Page 6 of Redemption
“Someone tried to kill me a week ago. Before he fell to his death, he called me by the name Lachlan Mount. I had never heard this name before, but it was the lead I had been waiting for all my life. To find my brother. To repair my mother’s broken heart and relieve her of her guilt for what she could not prevent.” He smiles, and it’s like seeing another side of myself I didn’t know existed. “You might have been a difficult man to find, brother, but it’s not that difficult anymore. The newspapers are talking about you now. You are no longer safe in New Orleans. The man who tried to kill me was intent on killing you.”
“I’ve never been safe.” The truth comes easily from my lips.
He nods, as if apologetic. “But now, the safety of your wife and daughter is at risk. You would not be much of a man or a brother I would like to claim if you didn’t care about that now.”
Keira’s fingers curl into my suit jacket. “You don’t believe him, do you, Lachlan? He could be anyone?—”
I reach behind me to wrap my arm around her and bring her body and Aurora’s into mine. “He’s not lying. And if he wanted to hurt me, he would’ve killed you both the second he saw you. I know the truth when I hear it. I’ve always known there were people out there who knew who I really was. I just never thought I’d meet one of them.”
“Lachlan, you can’t take him at face value. You?—”
“I’m staring at myself, and my body knows the truth—I can feel it.”
“But surgery—or a clone?—”
For the first time since I entered the courtyard, I take my eyes off the man in front of me and look down at my wife. “He’s not lying. He’d already be dead if he were.”
I meet my brother’s gaze once more. “I want to meet my mother.”
Chapter Four
Keira
I stand, dumbfounded, next to my husband as he stares at the man who, in mere moments, has changed our lives irrevocably. Too many irrevocable changes in such a short time have my world spinning on its axis. I cling to my daughter like she’s my anchor and lifeline to sanity. She’s the only thing that makes sense right now, because nothing else does.
My husband believes this stranger of a man—who could be anyone—is his brother.
“How am I the only one acting like a Mount here?” The words escape my lips, and Lachlan and whoever that man is break their stare and look at me.
A smile curls the lips of the man who looks like my husband but isn’t. I want to call him an imposter, but he’s not even pretending to be that.
“I know this is hard to believe, but it’s the truth.” He looks from me to Lachlan. “You can meet her right now. I’ll take you to her.”
“No, Lachlan?—”
My husband’s arm tightens around me. “Keira, it’s okay. I’m not leaving with him.”
This time, it’s my gaze bouncing between the two identical faces. “Okay … then …” I can’t finish a single sentence. My brain is overwhelmed from everything I’m attempting to process.
“You’re not?” The stranger replies with a furrowed brow.
I know he said his name, but I honestly can’t remember what it was. Marco? Not important right now. Right now, the only thing that matters is figuring out what the hell is going on here.
“No. As you can see, I have things to attend to at present, but I will meet you both. Which airport tarmac?”
“Lakefront Airport. Hangar six.”
The conversation happening between Lachlan and his doppelgänger seems like it’s taking place in a completely different reality. One that I can’t even believe is real.
This isn’t happening. This is my mind breaking after everything we’ve been through. I’m losing it. This is how it starts. I’m going crazy.
“Thank you for coming,” Lachlan says to him with a nod, like he could be speaking to any guest in our home, not an identical twin, who appeared out of thin air. “As you clearly made your way into our home without issue, I’m assuming you can show yourself out just as effectively.”
A squeak escapes my lips. “You’re not just going to let him …”
The other man chuckles as my words trail off. “I had no idea what to expect, but I like you already, brother. Thank you for hearing me out. I look forward to spending more time together.”
He looks at me, and I can’t get over the similarities between them. The hair. The eyes. Everything.
