Romeo
Donna stood in front of the luggage carousel, waiting for the last bag.
Her mom stood back a few feet, trying to keep the kids corralled.
Six of their bags were stacked near her.
The last bag was the largest. It contained all the Christmas presents.
That would be her luck if it got lost, Donna thought.
“Hey, there you are,” Brad Dupont’s familiar voice said from behind her.
She turned. “Brad, hi.” Her lips formed a big smile. Having his help with the bags would make it much easier to get everyone and everything out to the curb for pickup. She also smiled because she genuinely liked her sister’s boyfriend.
“I thought you could use a hand with your bags.”
Donna pointed behind them, at her mom, the kids, and the other bags. “Only waiting on one still. Did you park?” She hoped not. She was exhausted, and the thought of a long walk with the bags and trying to keep the kids with them was daunting.
“No, a friend drove, and she’s circling until you’ve got all the bags. How was your flight?”
“It wasn’t bad,” Donna said. “The kids were good.”
A few minutes later, the last bag came into sight.
She grabbed it from the conveyor belt and dragged it over to where the other bags were.
Brad had stepped away from her to greet her mom and the kids.
Her mom liked him as much as she liked Rich.
They’d celebrated a few holidays with all of them together and it had been nice and very comfortable.
That was when Donna realized that what she and Rich had was very real.
He’d been part of her family for over a year.
Maybe her mom was right. The emotional closeness they shared, the friendship, was bonding enough for now.
They didn’t need to be sleeping together for it to be real.
It was real. She was here in Chicago to have Christmas with Rich and her family. That was as real as a relationship got.
“Okay, this is the last one,” Donna said, stepping up to her mom and Brad.
“I’ll call Briana and find out where she is?” Dupont said.
Donna wasn’t sure who Briana was. Given that anyone Rich, her sister, or Brad ever talked about was a coworker, or significant other of a coworker, she assumed Briana fell into the same category.
“Get your backpacks on,” Donna told her kids, prompting them to pick them up from the floor where they’d dropped them.
“We have car seats and boosters for the kids. We’ll stop at a car rental place near where you’ll be staying on our way.
Cars are cheaper out there than at the airport.
Burke has a minivan reserved for you,” Dupont told them as he led them out of the doors to the pickup area.
He pushed two of the larger suitcases with one hand, and a third one with the other.
Donna followed him. She had Jeriah sitting on the large suitcase she pushed. Her mom held both of the boys’ hands, and the boys each dragged a smaller suitcase.
A white transit van pulled up beside them. A pretty, young white girl sat behind the wheel. She smiled and waved. Brad slid the side panel door open. “Let’s get you guys inside,” he said to the boys. He helped them in as Donna lifted Jeriah from the suitcase and carried her to the van.
“Hi, you must be Donna,” the driver greeted. “I’m Briana. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Hi,” she said in return. She climbed in and began securing the kids in the two booster seats and one car seat that just barely fit on the banquette that lined the wall immediately behind the driver’s seat and stretched towards the back of the van.
It was the only seating in the rear with seatbelts.
A bed, complete with comforter and pillows, spanned the distance across the back of the vehicle.
The roof was so high that Donna could easily stand upright.
“It’s empty beneath the bed. You can shove as many suitcases that fit under there and go ahead and pile the backpacks on the bed,” Briana instructed.
“Dorthea, why don’t you take the passenger seat up front?
” Dupont said, opening the car door for her.
He helped her in. Then he helped Donna load the rest of the suitcases.
Once they were in, he hopped in and slid the door shut.
He pointed to the bed. “Have a seat there, Donna.” Then he came beside her and took a seat as Briana pulled away from the curb.
Briana introduced herself to Dorthea. “I’m one of their coworkers,” she said. “I just got back from a mission yesterday and am glad I could help pick you up.” Her gaze flickered to Dupont in the rearview mirror. “They’re cleared for some info, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, no worries,” Dupont said.
After what had gone down at Dorthea’s house the previous Thanksgiving, they’d been read in a bit and had signed nondisclosure agreements.
Donna had never been to Chicago. She watched out the window to get an idea of where they were going.
She knew Rich and Laura Lee lived in the northwest suburbs.
