My Fault

My Fault

CHAPTER ONE

That fateful explosion changed our lives. It changed us.

Zachary “Zach” Bryant was one of the few good ones. A supportiveand loyal friend—Benjamin “Ben” Walker and I could attest to that. Aprotective partner—Haley Brooks would never find another man like him.A loving honorary father—Gabe Brooks couldn’t even comprehend howmuch he’d lost. A wonderful son—Rosie and Jackson were distraught with good reason. The best big brother—Mia would most likely never be thesame.

As I sought her through the crowd, I felt a tug at my heart. Mia was sitting in the corner of Rosie’s living room, with a lost look on her face. Her fair complexion was paler than usual. Her left arm and shoulder were still immobilized. She was leaning to the right, probably to alleviate the pain in her still-healing ribs. Her eyes bore the guilt that should never have been laid on her shoulders.

As usual, my breath broke contemplating that the explosion that took Zach could’ve very easily taken Mia as well. And Ben. And me.

We were in the middle of a huge investigation, trying to get and dismantle one of the biggest drug cartels in the world—the Mexican El ReyAlacrán—when we found out Ben’s father was involved.

Michael was a despicable man. Used to talk using his fists with his late wife (whom he killed) and son, Michael was only unable to reach Benwhen teenage Zach and Mia intervened, fought the devil back, and brought Ben home with them.

Until Michael came back, tied to the man my ex-wife was fooling around with—Matias, a member of the same cartel we were trying to destroy. They attacked beyond our readiness. They struck directly at our core. They invaded our company, made Mia and Ben’s woman (IzzieTurner) hostages, and altered the course of our lives.

Mia was never one to sit quietly. She fought back, the little spitfiregave them hell and took most of them out. Out of the seven men whoattacked the girls, two were arrested, four were killed (Michael amongthem), and one of them ran away—f*****g Matias.

The setback was that the explosion that served to kill Michael also took Zach’s life. And in a way, Mia’s as well.

Filled to the brim with grief and guilt, she barely spoke anymore.People tried to interact with her, telling her how wonderful her brother was.She didn’t need to hear that. She knew first-hand how amazing Zach was.We all knew.

I was heading to her when my eyes landed on my baby girl, her bestfriend Gabe, and the young woman entertaining them while we said our goodbyes. Isabella Specter.

Gorgeous. Too young for me. Brilliant. Too pure for my jadedness.Wonderful to my girl—way more than my ex-wife ever was. Too amazing to be trapped with a man with my baggage.

I couldn’t stop my heart from pounding at the sight of her, though.And when our eyes met across the room, my feet faltered. I could say I didn’t understand the pull she had on me, but I did. There wasn’t a single thing I didn’t admire about the young woman I hired to babysit my girl.

I was so lost in my trance about Isabella, I didn’t notice my ex-wife entering the room that was destined for the ones who loved and cared about Zach and his family. Somewhere she didn’t belong.

Dressed all in black and wearing a f*****g veil, she went straight to the mantel—where were laid out Zach’s photos—and started to wail.

She created a scene worthy of an Oscar. I berated myself again for not realizing the person she was when we were dating. I only tolerated her because she brought me my most precious gift. If it weren’t for Sofia, I’d never see that manipulative woman ever again.

“Why did he have to go so young?” She whined. Loudly. “Such a wonderful man, you’ll be so missed, Zach.” Her phony sobbing shook her frame as she begged for everyone’s attention.

Rosie and Jackson contained their reactions, but when I saw the pain in Haley’s eyes as Andrea mourned her man, I had enough. I pulled her away from the mantel as she struggled to keep her spectacle.

“This is low, even for you, Andrea. You have no place being here,causing this little show to feed your ego. For once, stop trying to hurt other people just so you can feel better.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw my baby girl confused about her mother’s display of selfishness. How could one explain to their three a years old daughter her mother didn’t care for anyone but herself?

When Isabella urged the kids to the back yard and away from that shameful actress, I was once again grateful for meeting the woman who was starring in my dreams.

“I’m expressing my condolences, Luke.” Her voice was ever loud.“Let me go, so I can tell all these people the amazing man Zach was. And how you could never compare to him. He was just so heroic.” She cried again.

Before I could respond, Mia spoke her first words of that whole day.“Why are you crying? Better yet, why the f**k are you here? He didn’t even like you.” Andrea tensed, not expecting someone to call her so openly on her bullshit. “No one here does. We tolerated you because of Luke and Sofia; even that was much more than you deserved.”

Andrea dramatically threw her veil over her hair, but her composure was gone. “You were always a little s**t, weren’t you? What? Are you jealous I got to sleep with Luke? Or are you envious of the attention Zach got over you?

“That’s enough, Andrea,” I intervened. “You don’t get to—”

“Get out,” Mia snapped. “Get the f**k out of here. You were never welcome in this place, and you sure as hell aren’t wanted.”

A small crowd surrounded us as Mia stood up in pain, leaning against the wall for support. I sought Ben around the living room, not knowing what to do, but he seemed just as lost.“You can’t kick me—”

“I can and I will, with a smile on my face. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to do so. You’re selfish, destructive, a self-centered, high-maintenance diva who never cared about her husband and daughter.”

“Destructive? I thought that was you. Isn’t it why Zach died?” Mia’s wince was a kick in my gut.

I grabbed Andrea by the arm and pulled her to the front door. “You shut your trap,” I said between my teeth. “Get out of here, or so help meGod, you won’t see Sofia not even once a month as you’re allowed to do now.”

Once she was out the door—which I might have slammed in her face—I looked back to see Mia’s pained face. I was going back to her when she announced, “Everybody, out.”

Rosie tried to reason with her daughter, but Andrea had managed to push her over the edge.

“Everybody. Out! You’ve paid your respects, now respect us again by not prolonging this nightmare. The show is over.”

“Honey,” Jackson approached and touched her face, unsure how to deal with his daughter, for it was such an unusual reaction for her. “They’re here because they care. And we still have the eulogy. Don’t you want to say something about your brother?”

Her snappy reaction was gone, leaving only her pain, as she said with a broken voice, “I can’t.” She shook her head. Her eyes and the tip of hernose turned red as she whispered, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything, and also this, but I can’t.” She thrust her free hand into her hair, a wounded,desperate look on her face. “I’m...I have to...I have to breathe.”

She turned on her heels and limped away, the bullet wound on her leg still not healed. Ben was frozen in place as his woman tried to comfort him—he also carried his share of misplaced guilt over what happened. The trio once inseparable—Zach, Ben, and Mia—was one person shorter. Two, if you considered Mia might never be the same. Understandably. I followed her outside, giving her sufficient distance to go wherever

she wanted, but close enough that I could help her if needed. She limped until she tripped on the uneven ground and fell on her knees.

“Mia! Mia, are you okay?” I ran to her, kneeling so I could hug her too small a frame for my big one. Her shoulders shook as she bawled, the first real reaction since she learned about her brother. “Cariño, what can I do for you? Tell me what you need.”

Between broken sobs, she pained us both. “I need for him to not be gone.”