“Would you calm down? You’re behaving like a rookie.”
Damien glared at his cousin, “There is a madman after the woman I love. Forgive me if I’m not feeling very calm.”
He looked ahead to where he’d last spotted Tasha. She was laughing animatedly with Ellie. With Kevin playing tour guide for DJ, it left her free to bond with her long lost twin sister. It made him smile watching her. She’d never laughed like that before and he was sure it had something to do with Ellie.
“The woman you love ha? You sure you aren’t misconstruing your own obsession for her?”
Damien turned to look at his cousin who had his eyes fixed on the duo—or just Ellie. He looked too serious, the jokester he grew up with barely visible.
“I love her. I know that now for sure. Dale, if this is hard for you… once this is over we can leave—”
Dale cut him off with a snort, “Look at them. I’ve never seen Ellie that happy in a long time. If I have to tolerate Ellsa to keep her happy for the rest of our lives, I’ll do it.”
Damien shook his head, looking around again, “Tolerate? Technically, you look at Ellsa every day seeing as how she shares a face with Ellie.”
“Smart ass.”
Damien chuckled then seriously he said, “Dale, I’d rather we see each other over the holidays than have DJ pick up on your hostility towards Tasha. I want my son to be able to turn to you if something happens to me, not Mike. It’s the last time he uses DJ against his mother.”
Dale sighed heavily, “I understand and I know Ellsa wasn’t to blame for what they did to her but… it’s hard to forget, not to be cautious around her. How do we know that chip still in her head won’t be used to control her again?”
“Vladimir’s had over a year to do so…”
“Or just over a year to find a way to remotely change that memory chip to a control chip?”
Damien went cold. Damn! Without looking at the blueprints, he was fifty-fifty on that happening. And Elaine wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. She would kill Tasha if it meant stopping her from hurting anyone else.
“Maybe you should think about getting it removed.”
The temperature dropped a few more degrees. “And risk her almost dying again? No way!”
“Are you willing to take the risk that she could be controlled again? Or worse…”
“What could be worse?”
Dale stopped, drawing him to a stop. The look in his eyes was intense and yet… pitying. “She recognizes her nightmares for what they are, memories. Do you see Tasha surviving that?”
Damien was drawn to Tasha by her laugh. Dale was right. The guilt would eat her alive. “I’ll speak to Elaine,” he croaked, choking with emotion.
“Why don’t you call her now while we are still alone?”
With a hard nod, he dialed Elaine’s number. She picked up on the first ring, “Elaine—”
“Damien, you’ve got your eyes on Tasha?”
Something in her voice worried him, “Yes, why?”
“Vladimir is dead.”
Damien slapped Dale’s shoulder and held on as relief washed over him.
“It wasn’t us Damien.”
So what? “I don’t care. He’s no longer a problem in our lives.”
“What was left of him was wrapped up in red and pink ribbons with a giant bow with a card attached.”
Damien clenched the hand on Dale and Dale grabbed hold of his wrist. “Elaine…”
“It said ‘to Ellsa with love’. Do not let her out of your sight!”