Dawn Page 6

  Inhaling, I inclined my face, relishing his touch. “Don’t tell me how he died. I don’t want to know what you did.”

  Reid nodded and offered me his hand. “Let’s go sit down and I’ll tell you what we learned.”

  Reid

  As Lorna and I walked back to the living room, I hit a button, bringing our fireplace to life. While the autumn weather was bringing a chill to Chicago, our apartment was warm. The fire I’d just started wasn’t for heat but because I knew my wife and her affinity for warmth, color, and light. The orange and yellow flames sparked as we sat upon the sofa. Ignoring my sore ribs, I wrapped my arm around Lorna’s shoulders and pulled her to my side as we both stared into the flames.

  “Are you sure you want to know?”

  Lorna nodded. “I think that maybe my flashes of a dark-haired man brought back things I’d forgotten or packed away about Maples.” Turning, her green stare met my own. “I want you to know that I never purposely hid that from you. I had” —she shrugged— “I guess, hidden it from myself.”

  “Now that you remember, were there others who hurt you?”

  Lifting her chin, I watched as the flames from across the room reflected in her eyes. “Reid Murray, it isn’t your job to right every wrong in my life.”

  “It might not be my job. It is my passion—you are. If I could go back in time and change the circumstances you and Mason dealt with at too young of an age, I would.”

  “I wouldn’t.”

  “How can you say that?”

  Lorna sighed, turning back to the fire and leaning against me. “I was talking with Madeline earlier today. If anyone has reason to wish for a do-over in their life, it would be her, and today she said that she wouldn’t change a thing because that road led to where she is today. I feel the same.” She turned as a smile curled her lips. “In the last month, I was kidnapped and today you were shot, but we’re here right now. That’s what matters, not the past.”

  “You’re fucking amazing.”

  Sighing, Lorna turned back to the fire. “To answer your question, I don’t think there were—others. I really don’t. After we moved from Mr. Maples’s house, we lived in that one-room apartment I’ve mentioned.” She stilled for a moment. “I think I talk about it because it was the first place that seemed like a home after our grandmother died. And then after Missy disappeared, Mason and I were pretty inseparable. Even as a preteen, he was always overprotective. I was of him too. After losing Missy, we didn’t want to lose each other.”

  “So, Nancy never had men visit?”

  “There were men now and then who would show up at our door at any given time, but for the most part Nancy kept them away.” Lorna shrugged her shoulders. “Sometimes she’d stay away for days or even a week. I don’t know if she went to hotels, made house calls, or what. At the time, Mace and I would go on as if she were there.”

  “Why?”

  “There was always a fear of being taken away.”

  “She didn’t deserve to have you.”

  “Maybe not,” Lorna said, “but if we were taken by DCFS, Mason and I were afraid we’d be separated.”

  My wife tensed under my embrace. “What is it?”

  “That was what she told me.” Lorna sat forward. “Yeah, that’s why I couldn’t tell anyone about Mr. Maples. If I did, the people would take me away.”

  My jaw clenched as I considered the injustice of placing that responsibility on a child. “Lorna, it wasn’t your responsibility to keep that secret any more than it was your and Mason’s responsibility to take care of yourselves.”

  “As I got older, I realized my mother’s disappearances were probably related to substance intake. There were times she’d come back and act like she’d been there that morning when in reality it had been a week. It was like time disappeared to her.”

  I took a deep breath. “Like I said, Gordon Maples admitted to having seen your mother in the last five years.”

  “I don’t understand why she’d go back to him.”

  “Maybe she ran out of options. I doubt we’ll ever know,” I admitted, hating that we had so many unanswered questions.

  Lorna sighed. “I also don’t understand how she ended up with me in Montana.”

  “We don’t know that yet. However, we may have one source of information.”

  “Zella?”

  I nodded. “Mason set her and the kid up at a halfway house; essentially, he currently has her on house arrest.”

  “She can’t leave?”

  “Not alive.”

  Lorna sucked in a breath.

