A.J had saved him, Lee realized as he slowly came back to his senses. If it wasn’t for her, he would’ve been stuck in that monstrous house for God knows how long. She’d saved him.
“Lee.” She knelt beside him, her expression filled with concern. “Are you okay?”
“Y-” he tried to speak but his mouth felt strangely cottony.
Around them, people milled. Some watching him, some consoling Susan who’d turned up to the scene of her bakery turned to ashes, some interested in the fire that was now razing A.J’s building.
When had the firemen arrived? Lee wondered as he saw them spray the building with water.
“Are you okay?” A.J drew his attention back to her.
He nodded but even as he did so, his gaze strayed back to the fire. The memories of what happened after A.J burned down the Boltons’ home were vague because he was so young back then and it was such a long time ago. Given his dreams and the P.I’s report, Lee could only assume that the authorities had eventually caught up to them and taken her away.
So this is where she’d ended up? He dragged his gaze away from the fire to study her. What a relief.
“Lee, are you okay?” A.J fussed over him.
“Mm.” He nodded even as frustration pulsed through him. It was her store on fire, yet even now, twenty-two years later, she was still the one taking care of him. He should be the one fussing over her. It should be his turn to take care of her. Instead, here he was struggling to even breathe.
With what felt like Herculean effort, he rose to his full height then cupped his palm over her cheek. “Are-” He swallowed then forced the words out. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. But you-” A.J brushed the back of her hand over his cheek. “You’re so pale. What’s the matter?”
“N- nothing,” he forced out.
A.J looked like she wanted to ask more questions. Fortunately, the fire inspector chose that moment to make his appearance beside them. “Hi, I’m told you’re the owner of the building next to the one where the fire started.”
The next few minutes were spent briefing the inspector on what they’d seen while the firefighters dealt with the fire. Like Lee, A.J had no idea when or how the fire had started. She was asleep in her apartment when a sudden explosion had woken her up. The inspector hypothesized that someone might have left the ovens or gas on in the bakery, but as of now it was just speculation.
Lee tried to concentrate on the conversation between A.J and the inspector but his mind kept wandering back to his memories. So he was a victim of child abuse? How was he supposed to deal with that? He wanted to be strong and shrug it off saying it was something that had happened ages ago. Unfortunately, his body was acting like it’d just happened today.
After telling A.J to come in to the station the following day, the inspector left them to watch as the firefighters put out the fire. Fortunately, the bakery and Warehouse 17 bore the brunt of the fire, and none of the other buildings adjoining them suffered much damage.
As Lee held A.J in his trembling arms, he could feel her sadness hovering over them. He wished he could soothe her, tell her that her store getting burnt wasn’t the end of everything. But for some reason, he couldn’t speak. Most of his senses were still locked in the torturous memories of his past. His heart still hadn’t stopped beating a frantic tattoo as if he was still that six-year-old boy waiting in his bedroom for Reverend Bolton. Heck, Lee wasn’t even sure how he was standing given that his legs felt like jelly.
Lee had no idea who called his father, but Mason came striding towards them just as the firemen were winding up their work. As soon as A.J saw him, she quickly stepped out of Lee’s arms leaving him feeling empty, bereft and more than a little unsteady on his feet. What the hell was wrong with him?
“What happened?” His father’s shocked glance razed the charred buildings.
“Fire,” A.J said. “It started from the bakery.”
“See! This is why I always tell her to check those ovens befo-” Mason paused when his gaze landed on his son. He frowned. “Are you okay?”
Yes, Lee wanted to say, but all he could do was nod. It wasn’t enough for his father.
“You don’t look okay,” Mason said.
“I think he’s in shock.” A.J said.
Lee wanted to yell that he wasn’t in shock, that it wasn’t his store that had burnt up, that they were supposed to be worrying A.J not him, but a bout of dizziness hit him.
A.J caught his arm when he stumbled backwards. “Lee!”
“We should help him sit down,” Mason suggested, concern shadowing his eyes. Together, his father and A.J led him to the bench in front of Mason’s store.
Once there, Mason urged Lee to take in deep breaths as A.J watched worriedly. At one point, Mason even suggested that they take Lee to hospital, but Lee razed that idea with a growled ‘over my dead body’. Finally, the two decided to take him to his father’s house.
After he helped Lee into the passenger seat, Mason turned to A.J. “Are you coming with us?”
