The Child Thief 4: Little Lies

by Bella Forrest

  I motioned to the woman in red to follow us, waiting until their entire group was past me before I slid through the door.

  “Everyone still on the comms?” Nathan asked in my ear.

  Everyone confirmed that they were, and we began a quick and only somewhat careful march down the hallway. We’d managed to get the virus in before the system came back online, but I wondered nervously whether the cameras were working again yet.

  “What about the guards downstairs?” Jace asked, and I heard him shift Savannah’s body against his chest.

  That drew a long pause from Nathan, and I saw his hand go to his ear and fiddle with the comm as he changed to another channel.

  I narrowed my eyes, wondering who he was talking to.

  “Leave them as well,” he finally said. “Our team upstairs will take care of them.” He glanced back over his shoulder, and took us all in. “Our only goal now is getting out of this building alive. Move quickly. Look intimidating. Everyone stays together. Robin, keep the execs between the reception desk and our group. We’re going to make it, team.”

  And with that, he fell silent. When we finally got to the door that led into the reception area, Nathan reached up and slapped his hand down on the pad. It beeped, and a moment later the door slid open. Unlike when we arrived, the space now held a number of staff members, all milling around in a bubble of nervous conversation.

  I could see the final set of doors to the outside, to freedom. But we still had to get through reception, past the employees, and back to the airship, all without anyone calling the Ministry.

  41

  Nathan dropped back and ushered me—and my charges—forward before he went through the door.

  “Robin, you take the execs out first,” he said. He glanced at the woman in red, and the people behind her, and then added, “They’re the official priority of the mission now, and I want them to give us some cover from prying eyes. Once you’re through the doors, however, wait for us. I want to make sure we’re together on the way back to the airship. It’s where things may start to get a little tense.”

  I nodded, assessing the group of execs. Most of them, even the woman in red, appeared to be so fatigued they would follow wherever they were led. They seemed to have burned through their curiosity and suspicion in the computer room and hadn’t even asked why we were towing along Savannah and Ajax. With luck, they were too tired, overwhelmed, and intimidated by our Authority personas to consider speaking to any of the Ministry employees on our way through the reception area.

  “Follow me,” I said, keeping my tone stern. “You can rest during the journey to HQ.”

  I led the way out into the foyer, the group trailing along behind me, and Alexy bringing up the rear. To my relief, they fell into single file, giving the rest of the team an ideal blockade to hide behind. At the back, I knew Jace and Kory would be hustling along, our fallen team members held low and close, while Rio and Lux would no doubt come next, all of them shielded by people the Ministry employees would recognize. That left only Nelson, Gabby, and Nathan behind our group of executive shields.

  They would, I thought, be quite capable of answering any questions that might be thrown their way. They might even be able to distract any Ministry employees while the rest of us got out the front doors.

  I walked straight ahead, not bothering to talk to the exec next to me, a square, pasty-looking man with thick black hair and beard. As we passed the desk, I saw the same woman who had let us in looking right at us. Thankful for the concealing visor on my helmet, I gave her a nod.

  She nodded back before looking down at her computer again, a nervous pallor in her cheeks.

  Even if I hadn’t been wearing the helmet, I doubted she would have recognized me. She’d only had eyes for Nathan when we came in.

  Nathan. Oh damn. If he spoke to her, she’d recognize his voice in a heartbeat.

  “Relax, Robin, I can see your shoulders tensing up from here,” Jace breathed through the comm. “Just keep walking. Keep. Walking.”

  Keep walking. Keep walking. I pulled my shoulders back and forced my chest out, doing my best impression of an Authority soldier who had every right to be there, and allowed myself a brief glance to the side, at the Ministry employees.

  Every one of them was avoiding looking at us. Every one of them looked terrified of what we represented.

  We filed forward, our steps quick but steady, except for the occasional misstep by one of the execs, and before too long we were parallel with the receptionist’s desk. Then we were passing it. And then moving toward the doors that led outside. My hand lifted to push them open, holding them wide while the execs, Jace, Kory, Rio, and Lux marched through and descended the steps into the parking area.

  Then I was through, stepping clear of the doors as if it were a normal day, watching as Alexy held one open to allow Nathan, Nelson, and Gabby to exit before she stepped clear herself. The door closed behind her, and I finally released the breath I’d been holding, gasping in another one, my lungs desperate for more air.

  I breathed in the cold night sky, and the dampness that came after midnight, relieved to clear my body of the smoke and dry, filtered air. But I didn’t have time for more than that, because Nathan was already talking.

