Chapter 4
Tammy
The floor in Vince's office opened like the building had been holding its breath for years.
Damian wanted me behind him.
I could feel it in the way his arm hovered near my waist, in the way his body angled toward the dark opening as soon as Vince pulled the hidden latch. But he did not push me back. He did not bark an order. He looked at me once, jaw set, and stepped down first.
I followed.
The stairwell smelled like dust, old liquor, and secrets that had gone bad.
At the bottom was a room that should not have been under a lounge. Concrete walls. Metal shelves. Filing cabinets. A table with a rusted lamp. Boxes labeled in black marker.
KING.
VEGA.
brOOKS.
My name on a box in a hidden room under Valentino's made my skin turn cold.
"Tammy," Damian said.
"I see it."
Rico did not move toward the Vega box. He stared at it like it might bleed if he touched it.
Tone whispered, "This is some movie mess."
No one told him he was wrong.
I opened the Brooks box because fear was not going to do it for me.
Inside were photographs.
My mother Evelyn, younger than I remembered her, standing beside a woman with a red scarf and eyes that looked too much like mine.
Another photo showed Elaine, polished and smiling, one arm around Evelyn's shoulders.
A third had Damian's father in the background, face half turned away, like even the camera knew not to trust him.
Under the photos was half a birth certificate.
My hand stopped.
Female child.
Mother: Savannah Vega.
Father: blacked out.
Name: Savannah Elaine -
The rest was cut away.
"No," I whispered.
Damian was beside me immediately. "Tammy."
"Don't."
Not because I did not want him near me.
Because if he touched me too softly, I might break before I understood what was happening.
Vince stood near the stairs shaking so badly the keys in his hand made noise.
"Karl left something," he said. "He told me if anything happened, give it to Tammy. I didn't know who Tammy was until tonight."
Damian turned on him.
"Where?"
Vince opened a drawer and pulled out a brown envelope.
My name was written across it.
Not typed.
Written.
Tammy Brooks.
Inside was a flash drive, another photograph, and a letter from Karl.
I unfolded it with hands I refused to let shake.
Tammy,
If you're reading this, I failed to move fast enough. Damian is going to want to burn everything down. Make him listen first. This is about Savannah, Elaine, Malcolm King, and a girl they were never supposed to find. I think that girl is you.
There is more under Valentino's, but the queen matters most.
Trust Rico with Savannah's name.
Trust Damian with your life.
Do not trust anyone who says Bishop is dead.
Karl.
I read it twice.
Then I looked at Damian.
He looked like the room had put a gun in his hand without touching him.
On the table, tucked in a black velvet pouch, was another chess piece.
A gold queen.
I picked it up.
The note beneath it read:
If the queen is still standing, the king has already lied.
A woman appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
Silver dress. Red mouth. Eyes that had seen too much.
"You shouldn't be down here," she said.
Damian lifted his gun.
She raised both hands.
"I'm Lena. I work upstairs."
Rico looked at her. "How long you know about this room?"
"Long enough to know people disappear after asking questions."
Her eyes moved to me.
"You're the lost girl."
My throat went dry.
"Do not call me that."
Lena's face softened with something close to pity. I hated it.
"Bishop has been waiting on you longer than you know."
Sirens sounded outside.
Vince cursed.
Damian grabbed the Brooks box, the queen, and the flash drive. Rico grabbed the Vega box. Tone moved to the stairs.
I did not move at first.
I stared at the half birth certificate until Damian stepped in front of me.
"Tammy."
This time, I let him take my hand.
Because whatever that room had opened, I was not walking out of it alone.