Promises

by Aleatha Romig

  Both men shook their heads. “No. This is still small. We’ve narrowed it down to around fifteen drivers,” man number one said.

  “Fifteen drivers who have over twenty stops—twenty different warehouses or distribution centers that they service,” the second man said.

  “Get me the list of the companies where they deliver or pick up.”

  “We have a partial one,” the first man said, looking again at his phone.

  My computer dinged as his list came through.

  As I scrolled the list of diverse companies, one jumped off the screen at me.

  Sinful Threads.

  Fuck.

  “And you said the management at these warehouses are aware of what’s happening?”

  Both men nodded again; number two spoke. “Yes. They’re aware because they have to make excuses for the number discrepancies. Allowing their company to be used also gets them a cut. I’d venture to guess some are making more on this than they receive in their paychecks.”

  “Sometimes they even need to adjust security footage,” man number one said.

  We’d been too concerned over Araneae’s safety and the evidence she was supposed to possess that we’d allowed the problems that brought her to Chicago to go unchecked. I’d paid Franco Francesca to alter the quantities of merchandise for Sinful Threads for the reason of luring her here. We had no idea that the continued issues, number discrepancies, and blips on the security footage were part of a bigger picture.

  “We’re closing this down. I want word on the street that no one starts their own operation on my streets and gets away with it. I also want the leaders to know the Denver cartel has my approval. We’ll get the maps squared away. Give everyone their space and hopefully keep the casualties to a minimum.”

  No, I wasn’t saving the city from drugs. I wasn’t a crusader for good. I was regulating the drugs and the markets. I was profiting off of people’s addictions. I would shed blood to keep the lines of sales and distribution clear. I’d also order the shedding of blood to make my point. I would shut down the operation within the trucking contractors. For most of the businesses, I didn’t give a fuck.

  There was one company that I did.

  I had no doubt that Franco Francesca’s hands were dirty, that he was involved.

  The trick was making him pay without it hurting Sinful Threads.

  We needed to find out how deep it was in Sinful Threads.

  Now.

  Araneae

  Monday afternoon, I sat with my hand in Sterling’s alongside Patrick, Reid, and Lorna as we gathered around a ridiculously large television, waiting for Senator McFadden’s presidential announcement. We weren’t in our apartment. Sterling still had his rules about who could be invited into that space. Instead, we were in a large living-room-type room on the floor that Sterling, Reid, and Patrick referred to as two. We’d been escorted with optimum secrecy, only being shown the room where we were. It was something out of a spy movie, but since we were able to be joined by others, the small accommodation was worth it.

  I also decided that I’d hold onto the blindfold I’d worn to get here, for future use. When I mentioned that to the possessive man at my side, I was met with a sexy gleam to his dark eyes.

  Yes, that did the twisty-turny thing to my insides.

  I smiled at our guests. This truly was a day we all made possible.

  The information regarding McFadden’s presidential announcement had been leaked to the press on purpose by his camp, wanting full exposure. As a senator from Illinois, more specifically from Chicago, his declaration was to come with Millennium Park as the backdrop. Part of me wanted to be there in person, to watch the scene unfold, but not surprisingly, Sterling didn’t approve.

  Something about safety.

  He said that so often, it was difficult to recall each particular time.

  He was right.

  Here in our glass tower we were safe from the fallout.

  Those of us in the room were the only ones who knew what was coming. We’d all helped.

  * * *

  Two days before~

  * * *

  With Patrick guarding Jana’s outer office, Sterling and I waited impatiently within my office at Sinful Threads. The Saturday sky beyond the windows was crystal blue as South Wacker Street and the canal below at street level was filled with people on this last official weekend of summer.

  Sterling reached for my hand. “Last chance, sunshine. Are you confident this is what you want to do?”

  Pulling my lip from between my teeth, I nodded. “It is. When I called her, she said she wanted to see me again. I think it’s time to be completely open with her.”

