The Child Thief 4: Little Lies

by Bella Forrest

Unfortunately, she was running into a solid six-foot wall of scowling sandy-haired twins.

  She looked up at the two of them. “Excuse me,” she said politely, “but we’ve got orders to take Ms. Kay back to the hospital for rest.”

  “And I say you’re not taking her anywhere,” Ant said, his voice flat. Then he changed abruptly to a more wheedling tone. “Not yet. Surely you can leave her with us for a little bit longer? Please?”

  The orderly frowned, though, and shook her head. “I’m afraid she really can’t stay. I’m not sure how much she’s told you, but she does need to be under constant observation in the event of any negative developments. It’s why we only let her come to the party for an hour, and why we’ve been watching from the side of the room. If she’d shown any signs of exhaustion or pain, we would have retrieved her immediately and you wouldn’t even have had this much time with her.”

  I watched Ant’s face soften into a pout, and realized the orderly had seen it too, when she kept talking.

  “I assume you know she was in a fairly serious accident, correct? I’m not sure you understand the full extent of the damage, and the danger she could be in. Internal bruising may not sound particularly serious, but unless she is kept under observation, with bedrest and medication, we run the risk of something critical happening, and being missed. Hematomas. Blood clots. Excess fluid putting pressure on any number of organs.” She glared at both twins, though her face softened somewhat on Ant’s. “I know you want to keep her a bit longer, but it’s just not safe. If you want what’s best for her, you’ll let us take her back to the hospital ward before anything goes wrong.”

  I glanced up at Ant. He had gone pale, almost green, and Abe, who stood barely six inches behind him, didn’t look much better. A quick look at Jackie told me the orderly had her complete approval. She might not like the idea of returning to the hospital, but she understood the necessity.

  “Looks like it’s better if we let her go, Ant,” I said, forcing resignation into my voice. “The orderlies are right. She’s got to get her rest if she’s going to recover, and no matter how much we promise she will rest if she comes with us, I think we all know that it won’t happen. We do want her to heal rather than get worse, right?”

  He threw me a glance that was half frustration and half relief, and then slid sideways, around the side of the chair, and dropped to his knees next to her. The second orderly kindly moved aside.

  “You promise me you’ll sleep,” he said, putting his hand up to her cheek and brushing it gently. “I’m only letting you go because you’ll get more rest in that hospital than you will with me.”

  He grinned, and Jackie laughed, but it was a weak, rasping sound. Ant drew her closer and held her to his chest for a moment, his eyes closed. I saw one tear snake its way down his cheek.

  She was going to be fine. I knew it in my heart, and she’d already told me so. That didn’t mean Ant wasn’t scared out of his mind about her.

  At that moment, I crossed him off the list of people I’d want to take on our first Little John mission. He was valuable as a team member, but we weren’t going to be able to count on him until Jackie was back and he could get his mind on his job again.

  Which meant two members of our team were sidelined for the time being.

  I just hoped they were back before we were assigned to anything really important.

  When we got back up to our rooms, I pulled Alexy aside.

  “That thing with Nathan at the end there,” I said, keeping my voice low. “Do you think it will have anything to do with us? What are we supposed to do next?”

  “Wait here until I get back with more information,” Alexy said. Then she glanced at her watch and shook her head once. “Of course, I can’t go down there yet. If he’s in a meeting with Corona, it’ll be ages before they’re done, which means ages before he’s ready to pass any orders along.”

  Ah, yes, Corona. The only solidly good news tonight was the definite confirmation that she had survived. I had a feeling Little John needed her if it was going to keep on ticking.

  “Who exactly is Corona?” I asked, jumping right to one of the questions we’d had when we met her. “What is she to Little John? To Nathan?”

  Alexy gave me a wide-eyed, shocked stare, then looked at Jace. “You didn’t tell them?”

  “Tell them what?” he asked, confused.

  That only increased her confusion. “You mean you didn’t know? And here I thought you were part of the inside crew!”

