Chapter 32
Avidya
I wasn’t sure what to feel. The news that Rachael was, in fact, alive was not the news I had expected, nor thought of having. I never thought to think about the possibilities of her being living and breathing. I had just gathered that she was no longer living. Why hope for something when I was sure it would never happen?
So now, the question was – where was she? Did she know where I was? Or even who I was?
“Where is Rachael, then?” Zachariah asked out. “I’m assuming somewhere no one was able to track her down at so easily.”
“She’s in a mental hospital,” Travis answered. “I did a lot of digging to figure out where she was, alive or not. Took a bit of time to do so. I didn’t want to draw attention to what I was doing.”
“Why there?” Jonas asked.
“Not entirely sure,” Travis shrugged. “Could be there for her safety, since there are rumors that a few people want her dead, or she could be there because she’s mentally unstable. I wasn’t able to see her. Apparently, she had requested no one to visit her.
“I did give her receptionist my phone number along with Zach’s,” he went on. “Maybe she’ll change her mind about wanting people to visit if she knows you are looking for her.”
“You told them to give her a message, I assume?” Zachariah asked.
“Everything apparently goes through her doctor, so hopefully Rachael will get the message. Then call one of us soon,” Travis answered.
“Do you think they believe you? You said there were people that wanted her dead,” I spoke up.
“Yes,” Travis replied, seeming happy that I spoke up. “I’m sure she’ll call once she knows you have found out the truth.
“When I was looking at old police records to track her down, she reported that my mother was murdered instead of the reported overdose. That had me thinking and I found a number of her reports that she made.
“Rachael was a bit paranoid about a lot of things and probably for good reason too. Lynn, you, and I are the only living family she has. Her parents were murdered and that case is still opened today.
“I’m assuming Cody and Aaron could be behind it, as they both have a shady background but never had anything stick to them.
“With Gem pulled in, I have no doubt that Rachel is trying to keep under the radar, no matter if she truly is mentally unstable or not,” he finished.
“Only way to know is to talk to her,” Zachariah sight out. “Which can be a feat in itself.”
“That could be,” Travis replied as he sat up and leaned against the couch. “Figured we’d let her think things over and then if she doesn’t call us in a week or so, I’d go try again.”
“It’s a start,” Zachariah said after a moment of thought. “You happen to find anything about Lynn? She’s been missing for a couple of weeks now.”
“No,” Travis answered. “I’ll ask around and get feelers on it. She may have gone to her sister, too. They were pretty close once.”
Then looking at only me as I sat on Zachariah’s lap with his arms around me, Travis spoke. “I am sorry for what you’ve been put through, Avidya. Aaron was the man that his father brought up and neither of us should have been in the crossfire because of it.
“I’m sure we have other half siblings out there, but we will be the only ones that are more like cousins, or at least should have been. We may have a messed-up family, but the Melendez family will protect you as their own. Being a part of a mafia made family does have its perks,” he said with a wink at the end.
“My girl is certainly already loved by the entire family that has met her,” Zachariah stated proudly. I had only met a handful of them, and I was perfectly fine with that.
“You do know that Avidya should be right where she is, right?” Jonas said in a lazy manner. “Hartwell’s and Melendez are – were - two powerful families. The Hartwell’s are no longer powerful, as there really isn’t much left of them but you two,” Jonas said, glancing between Travis and myself. “But Avidya and Zach, you two would have been pushed together one way or another.”
“Finding fate in your old life, man?” Travis joked, which caused Jonas to lightly smack Travis on the shoulder.
I briefly wondered how my life could have been different growing up. Would Travis and I be like brothers, then? We shared the same father, but different mothers. One messed up the family for sure.
“Are you okay?” Zachariah whispered in my ear from behind me.
“I don’t know,” I answered, not entirely sure myself. So much information, so much to take in and think about.
I would be okay in time. There was only so much I could handle, but I’d be happy in the end, hopefully.
“So, when’s the wedding?” Travis asked out, startling me.
“What?” I asked, not understanding the question at first.
“In two weeks,” Zachariah answered right after me.
“Do I get an invite?” Travis asked in a form of a joke.
“Do you have a date to bring?” Zachariah asked out in return as his body shook with silent laughter.
“Of course, I would have a date!” Travis replied in shock. “I did meet a girl who would love to meet you all. She’s amazing.”
“Can’t wait to meet her. I’d hate to kill her if she’s not right for you,” Jonas said in mock seriousness.
“She knows about . . . my life. She happened to save my life a few months back. I owed her my story in exchange to get her help,” Travis answered. “There is no way you will ever kill her. She’s a bit . . . different with keeping me on my toes.”
“The best ones are, or so I’ve heard,” I stated, shooting a look through my eyelashes at the man behind me. I was rewarded with a look of need from him.
“You should invite her over sometime. Maybe we can go to dinner together,” Zachariah hinted after I swallowed hard.
“I’m not sure your . . .” Travis trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.
“She knows I’m a Dom, Travis,” Zachariah stated. “She may not know too much about it, but I think she’ll adjust well enough.”
“Oh?” Travis asked, surprised.
“I do have an open mind,” I huffed out, but not upset the slightest. “Just don't do any funny business, and I’ll keep my concerns and questions to myself.”
“You really are different,” Travis said with a small, hopeful smile my way. “The way Cody always was . . .”
“I never did like his ways,” I said with a shrug. “And I hope to learn more about this whole . . .” I waved my hand around the room. “Lifestyle choices.”
“It’s amazing, Avidya,” Travis said, his eyes a bit glossy at the thought of it. “Being able to let someone else take charge is freeing. You won’t regret it, even if it does take a bit of time to fully understand and be able to experience it all. There’s so much more than giving yourself to someone. So much more.”
“Can we please talk about something else now,” Jonas nearly whined out, causing the other two men to laugh at his expense and me to blush. Just because I was opened minded, somewhat, didn’t mean I wanted to know everything right then and there.
There would be plenty of time for that later after Zachariah and I could talk about the beginning stages.