  “Sweetheart, Zella played a role in my shooting. The only reason she’s not dead now is because we plan to question her.”

  “I shouldn’t feel bad. She was never nice to any of us.”

  “Right now,” I said, “Zella and the kid are being guarded by trusted Sparrows. Honestly, I don’t recall what happened at the scene after I was shot. Mason said he plans to question her.” My cheeks rose. “Your brother has a knack for getting answers.”

  Lorna shook her head. “I don’t want to know those details either.”

  As memories returned of previous inquisitions, I was certain I didn’t want to tell my wife what her brother was capable of doing. “Let’s just say he’s persuasive.”

  “Zella never liked our mother.” Lorna wrapped her arms around her midsection. “I can’t see them cohabitating unless it involved drugs.” Her nose wrinkled. “We should look to see if she has needle marks. I didn’t see any, did you?”

  “I didn’t look that closely, but no.” I took a deep breath. “There’s something else we learned.”

  “What?” my wife asked as she turned back to me.

  “Maples mentioned that at one time your mother received payments from a Mexican named Garcia.”

  “A Mexican?”

  “His description, not mine.”

  “Why would anyone...” Her body stiffened. “Oh, wait. Remember my dream? It seems more and more that it was real. If it was, Nancy told me that she sold Missy.” Her words came faster and faster. “Missy looked different than me and Mason. Her skin and hair were darker. I never noticed until we went to school and people made comments. Grandma would say that God made everyone unique.” Lorna stood. “This is all making sense. Missy was half-Latina, and I recall Nancy saying she sold her to her birth father.”

  I nodded. “It does seem to connect dots.”

  My wife spun in place, the palms of her hands slapping her jean-clad thighs. “Reid, don’t you get it? We have a name. What did you say, Garcia?”

  “Do you have any idea how common that name is?”

  “But it’s a name.” Plopping back down beside me, Lorna reached for my hand. “Please tell me you’ll work on this. Reid Murray, you can do anything when it comes to information. Find Missy Garcia.”

  Tears filled her eyes, and for the first time in weeks, they weren’t of despair or fear but of hope. I refused to be the one to dampen this new positive emotion.

  “Melissa?” I asked, realizing I’d never questioned that before.

  “No, her name on her birth certificate was Missy, not short for Melissa. She was...maybe is eleven months younger than me. I’ll give you her birth date. Tell me you’ll look.”

  I leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “Yes, sweetheart, I’ll look.”

  A knock came to the door.

  “Let’s not mention this yet to whoever is out there,” I suggested.

  Lorna nodded as she walked to the door. When she opened it, Araneae and Laurel stood at the threshold with trays of food in their hands.

  “I hope we’re not interrupting. I tried to text,” Araneae said.

  “Oh,” Laurel said, talking to Lorna, “your hair is cute.”

  Lorna stepped back, allowing the ladies to enter, and shrugged. “In hindsight, it was a rash decision. It’s short and brown, but thank you.”

  “I always wanted purple,” Araneae said.

  The ladies laug
hed.

  “I was limited on my choices,” Lorna said, gesturing the other ladies inside our apartment. “You two didn’t need to bring this food down. I could have come up or made us something here.”

  “You have to try these,” Laurel replied. “They’re really good. The vegetable one is my favorite.”

  After placing the trays on the dining room table, Araneae and Laurel both turned their eyes on me. Araneae lifted her hand. “And I admit...the food was our excuse. We wanted to see Reid.”

  I pushed off, using the sofa’s arm to stand.

  “No,” Laurel said, “stay seated. You’re supposed to be resting. We just wanted to see for ourselves that you’re all right.”

  “As all right as I can be.”

  Laurel came close and lifted her arms, but stopped inches away. “Wait, can I hug you? I don’t want to hurt you.”

  From across the room, I saw my wife’s smile. “I think I can take a hug.”