  Sterling’s expression told me he wasn’t confident in my plan. It wasn’t just his expression but the tension radiating from him, emitting in waves like the infrared barrier that I imagined hid our safe world ninety-seven stories in the air.

  “Involving her is a risk.”

  “It is,” I admitted. “I guess after losing Josey and hearing Lucy’s confession, I want to know where exactly Annabelle and I stand. You are right about me. I do trust people. I’ve trusted you and look where it’s brought me. I can’t allow myself to cut Annabelle out of my life simply because I’ve lost other mothers. I want to lay it all out on the line and then either we go it together as mother and daughter or I move on with...” I lifted my hand to Sterling’s chest, feeling the rhythm of his heart beneath his well-fitting t-shirt. “...our family.”

  His eyes widened. “Our family?”

  “Don’t jump to conclusions,” I said with a laugh. “I mean you, Patrick, Reid, and Lorna. We’re a family and I’m good with it.”

  “With all the baby talk with Louisa,” Sterling said, “you had me concerned.”

  “Well, Kennedy is adorable, but those contractions didn’t look fun. And Mr. Know-It-All, you’re the one who knew I had the birth control insert before our first time. Nothing has changed.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong.” He cupped my cheek. “Everything has changed since I brought you into this world and my life.”

  Our lips came together as the room around us disappeared. No longer were the windows filled with sunshine on my radar. All that mattered was that the most powerful, handsomest man I had ever known was supporting me, loving me, and making me feel complete.

  He’d told me about the heroin ring using small businesses. While the term small in association with Sinful Threads made me bristle, I understood that in comparison to a conglomerate like Sparrow Enterprises it was small. I also understood why Agent Hunter had believed that Sinful Threads was being used in an illegal operation. Apparently, it was. It wasn’t Sterling’s doing. It wasn’t even Franco’s doing, though it was clear he was a willing participant. Unfortunately, so was Vanessa, the second-shift manager at the distribution center.

  With operations at a current standstill, we had more pressing concerns. However, neither of those individuals would be reporting back to Sinful Threads. All of the employees would be vetted and either released or retained. With Patrick’s help, I would clean up the Chicago workings of Sinful Threads.

  My smile grew as our kiss ended and I stared up into Sterling’s darkened gaze. “I can see you’re worried.”

  “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “You keep telling me that I’m safe.”

  “It’s your heart. I think if Annabelle disagrees with your plan, it will hurt you here.” His hand fell over my breasts.

  “Are you sure you don’t just want to touch my breasts?”

  His scowl morphed before my eyes, bringing out his sexy smile. “I most definitely like touching your breasts. I’ll take any excuse.”

  I shook my head. “My heart has been hurt before. Just promise me it won’t be hurt by you and I think I’ll be all right.”

  “That is a promise I will keep forever.”

  We both turned at the sound of Patrick greeting my mother. I took a deep breath.

  �
�Do you want to talk to her alone?” Sterling asked.

  “No, I want you beside me.”

  He simply nodded, his features stalled somewhere between granite and the smile he’d just given me.

  I opened the door to the front office. “Hello. Thank you for coming.”

  “You called, Araneae. I hope you’ll do that more often.”

  “I’d like that,” I said, gesturing toward my office.

  “Maybe in less formal settings,” she said.

  “Judge Landers,” Sterling said in greeting as he offered his hand.

  As they shook, my mother smiled. “This truly is a whole new world for me, Mr. Sparrow.”

  “For all of us,” he said. “Please, you’re Araneae’s mother. Call me Sterling, if you’d like.”

  “Sterling, please call me Annabelle.”

  Sterling nodded and gestured toward the small conference table. “Annabelle, Araneae, I believe we have a few things to discuss.”

  I took a deep breath and turned to Annabelle. “Mother...” I liked using the title. “...I’d like to share with you how we got to where we are today. I knew nothing about you, my birth father, or the world you inhabited.”

