“Or maybe it’s not my nephew you’re fucking?”
Tyler snaps his head her way, and I lift my hand.
“No, it most definitely is your nephew I’m fucking.”
Her eyes drift over my shoulder to Tyler, who seems surprised by her reaction to us. She shakes her head and walks out of the kitchen as we share a weary glance before we resume our work.
Once we’ve fully unpacked, we divide to conquer. I start in her bedroom, filling a trash bag full of junk under her eagle-eyed scrutiny before I gather my arsenal of cleaners. I’m halfway into scrubbing out a carpet stain that looks like a lost cause when she sounds up behind me.
“Why are you here?”
I decide to give her a dose of Alfred Sean Roberts honesty. Something tells me she’ll appreciate it a lot more. I glance over my shoulder and meet her assessing eyes. “Because I don’t like the state you’re living in. You’re not well. You’re fighting a sickness while allowing yourself to live in an infested house.”
“Who are you to criticize me?”
“No one of authority.” I stand and face her fully. She’s so thin I can see the deep purple vein in her neck. Chemo has taken a scary toll since the last time I saw her. “You can tell me to leave, Delphine. And I will.”
She crosses her arms, her thin robe accentuating her gaunt figure. “I’m doing what I’m supposed to. I’ve taken my meds.”
“I’m not here to police you.” Simple, honest, to the point. The woman can smell bullshit from a mile away.
“Fine,” she flips her hand. “Do what you will.”
“Thank you.” She frowns at my reply and turns on shaky legs, walking back toward the living room.
I resume my scrubbing as the house remains quiet and the tension builds. She finally speaks up, calling out to Tyler who’s working his way through her kitchen. I hear the distinct clink of a bottle to glass where she speaks from her chair.
“Never thought I’d see you again. Are you still a traitor?”
“If you mean a Marine, then yes,” he replies, clear mirth in his voice. “You haven’t forgiven me yet?”
“No.”
“Maybe if I get these dishes sparkling, you’ll forgive me.”
“Those dishes are older than you. They no longer sparkle.”
“Well, you certainly know how to keep hold of things that aren’t worth a shit.”
My ears perk at his comment.
“You wear both tattoos like badges of honor, but which house do you really serve?”
“This house, today,” he replies without pause. “And I explained to you a long time ago I wanted to serve both.”
She huffs, indignant. “They are not one and the same. They’re contradictions of the other.”
“That’s what we’re trying to change.”
“You know better.”
“I refuse to give up, and you have no place lecturing anyone on that.”
I can feel the tension his scorn causes. The house goes silent again as I make my way toward the bedroom door and peek out, seeing just enough of Tyler as he kneels down in front of her. I’m too far away, but I swear I catch her features soften as he whispers to her from feet away.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been back.”
He pulls the drink from her hand and sets it on the table. Tentatively, she reaches out and palms his cheek, and he covers it with his own.
“I had high hopes for you.” She pulls her hand away, and he sighs.
“Keep them high, along with your expectations, but you have to live to see me meet them. What in the hell have you done to yourself, Delphine?”
She leans in on a whisper, her eyes finding mine over his shoulder before I jump back into the bedroom and head toward the bathroom to finish my task.
So, Delphine is in on the secret.
Interesting.
But I’ll never be able to use this to my advantage. She’s just as closed off as Dominic. I’m not enough of a crowbar to try and breach her barriers. I know this without even trying.
After spending endless minutes scrubbing her bathroom and setting out roach bait in every corner, along all the baseboards, and in her closets, I move to join them in the living room. Tyler’s clearing a thick layer of dust from one of her floating shelves. “How do you breathe in here, Delphine?”
She lifts her vodka bottle and pours an inch into her glass. “Breathing is overrated.”
He shakes his head and peers down on her, his voice full of authority. “Stubborn ass woman.”