  “Oh, then make it two,” Araneae said as she also wrapped me in a quick embrace. When they stepped back, Araneae’s tone turned stern. “Sterling said that you’re supposed to rest, and if he finds out otherwise, well, he said a lot of things, but I’ll paraphrase: he’ll be mad.”

  Her warning made me grin. “How many times do you think worrying about Sparrow’s anger stopped me from doing what I do?”

  She smiled. “Probably zero, although earlier today would have been a good time to start.”

  “I deserve that.”

  Araneae laid her hand on my arm. “Seriously, Reid, please give him a little time. Having anyone hurt affects him. Let him feel like he’s in control, at least for tonight.”

  In reality, Sparrow was in control, more than just tonight. However, when it came to those of us in this tower, we took liberties—liberties that came with friendship.

  I nodded. “Tonight.”

  “Oh, before I forget,” Araneae said, “you may already know this, but before all hell broke loose, I messaged you.”

  “I didn’t...” It was the first time I realized I didn’t have my phone. I looked at Lorna. “Text Mason and see if he has my phone.” I turned back to Araneae. “What happened?”

  “There was some kind of attempt at breaching our security at the institute this afternoon. Patrick has Sparrows investigating. I figured you’d want to know.”

  My thoughts raced. The security there was top-notch, much like the security at Mason and Laurel’s ranch. Maybe that wasn’t what she meant. “Physically breach?”

  “No, it was all encrypted. Patrick called it malware. If left to do what it was supposed to do, it had the potential to work its way into not only our security but also protected files.”

  “Including mine,” Laurel added. “I have all my research backed up, and I definitely don’t want it getting into the wrong hands. It’s taken me basically this long to get back to where I was on my research at the university.”

  A million questions floated through my head. I wanted to get back to 2 and see what programs were being run. What information they had about the malware and how they think it was installed into the institute’s secure system.

  “No,” Lorna said, shaking her head at me. “I know you, Reid Murray. I see the wheels turning, and don’t for a second think I can’t tell what you’re thinking. You just promised Araneae you wouldn’t leave this apartment tonight.”

  “And tonight ends at tomorrow’s breakfast,” Araneae said.

  “Breakfast? It seems unfair to change the definition of time without warning,” I said with a smile.

  “I’ll keep him here if I have to tie him to the bed,” Lorna said.

  Laurel and Araneae laughed. “No more information.”

  After the two ladies left, I slowly made my way to the dining room table. Lorna looked up from her phone screen. “Mason said he doesn’t have your phone. He’ll check with the other Sparrows on the scene.” Her head tilted, making the ends of her new shorter hairstyle curl near her chin. “Missy?”

  Though my thoughts were on my missing phone, I wouldn’t dash any hopes budding within Lorna’s thoughts and radiating through her shining gaze. “I will start looking when I can.”

  Lorna took a step closer and lifted her arms to my shoulders. “I love you.”

  “Sweetheart, I can’t promise we’ll find her. Don’t get your hopes up.”

  Lorna’s smile returned. “They already are. Before I was kidnapped, we knew in our hearts she was dead. Over the years, I’ve had horrible thoughts of how she died and what she went through. Now, it’s taken two horrific events to give me hope.” Her lips brushed mine. “Madeline was right. Dark times don’t last forever. Eventually dawn comes.”

  I tugged her body against mine, flattening her breasts as they pushed against my bruised chest. “If I hadn’t been shot today, I’d say forget dinner, and I’d take you to our bedroom just to keep that smile on your lips.”

  “If you hadn’t been shot, I’d let you.”

  Intertwining my fingers in her hair near the nape of her neck, I pulled it back, bringing her chin upward and taking in her grin. “I think I’d rather be the one tying the knots.”

  Her head tilted. “What knots?”

  “You told Araneae and Laurel you’d keep me here even if you had to tie me to the bed. If you are the one bound, I wouldn’t leave.”

  “Keep that in mind for when you’re feeling better.” After another kiss, she stepped back and lifted a dome off of one of the plates. As she did, fantastic aromas floated through the air, yet my thoughts returned to the missing phone.