  “To the airship, quick as we can,” he said. “Those who can, support anyone who’s been wounded or is too tired to keep pace. We’re out of time here. Let’s move, team.”

  I was moving toward one of the execs, intent on helping, when Nelson stepped in my way, grabbed my arm, and started marching me forward after Nathan.

  “The execs can take care of themselves,” she muttered. “I need to talk to you.”

  “Okay,” I said, confused. “What’s going on?”

  “Two things,” she said. “Gabby told me something as we were coming out of the computer room, and though it doesn’t mean anything to me, she says it’ll mean something to you. She says the program Nathan was using to cover us while we were in there was called Pandora’s Box?” She stopped, waiting for me to fill her in, and I frowned.

  Pandora’s Box… It was the program Gabby had used as cover when she went into the OH+ website after the Ministry grabbed it, when we’d needed to know what they might have found, and to get access to lists of our own people. She’d said she’d gotten it from Robert.

  But Nathan had said he’d come up with it. As far as I knew, Robert hadn’t been part of Little John before… and he definitely wasn’t part of Nathan’s inner circle.

  Then how on earth had he come by Pandora’s Box, and why was he trying to pass it off as something he’d created?

  When I didn’t answer, Nelson huffed and continued, “Anyway, that’s not the biggest thing. Your name’s Sylvone, right?”

  “Eh?” I asked stupidly, too distracted to come up with anything more eloquent.

  “You said in the cave that your last name was Sylvone. At least, it’s the surname of the people who adopted you. Right?”

  “Right,” I muttered, trying to listen but also keep myself upright as we stumbled through the long grass of the final field, our eyes straining in the darkness. The airship was a huge dark shadow in front of us, and I was starting to realize that we’d done it. Not without loss and not without risk, but we’d done it.

  There was a long pause, and then Nelson said, “I told you back in the computer room that I got into the archives. I did a search of names. Yours and mine.”

  I turned to look at her slowly. It took a full thirty seconds for the words to sink in.

  The archives. Our names. The search Nelson and I had been carrying on ever since we’d met. Our legacies… Our babies.

  “And?” I croaked, hardly daring to breathe.

  “I’ve seen your file,” she said. “I know who your parents were. And… I know the names of the people who adopted Hope.”

  My legs wobbled, and I fell to my knees, my body refusing to stay upright.

  No matter how long I’d been hoping for it, I still wasn�
�t prepared for the words. Still wasn’t prepared for the way they punched me in the gut.

  Nelson put an arm around my shoulder, helped me up, and hastened me toward the airship, murmuring the entire time.

  “I’ve downloaded everything onto two drives,” she explained. “One for Little John and one for us.” Her grip on my shoulders tightened. “I found my baby too, and her adoption record. And there will be so many others on there. The babies my friends lost. Jackie’s younger sibling. Ant and Abe’s real parents. Alexy’s child. So many children. So many children we now have locations for. Children we might be able to rescue.”

  We were almost to the airship. I could see the lights inside, and the ramp stretching out to greet us. The engines were already humming, ready to take us away from this horror. But that seemed secondary now. Almost unreal in the face of what I’d just heard.

  My parents. Nelson knew the names of my parents, and where they’d lived when I was taken from them. With a little bit of time, I might be able to find them. I might be able to find my history, finally know where I’d come from.

  But more importantly, I was going to be able to find Hope—and bring her home.

  The world opened up in front of me at the thought.

  I knew I wouldn’t be able to just walk out on Edgewood. Not now that I’d seen behind the smoke and mirrors; there was no way Nathan and Corona would let me leave.

  But I was also beginning to see the bigger picture of what they were doing, and, if I knew anything, this was just the start of it. If the results of this mission gave us what we needed, it meant Little John was now effectively in control of the Ministry’s holding centers. There was a reason Nathan had started there.

  The next step, whatever it might be, had to be bigger and would most likely take us back out into the real world, in any case. A world that contained my child. My parents.

  We straggled into the airship and stumbled to our seats, trying to get buckled in before the vessel took off.

  We placed the executives in seats, strapping them in firmly. None resisted, too exhausted to even consider it. Savannah and Ajax were laid gently on two of the gurneys and strapped down.

  Then, the engines roaring beneath us, Nathan scanned the group and gave us a nod. I didn’t miss the fact that his eyes lingered on me slightly longer than on the rest.

