Page 57 of Fearless Protector
“It felt like the right thing at the time. We all got tossed in foster care. My father was court marshaled and he and my mother were thrown in jail. Cleo opening her mouth was the catalyst for that. We all knew it. She ruined our lives.”
“Your father ruined your lives; she probably saved your lives. You have no idea what those men might have escalated to if your father kept using you like collateral damage.”
“I obviously know that now. But at the time I believed everything my father had to say about what she did. He fed us the same crap for years.”
“But you’re not a kid now. You know better. Why leave her cut out of your family?”
“I cut them all out,” Bowman replied with an edge to his voice. “You think it magically got all better after my mother got out of jail? It was shit before Cleo was gone and it stayed pretty messed up for a long time. About five years ago, I moved back to this area and stopped talking to all of them.”
“You don’t talk to any of them?”
“I began keeping in touch with a couple of my sisters over the last year or so. I don’t have anything to do with either of my parents. It took a long time for me to realize their love was toxic. It required this unreasonable amount of sacrifice and loyalty. I couldn’t deal with it anymore.”
“Why didn’t you ever reach out to Cleo?”
“Honestly, she seemed like the lucky one. I knew she went to law school and was doing really well. If you’re drowning in the open ocean, you don’t try to drag people off the safety of land just so you have some company to drown with. She had it figured out; I thought that was because she got away from us.”
“She’s been punishing herself for years.”
Bowman dropped his head down shamefully. “She has nothing to feel bad about. I didn’t think she even cared about what happened once she was out on her own.”
“You need to call her,” Nick asserted, putting his bottle down on the coffee table. “She’s a couple of hours from here and she’s hurting. That’s your twin sister. She told me you used to be best friends.”
“We were, but things are so different now. I can’t just call her.”
“You have to.”
“It’s not that simple. I said some horrible shit to her back then. She is not going to want to hear from me.”
“The amount of time you two have lost thinking that is a shame. I’m begging you to please call your sister. She needs you.”
“The rest of my family aren’t all in a good place. She won’t want to get sucked back into that garbage.”
“And you seem like the best equipped to warn her about that.” Nick pulled his phone out of his pocket, ready to pass Cleo’s phone number along.
“I don’t know what I’d even say to her. I’ve got a lot going on right now. Some stuff I don’t want to pull her into.”
This was the first thing Bowman said that made Nick reconsider. “Like what?”
“I’m a cop and I got myself into a bind. I’ve got to leave the area for a little while until things cool off.”
“You following in your father’s footsteps?”
“Never. I was helping this woman and her kid out. She was mixed up with a high profile guy who wasn’t treating her right. I made it personal and, in the process, made some enemies. I’ve finally got enough money put together to get her and her daughter somewhere safe. I just have to find a place that works. So it might not be a good time for me and Cleo to reconnect.”
“That’s heavy stuff.”
“I turned my badge in when I realized no one was going to protect them. I know what it’s like being raised by a man who put money and power before his family. I just couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”
“I can help you with a place to go. I have some connections. They’ll be safe and we can get you some distance from here until things cool off too.”
“I really do miss her,” Bowman said, finishing his beer with a long swig. “She was what kept our family going for a long time. A little bossy but she knew her stuff.”
“Not much has changed there. Let me give you her number and you can call her. I’ll leave you mine as well. Give me a couple of days and I can get an exit strategy for you, your friend, and her daughter. She does want to leave, right?”
“Desperately.”
Nick headed for the door and wondered if he’d done the right thing. Meddling was always a slippery slope you could fall down and bust your head open if you weren’t careful.