A.J hesitated for a moment as her worried gaze flickered to Lee. But she shook her head. “No, I think I’ll go spend the night at my friend’s place.”
“A.J.” Lee pushed through dry lips.
“Yeah?” She edged closer to his door.
“Come with me,” he murmured. He didn’t want to be without her tonight. Not only because he wanted to make sure she was okay, but also because he knew that he’d be okay too if she was beside him.
A.J’s gaze flickered to his father, almost as if she was waiting for his permission.
With obvious reluctance, Mason nodded. “You can come.”
Minutes later, they were on their way to Mason’s house. By the time they got there, Lee felt a little steadier on his feet. When Mason offered them food, Lee silently shook his head. He just wanted to bury himself under his covers and forget the memories that kept echoing in his mind like a bad song on replay. He led the way to his old bedroom.
His room hadn’t changed even though he hadn’t lived in the house for close to eight years. The walls were still a light gray and covered with tatty posters of his then-favorite rock-bands and ribbons for all the swimming tournaments he’d worn. His college textbooks were still stacked tidily above his desk and his bed was still covered with a marine-blue camouflage duvet to match the blue drapes.
After making sure that Lee didn’t need anything, Mason left him alone with A.J in his room. As soon as Mason closed the door behind him, Lee crawled into bed.
A.J clambered in beside him, her expression marred by a concerned frown. “What’s the matter?”
Lee didn’t say anything; he simply brought her closer to him until they were so close their breath mingled, then wrapped her tightly in his arms. A.J kissed his chin then snuggled deeper into his arms, keeping him close to her, protecting him from his monsters as she’d done twenty-two years ago.
* * *
LEE’S SLEEP WAS surprisingly free from nightmares, likely because he had A.J by him. When he woke up the next morning, he reached for her but only found an empty space beside him. Frowning, he sat up in bed. A brief glance around left him certain that she wasn’t in the room.
After washing his face, brushing his teeth and putting on a white t-shirt to complement his navy sweats, he left his room. The enticing smell of bacon and eggs met him as soon as he opened the door. Hopeful that A.J was the one making breakfast or at least eating it, he strode down the hallway. Unfortunately, he was due for disappointment. Mason was the only person in the kitchen.
The older man greeted Lee with a wide smile. “Good morning.”
“Morning,” Lee returned gruffly.
Mason moved from the cooker and reached up into the cabinet above. He waved a mug. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please.” Lee settled at the kitchen table. When his father handed him a full mug of coffee, he offered a grateful smile. “Thanks.”
“How did you sleep?” Mason asked as he went back to frying the bacon.
“Mm.” Lee offered nonchalant shrug. There was no way he was going to tell his father that he’d spent the night clinging onto A.J like she was the only lifeboat on the stormy, rough sea that was his memories. His tone blasé, he asked, “Did you send A.J out for something?”
“No.” An odd look flashed in Mason’s eyes right before he turned his back to Lee. “She went home.”
“What? Without even telling me?” Lee asked. When all his father did was nod without even turning to face him, Lee narrowed his eyes. “You sent her away, didn’t you?”
“What? Me?” Mason shot him a startled look. “Of course not.”
That startled look left Lee with the unwavering certainty that he was right. This time it was a statement rather than a question. “You sent her away.”
Mason met his son’s eyes again but didn’t deny or acknowledge the statement.
Glaring at his father, Lee demanded, “Why?”
“I- I thought you might need a bit of space after last night,” Mason explained, but the explanation rang false to Lee. As if he needed any more proof that Mason was lying, the older man’s face flushed a healthy pink right before he hastily turned back to his cooking.
Lee watched his father for a long time. He waited for him to finish making breakfast, serve and even settle opposite him. Then he drew his attention. “Dad?”
“Yeah?” Mason looked up from the forkful of scrambled eggs that he was about to shovel into his mouth.
Lee ran the tip of his finger over the handle of his mug as he stared at his father. “I had a dream last night.”
Mason immediately sat up straighter in his chair as concern flashed in his expression. “Another nightmare?”
“Something like that,” Lee offered vaguely. His intent gaze still glued to his father, he continued, “In that dream, there was a scary man. The moment the clock struck midnight, he came into my room.”
Mason’s fork dropped from his hand and his eyes widened. “Lee!”
“Sometimes, I’m all alone with that man. And sometimes there’s a little girl with me. A little girl who comes to save me.” Lee watched his shocked father as he continued coldly, “Is that girl one of our neighbors from Saint Louis too?”
