Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Through the opening of the door Cara had come out of, a bright pink JanSport caught my eye.
Of course, Lore would have a go-bag for the little girl.
I pushed the door open farther and was impressed.
Lore’s saferoom looked more like a compact command central.
A desk with an iMac taking up most of the surface area, three burner phones—two still plugged in—sat to the left of the door.
To the right were three file boxes. A lone laptop sat on one of the boxes next to a roll of bio-bags, next to the boxes was a red bucket.
Two backpacks—one pink, one black. A case of water, boxes of granola bars, MREs, fruit snacks, and a bag of cashews rested against the wall directly in front of me.
I moved to the desk, shook the mouse, and hoped the computer wasn’t password protected. Not that Kira couldn’t crack the code but time wasn’t on our side.
The screen came to life. Ten squares filled the screen, five on top, five on the bottom—Lore’s room, Cara’s, the living room-slash-dining area, kitchen, all four sides of her house, and lastly the garage.
The cameras were active; I could see Easton standing outside of the pantry talking to Smith.
Jonas was in the living room using the toe of his boot to move a demolished cushion out of his way.
“Sweetheart, I have to set you down.”
All four of her limbs tightened. “No.”
“I need—”
“No!”
I could of course unwrap her arms and legs and set her down so I could get the computer ready for transport but the thought of forcing the little girl to let me go was appalling.
I made my way back to the opening in the pantry. “Yo! I need you to rip out the pantry.”
“Just send her through, I’m right here,” Easton said, punctuating his statement by shoving an arm through the opening.
“There’s computers and sh…stuff.”
“Just pass—”
“Just break out the shelving unit,” I practically growled my demand.
A few minutes later Easton and Smith had the pantry unit torn out. I kept Cara’s back to the damaged kitchen not wanting her to see the devastation and told her, “My friends are coming to help.”
“No!” she squealed and nearly suffocated me with her arms around my neck and her forehead in my throat.
“Cara, sweetheart, I’m going to set you down. My friends are coming in to help me carry some of this stuff out.”
She didn’t answer.
Easton just nodded and got to work.
Smith hung back staring at Cara. There was no way he missed the way she was trembling. Therefore, when his eyes finally met mine, they were tight with unmasked fury.
“Why don’t you take her to the truck? We’ll load up and meet you out there.”
I reached down, grabbed the pink backpack, and nodded. “Grab the other one, will ya?”
Lore would want it when we found her.
“I need a favor, sweetheart.”
She immediately shook her head.
“I’m not letting you go,” I promised. “But I need you to keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them. Can you do that for me?”
She nodded.
Or at least I hoped it was a nod. I needed to get her out of the saferoom to give the guys room to move and I didn’t want her to see what had come of her home.
It wasn’t until we were at the gate to the school that I became very aware I was out in the open and exposed with a child clinging to me.
“Cara, sweetheart, how long were you in your special room before you called me?” I asked as I stepped back into the woods for coverage.
Her little shoulders moved along with a mumbled, “I dunno. Where’s Lolo?”
Good fucking question.
“I don’t know yet.” I told her the truth because for some reason lying to her seemed as revolting as her little body wrapped around me like a shield. “Did she say anything when she took you to the room?”
With a shuddered inhale she shared, “She told me to do what we’d practiced and someone would come for me.”
Did Lore know they were in direct danger or was it paranoia?
Knowing her it was probably both.
“And what did you practice?”
“Getting into the special room really fast and how to use the phone and what to say. We practiced the address and how to use the potty and how to eat.”
I took that last comment about how to eat as Lore teaching her to ration the food in case she was in there alone.
“Anything else?”
“She told me to remember she loved me more than the stars in the sky and to be the strongest, bravest girl until the king came. I didn’t want her to leave.”
Until the king came.
A rush of mixed emotions hit me all at once. Lore herself wouldn’t respond to any of the messages I’d left. She’d gone as far as disconnecting my only form of communication with her. Yet she’d trust me with this unknown child’s safety.
What the fuck?
“Is Lolo your mom?”
Cara shook her head against my throat. “Lolo’s my God Mommy. My real mommy and daddy are in heaven.”
I let that knowledge sink in.
However, there was a total disconnect from the Lore I knew who was cold, distant, and bluntly told everyone who came remotely close to her not to trust her, to a woman who’d be close enough to someone they’d trust her with the duty of raising their child if something should happen to them.
I couldn’t even picture Stella offering that kind of friendship and closeness to someone.
The mere fact in my head the same woman was two very different people made her the least likely candidate to raise a child.
I shook that thought out of my head, remembering that Zane Lewis had two very distinct personalities—the ruthless Viper to his enemies and the loving, pushover husband and father.
Though apparently Lore-slash-Stella had a third personality I’d yet to meet, but clearly Cara had.
Lolo.
Before I could further contemplate who this woman might be, I heard twigs snapping. Easton came into view obviously not bothering to hide his approach, followed by Smith and Jonas. All three men’s arms were full of the contents of Lore’s saferoom.
“Got everything?” I asked as Easton passed.
“Yep. Good to go.”
I stood back, keeping cover the best I could while I watched my teammates negotiate the fence with their haul.
When it was my turn, I handed the pink backpack to Jonas and didn’t bother asking Cara if I could lift her over to one of the other guys.
It wasn’t until we were at my truck when the latest issue presented itself. Cara refused to sit in the back buckled up. Actually, she flat out refused to let go of me—period.
With Jonas driving, Smith in the passenger seat, Easton behind Jonas, and me with Cara tucked on my lap behind Smith we were on our way back to Annapolis.
With a child I didn’t know who wouldn’t let me go.
And for the first time in my life, I had no idea what to do or how to proceed.
But what I did know was, no one was taking her from me—not until she had her Lolo back.
Then, once the reunion was complete, I was going to tan Stella’s ass for not telling anyone about Cara.