“There is so much I wish I could change,” she started. “So many words left unsaid. So much life you were robbed of. I read somewhere that grief is love with nowhere to go, and I’m grieving you hard, baby sister. You never appreciate exactly how much someone means to you until they’re gone. I learned that with dad, with my twins, and now with you.” Deven’s voice shook, and she sniffed, not bothering to stop the flow of tears. “I love you so much. And I am so, so sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. I’m sorry I didn’t know. And I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you all the love you deserved when you were alive.”

Deven caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye and her head snapped up as Deuce came into view. Dressed in all black with his locs piled into a low ponytail, he stood tall and erect. She relaxed. “Still stalking, I see.”

“Working.” Deuce corrected.

“Am I a job now?”

“More like a final report.”

Deven looked back to Kennedy’s headstone as Deuce joined her. His silhouette suffused her kneeling frame, shrouding them both in a thin veil of shade.

“You knew, huh?” She spoke the obvious. “You told me you didn’t know Kennedy. That was actually true.”

“Yeah. I never met your real sister. Unfortunately, she was just a gig April hired me to do.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Deuce shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Wasn’t my place to tell. Keith put me in touch with April to help her because she said she had some kind of stalker. He didn’t know it was his daughter and I sure as hell didn’t know the family connection until I did my research. But like I said, it really wasn’t any of my business.”

Deven grimaced. The truth was ugly, but it was the truth, nonetheless.

“For what it’s worth,” Deuce continued. “I hate all of this happened. But I’m glad you got your answers. Hopefully you got that closure you wanted. “

The darkness lifted and Deven heard Deuce walking away. She didn’t bother stopping him. No, she didn’t have her closure. Not while April and Erika were still alive somewhere, up to their same old deception and thievery. But if and when she was ready to look for them, she knew where Deuce lived.