“Lee!” Mason gaped at his son, panic and worry fighting for a place in his expression. A harsh breath escaped his parted lips. “You remembered.”
“Yes.” Lee offered a crooked smile that held no amusement.
“Are you okay?” His father reached across the table to take his hand.
Lee immediately pulled back his hand. He wasn’t ready to make nice yet. He asked, “Is that what you were hiding from me? That I was a victim of sexual abuse.”
Mason nodded. He tried to say something but couldn’t get the words out.
“Now you can stop lying to me.” Lee sat back in his seat and folded his arms over his chest. “I want to know everything.”
“Lee, are you sure you’re ready-”
“Haven’t you lied to me enough?” Lee cut him off.
His father watched him for a long while before sighing. “Okay, what do you want to know?”
Lee asked the question that had bothered him the whole night. “Was Reverend Bolton my real father?”
“No.” Mason shook his head.
The relief that swept through Lee was indescribable. It was odd, wasn’t it? Horrible things had happened to him yet knowing that the monster who’d scarred him for life wasn’t his father was like a… a… silver lining?
Mason answered the rest of Lee’s questions honestly. Both father and son ignored the food growing cold between them as they unraveled Lee’s past. Lee had come into the Boltons’ home as a foster child after the state had pulled him from his neglectful, junky parents. The abuse had started almost immediately. A couple of months into Lee’s stay, the Boltons fostered A.J.
“So you knew about Amara?” Lee confronted his father.
“I didn’t know know of her,” Mason explained. “All your mother and I were told when we adopted you was that it was a fellow foster child who’d brought the abuse to light. We didn’t know who she was or what she even looked like. The whole department was tight-lipped about the whole situation and since you couldn’t even talk, there was no way for us to find out more.”
Lee was quiet for a while as he absorbed the whole plate of information that had landed on his lap. Though he really didn’t care, he asked anyway, “What about the reverend and his wife? Did they die in the fire?”
“No,” Mason said. “From what I heard, they got out with a few burns and both ended up in prison.”
“Good.” Lee pushed out a relieved breath. He wasn’t sure what he was more grateful about; that the Boltons had been punished or that A.J hadn’t ended up a murderer because of him.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Mason watched his son keenly, worry lining his face. “It can’t be easy finding out that you went through such a traumatic experience. Maybe we should call Dr. Hocking. She was a good therapist, ri-”
“Dad, I’m fine.” Lee wanted to be angry with his father for longer, but he couldn’t. Not when he now understood exactly what the old man thought he was protecting him from. He reached for his father’s hand and squeezed. “I won’t break.”
Mason watched him for a long time then nodded. “Okay. But if you need to talk you know you can always talk to me, right?”
“I know.” Lee offered his first genuine smile since they’d started this conversation. “Our food’s cold.” He shot to his feet and grabbed both his and his father’s plates. “I should warm these.”
“No. No. No.” Mason immediately shooed him back to his seat as he grabbed the plates. “Let me.”
Lee waited for his father to set the food in the microwave before saying, “And you can stop chasing A.J away from me now.”
“What?” Mason’s gaze flew to him.
“You can stop trying to kick Amara out of my life.” Lee’s tone was as determined as the level look he gave his father. “I won’t let her go.”
Mason sighed. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can say to convince you to let her go? I get that she was the one who saved you from that place, but her life right now isn’t the kind of life I want you involved in.”
“Trust me, Dad. Her life is nothing like what you imagine it to be. She’s not a criminal anymore. And besides that-” Lee paused briefly before confessing, “I love her.”
Mason’s eyebrows shot up. “You love her?”
Lee nodded. He wasn’t certain if his feelings were the result of meeting her years ago, or of getting to know her when she’d shown up again in his life. But the fact was that his feelings for A.J were beyond just caring. She was the last person he thought of when he went to bed, even when he was angry at her, and the first person he thought of when he woke up. The thought of letting her go or of losing her was enough to send chills down his spine. He loved her.
Something about his expression must’ve struck his father because the older man asked, “That much?”
Lee nodded. “That much.”
Mason released a heavy breath and shook his head. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you. You seem determined to screw up your life.”
Lee laughed because he didn’t believe he was screwing up his life. If anything, it felt like he was building it. Like he’d found the other piece of himself that he’d always unconsciously known was missing. Amara. As soon as he was done with breakfast, he swore, he was going to find her
It was time to get his woman back!