
“There’s another way to get the closure you want and deserve.”
“I don’t see how.”
“From what you’ve talked about, it sounds like there’s someone else who’s actually responsible for what happened to your fiancé.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, processing his words. “You don’t mean…”
“I do,” he responded gravely.
Rayne shook her head, feeling like she was in a fog.
“Remember how you felt when you were left without answers? I understand the hopelessness and desperation that invaded every inch of you. Most people have never been in that situation where they would give their life, their soul, anything just to have their loved one safe and in their arms. Until they experience that same anguish, they’ll never truly feel and understand your anger.”
“What are you saying?” Rayne asked, her heart thumping in her chest at his impassioned words.
“I think you know exactly what I’m saying.”
Her jaw dropping, she stared at Mark, his eyes intense, focused, determined. She couldn’t believe they were even having this conversation. Yes, she wanted closure more than anything, but at what cost? By harming one of Landon’s best friends? She didn’t think she could live with the guilt.
Standing up, she placed her wine on the dresser and found her jeans and sweater, frantically dressing. “You may be able to bend or break the law to get the closure you need, but I’m not,” Rayne hissed, her skin prickling. “It’s wrong. This man was Landon’s best friend, not just a pawn for me to use to feel better.”
“You’re giving him more credit than he deserves. He doesn’t give a shit about you! Why should you care about him?” He reached for her arm.
“No!” She spun around, freeing herself from his grasp. “I don’t know what you did to get closure, and I don’t think I want to know, but harming someone else just so I don’t have to hurt anymore is not the way.”
She stormed out of the hotel room and dashed down the hallway toward the bank of elevators, trying to shake off their conversation.
But she couldn’t.
Chapter Four
December 18
6:30 AM
WITH HEAVY EYELIDS, ALEXANDER steered his dark SUV onto a narrow road in a suburb twenty miles outside of Boston. Dense trees lined the street, hiding the large houses from view, ensuring the residents’ privacy. While he missed the excitement and convenience of living in the heart of the city, it wasn’t a place to raise a family. He wanted his daughter to experience the same things he did growing up…traipsing through a large back yard, building a snowman on those cold winter days, swimming in the pool to cool off in the heat of the summer. The sprawling estate in the heart of Dover where they now resided provided all that and more.
Despite the obscene size of it, they had decided on this house, thinking it would provide them ample space to grow their family of three. Melanie was now eight and, after two years in this house, it was still a family of three. Whenever they received a birth announcement from yet another friend or family member, the tension grew between Alexander and his wife. Neither one had summoned the courage to address the elephant that had been in the room for years now. That their prayers to add one more to their roster may go unanswered.