Chapter 8 #2
“I don’t know where I am yet, but I’m okay.” I look to Gio for confirmation on where we are, but he doesn’t say a word. Just watches me, expression serious.
He’s nervous. As he should be, I suppose. Given how I was brought here.
“The boys are trying to find you. Everyone is. The sheriff has combed through most of the county by now.”
“I’m fairly certain I’m not in Texas anymore.”
Gio shakes his head.
“And I’m with my birth family. Maybe. I need to see the DNA results first.”
She pauses a moment. “Your birth family,” she repeats slowly.
“Yes.”
“Are you there willingly?”
“No. But they said I can come back tonight.”
“Tonight. That’s good. Why don’t you tell us where you are, and we’ll send the boys to get you. That pilot they use is already fueled up and on standby.”
“He’s coming,” Tommy says urgently. “Put her on speaker.”
The phone shifts, and there’s some crackling before the tone changes.
“Are you hurt, sweetheart?” Tommy asks.
“Aside from a nasty headache, thanks to whatever I was drugged with, I’m okay. No one has hurt me.”
“Drugged and kidnapped,” Ruth snaps.
“Dylan told us what your house looked like. That man who abducted you, what’s his name?”
“Mattheus Karver,” I tell them. “He claims that he’s my brother.” As I say it, I glare in his direction. He offers me an awkward smile and shoves both hands into his pockets.
They’re both listening to everything I say, but since I’m too afraid to turn my back to either of them, I remain where I am.
Gio steps forward. “May I?” He holds out his hand.
But I don’t relinquish the phone. Instead, I put it on speakerphone.
“This is Emmaline’s birth father,” he says. “I’m afraid my son got overzealous in his attempt to surprise my wife and me with meeting our daughter.”
A door slams, and I know—without a doubt—Dylan is there.
I can sense him, just as I always can.
Even with however many miles are between us.
“Overzealous?” Dylan growls. “He drugged and abducted her.”
“Who is this?” Gio asks.
“Her boyfriend,” Mattheus chimes in. “I recognize the voice.”
“Not her boyfriend,” Dylan corrects quickly.
It’s a dagger to my heart, even though it’s the truth.
“But I am someone who will hunt down anyone who so much as lays a finger on her.” The ferocity in his voice is not something I’m accustomed to.
Even this new version of Dylan, the cold one, has never held such anger in his tone.
Gio glances back at Mattheus. “There’s no need for that.
As I said, my son was merely excited to find his sister and didn’t want to risk losing the chance to bring her home.
My wife is not doing well since she discovered our daughter is alive.
He was worried about his mother. I’m sure you can understand that. ”
“Pine Creek is her home.”
Gio’s smile fades. “We merely wanted to ensure that those who know her back in your small town are aware that she is fine and not being held against her will. Should she choose to return home, we will escort her safely.”
Should she choose. My stomach churns.
Play it cool. I have to keep my composure. Trust in God. He’ll get me through this.
“Emma.” My name rolling off Dylan’s lips has always held such power over me. It’s the way he says it, as though it’s his favorite word in the entire world. But now—after our fight and his very quick declaration that I am not romantically involved with him whatsoever—I shove that power away.
Because he’s not mine. Just as I’m not his.
“I’m fine, Dylan. I apologize for calling, Mrs. Hunt. I didn’t know anyone else’s number by heart, and I wanted everyone to know that I’m okay.”
“Honey, I’m so glad you called. Please know that we all love you, and we only want to know that you are safe.”
“She is,” Gio says. “I can assure you of that. No one will harm Emmaline while she is with us.”
“Where are you?” Dylan demands.
“I’m not at liberty to share that with you,” Gio says coolly.
“Given that I don’t know you and you’ve been nothing but aggressive on this call, I have no interest in telling you where you can find the most important people in the world to me.
Your declaration to hunt someone down was a threat, and I don’t take too kindly to those.
However, as I said, Emmaline is safe, and she will contact you all when she chooses to return home. ” He takes a step back.
“Listen up—”
I take the phone off speaker and press it to my ear again. “Dylan, stop. I’m fine right now, okay? As soon as I can, I’ll make sure you know where I am. Please make sure someone takes care of my cat for me.”
“You’re not safe. Anyone willing to go to those lengths to get to you is not trustworthy.”
