Chapter 21
Soren
The entire time Bella has been on speakerphone with her mom and dad, Maya has hovered around, careful to steer the conversation away from anything that could include me.
The conversation with Bella’s dad didn’t last long. Bella told him how hurt she felt, and he apologized, promising he’d be home soon. Her mom is different. She broke down in tears, promising she would change. For Bella’s sake, I hope she does.
I’m proud of Bella for facing the hard conversation. I have to do the same.
“Thank you for being with her,” Mrs. Hartwell tells Maya.
“Of course,” Maya says, her eyes flitting briefly to me.
“I was looking at the security cameras, but they don’t seem to be working. And the nanny cams are down. Is everything okay?”
I swallow.
“Uh,” Maya stutters. “There was a-a blizzard and some power outages.”
“Hmm.” I can’t tell if the woman is buying this story or not. “I’ll get someone to come look at them immediately.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Maya says, waving her hand in the air even though Mrs. Hartwell can’t see her. “It’s Christmas.”
“I suppose you’re right. Bright and early tomorrow then.”
“Great.” Maya breathes an obvious sigh of relief.
“And Bella…?” Mrs. Hartwell says.
“Yes, Mommy?”
“How would you like to go to Harry Potter World when I get home?”
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” she screams. “And then can we go to Epic Universe?”
It’s quiet for a beat. “Is that the monster place?” Her mom sounds worried already.
“Yes! I want to get my makeup done like a monster and ride the Frankenstein ride.”
“S-sounds like fun,” her mom says finally.
“This is the best Christmas ever!” Bella cheers, jumping up and down.
“I’ll be home tomorrow. Then we will go, okay?”
I hope she doesn’t think buying her kid things will make up for the absence in her life, but I guess it’s a start. I can’t imagine the woman willingly wanting to go to Epic Universe.
“Can we go to the Haunted Pier, too?” Bella asks.
“Whatever you want.”
“Okay. I’m so happy!”
“Me too, sweetie. I’m so sorry I didn’t check on you. I love you so much. I’ll see you soon.”
“Bye!” Bella hangs up and tosses her phone at Maya, reminding me I still have Maya’s phone.
I slip it out of my bag, preparing to hand it to her.
But the phone vibrates, and out of instinct, I look down at the message.
Katie a.k.a Satan’s Mistress:
I chuckle at Maya’s nickname for her, but then I see the message.
The clock is ticking.
What does that mean? Maybe I’ll look into this Katie girl when Maya and Bella are busy…
“I’m going to go pack,” Bella says, and I slip the phone into my pocket before I’m caught prying into Maya’s personal life. I already got one tongue-lashing. This message serves as a reminder that I don’t know everything about her. “And then can we watch that show you were talking about?”
“Elf?” Maya asks.
“That one.”
“Sure, sweetie. I’ll get the popcorn.”
Bella rushes upstairs, and Maya sighs, not in relief, but somehow… with more frustration.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I… I don’t know. I’m happy for her, but I kind of wish they wanted to spend time with her here and do normal family things, you know?”
“I know.”
She sighs again. “Nothing I can change about that.” She stands, heading to the theater. Without thinking, I follow her.
There’s a small white vintage snack counter at the back of the theater that looks like it came straight from the fifties.
I’ve yet to see anyone use it. I’ve also yet to see any real snacks in this house.
But Maya goes behind the counter, digging through drawers until she locates the healthy bag of premade popcorn and dumps it in red-and-white striped popcorn cartons.
She’s so beautiful. I could watch her all day.
Like a stalker.
Because that’s virtually all I am until I tell her.
“So…” I perch on one of the two stools at the popcorn stand.
“So…” she parrots.
I’m not sure what subject I’m about to address. The past, her lie to the Hartwells, or my imminent departure and the painting.
“What now?” she asks before I can.
I lean against the small serving counter, watching her search the tiny space for something. She doesn’t find it and slams the doors shut.
“Why is there nothing fattening in this whole house?” she grumbles.
She grabs a napkin and starts wiping at the already clean serving counter with a force that is entirely female for something is wrong.
I let her rub at nothing for approximately five seconds before placing my hand over hers.
“I’m a little busy,” she huffs, trying to shove my hand off.
“You’re frustrated.”
“No kidding.”
“I believe I may be part of the reason.” I pull my hand back and wait for her to admit it.
She looks up at me in disbelief. “Part?”
I exhale. “Ask me again.”
She frowns.
“Ask me why I left, or if I ever loved you in the first place.”
She chews her bottom lip, snagging my attention and momentarily easing the fear of what is about to happen. “What did I do wrong?”
Her words slam into my chest like a grenade, destroying the rest of my resolve.
“It wasn’t about you.” No wonder she hates me.
All this time she thought the problem was with her.
I reach for her hand again, but she pulls it back, tucking her arms around her chest, putting up her shield. “Then why did you leave?”
I take a deep breath, settling in, welcoming the uncomfortable past to be relived one final time. “You heard about my parents, right?”
I catch the slight grimace on her face. “Yeah, I’m sorry. It was the only thing that kept me from hunting you down.”
I chuckle. “I’m glad my parents’ arrest could at least save my life, but don’t be sorry. They deserved prison.” My dad especially. He was the one who took people off life-saving machines when he knew they wouldn’t be able to pay and didn’t want to waste resources on them.
He killed people. That fact alone makes me want to crumple up and shove the past right back inside the dark cave. But I’ve done a lot of work with my therapist to remove myself from his actions. I won’t hide anymore.
“But they weren’t arrested that night? Right?” Maya asks. It’s clear she thought that was part of the reason I ghosted her all those years ago.
I shake my head. “They were arrested a few weeks later. But that night…” A shudder wracks through my body. “That was the night someone came for them.”