  Annabelle nodded. “I should tell you that I didn’t know much about this world when I was younger. I was willingly naïve even while living within it.” She sat in the chair to my right as Sterling sat in the one to my left, leaving me at the head of the table. “For years, I tried not to be a part.”

  “This is all new to me too,” I said, “but it’s important that I share with you what I’ve learned. Apparently, there have been rumors about me since my birth.”

  “Araneae, I never believed them. I’ve told Rubio, your uncle, for years that they were all false, only stories of lore, such as fables told between old men.”

  I shook my head. “They’re all true.”

  Annabelle sat back as her light brown eyes opened wide and her lips formed a straight line. “W-what do you mean? Did you find something?”

  I looked to Sterling and back to my mother. “Yes. With Sterling’s help, we’ve uncovered everything that has led us to here.”

  Her gaze narrowed toward Sterling.

  “Mother,” I said, bringing her eyes back to me, “I realize there has been bad blood between the Sparrows, McCries, and McFaddens.”

  “One could say that.”

  “I’m going to be straightforward with you. I promise everything I say has been verified. Will you believe me?”

  She inhaled and exhaled. “I want to.”

  “I will probably tell you things you don’t want to believe, yet through all of this, I’ve asked one thing of Sterling.” I turned back to him. “I asked him to be honest with me.” I turned back to Annabelle. “My entire life has been covered in secrets and lies. He has kept that promise. Despite the fact that some of what he told me was hard to hear, through it all, he’s been beside me.”

  She exhaled. “I do know some things. Let’s see how what you have been told compares to what I remember.”

  “It isn’t all stories of lore, Mother. The other day after talking to you, we found the evidence my father hid.”

  Her head shook. “No, that’s not possible. It doesn’t exist.”

  I reached out until our hands touched. “Mom, until a month ago, you didn’t think I existed.”

  She twisted her hand until we were palm to palm and held mine. “I never wanted to believe the evidence was real. I wanted to think that Daniel would have been honest with Rubio and Allister.”

  “He was,” Sterling added. “He gave each man a copy of the evidence against their own organization. He proved he had it.”

  “But you just said—”

  I interrupted, “We found the copies he hid.”

  “Evidence against Sparrow and McFadden,” Sterling added.

  “And you’re sure of what it contains?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Sterling answered. “I have a man who excels at uncovering hidden data. If it has anything to do with technology, he can crack it.”

  Annabelle nodded. “You wanted me to know this why?”

  “Because, Mother, I need your help. I’d like your advice.”

  Tears came to her eyes as her cheeks rose. “This is...I can’t find words.”

  “Judge—Annabelle,” Sterling said, correcting his greeting, “as I’m certain you’re aware, this fabled evidence has the potential for mass casualties. While my father, not I, was guilty of the crimes uncovered, it will still reflect upon Sparrow and Sparrow Enterprises. As for Rubio, he was in charge twenty-six years ago. This is a direct connection. A direct hit with a Tomahawk missile—deadly accurate.”

  “What are you asking me? Do you want me to approve this obliteration of his world, my world, while leaving yours intact?”

  Araneae

  “No,” I said, “Sterling wants all the information against both men disseminated.”

  Her light brown eyes went to Sterling. “Why would you want that?”

  “It’s a very long story, Judge Landers. When I took over in this world, I continued many of my father’s practices. One I immediately shut down included the use, trafficking, and exploitation of children.” His head shook. “I was shown that world by my father when I was still quite young. I also had a very good friend who believed he lost his sister to one of the Chicago rings. I do bad things. I won’t lie to you or Araneae. However, when it comes to children, I draw the line.”

  “You’re certain that this is the evidence Daniel hid?”

  I nodded.

  Her complexion paled. “And you’re saying Rubio is still involved?”

  “That’s more difficult to prove,” Sterling answered. “He was involved. We have proof. The reason I want all the evidence brought forward is for the victims and their families. Maybe it will help one or more reunite or bring closure.”

