Page 85 of Kitt

There, on the first page, was the nameSean Emersonin big black text. He traced the letters a few times, as if memorizing them by touch.

“Do you?—”

His voice cracked. After clearing his throat, he tried again.

“Do you know?—”

He still couldn’t say the question out loud, but it wasn’t hard to figure out what he was asking.

“Your parents died in a car crash when you were one year old. Apparently, you were in the car with them, so the bell ringers just had someone forge the paperwork at the hospital and say that you died in the crash as well.”

Jordy tried flipping through the file, but he couldn’t get past the first page before he clutched the whole thing to his chest tight enough to crease the paper.

“And... my family?”

Figuring that the file probably wasn’t going to do any good right now, I eased it out of his grip and placed it back in my briefcase where it would be safe for him to look at later.

“As far as we can tell, you don’t have any immediate family. Both of your parents were only children, and their parents are already dead. However, now that we have a name, we can probably hunt down any distant relatives that you have, if you’d like to find them.”

Jordy clasped his hands over his mouth, but he still couldn’t stifle the sound of his sobs as tears rolled down his cheeks.

I reached out to him, but before my hand even came close to making contact, he turned away to face the window, letting his forehead rest against the smooth glass.

“Jordy,” I started to say, then stopped.

Should I even call him that?

Now that he knew his original name would he want to start going by Sean instead?

I tried to imagine it. I’d known him as Jordy for so long that associating him with any other name felt strange, almost as if a stranger had suddenly slipped into my bed. However, whatever name Jordy—or Sean?—preferred, then I would just have to find a way to get used to it and adjust.

My hesitation must have caught his attention, because Jordy reached behind himself to grab my hand and pulled me closer until I was pressed up right against his back, encircling him within the shield of my arms.

“It’s still just Jordy. That’s the name I’ve always gone by. Changing it now would be... strange.”

I let my lips linger near his temple, listening to his breathing, which was still a little too fast for my liking. “I’m sorry if this is sudden. Maybe I should have found a better way to tell you.”

At that, Jordy actually laughed. I expected him to be upset and was surprised when his joy sounded genuine.

“I don’t think there’s any good way to deliver this kind of news. But Kitt, it doesn’t matter. You gave me my identity back. No, even better. A name. A home. Maybe even a family. You’ve given me a whole new start.”

Gently gripping his chin with just the tips of my fingers, I tipped his face toward me so I could kiss him.

“No,” I said after the soft brush of lips. “I didn’t give you anything. You earned your new start. I just helped.”

I used to think I needed to be stronger so that I could become the hero who could save people. Now, I’d come to realize thatwasn’t my role. I’d never be the valiant white knight who rode in on a strong steed to save the day.

No. Instead, I was destined to provide support and help victims as they learned to save themselves.

And as Jordy pulled me down into another kiss, this one filled with more heat, I had to admit that a supporting role could be pretty satisfying, too.