  “What do you think?” Lorna asked.

  I looked at what she’d revealed. “What are those?” I inhaled. “They smell great.”

  “Mini-pies. I could try to tell you the Russian name, but I promise I’d butcher it.”

  Reid

  “What are you doing?” Patrick asked as I entered 2.

  “Coming to work.”

  “I told Sparrow we should change the scanner to keep you on the apartment level.”

  The steel door closed behind me as I walked with less effort than the night before. That didn’t mean I wasn’t sore as hell—I was. The bindings Dr. Dixon had placed on my chest helped my ribs, and at the same time, made breathing a bitch.

  Who restricts your breathing and then emphasizes the need for deep breaths?

  The most important change from yesterday was my arm. Whatever the doctor did worked. I now had full range of motion, and my fingers were more than ready to start typing away on my keyboards.

  “Then you’d miss my smiling face.”

  Patrick interlocked his fingers, placed them behind his head, and leaned back against his chair. “Word was that the queen said you wouldn’t be here until later.”

  “I told the queen tomorrow. This is tomorrow.”

  Patrick shook his head. “She said she specified after breakfast. It’s four in the morning.”

  The overall sense of darkness that came with the kidnappings had lessened with my recent survival. There’s nothing like living through a shot to the chest to change a man’s perspective. That didn’t mean all was right with the world. We needed answers, and I was ready to find them.

  As my lips curled, I went to the coffee machine, added a pod, placed a mug beneath the spout, and pushed the button. “I promised Araneae I’d wait until after breakfast.”

  “And.”

  “And...I ate a leftover mini-pie before leaving the apartment.”

  Patrick scoffed. “Seems like a reasonable loophole to me. Are you sure you’re up to working?” He relaxed his arms and sat taller. “Because I could sure as hell use your input.”

  Even with my bruised chest, his admission gave me a sense of worth, belonging, and importance. We all had our jobs, and there was comfort in knowing where each of us fit.

  I’d been determined to be on the outside of this glass castle and face Maples. Even with the injuries I’d sustained, I wouldn’t trade what we’d done, but now I was
back where I belonged. Back to where I knew I made the biggest difference. It was time to connect the clues we’d been given. “Tell me what you have.”

  “First, your phone.”

  Setting my freshly brewed cup of coffee on the desk, I shook my head. “I’m pissed. I’ve never lost my phone—ever. I figure it must have happened at Maples’s house.”

  “It did and given that you were shot and without a pulse, I think you deserve a pass.” Patrick tapped a few keys. “Besides, I found it.”

  A map of the greater Chicago area came up on the overhead screen. The signal was coming from southwest of the city. “That’s not Englewood.”

  “No, but close.” He zoomed in and turned the image from a map to real-time satellite. The greenish hue was the night vision, giving the city an eerie feel.

  “Where is that?”

  “It’s the halfway house where the capos took Zella Keller, Maples’s daughter, and” —Patrick’s expression appeared as if he’d taken a big bite of a tart lemon— “son-slash-grandson.”

  Yeah, that tidbit was more than a little disgusting. “She has my phone?”

  “I’ve confirmed with the capos that they don’t have it. That leaves Zella at that location unless the kid is a technical wizard.” He didn’t even pause. “The capos took her phone from her when they seized her from Stephens’s house. They let her gather a few things and my guess is that she found yours. She kept it hidden. Once we figured all of that out, I instructed the Sparrows at the halfway house not to let on that they know she has it.”

  “At least she couldn’t activate it.”

  “You were right,” Patrick responded with a grin. “All of our phones are impossible to access without our retina scan. So basically, it was useless until I realized she had it. Once I did, I remotely wiped all the information within and began a program that reports everything she tries to do in real time.”

  I sat at my desk and took a slow, deep breath. Patrick may believe I deserve a pass, but I would disagree. Losing a phone is a rookie mistake. I wasn’t a rookie in this world. “So she can’t access the internet or contact anyone. What is she doing?”