  “Quit being vague, Alexy,” I interrupted. “Do you have an answer or not?”

  She gave me an insolent moue at that. “I assumed you all knew. Corona’s his wife.”

  That statement dropped into dead silence, and I didn’t think I was the only one to experience a dramatic screeching of brakes in my head, followed by a rapid re-sorting of the information I had at my fingertips. His wife? I’d assumed she was part of Little John’s leadership, but I didn’t realize she was that close to the top.

  Alexy watched our confusion with amusement. “Why do you think I said she was his equal in all of this? She helped him start Little John, for goodness’ sake, and nearly everything you see out there is her brainchild just as much as it is his. She’s a full partner in power here. He’s the charm, no mistake, and he’s smart as a whip, but she’s got brains in a whole different direction than he does. More shrewd and direct, if you get my drift. I don’t think he ever would have done anything if he hadn’t had her behind him.”

  “Pushing him?” I asked. “Or just supporting him?”

  Alexy shrugged. “Both, I’m guessing. I’d say they were a good match from the start. She had ideas she couldn’t necessarily see to fruition, then met a man, a rich man, who agreed with her. Of course, that’s what led to the trouble, in the end. That’s how she wound up living on the outside by herself.”

  Ah. The part of Nathan’s speech where he’d been somewhat less than forthcoming.

  “What happened?” I asked. “How did she end up on the outside by herself, waiting around for us as our escape route, rather than in a safe place with him? And while we’re at it, what the hell happened to her when she was supposed to get us out of Samsfield?”

  I could see the rest of my team leaning in. It had been a question we’d been asking ourselves since it happened. Corona had been our safety net. And she’d failed at it. We’d actually thought she might be dead when she didn’t show up in the designated time and place.

  Alexy shook her head, though. “Most of that isn’t my story to tell. When Corona, or Nathan, wants you to know, they’ll tell you themselves. As for what happened to her in Samsfield, I have no idea. I wasn’t a part of that rescue. I can tell you, though, that she’ll be the one handling you guys moving forward. Nathan gave her first pick of the new recruits to train. She chose you.”

  I grinned and glanced over at Jace, who was also grinning like a little kid who’d just tasted chocolate for the first time.

  “What are we going to be training for?” he asked. “I think I speak for everyone when I say I’d like to know what’s coming next. It would be a refreshing change.”

  Kory, Nelson, Abe, Ant, and I all nodded. Being able to plan in advance for something sounded delightful.

  Alexy’s answer, though, brought me up short.

  “The holding centers,” she said. “It’s where we all start. That’s the entry level for working with Little John.”

  “The holding centers?” Ant repeated. “Isn’t that… sort of, I don’t know, dangerous, considering who runs them? What on earth are we going to do there?”

  “You’ll be—” She held a hand to her ear, listened for a moment, and then shook her head. “Sorry guys, I’ve been summoned. Got to run. I’ll be back later, if I have more information for you. Until then.”

  Jace’s hand snaked out and yanked her toward him before she could move another step.

  “And what about Rhea?” he asked, his voice intense. “You promised she would
be here. You promised I’d get to see her soon. We’ve been here nearly two days, and no one has given me even a hint of where she is or when I can see her. I’m starting to doubt she’s here at all.”

  She gave him a solemn look. “I know, and I’m sorry. Though I can assure you she’s safe. Nathan’s not going to keep you waiting much longer, I promise.”

  She turned and darted back down the hall before he could respond, leaving us to our own devices for the rest of the night.

  Jace growled at the back of his throat, watching her go.

  “Well, if it means she’s finding out what we’re doing tomorrow, I’m all for her running out on us,” Nelson said. “This place feels too glossy and beautiful to be real, and I’m still waiting for the catch. Something tells me we’re going to find out what the downside is the moment they tell us where they’re sending us first.”

  I remained silent. My mind was still caught on the idea that we were going to be going to the holding centers.

