Page 15 of Close Your Eyes

I don’t ask her what that means, because I’m not sure I even want to keep her focus on Bane. We walk closer to the fishing area, and she stops to perch on a rock.

“This is where we’d sit for hours,” she says, shielding her face from the sun. A small beach area stretches out before her, and she points at it. “That’s where I’d play for hours. My mother would be so pissed because I’d come home burnt to a crisp.” Posey smiles up at me.

“Where’s your mother now?”

Posey glances down. “She skipped town when I was young. It’s been just me and my father ever since.”

I nod, remembering Devereaux losing his mother when he was a teenager. Both Dev and Greer had a hard time navigating through life after losing their mother, and it makes me wonder how Posey handled those rough times. “I’m so sorry,” I tell her.

“Enough about me. What about your mother?”

I gaze at her, not sure if I want to get into the details of my mother. “She’s in a home. She’s got dementia,” I say, and don’t offer her any more than that.

“I’m so sorry. I don’t know which is worse, losing your parents, or having your parents not remember who you are.”

I nod in understanding. “She has good days and bad days. Lately, it seems she’s having more bad days than good.”

“How often do you visit her?”

I cringe. “Not as much as I should,” I tell her honestly.

She picks at the rock, running her hand over the smoothness. “I’m sorry you don’t get to see her too much.”

“You shouldn’t be sorry for me.”

She glances up at me, the sun making her blue eyes sparkle. “You’re not like other men.”

“How so?” I think about the men Posey probably deals with on a daily basis. I’m not like the Made Men she knows. That much is true.

“You’re kind.” She lowers her head, focusing her attention back on the rock.

“I’m not that kind,” I say, not letting her know exactly how mean I can get. Last year I broke Vlad Chekov’s nose. That wasn’t very nice. But he deserved it. I’d never be mean to anyone who didn’t deserve it.

“Well, you’re nice to me.”

I twist my face, studying her. “Are there a lot of men who aren’t?” I think about her words, wondering who is mean to her.

Is it Bane?

She laughs. “Nobody is mean. But they aren’t nice either. Does that make sense? I guess I’m invisible in Bane’s world.”

“I’m sure he sees you.”

She gazes up at me again. “He does, but no one else does.”

I smile. “I guess he orders his men not to look at you. I can understand that.” I laugh lightly.

“Maybe.” She hops up from the rock and dusts off her dress. “I should get going. I always visit my father every Sunday.”

“Thank you for the info about your attacker. I’m going to see if our shop sells an orange-flavored cigar and see if anyone bought one the night you were attacked. It’s a start.”

She nods. “Thank you.”

“Have fun at your dad’s.” I walk her back to her car and watch her drive off into the distance. There’s just something about this woman that makes me want to know more.

Chapter 6

Posey