“Hey,” Michael said quietly as he woke up beside me.
He tried to reach over and hold me but winced when he went to move.
“Yeah, you’re pretty beat-up,” I said. “You should really try to lay still.”
I leaned over and put my head gently on his shoulder so that he could stay put.
“You should have seen the other guys,” he joked.
“I did, as Julian was dragging them all out of the apartment to bury them in a hole.”
“Wow, I didn’t think Julian had it in him to take care of something like that.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Me neither.”
“Speaking of which, did I dream it, or did he hear me say—”
“You didn’t dream it,” I interrupted. “Everyone knows.”
“Sorry,” he sighed. “I’m sure that puts you in a tough spot with both of them.”
“Actually, Adam was pretty cool about it. Julian was not happy.”
“Adam’s a good guy; just don’t tell him I said that. He’s put up with a lot of shit, and not once has he ever betrayed me.”
“Can I ask you another question?” I asked.
“I’m pretty sure that anything you ask from here on out won’t be as bad as what I’ve already told you, so yeah, shoot.”
“Why did you bring Adam into Lineage? He said you pleaded with your mom until she agreed to take him in.”
He nodded. “He’s right, I did.”
“Seems a little uncharacteristic of you,” I said.
But then again, there were so many things that I had been wrong about Michael, so who was I to say.
“He was there that night,” Michael said. “He saw me sneak into the halfway house, and he saw me sneak out. Because he had been a witness to what happened, they told me to kill him. So, instead of killing the poor guy, I made a deal with him instead.”
“What kind of deal?”
He sighed. “That if you ever started getting too close to solving your mother’s murder, that he would dissuade you from going any further.”
“Well, that didn’t work out too well, did it,” I said.
“No,” he laughed a little until his ribs moved. “I guess it didn’t. But he kept a good watch over you, and he became a good friend to me.”
“You saved a lot of people’s lives that night, apparently,” I said.
He shrugged. “But I wasn’t able to save your mom.”
I heard the front door open and close, and then Adam appeared in the bedroom doorway.
“Hey, you’re up,” he said to Michael. “How are you feeling?”
“Like shit. How come you’re not as beat-up as me? I thought I was a better fighter than you,” Michael joked.
Adam grinned. “Eh, it’s only because you dealt out most of the damage.”
“See?” Michael said to me. “What did I tell you? He’s a good friend?”
Adam laughed. “Now I definitely know you hit your head too hard. I hate your guts.”
It was nice to see the two of them bantering like brothers, even if they were rivals in more ways than one.
“Where’s Julian?” I asked.
He thumbed over his shoulder. “He’s out in the kitchen making some food. He’s okay, Lisette. Just give him a bit.”
“Okay,” I said. “Thanks for checking on him.”
Adam nodded and then went back out to crash on the couch for a bit.
“Thank you,” I said to Michael as I curled against him and tried to fall back asleep for a little bit longer.
“For what?”
I licked my lips. “For helping my mom write the note.”
