Chapter 29 #2
“Ask one of my friends.”
“I’m asking you,” Eliana said. “You got yourself into this, now get yourself out of the mess so you can be free.”
Keri’s lips shifted to a sneer, just for a second. An acknowledgement she didn’t want to be in this situation, and yet she was. They all had a part to play, and it certainly seemed like a drama was unfolding.
“You didn’t ask for this,” Eliana continued. “Whoever they are, they told you to do it. They’re the ones responsible, and you just got dragged along. Don’t let the Shrine or the cops take you down in the fallout.”
That sounded like the work of someone like the Mother.
Who else could it possibly be, trying to expose the secrets at the heart of Dominatus?
The organization it had been decades ago was nothing like what it was now, and these days the whole thing seemed like a shell of what it had been, even with the Board of Governors in control and her hope that they would really aid in finding Luci.
People still believed they were nothing but a relic of the past.
“What put you on this path, Keri? How did you get here?” Eliana looked around. “I think you took a wrong turn somewhere.”
“Life is nothing but wrong turns. Where we end up doesn’t matter.”
“I’m going to have to disagree with you there. It matters very much.” Eliana didn’t know much about the world, but she was sure about that. “The journey matters as much as the destination.”
“Then it’s been a crappy journey.”
“Let’s put you on a new path. One that leads you somewhere better than this.”
Keri scrunched up her nose, and Eliana thought she might’ve seen a sheen of tears in the woman’s eyes.
“We can fix it.”
Keri sniffed.
Eliana waited. Until one thought surfaced in her mind, stronger than any inclination she’d had in a long time. Until the words burned on her tongue and she had to speak them or she would’ve burst. And she had to ask, “Do you know Lydia Rosenburg?”
Keri’s eyes flared, and she actually flinched.
Bingo. Hopefully Sylvia had seen that reaction, because that was definitely the right name. “You know her. She sent you here?”
Eliana’s skin tingled, and it almost felt as if cold fingers were touching her.
Making her skin crawl. That nightmare she kept having flashed in her mind.
But how could a woman she’d never seen until recently—a source of terror in her heart and mind—be a featured character in her dreams for so many years of her life?
“Keri, did Lydia Rosenburg send you?”
The woman across the table flinched. “Don’t say that name to me.”
Someone knocked on the door.
Eliana didn’t move right away. “Enjoy the rest of your sandwich.” She rose from the chair, trying to keep her movements easy and not give away any tension. Or the need to get out of here as quickly as possible.
Eliana let herself out, and Tony closed the door behind her, looking into the room through the little window in the door. When the door had clicked shut, she said, “What is it?”
“You’re done in there.”
Sylvia was down the hall, talking on a cell phone. Only, there was no signal down here. Right?
“I need my phone back.” Eliana lifted her chin. “Along with an explanation.”
Tony got a look on his face, slightly paternal, but with the whole “mobster” air, it just looked scary. His beard shifted, and he reached up to scratch his jaw. “Eliana, you—”
“Don’t play this off.” She shook her head. “I have to go upstairs and pretend like I didn’t just interrogate someone who is being held here against their will, like that doesn’t make the Shrine criminally responsible.”
Sylvia glanced at them for a second before turning her attention back to her call.
“Who is Lydia Rosenburg?” Tony asked. “How did you know to drop her name?”
“Why doesn’t the Shrine figure that out? It has nothing to do with me.”
“Seems like you say that more than it’s actually true. Like you’re trying to convince yourself it is.”
Eliana blew out a breath. “I’m not part of this.” She pointed to the room. “You guys need to let these people go or turn them over to the police.”
Though, it was probably too late for that. Unless the Shrine had cops in their pocket who could overlook criminal activity. That wouldn’t surprise her. But it would make it seem as if Dominatus and their way of doing things was still present in the Shrine.
“Whether you do or don’t,” she continued, “you’re still only providing fodder for the people who believe Dominatus is at work in the world. So why do it? The Shrine is supposed to be a memorial, not headquarters.”
“This isn’t about world domination.” Tony folded his arms. “It’s about protecting society, not destroying it or trying to steer things in a new direction.”
“Really? Because it seems to me like there’s a battle for control of people going on behind the scenes. And behind that are real flesh-and-blood people who want absolute power. Now who does that sound like?”
“Why do you think the Shrine are the ones who noticed it first?” Tony asked. “Who better to realize what’s going on than us?”
“So is it the Reverence Sisters, or is it Lydia Rosenburg?”
“I need to look into her, find out who she is and what she’s been up to. Then I’ll be able to tell you.”
Eliana got the idea that was genuine and he wasn’t withholding the truth about Lydia.
“She’s the one who recently organized the agreement with all the churches and religions in Chicago.
She negotiated it. And she’s been running recompense claims for people affected by the drug in those canisters.
Whatever is going on, she’s in position to be right in the middle of it. ”
“So it might not be this Mother person. It could be Lydia Rosenberg.”
“Maizie told me she was bad news. Like ‘pack a bag, get out of Chicago’ kind of bad news. So maybe call her if you need more information.”
Tony frowned. “If she told you that, why are you still here?”
“It was right before I saw Sarah on the train and got caught up in that whole thing with Faith.” Eliana didn’t like the insinuation that she had to always follow her family’s orders. She could make her own choices. “Why are these people trying to kill me?”
The Reverence Sisters seemed to want her dead, but in a way that would be entertaining for them. It seemed more like spite than anything else, which didn’t say anything good about Luci and her influence. Was she directing them toward Eliana? That was a horrible thought.
Maybe Luci sending them her way was a cry for help, and she wanted them to rescue her. Or maybe vindictiveness had put Eliana in her crosshairs.
Tony set his hand on her shoulder. “I’m gonna make sure you stay safe. No matter what.”
Eliana shifted so he had to drop his hand, but said, “Thanks.” She wanted to see Carlos and visit Patience. Take a nap, but maybe on Carlos’s couch and not at her house.
She wanted to know Luci was safe, regardless of how she felt about Eliana. And she didn’t want to be the one to face Detective Maloney with the truth of what the FBI suspected. No matter what happened, she got dragged into it.
Eliana figured she should either pack a bag and get out of Chicago, or flip things around and jump in with both feet.
If people expected her to engage with this, maybe she should. The situation might resolve itself faster if she started kicking in doors and demanding answers.
As long as it wasn’t Lydia Rosenberg’s door.
That one could stay shut.