She sits back on her heels and drops her gaze. “Fine. Then start with what you promised. The truth. Why did you come back now?”
“A lot of it has to do with carrying out plans I set into motion over twenty years ago, especially Tyler’s position in the White House. I didn’t expect it to take so fucking long, and the longer it took, the more I was sure I had to get everything off my plate in order to do this right. I had to heavily vet the few I trusted to take over with Sean, so you and I could…” I groan in frustration. “The last thing I wanted to do was come after you and turn around and leave while we were sorting ourselves out…” Anger surges at the hell I went through after she left. “And you disappeared for seven fucking weeks before I found you.”
“I had every reason to.”
“For seven weeks, I went off the rails because you didn’t leave a trace,” I clench my fists on my thighs in an attempt to temper my anger. “You made sure of it.”
“Cash,” she supplies. “It goes a long way, as you well know. That’s why this house and the diner legally belong to my mother.” She stops her digging. “Maybe I didn’t want to be found.”
“I was losing my fucking mind with worry.”
“I was no longer yours to worry about. You made sure of it.”
“You’ve always been mine. I’ve had eyes on you since you were eleven years old, Cecelia, no matter how I felt about you. Maybe I deserved the hell those weeks were not knowing, but there will never be a time in your life you’re not under my protection. I failed you once, and I’ll do everything in my fucking power not to fail you again. Believe me, by the time I arrived yesterday, I made every effort to make sure you had no one but me coming for you.”
Her face drains of all color. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what you think it means. Another reason it took me so long to get to you. Aside from kicking a hundred things into motion so I could be here, I had bodies to find and bury.” My sole focus being Roman’s old business partner, the motherfucker who sent Miami, turning the confrontation into a bloodbath.
Her mouth parts as her eyes widen, incredulous. “Jerry? You went after him?”
I nod and don’t miss her flinch.
“Tobias, what did you do?”
“I made sure he’ll never be a threat to you again.”
“You said you trusted me.”
“I do. I didn’t trust him. He’s as fucking corrupt as they come. Retaliation was in the works. I saw it for myself. I was tracking both his correspondence and calls closely. He’s always been a threat to you. If I had gotten a handle on things when I should have…” I clear my throat to stop myself, “I would have taken care of him a lot sooner.”
She flicks imploring eyes to mine. “What do you mean?”
Not yet. We’re not there yet, Tobias. One thing at a time.
“I got a confession before I buried him. He was the one who sent Miami. Do you want the details?”
She swallows and darts her eyes away. “No.”
“You are never to disappear on me again.” Her stare is a million miles away before it finally flits back to me, the toll of the first of my confessions heavy in her eyes.
I level out my voice, intent that through her anger, she hears me. Adamant she knows what she’s in for should the situation ever present itself. “I will kill anyone who threatens you. Anyone. I will fucking end them, Cecelia. I won’t think twice, and I won’t lose sleep over it.”
She bites her lip, dragging her gaze over my body before turning her attention back to her flower bed. I crouch down next to her as the wind lifts some loose hair from her shoulder and I brush the rest away from her face.