  Again, there were tears in my mother’s eyes. “Daniel had told me a little bit about it. I wouldn’t listen. I didn’t want to know.” She turned to me. “How did you find it? You told me that you were raised by good people and at sixteen you were on your own. How then do you have this evidence?”

  I lifted my wrist, the one with the old charm bracelet. “The key is now gone,” I said. “After talking to you, we started putting the clues together. You said my father was calmer after going to the church in Cambridge where you were married. You said he came back with the bracelet. The evidence was hidden at the church where you and my father married. The key that was previously on this bracelet opened a lockbox he’d given to the minister to keep.”

  She covered her lips with the tips of her fingers. “The picture in the locket.”

  “Yes,” I said, “it was the clue to the location.”

  “Daniel asked me years later where the bracelet had gone. I told him I’d given it to the nurse at the hospital to be buried with you.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know how Josey got it. I remember that she wore it all the time. When she took me to the airport ten years ago, she gave it to me. I kept it because it was hers.” I lifted my eyes from the gold charms back to Annabelle. “And now I know it was yours too. It’s very special to me.

  “Through the years, since Sterling ended Sparrow’s involvement in the business of child trafficking, he has worked to help victims of it. I know this because I’ve met some of them.”

  Annabelle looked between Sterling and me. “Why do you feel so strongly about this?”

  “I was thirteen,” Sterling began, “the first time I saw photos of the victims. I wasn’t that far off from the ages of some of those on my father’s computer. I knew in my gut that if some of the men who worked for my father had their way, it could be me on the screen. The only thing that saved me was my last name. To be honest, we have reason to believe that this ring was why Araneae was hidden from you. We can’t confirm it, but we have made the assumption that Daniel hid her from Rubio for her own protection.”

  “From Rubio?”

&
nbsp; “Like I said the other day, when I was thirteen,” Sterling went on, “my father showed me Araneae’s picture. He said Daniel owed him and if I proved myself, one day I could have her. Since that day, I knew she was meant for me. Each year until she was sixteen, he received new pictures and showed them to me.”

  Annabelle’s head shook. “I still can’t believe that your father knew she was alive.” Her lips pursed before her eyes opened wide and she went on, “Oh my, the way you pronounce her name. Did you hear it from Allister?”

  “I did,” he answered.

  “You say it differently,” I said to my mother.

  “I do. Before you were born, I proposed the name to Daniel. He agreed if he could alter the pronunciation. I consented, but in my head, I always pronounced it like the spider. I thought it made you strong.” Her lips curled upward. “And you are.” She straightened her posture. “Rubio and Pauline are my family.” She looked at me. “Your family. Rubio has been supportive of me since Daniel died.”

  “He didn’t die,” Sterling said matter-of-factly. “He was killed by Rubio, maybe not by his hands.”

  Though she didn’t verbally respond to Sterling’s proclamation, Annabelle’s complexion paled even further, her breathing grew shallow, and her now-glassy gaze stayed fixed on him.

  “My father had Araneae’s coffin exhumed,” Sterling continued, “and reported that it was her inside. My father was irate. I don’t know if he was lied to or he simply lied for his own reasons.” He turned to me. “As I told you, I have the DNA proof. This is your daughter. Anyway, we believe that Daniel reminded Rubio about the hidden evidence. Rubio thought Araneae had been confirmed dead and knew you thought the same. The only other person to hinder his political ambitions, the only one with access to the hidden evidence was Daniel.”

  “There’s something else,” I said, standing and walking to my desk. After gathering the two envelopes from the lockbox, I returned to the table. “My father also left these in the lockbox.”

  For a moment, Annabelle simply stared at the envelopes, her head slowly shaking. “That’s my husband’s handwriting.” She looked up. “This is all so difficult to face.” She took a deep breath and looked down again at the envelopes. “What do they contain?”