Page 24 of Unbreakable Thread

“You have so many fans. It warms my heart to hear them chant your name. And I agree with him. You are a badass motherfucker.” Rainey gives me a flirty grin.

“Cano, you shit. Come here. Hey, let me through!”

I turn toward the man who is still shouting at me, but I can’t see him clearly through the crowd.

“Dammit. They won’t let me get to you.” The man groans.

I’m still trying to find the determined fan.

“Dammit, kiddo.”

My body freezes, and so does Rainey’s.

“Kiddo?” I breathe out in a whisper. Is it him? It can’t fucking be. I’ve looked for that ass wipe for years. The thing is, I didn’t know his last name, or at least I didn’t remember it.

Faded denim jeans and a black shirt with my face plastered on it. He’s hairy as fuck—well, facial hair-wise. He always had that baby face. I remember him hunched over the sink at sixteen, razor in hand, scraping stubble. Then again, after dinner. He always wanted to look good for the girl he was dating. Now, ink snakes up his forearms in a tangle up to his biceps. An ink design on one side of his neck. His shoulders have doubled in width, biceps straining against the shirt sleeves. He’s definitely bulked up. He can crack a skull with those. He’s holding a sign that reads, “Fuck him up, Cano.”

Is it really him?

My heart speeds up. “Drake,” I whisper, as if he can hear me through the noise.

Rainey gasps.

“Drake?” I shout, tilting my head, unsure. What are the odds that anyone else would call me kiddo?

He nods, grinning from ear to ear. “Tell the security to let me get down before I fuck them up.”

Drake jumps down from the rails, arms spread wide, and crashes into me. His embrace envelops me, his palms drumming against my spine. He squeezes me just as tight as I’m squeezing him. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t wondered what had happened to the boy I saw as a big brother. The boy who took so many beatings for me. The boy who saved the woman I love. I’ve always wondered what would have happened if Drake hadn’t shown up. There was only so much I could have done at my age to save Sol. Would he have beaten me black and blue to get to her? Would he have? I can’t even say the word. I will be forever grateful to him.

The strangling sensation in the base of my throat prevents me from swallowing the lump forming. I clear my throat to speak. “I can’t believe this.”

Our foreheads touch, and he squeezes my nape. “I told you I’d find you, little bro.”

He kept his promise.

He ruffles my wet hair just like old times and turns toward Rainey. Her eyes are wide, mouth still open. “Close that mouth, Sunny. A fly will land in there,” he jokes.

Drake called her “Sunny” after he heard me call her “Sunshine.” He teased me about it.

“I know you don’t remember me. We’re old…” He looks at me. “Friends.” He knew she had lost her memory when Mrs. Sara had told us before he left.

I turn to Carlos and the rest of them, who are standing around us. “Go on ahead.” They trail off when they are far from earshot. I tell Drake, “I told her about you.”

“Yes, he’s told me so much about you. I regained my memory months ago, but Max had told me everything before then.” Rainey sucks in a breath, then exhales. “You should have told me who you were at the café.”

My brows furrow up to my hairline. “You went to the café?” I wave him over to follow me into the room for privacy. I take Rainey’s hand in mine.

“Yeah, we have so much to talk about. But yeah, I found an advertisement for the café with Sol’s face on it, so I went to see for myself. I knew you fought because your face and name are everywhere. The only thing is…I didn’t know you two were together until now. Color me fucking surprised. I’d like to hear the story. Did they take you both in?”

We have so much to talk about, and I’d like to hear what happened to him the day he left. Drake is still himself, but unhinged, just like me. I see it in him. This life hardens you. The things you see and hear, no young child should go through.

“No, a lot of shit happened after you left. I went to another home. I didn’t see Rainey again until I moved to a new city and school. We were fourteen.” I’m still overwhelmed to have Drake in front of me. All in a good way. “We’ll talk more.”

“Rainey?” Drake questions.

Right, he doesn’t know.

“Yes, her adoptive name,” I say, squeezing Rainey’s hand for reassurance. I know it’s very fresh, and I’m not sure what I can and can’t say, so it doesn’t trigger any trauma. What Collins did was not right. She is still dealing with that part of her life, along with the past.