It was only about a half-hour drive on the highway when Briana exited.
A few minutes later, the Transit van pulled up in front of a rental car building.
Briana turned in her seat. “I’ll stay with the kids. Dorthea, are you also going to be an authorized driver?”
“No, I don’t drive if I don’t have to, and here, in this unfamiliar place, it’s probably best I don’t.”
“Yes, probably best, Mom. You stay here with the kids,” Donna agreed.
Donna and Dupont got out of the van. All she had to do was show her driver’s license and insurance, and the keys were handed to her. It took less than five minutes. Dupont approached Dorthea’s side of the car. She rolled the window down.
“I’m going to ride with Donna to the house. We’ll meet you there.”
Donna wasn’t crazy about driving separately from her kids but agreed when Brad told her it was only another ten minutes to the house they’d be staying at.
“Whose house is it?” Donna asked.
“Our coworker, Becca, owns it. It’s vacant. We use it as a safehouse for some of our cases.”
Donna wasn’t even sure what to expect.
When they pulled up in the driveway of the beautiful home in the great neighborhood lined with large, well-maintained homes, Donna was shocked.
This wasn’t what she expected. And when they went inside to find the fully furnished, large three-bedroom home, which was even decorated for Christmas, with a refrigerator and pantry full of food, which she was told was for them, she was even more confused and delighted.
“Wow,” she said, clasping her hands to her chest.
“Becca and I keep the pantry full because we never know when we’ll have clients who will be here.
We house mostly women and children who are fleeing bad domestic situations here,” Briana said.
“When Burke asked Becca if you all could stay here, she went shopping and filled the refrigerator for you.”
“Well, you tell her to let me know how much she spent, and I’ll reimburse her,” Dorthea said.
“Not necessary,” Briana said. “Burke and Saxton will take care of it.”
“They’ve already paid for too much,” Donna said. “Mom’s right, let us know what she spent.”
Briana nodded her off. “Come on, let’s go upstairs. I’ll show you the bedrooms.”
The master bedroom was at the top of the stairs, with a bathroom inside it.
A hall bathroom with double sinks was next.
An office, and then the two other bedrooms. One had a queen-sized bed and a crib; the other had the three-bunk configuration Donna had seen and wanted to put up for her kids.
There were also toys for all ages in that room.
Brad and Briana helped to carry suitcases up to the rooms, which Donna was very thankful for. Dorthea insisted that Donna take the master bedroom in case Rich stayed over. Donna had told her mom repeatedly that she and Rich were not sleeping together. Obviously, her mom didn’t believe her.
“Okay, Briana and I have to get back to work,” Dupont said. “I’m sure Burke will call you when he can.”
“Enjoy the house,” Briana said. “I’m sure I’ll see you before Christmas.” She handed one of her cards to Donna. “Here’s my number. Call me if you need anything before Burke or Laura Lee get back.”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine here,” Dorthea said. “It’s been a long travel day for me. I’m going to go up and take a rest in that very comfortable room. Thank you again, Briana.”
Dupont gave Dorthea a hug. “I’ll see you soon, after Laura Lee gets back in town, but you can call me too if you need anything.”
Donna watched the Transit van back out of the driveway. She locked the front door and returned to the family room, where the kids watched television. She wouldn’t try to get Jeriah down for a nap in this strange place, but she hoped she’d fall asleep on the couch.
She tapped out a text message to Rich.
We’re at the house. And wow, it is nice! Thank you for arranging it.
There was no reply. She figured he was working and too busy to reply. She slid her phone into her jeans pocket, determined to prove to Rich that she could handle his job. Waiting for him to call her back would help do that.
***
It was nineteen hundred when the team was clear from the scene after turning it over to the FBI.
The US Marshals took Zoe Reopelle and Frisco Oliveira into protective custody while the FBI looked into her allegations.
It was a good ending to the case. The Forsander siblings and David Greenwalt were questioned and strongly cautioned to keep the information regarding Zoe Reopelle’s father and the salon owners to themselves, or charges would result.
They were all released after giving their statements, as nothing illegal was discerned to be going on related to them.
Though the Shepherd Security Team were sure they would remain on the radar of one agency or another.