Chapter 25
Nina
“Why?” The blanket and teddy bear, I named him Eddy, were the only connection I had to my past, and now that I knew they were from my biological parents, I wouldn’t part with them.
“They may hold a clue,” he said.
“What’d you find?” Austin asked.
“You’re losing your edge, Winchester.” Ryan spread out his arms, indicating the crowd in the room.
“We can trust them,” Austin said.
They argued like the rest of us weren’t in the room.
“Maybe, but it isn’t always about trust,” Ryan sounded annoyed.
“Everyone but John and Nina, clear the room,” Austin ordered.
The guys from SSI stood but didn’t move towards the door until John said, “Go, I’ve got it.”
Got what? What the hell is going on?
After the door closed, Austin ordered Ryan to talk.
Ryan inhaled and held his breath for a second before saying, “I accessed an old audio file. In the transcript, the speaker references the Singers talking about a treasure.”
“Did they give details?” Austin asked.
A treasure? This can’t be real. My birth parents were fucking CIA officers who talked about a treasure. My life suddenly sounded like a bad movie plot.
When Ryan didn’t answer, Austin told him to spill it.
“Your call.” Ryan stared at John and me for a second before reluctantly filling us in.
“The speaker references a conversation he had with the Singers during their last case. From what I heard, he was trying to incriminate them; he asked about them using their child to smuggle information. But there was curiosity in his tone, too.”
I smuggled information? I fell back into my seat as my knees gave out.
Austin held his hand up, causing Ryan to shut up.
“Are you okay?” Austin asked as he sank to a knee in front of me.
I laughed. An ugly, loud, cackling laugh that signalled I’d lost my mind.
“I have to be fucking dreaming.” I didn’t swear in public often, but the situation called for it.
Austin’s lips lifted in what I think was a smile, but it disappeared before fully forming.
“I’m sure it feels like it, but this is real.”
It couldn’t be, so I pinched myself to check.
“Nina.” Austin set one large, warm, comforting hand on my shoulder. “You’re awake, and this is real.”
I shook my head, wanting reality to disappear. “I can’t do this.”
“It’s okay, we’re done for today,” Austin said, standing. “If you’re willing, we’d like to see your blanket and teddy bear.”
If I gave them the only two things I had from my parents, would I ever see them again? What would they do to them? Could I risk Austin and Ryan destroying the only ties to my past?
But I wanted answers and maybe, just maybe, they contained some hidden code or something that would give us the answers we needed.
“Fine, but you can’t take them out of the bags.” I’d stored them in sealed plastic bags because they’d started falling apart when I was in high school.
Most people wouldn’t care about saving an old, worn baby blanket or a ratty old teddy bear with a missing eye and half a mouth, but they were all I had from my life before the Novaks.
They’re the only connection I have to the people who gave me away. To my parents.
“Can we examine them if we promise to wear gloves and not harm them?” Austin asked.
No! My heart skipped double time and went straight into beating at triple time.
They were all I had. I couldn’t risk anything happening to them.
But what if…
I swallowed my fear and wiped my eyes.
What if?
My voice stuttered, “You swear you won’t do anything except look at them.”
“I swear.” Austin dragged his finger across his heart twice to form a cross.
After John drove me to Grannie’s to get my car, he and Austin followed me home.
They waited while I went inside to get the blanket and Eddy.
Using a step stool, I reached for the plastic container on the top shelf.
Only two things were inside: the sealed plastic bags protecting the most precious things I owned.
The only evidence I had of my life prior to living with the Novaks.
Nana Sue was napping, so I snuck back outside with her being none the wiser.
“Promise me,” I said before handing it to Austin.
“I promise.”
I wanted to believe him, but when he tried to take the bin, my hands refused to let go.
Austin stared deep into my eyes for a heartbeat before saying, “Nina, I promise I won’t let anything happen to them.”
This time I believed him.
I released the bin, and the breath I’d been holding.
“Thank you. I’ll return them to you as soon as we’re finished.”
John signaled for someone to come over. “Nina, this is Sammie.”
“We’ve met,” Sammie said, holding out her hand. “Or have you forgotten I’m a regular at Grannie’s?”
She was, and Mary had introduced us ages ago.
“Caramel macchiato with extra whip.”
“See,” Sammie said.
“My apologies.” John laughed. “Sammie will be the one watching over the house tonight. Matt will come back in the morning to drive you to work.”
“I can’t drive?”
“You can, but it’s easier for us to protect you if you’re in the same car.”
Protect me. Unable to stop myself, I looked up and down the street.
Bushes I’d never given a second thought to now seemed threatening.
Every neighbor now seemed suspicious.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Sammie said, handing me a business card. “Here’s my cell number. Add it to your contacts. You can call anytime, no matter how late, if you need anything.”
“Should I give you mine?” I asked.
“John already did,” Sammie admitted before adding, “I’ll only call if it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Is there anything we can do for you before we leave?” John asked.
You can promise me that I’ll be safe.
You can promise me that you’ll find out the truth about my parents.
You can make all this disappear so I can go back to my normal, boring life.
But I couldn’t say any of that. John had already promised to help find answers, so it wouldn’t do me any good to keep asking for things he couldn’t provide.
So I shook my head as I stared at my empty hands and said, “No.”
I wish my parents, the ones who’d raised me, were still alive. I desperately need a hug.