  That was where they’d sent Hope when they took her from me. My heart jumped into a staccato rhythm at the idea that I might have just taken an enormous leap toward figuring out what had happened to her.

  14

  I woke up the next morning, showered, and stumbled out of my room in search of breakfast, only to find Jace and Cloyd, whom I hadn’t seen for some time, in the middle of an intense-looking discussion in the corridor.

  The moment I stepped through the door, however, they both stopped and stared at me—Cloyd with a mixture of anger and frustration, and Jace with a mixture of frustration and relief.

  Whatever they’d been talking about, I was glad I’d missed it.

  “Morning, Cloyd,” I said, forcing cheer into my voice. “Long time no see. We haven’t see you since…” I thought about it, frowning, and finally came up with the last time I’d seen his happy visage. “The afternoon before we ran the mission at the jail, wasn’t it?”

  Then I took one look at Jace’s confused face, saw the ache etched beneath it, and all willingness to be cheerful toward Cloyd dissipated. He’d hurt Jace, and though I didn’t know how, I didn’t care.

  “Actually, that’s exactly the last time I saw you,” I continued, my voice growing cold. “Because you said you had something else you needed to take care of during the mission. We went into that jail and battled the Authority soldiers without you.” My eyebrows rose on the last word, and I cocked my head a bit, making my annoyance obvious.

  We’d gone in to rescue our friends, and Cloyd hadn’t been there. He’d been off somewhere safe, presumably with Nathan.

  “And you think I was what, sitting around in an easy chair in a coffee shop reading a book and drinking hot cocoa while you risked your lives?” he asked gruffly.

  I didn’t miss the passive-aggressive reference to the exact thing we’d left Allerra doing, and wondered what he had against the girl. More jealousy? It certainly matched what I already suspected of him.

  “I don’t know what you were doing. Obviously,” I said with a shrug. “I know where I was, and I know where the rest of our team was. You, on the other hand…” I let the statement drop off, inviting him to address my suspicions with the truth.

  “I was setting off the bombs that gave you your cover,” he said, his voice dropping to an even more dangerous level. “Who do you think was doing that, some random Joe off the street?”

  I stared at him. I’d never been under the impression that he liked me much, and I’d heard him badmouthing me to Jace once, but I’d never thought he actually disliked me. His tone right now was making me rapidly revise my opinion.

  “Don’t bother, Robin,” Jace said gently. “It’s not you he’s angry at. It’s me. I’ve been pushing him on where Rhea is, and like all the others, he’s been refusing to answer me.”

  Nelson emerged, and, looking from one to the other of them, swiftly caught on to the tension in the hallway. “Morning, boys. Cloyd, it’s been awhile. How do you two know each other, again? Shared history, wasn’t it?”

  “I’ve known him my entire life,” Jace answered, sounding overly calm. “He was only twelve when I was born, and he became an older brother to me and the other boys. Taught us how to hunt, the best places to swim, that sort of thing. Then we grew up and he became one of the leaders of our small compound. One of the people everyone else trusted. One of the people who were supposed to keep us safe.” He put extra emphasis on the last word.

  “And he didn’t do that?” I asked softly.

  Jace’s eyes were full of hurt, but he bit his lip and shook off the question.

  “It doesn’t matter,” he muttered. “Robin, Nelson, I assume you’re heading down to the kitchens. I’ll walk with you.”

  He turned on his heel and stalked away from Cloyd, refusing to listen to another word from the man, and Nelson and I hurried after him.

  Once we’d caught up, I slipped my hand into Jace’s and looked up at him. “What can I do?”

  He shook his head. “Be my rock. Just for a little bit.”

  I squared my shoulders. “Whatever you need,” I murmured.

  Jace evidently didn’t have anything else to say, though, and I wondered if that conversation with Cloyd had been more upsetting than Jace had let on. I threw Nelson a glance and threaded my arm through Jace’s.

  “Anyone seen Alexy yet this morning?” I asked, launching into the first topic I could think of.

  “Robin!” a voice screeched from behind us.

