Two

Vale

A thousand percent, I wanted to ignore the call ringing into my cell phone, but I knew better than to ignore my brother, Kale. It was weird, really. As Melonie, I'd grown up as an only child. As Vale, not only did I have siblings, but I had a twin—a twin who knew there was something different about me, yet he'd accepted me as his sister. And somehow, through DNA I supposed, he still felt a connection to me.

Deep down, I kinda felt sorry for the guy. He had no idea why everything seemed so different between us after "the accident."

"Kale," I answered.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah, you sensed a disturbance in the force."

"Don't be a smartass. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I sighed, injecting annoyance into my tone. "I'm waist-deep in boxes, and I went across the street to meet my neighbor. I'm—"

"Was he an asshole? Do I need to send someone to—"

"Oh my God, no. I swear, Kale. If you send over one—or more—of your thugs, I'll never speak to you again."

"Lies. You couldn't go a day without talking to me."

"Only because you're constantly calling me! I swear, don't test me!"

The silence that followed roiled with electric thunder. "Do not test me. You know it's only through my benevolence that you're allowed to have a home away from the family compound."

I rolled my eyes. "You sound like a mobster."

"I am the head of the family. And the club."

"And I'm not part of it."

"You're disowning your family?"

"Fuck's sake, Kale."

"Don't fucking swear. And don't roll your eyes at me," he added, just as I did exactly that. God, he was a pain in the ass. And I wouldn't trade him for anything. Who would have thought? I'd never dreamed of having a brother, and now, I actually had three—but Kale was the worst of them. Probably because the other two lived on the other side of the country. And it was Kale who'd gotten me through the past few years when breakdowns often loomed on the horizon. He'd been a constant presence beside me.

Still was. Metaphorically.

"Okay, Dad," I sniped.

"You need a spanking. I can have it arranged."

"If one of your crew touches me, it'll be the last thing he does. Do you understand me, Kale?"

"Loud and clear. Very loud."

"Shut up," I sighed.

"So what's wrong?" he asked, detouring into why he'd called. Fucking twin-sense.

"Nothing," I growled. "I'm just… I don't know. I was sad. You know that still happens."

"Angelina wouldn't want you to stop living your life," he started.

"I'm not doing that. Look at me right now. I'm starting a new adventure." I purposely didn't stop him from believing Angelina was the reason behind my sadness. That was better than letting him know it was Dayton-related, because Kale would send over some of his guys to "deal with it." So I allowed him to think it was because of the loss of Before-Vale's best friend, who'd also been his fiancée.

Angelina had been the one driving when the rollover accident had happened. She'd died at the scene. And Before-Vale, as I called the soul before me, should have died at the hospital. But then I'd been there, willing to take on the pain and scars in order to reclaim my future.

I'd been in the white light near her, flailing with all my formless might, struggling to stay in my own bullet-riddled body, despite its inability to sustained life. Too much damage. Almost completely bled out. Still, I'd clung to my lifeless corporal form when it got to the hospital to be declared dead, my soul silently screaming No!

And there was Vale, not wanting to stay in her life without Angelina, who'd been her soul mate. Their relationship hadn't been romantic in the least. They'd just been closer than sisters.

Stay in my body if you don't want to go,she'd offered. Or come with us. Look how beautiful it is…

She'd said more, explained her desire to leave. And I… I didn't remember actually agreeing. Suddenly, I was Vale, opening my eyes to a roomful of strangers.

"I don't like it," Kale muttered, pulling me from the memories he'd triggered by mentioning the other woman's name.

"You don't like much of what I do."

"You used to—"

"Yeah, well, I don't remember any of how I used to be, remember?" I interrupted before he could enumerate the ways I was different now. Amnesia, they called it. Yeah. Okay. That worked. I couldn't explain what it really was.

"I know," he said quietly. "Sorry. I—"

"It's okay. I know it's as hard on you as it is on me. I mean your twin had a whole personality transplant, right?"

And a soul transplant. And a skillset transplant. The things Before-Vale and I could do and knowledge we had were completely different.

Kale fell silent again, and I pictured him slumped in his chair in the club's backroom where they held church once a week—or more often if something came up. On other days, he used it as a planning space. Doing what, I didn't really want to know, but whatever it was, it had made him and others wealthy. And that wealth had trickled down to Before-Vale because of whatever work she'd done with him. No so much me. I didn't get involved in club business, much to Kale's displeasure.

In fact, everyone had been shocked when I'd taken a job as an ESL tutor for students from France or Spain. As far as my family and friends had known, I couldn't speak foreign languages. But Melonie Windsor had been fluent in both Spanish and French, which had helped at the international brokerage firm where she'd been a translator for a high-level exec.

I didn't miss that pressure.

"You know, you could have stayed here. Why did you have to move away?" he complained.

"I'm almost thirty-one. Just like you. I need to—no, I want to—find someone and settle down and have a family."

Weaving through boxes, I moved to my front window to stare outside. My gaze drifted to exactly what I wanted, although all I saw was the yellow house with white trim, not the man I longed to see.

"There are guys—"

"Don't start. I'm not dating any of the guys from your club. They don't want to date, either."

"Well, maybe a good fuck would be good for you."

"I can't believe you said that. What kind of brother—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you're sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." I was getting there anyway. And he wasn't wrong. I might need a good man in my bed. Just not any of those Kale would suggest. I'd only ever wanted Dayton. But after five years of waiting for this moment, I still had no idea how to make it happen.