Her eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”
I scrub a hand through my hair, focusing on a spot on the wall behind her.
“It was a family member of one of the patients. My father had taken the man’s wife off the ventilator and forged his signature, all because a celebrity needed a room and was willing to pay cash to get the entire wing to themselves.
” I can’t even say the words without feeling guilty, even though I did nothing wrong. “The man… he wanted to get even.”
Maya shaking her head, and I haven’t even gotten to the hard part yet.
“I was packing my bags, about to leave, when three armed men broke into the house. My parents weren’t home; they never were.
But Rosie was downstairs watching TV. I heard her screams.” I shiver, still reeling after all these years.
“I raced down there, but I was too late. They took her. I tried to follow in my truck but lost them.”
Maya’s hand jumps to my arm, and I realize I’m gripping the countertop.
“I went to the house and waited for the police and my parents. The ransom came, but my dad couldn’t pay it and refused to say why.
I didn’t understand then. I had no idea who he really was and what he’d done, and I was so mad.
No one was going to save her.” My voice cracks, but I push on.
“There was a man, Liam, I’d met a couple of weeks earlier.
He was looking into my dad. He said something was happening at the hospital he needed to fix.
I was just a kid, though. I didn’t take him seriously. ”
Maybe if I had, I could have saved some people from dying.
“Hey…” Maya touches my cheek. “Don’t take that on yourself; it wasn’t your fault.”
I swallow back the rising emotion and continue. “I realized Liam was my only hope. So I called him.”
I’m aware of Maya’s thumb tracing slow circles on my arm, offering me comfort I so badly needed back then while I paced the house filled with people who weren’t doing anything. The utter fear and helplessness was so torturous… I’d forgotten about Maya.
“The man is a tech genius and located them based on my description of their vehicle and the directions they went. The police didn’t believe me when I tried to tell them. So I went alone.”
“Soren…” Maya’s hand flies to her mouth, my name on her lips a horrified whisper.
I clench my jaw. “Yeah, it was a bad idea. They found me sneaking around the bushes, knocked me out, and when I came to, I was tied up on the floor next to Rosie.”
Twin tears fall from Maya’s pained eyes, but the sad part is over.
I brush them away and finish my story. “Not twenty minutes later, Liam knocked on a door, holding a black duffel bag.” I shake my head with a laugh.
“The confidence of this man. I thought they’d shoot him and us.
But he held up the bag, said there was double the amount they’d asked for and demanded they release us.
He said he’d destroy them all if they didn’t deliver.
They were terrified; they pushed us out the door, and we escaped. ”
She lets out a low whistle. “Who is this Liam?”
I smile softly. “Liam Hawthorne.”
Her eyes narrow as she thinks. “Wasn’t he the thief who found a treasure in Scotland?”
Of course she would have been interested in that finding. I nod. “He’s a good guy.”
“He’s really hot,” she muses, a smile touching her lips.
I chuckle. “I’m slightly offended, but I’ve heard his wife thinks so too.”
“He’s married? Dang it.” Her eyes flash wickedly before softening, becoming vulnerable. “So, what happened after that?”
“Liam made us promise not to mention him, to say we escaped ourselves. It was he who finally got the evidence on my father to get him arrested.”
“That’s… wow.”
“That’s why I couldn’t tell you. Liam was on the run for a crime he didn’t commit. He swore us to secrecy and then recruited me to help him. But I also knew I couldn’t make you promises right then. My parents went away, and Rosie still had two more years of high school. She was my responsibility.”
Maya’s eyes are focused on something over my shoulder as she nods absently. “What about now? Do you still have to protect her?”
I haven’t had to save Rosie from anyone except herself since then.
The other threats that have faced us have been easily dispelled.
Rosie has taken down countless criminals with the click of a button.
She… doesn’t need me at all. That realization feels scary, but at the same time, a small weight lifts off my chest.
Maya shivers and tucks her arms around herself. “Now I feel bad for being mad at you. You should have told me. I would have stayed. Heaven knows you probably needed all the support you could get.”
I should have told her; she deserved the truth. But she was going places, and I refused to hold her back. Instead, I shut out all forms of help. I didn’t know who to trust, so I didn’t trust anyone except Rosie and Liam. I still haven’t allowed anyone else inside. Maybe it’s time I do.
“You still work for this Liam guy?” Maya asks.
I clamp my lips together.
“I’ll take that as a yes. And you are here for him?”
I nod before realizing I’ve just confirmed her first question. “He finds people who have been stolen from and sets things right.”
“Ironic for a thief,” she muses.
“That’s what makes him good at it.”
“And if you don’t get the painting?” she asks, pursing her lips.
I shrug. “I don’t know; I’ve never failed before.”
“You got awfully close this time.”
I got much more than I bargained for with this job, but it doesn’t feel like a failure.
Not after this. I round the popcorn stand, trapping her in the small space behind it.
“Do you have any more questions for me?” My voice has dipped lower.
Now that I’ve confessed, I find I want to admit more.
Anything she wants to know, I’ll tell her.
Her eyes dart between mine, indecision in those beautiful irises. “I think you just about covered it.” She tries to step around me, but I snatch her hand, pulling her into my chest. She looks up at me, lips parted, and no garlic on her breath.
“Maybe there’s more I want to tell you.”
She chews on her bottom lip, her eyes blinking rapidly. “Maybe I’m not ready to hear it.”
“Afraid?”
“Terrified.”
That word, so raw and honest, has me leaning to close the distance and show her it's okay. This time I’ll protect her heart. That I want this.
I hesitate. Do I really want this?
I look at those eyes once more.
Without a doubt, I want her and a life that comes with her. I don’t know how that would look, how it would work, but I want to try. I grab the back of her head and—
Ding dong!