  I twisted around, wondering what the problem was now, and saw Gabby running at me down the hall, her face streaked with tears.

  I got my arms up just in time to catch her as she cannonballed into me, and then spun, trying desperately to keep us both on our feet with the sudden change of momentum. We finally came to a stop up against Jace’s chest, his arms wrapped around the two of us.

  I glanced up at him, more than somewhat amused at the embrace, and he quickly dropped his arms, blushing. He might have needed a hug, but I didn’t think this was the way he wanted it. I also didn’t think he wanted to include Gabby in any embrace between us.

  “Gabby, what’s going on?” I asked, wiping at one cheek, then the other, and adjusting her face so she had to look at me. “What happened? Is it someone in your family? Did someone get hurt?”

  “No!” she wailed. “It’s not them, it’s meeeeeeee!” The last word came out on a whine, and she buried her head in my shoulder and began to sob anew, her shoulders shaking and her cries growing even louder.

  Ignoring the fact that I was going to have to go back into my room and change my shirt now, I held her closer, trying to discern any words in the sobbing. Whatever had happened, it had either scared her or hurt her badly, although it didn’t sound like anyone was in immediate danger and it didn’t sound like anyone was physically hurt. I knew Gabby well enough to know she was pretty solid in an emergency situation, which meant if there was any danger, she would have been more likely to seek me out and let me know in a rational way.

  This had to be something a lot more personal.

  I quickly realized what. Robert had arrived at around the same time as Gabby, and she’d had enough time by now to seek him out and try to do something like discuss their relationship.

  Judging by her current behavior, it hadn’t gone well.

  I took a step back and ducked down to look into her eyes.

  “Jace, can you find some tissue for us?” I asked, wanting to get him away from the scene both for his own sake and Gabby’s. Once he was walking back toward his room, I tipped her chin up again so she was looking at me. “Gabby, deep breaths, please. I can’t help you if you’re not getting enough air to tell me what’s wrong.”

  She took several deep, hiccupping breaths, and finally nodded when she had herself somewhat under control.

  “Now, what’s happened?”

  She shook her head. “It’s me. I’m… Robin, I tried to talk to Robert about us, and whether there was anything between us, and it… and it�
�”

  I could see the tears starting again and shook her slightly to get her attention back. “And what? Did he hurt you? I’ll kill him if he hurt you.”

  And at that, I had my version of Gabby back. She narrowed her eyes, moving from deep despair to resolve, and her voice steadied.

  “He told me he was just… he was just…” She interrupted herself with an enormous sniff, and I counseled myself to patience. Yes, she was being incredibly dramatic. Yes, I wanted to get some breakfast, but Gabby was also a very important member of our team. No matter how hungry I was, I could spare her the time to hear her out.

  “He said you were too young, maybe?” I prompted her.

  Because if he’d said that, I was in utter agreement with him.

  She shook her head jerkily. “Nothing that honorable,” she said with a huff. “He said I’d already done everything I could do for him, and that he was finished with me.”

  “What?” I snapped, running quickly through the list of things she might have done for him which would encourage a statement like that. “Gabby, you didn’t… you didn’t do anything you wouldn’t be able to tell your mother about, did you?” I asked, trying for delicacy.

  They’d never met in person until they arrived at Edgewood, but there had been phone conversations involved. And if he’d laid one digital finger on her, I’d kill him with my bare hands.

  “Robin, I’m not stupid,” she said, her tone indicating quite clearly that she thought I was. “I just thought he actually—”

  “What exactly did he use you for, if you didn’t… you know…” Nelson asked, failing almost as badly as I had on the delicacy meter.

  Gabby shrugged. “He said he never really wanted a relationship with me. Said he’d only been talking to me because he’d known I could present his ideas to Robin—and she’d get them to Nelson. He said Nelson wasn’t taking as much input as she should be from people who hadn’t been on her team before. That she was being close-minded. He thought I could use Robin to get around it. That was all he cared about.”