“Hey, man. Where are you? I’ve barely been able to stop Cindy from hunting you down.” Aidan laughs softly, knowing how Cindy is.

“Sorry ‘bout that. I’ll give her a call next so she won’t worry.” When he doesn’t add anything further, my earlier feeling of foreboding returns full force.

“So…what’s going on? We don’t usually have to resort to hunting you. Are you back in town?”

“No.” Just when I think I’m going to have to prompt him again, he finally continues. “Luc…something happened here. I don’t really know what it means, but when I stopped by yesterday on my way out to tell her goodbye…fuck, she knew me. She called my name.” I sag back in my seat, weak with shock. Aidan’s voice is choked, as if he’s overcome by emotion.

“Fuck!” I hiss, feeling a strange urge to end the call and sever the connection. I don’t want to hear anymore, but I need to know. “What exactly happened?”

The sound of him taking a breath fills the line. “I—I stopped to see her after I checked out of my hotel, like I always do. I had been there about an hour, you know, just talking about everything and nothing. When I was leaving, I kissed her cheek and told her I’d see her soon. When I pulled back and started to straighten, she…shit, Luc, she touched my face and said, ‘Bye, Spence.’”

I take a shaky breath myself, wanting to collapse for a completely different reason. Cassie had always called Aidan by a shortened version of his last name. He was never Aidan to her, just Spence. That she had called him something so personal had to indicate some level of recognition on her part. If she had just said bye, I might believe it was just some kind of reflex action. “What else?” Shit, do I want to hear anymore?

“That was it. Luc, her eyes were so clear for a moment. She seemed to really see me instead of looking straight through like she usually does. I tried to get another response from her, but it was like she had blanked back out almost immediately. I spoke to her doctor, and he thinks it’s a good sign. It’s the first time in eight years she’s shown any recognition toward anyone around her.”

It’s then that I hear it. My cocky, self-assured friend is crying. The woman he’s loved for most of his life…the woman who had a psychotic break after attempting to kill herself…and me-the man she professed to love. That night changed our lives in ways the three of us have never recovered from. On that night, the only person she did kill was my son…my unborn son. And the only other person who was there…who tried to save us all, was Aidan. In our twisted love triangle, Cassie taught me what it was to love and in the next breath, she taught me loss, despair, and finally hate.

I feel the need to cry along with Aidan but for totally different reasons. I don’t know if I am ready to handle a world where Cassie might one day be free. I’m just learning to live again with Lia, my beautiful girl. “Aidan…” I begin, just as Max bursts into my office. “Hang on,” I say quickly, pushing the mute button. Raising a brow to my lawyer that conveys my irritation at his unannounced interruption, I ask, “What’s going on?”

“Sorry, Luc, but Cindy wasn’t at her desk. I tried to call you, but you weren’t answering. It’s Jim Dawson; the court released him a few hours ago. He’s out. We should have been notified earlier, but someone fucked up.”

“Son of bitch,” I snap. “What else today?” Putting the phone back to my ear, I say, “Aidan, I’ll call you back. I need to take care of some things here. Just…we’ll talk later, okay?” Part of me is just relieved to have a reason to end the call. Communicating with Aidan about Cassie is difficult at best. He loves her and I hate her. At what point could we meet in the middle on something like that? The only way I can have a rational conversation concerning her is to think of her as the girl we used to know and not the woman who had damn near killed me.

By the time I end the call, Max is sitting in a seat in front of my desk. It’s never good news when your lawyer feels the need to make himself comfortable. I really just want him gone so I can check in with Lia to make sure everything is okay and also to warn Sam about Jim Dawson’s release. “Luc, about the other matter you asked me to check on.” At my look of confusion, he promotes, “Lia’s biological father.”

“Ah, yeah. Did you find something?” I had asked Max to use his connections when Lia told me she’d never known her father. I thought Lia might need the information one day; plus, I like to know everything about the people close to me. I wasn’t expecting much after meeting Lia’s mother in the courtroom. She was an attractive lady, but what a bitch. I can’t imagine that time has changed much there.

Max gives me a look mixed with equal parts amusement and disbelief. “You could say that. Of course, this would have to be confirmed through a blood test, but my investigator has been able to confirm who Maria Dawson was involved with around the time of her pregnancy with Lia. Luckily for us, she didn’t have a lot of men in her life, so it wasn’t hard to pinpoint it.”

When he doesn’t continue, I wave a hand, prompting him. Shit, does he think I have nothing else to do today but play fucking guessing games? “I don’t need the background right now, Max, just get to the point.”

I swear the bastard looks almost giddy as he asks, “You’ve heard of Lee Jacks?”

Surprised, I say, “Of course, who hasn’t? What’s that got to do with Lia?” At his look, my eyes widen. “Are you saying…?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. As far as I can tell, Lee Jacks is the father of Lia Adams. Looks like her mother either had a sentimental or mean streak when she named her daughter Lia.”

My head reels as I rub the persistent knot of tension in my neck. Lee Jacks is a real estate developer who owns half of Asheville and its surrounding cities. Hell, I purchased the apartment I call home from his company. I’d met him a few times through the years at various charity events. I figure he’s in his late-forties or early-fifties, so it’s possible he could have a daughter Lia’s age. How in the hell had her mother gotten involved with someone like him, though? “Holy fuck, it just keeps on coming today.” I fill him in briefly on my conversation with Aidan, which in turn causes him to look as shell-shocked as I feel.

“Christ, I can’t believe that. She’s been completely out of it for, what, eight or nine years? Do you want me to check into it?” Max, as my lawyer, handles most of my affairs, including Cassie.