With pinched lips, she swiped the glass out of Mark’s hand and took a sip of the wine. It was heavy, just the thing to warm her chilled body.
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Mark asked, lowering himself back to the bed, wearing only his boxers. He was a fit guy…his shoulders broad, his chest defined, his abs ripped. His naturally tan skin contrasted with the brilliant white of his teeth. On looks alone, he was any girl’s dream, but he was as broken and angry as Rayne. At least he used to be. Now, she wasn’t too sure of anything, making her even more upset. If he no longer shared her anger, what was she going to do? Knowing he was stuck where she was got her through most days. How could he move on and accept his new normal so easily when Rayne didn’t see how she ever would?
“I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t be drinking my pain away,” she commented.
“There are other ways to deal with your pain,” he replied guardedly, eyeing her.
“Oh yeah? And what’s that?” she asked, drinking another hearty sip.
He leaned his forearms on his legs. Bowing his head, he seemed to weigh the pros and cons of what he was about to do, as if the moment were the point of no return. Rayne’s interest piqued at the battle she could see raging in Mark’s head.
“Her name was Sabrina. She had a smile and laugh that would light up any room.”
Rayne surveyed his shrunken stature, the unfocused gaze, the trembling fingers. “Your sister?”
He shot his eyes to hers. “How did you—”
“Lucky guess. After months of going to grief counseling, you start to pick up on the little clues, I suppose.”
Nodding, he faced forward once more, as if his story were written on the wall in front of them. “She was two years younger and the most beautiful girl. Of course I’d say that. She was my sister. But she truly was. Once she became of dating age, she had an endless line of men interested in her. My father was a bit traditional and didn’t permit her to date until she turned sixteen. She didn’t mind. She wasn’t interested in any of the boys who asked her out. She didn’t want to waste her time on any man who couldn’t measure up to her expectations.” His laugh was subdued. “She was an old soul.
“One day, she met Benjamin, and her reluctance to date disappeared. They hit it off instantly. She was eighteen. He was a college graduate. Things were going good, so he asked my father for her hand in marriage. He agreed. Benjamin came from a very wealthy and well-liked family. He could provide for her. She’d be taken care of for the rest of her life. It was a good fit.”
“But…,” Rayne said, sensing there was more to the story.
“I think she got cold feet.” He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. “She started disappearing from the house for hours at a time, then would come back with a made up story about where she had been. Worried she was starting to hang around with the wrong type of people, I followed her when she said she was going to the library. She pulled up to an alley, then knocked on a door. A man I recognized answered. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her, but it wasn’t just a friendly kiss. This was a kiss that didn’t leave much to the imagination. I had always respected my sister…until that moment.”
“Who was he?” Rayne asked, glued to Mark’s every word. He had never opened up about what happened. Now that he was finally sharing his story, she couldn’t get enough.
“His name was Omar. He was a year or two older than Sabrina and had a bad reputation around town. He had been arrested for a variety of things, mostly petty thefts and vandalism. He ran with people who were suspected of a bunch of violent crimes, although the police never had enough to make a case stick. They just brushed it all under the rug. I guess the law doesn’t apply to everyone, especially the son of the police chief.” He clenched his fists, drawing in a protracted breath.
“Did you confront her about it?”
“Of course I did,” he responded in a curt tone. “But she brushed me off, telling me to mind my own business. I threatened to tell my father and Benjamin. She said to go ahead, that she was tired of living according to my father’s rules. She said she wanted to make her own decisions, including whom she could date and love.”
“What did she mean by that?”
“I guess she felt forced into the relationship with Benjamin.” Mark shrugged, shaking his head. “I thought she was happy with him. We all did. Hell, she’d never have to work a day in her life if she married him. But Sabrina had a wild streak in her, and I think the finality of marriage to Benjamin brought it out. Still, I loved and cared about her. Instead of mentioning anything to my father or Benjamin, I kept what I saw to myself. I figured she’d eventually get over her rebellious phase.” His chin quivered as he glanced at Rayne, unshed tears filling his eyes. “Maybe if I had said something…” His voice trailed off, the tears he had probably kept at bay for months, maybe even years, trickling down his masculine cheeks.
“One day, she was there; the next, she wasn’t. She disappeared off the face of the earth. The police questioned everyone — me, my father, Benjamin, Omar — and they said there was no evidence of foul play. It was most likely just a case of a girl who wanted to get away.”
“Without telling her family about it?”
“They refused to listen to our concerns that Sabrina wouldn’t just pick up and disappear. I thought I was being helpful when I told the police what I had seen the day I followed her and our ensuing conversation.”
“But it didn’t, did it?”
He shook his head solemnly. For the first time in months, Rayne felt something other than anger. She felt sympathy. She had been there. She had begged Alexander to do everything within his power to find Landon before it was too late. If he had only listened to her and been proactive about finding out what happened, Landon might still be alive.
“With no physical evidence to the contrary, they closed the case. Disclosing our argument that day was just the icing on the cake they needed to move on to the next case, one that didn’t name the son of the police chief as the main suspect.”
“Mark,” Rayne began, clutching his hand in hers, “I’m so sorry.”
He shot his eyes to hers. “Everyone I spoke to brushed it off. No one understood what I was going through until…” He swallowed hard. “Until I met you.” He cupped her cheek in his large, calloused hands.
For once, Rayne didn’t brush him away. She melted into him, their bodies fusing through their shared heartache.
“Like you, I let my grief consume me. I was so angry, I wasn’t coping. What made it worse was not having closure. If we knew what happened, I could learn to move on. Not knowing for years, well… That’s a fate worse than death. Always jumping when the phone rings or there’s a knock on the door, wondering if it’s the news you’ve been waiting for.”
“What’s changed?”
“What do you mean?”