“I know.” Tone calm. Words chosen carefully. “If I could swim, this place might feel like paradise,” I add with a smile, hoping he’ll read between the lines. Ocean. I am somewhere near the ocean.
Dylan is silent a moment. “I’m coming for you,” he says. “I promise.”
My hand tightens on the phone. “Talk soon.” I end the call.
“That boy sounds dangerous,” Gio comments as he turns to Mattheus, who nods and slips from the room.
“He’s just temperamental. Always has been.”
“And he is not your boyfriend?”
“Just a really good friend who cares about me. Can you blame him? It’s not like Mattheus approached me and asked me to willingly go with him.”
Gio runs a hand through his hair. “That is fair. I apologize.”
I want to call Dylan back. Stay on the phone with him until someone comes to get me—but I get the sense that would just not be possible. I have to put my trust in him that he’ll somehow find a way to locate me.
Until then, I have to play ball. And a deal is a deal.
“The results are on this phone?” I ask.
“Yes. In the text messages, there’s a photograph sent from the lab. The certified results will be in tomorrow. The packet was sent overnight through the mail.”
I open the messages and stare down at the image sent through the only message on the phone. It’s a screenshot of a medical document, and I have to zoom in to read.
There are four columns with a bunch of things I don’t understand, but multiple markers are circled in red. 47% out of 50% shared DNA. Sibling match.
So it is true. Regardless of how I was brought here, according to this document, Mattheus is my brother.
“Can we go see your mother now?” Gio questions. “I fear, if I keep her waiting much longer, she’s going to come looking for us and spoil the surprise. You can always call them back. Feel free to keep the phone if it will make you more comfortable.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“Anything for you,” he says with a kind smile, then takes my hand and loops it through his arm. It feels strange to be walking so close to a man I just met. But I imagine that had I not been kidnapped all those years ago, this would likely feel as familiar as breathing.
Kidnapped away from my family.
Kidnapped and brought back.
There’s some irony in that.
We step into a brightly lit hallway with sconces placed every few feet along the walls. The wallpaper is a cream color with faint golden stripes. The flooring out here is a dark wood, which gleams beneath the light.
“This is beautiful.”
“Thank you. It has been my home since I was a boy,” he says. “I always wanted to raise my family among the history here.” He leads me down the hallway toward a set of stairs. We descend slowly. “The family who raised you—were they kind?”
“Very. God blessed me by placing me with kind people. I know that a lot of kids who end up in the system don’t get so lucky.”
“Yes, well, I’m glad you didn’t suffer as a child, though I wish we’d been able to raise you.”
“I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant.” My cheeks heat. Regardless of how I got here, I feel a little guilty. And how twisted is that? They kidnapped me, but I feel guilty because I loved my adoptive parents.
He pats my hand. “I know it’s not.” He pauses outside a set of double doors. “Are you ready?”
I take a deep breath. Why does this feel so intimidating? “Yes.”
Gio reaches forward and pushes the door open. A long table gleams beneath a chandelier hanging above, flickering lights that mimic candlelight. Mattheus is already here and is sitting on the left side while a woman sits directly in front of me, her back to me.
“My dearest, I have someone to introduce you to.”
“Who, my love?” the woman turns, her blonde curls swaying as she turns to face me.
The moment our eyes meet, my mouth falls slack. It’s like looking into a mirror, and any doubts I still had vanish as I stand here, staring at my mother.
Her gaze darkens a moment. “Who is this?”
“Do you really need to ask?” Gio says. “This is our dearest Gwendolyn,” he says softly. “Our darling daughter who was stolen from us. Mattheus found her and brought her home.”
The woman—Felicity—stands slowly, then crosses over toward me on tall heels that click as she walks. The black dress she wears is so different from what I normally wear—its tight fabric hugs her curves, while I prefer to wear looser fabric.
But her eyes—they’re the same shade as mine.
Her nose is dusted with the same freckles.
And for a moment, I forget all about the manner in which I was brought here and let myself sink into the knowledge that I have a living family. That they didn’t toss me aside at birth. They wanted me.
Truly wanted me.
“Hi,” I manage.
She comes to a stop before me, her eyes filling with tears as she reaches up and cups my cheek. “My darling daughter,” she chokes out. “You are alive.”