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Piper leaned forward "What happened? Did you getsecret? I don’t think you should blame them Tal said it was his call"
Because Tal always shouldered the responsibility "No This whole plot reeks of Dane, too I can see hiet the whole story before they talked to me He wouldn’t want to worry me until they had a plan in place He would have taken all the data and come to me with a detailed ‘op,’ as he would say"
Piper’s eyes ide "It sounds like you know Dane pretty well"
Alea shrugged "Cooper and Landon would have argued, but Cooper can be swayed Landon is the one ould fight him Cooper would hesitate to tell me bad news, but Lan would just shove it all out there because he doesn’t kno to be dishonest" She sighed "Not that they were intentionally unkind, but, daht to know"
"I agree," Piper said calot his balls kicked in But you can be very difficult to talk to about this subject You were the one who asked Tal to keep huge, deeply relevant portions of what happened to you in Colombia out of the reports You understand how that haation?"
God, she didn’t want anyone to know She hadn’t even told the therapists everything "They have all the inforh "No, they don’t, but you’re not going to believe or ad to be ashaainst you You didn’t cause it, but only you can give yourself pero of the pain and really beat the bastards who hurt you"
"There are no winners here, Piper Just a whole lot of losers" Alea crossed her arirl" Piper shtly "You’ve been al if she’d finally left the building, but no She’s in full force tonight"
Bitter Yes, that described her She sat down again The surroundings were so fao Now she just felt stuck
Alea let a long ued her for months "Do you think it would be best if I left the palace?"
"What?" Piper leaned closer "How can you think that?"
"Because you’re having a baby I’m not the nicest person I don’tif…ht be best if I went away This should be a happy tihed and shook her head "You see everything in the worst possible light I’ that you’ve seemed more relaxed these last couple of rounds with Dane or sit in the garden with Lan and Cooper"
Yes, she’d enjoyed all those tined new guards She’d ruined everything Maybe they’d all just give up on her now, even Tal He could ask her to leave because she was like a wounded animal and no one knehen she would kick or bray and hurt soht the whole sordid kidnapping ive me if I can’t quite find my char, but you’ve just gotten s Alea, no one wants you to leave You’re more like a sister to my husbands than a cousin You’ll be my baby’s aunt, and I want hi woame, but inthe cards now and you have to decide whether or not you want to win or let the bastard behind your kidnapping crush you"
Alea shook her head "I can’t win I wouldn’t even kno"
"You win the minute you decide to become a survivor instead of a victio back and you elect to move forward You hen you allow the fact that you’ve survived to strengthen you, tothan you were before When you take all the horrible things that happened to you and ood out of it--that’s a moment of triumph And you win the minute you let yourself love those three men" Piper stood and placed a hand on Alea’s shoulder "I hope you decide to win, because the rest us of love you and want to feel close to you, like family should We hate that you’ve isolated yourself We’re all here for you You just have to decide to join us in the love and laughter In the light This is your ho like we’re your family, too"
Piper brushed a kiss across her cheek, and it took everything inside Alea not to pull away Piper must have felt or sensed it because she had the saddest look on her face as she turned away
And she’d screwed up again Alea sank to the couch It see she was capable of lately The doors closed behind Piper ,and Alea suddenly felt how very alone she was Piper’s words rustled around in her brain
"Lea?" a soft voice called out
She should lock her doors
Alea sighed "Yes, Yas?"
Yasown "I heard there was trouble"
"It’s nothing" She didn’t want to bring her cousin in on all the proble She really just wanted to shut out the world and go to bed
"I doubt that" She spoke with an upper crust British accent, no hint of her Bezakistani roots at all Yas had worked for years to fit into the English ideal of perfection She’d bleached her hair a platinuht clothes and the rightout the perfect outfit for the season didn’t ood That’s what Piper had reco
"Lea? Are you still with me?"
Alea shook her head "Sorry I’m really tired"