  “Well done, team,” he said firmly. “We’ve just taken the first step on what will be a long journey. Though we escaped Smally safely, it won’t take long for important people to realize what we’ve done. We have a lengthy flight home, and I suggest you get some rest. Tomorrow, the real planning starts.”

  Tomorrow, the real planning starts. It was truer than he knew.

  I closed my eyes, each ache and pain and fear melting away, the sound of the engines fading, as I thought of only one thing.

  Hope.

  Ready for the next part of Robin and Jace’s story?

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for reading Little Lies. I hope you enjoyed it.

  Book 5 — Ghost Towns — is the penultimate book in the series, as we move toward the grand finale in Book 6!

  Ghost Towns releases December 31st, 2018.

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  Bella x

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  Read More by Bella Forrest

  THE CHILD THIEF

  The Child Thief (Book 1)

  Deep Shadows (Book 2)

  Thin Lines (Book 3)

  Little Lies (Book 4)

  Ghost Towns (Book 5)

  THE GENDER GAME

  (Action-adventure/dystopian. Completed series.)

  The Gender Game (Book 1)

  The Gender Secret (Book 2)

  The Gender Lie (Book 3)

  The Gender War (Book 4)

  The Gender Fall (Book 5)

  The Gender Plan (Book 6)

  The Gender End (Book 7)

  THE GIRL WHO DARED TO THINK

  (Action-adventure/dystopian. Completed series.)

  The Girl Who Dared to Think (Book 1)

  The Girl Who Dared to Stand (Book 2)

  The Girl Who Dared to Descend (Book 3)

  The Girl Who Dared to Rise (Book 4)

  The Girl Who Dared to Lead (Book 5)

  The Girl Who Dared to Endure (Book 6)

  The Girl Who Dared to Fight (Book 7)

  HARLEY MERLIN

  (New fantasy/romance/supernatural series.)

  Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven (Book 1)

  Harley Merlin and the Mystery Twins (Book 2)

  Harley Merlin and the Stolen Magicals (Book 3)

  Harley Merlin and the First Ritual (Book 4) (Releasing November 30th, 2018)

  HOTBLOODS

  (Supernatural romance. Completed series.)

  Hotbloods (Book 1)

  Coldbloods (Book 2)

  Renegades (Book 3)

  Venturers (Book 4)

  Traitors (Book 5)

  Allies (Book 6)

  Invaders (Book 7)

  Stargazers (Book 8)

  A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES

  (Supernatural romance)

  Series 1: Derek & Sofia’s story

  A Shade of Vampire (Book 1)

  A Shade of Blood (Book 2)

  A Castle of Sand (Book 3)

  A Shadow of Light (Book 4)

  A Blaze of Sun (Book 5)

  A Gate of Night (Book 6)

  A Break of Day (Book 7)

  Series 2: Rose & Caleb’s story

  A Shade of Novak (Book 8)

  A Bond of Blood (Book 9)

  A Spell of Time (Book 10)

  A Chase of Prey (Book 11)

  A Shade of Doubt (Book 12)

  A Turn of Tides (Book 13)

  A Dawn of Strength (Book 14)

  A Fall of Secrets (Book 15)

  An End of Night (Book 16)

  Series 3: The Shade continues with a new hero…

  A Wind of Change (Book 17)

  A Trail of Echoes (Book 18)

  A Soldier of Shadows (Book 19)

  A Hero of Realms (Book 20)

  A Vial of Life (Book 21)

  A Fork of Paths (Book 22)

  A Flight of Souls (Book 23)

  A Bridge of Stars (Book 24)

  Series 4: A Clan of Novaks

  A Clan of Novaks (Book 25)

  A World of New (Book 26)

  A Web of Lies (Book 27)

  A Touch of Truth (Book 28)

  An Hour of Need (Book 29)

  A Game of Risk (Book 30)

  A Twist of Fates (Book 31)

  A Day of Glory (Book 32)

  Series 5: A Dawn of Guardians

  A Dawn of Guardians (Book 33)

  A Sword of Chance (Book 34)

  A Race of Trials (Book 35)

  A King of Shadow (Book 36)

  An Empire of Stones (Book 37)

  A Power of Old (Book 38)

  A Rip of Realms (Book 39)

  A Throne of Fire (Book 40)

  A Tide of War (Book 41)

  Series 6: A Gift of Three

  A Gift of Three (Book 42)

  A House of Mysteries (Book 43)

  A Tangle of Hearts (Book 44)

  A Meet of Tribes (Book 45)

  A Ride of Peril (Book 46)

  A Passage of Threats (Book 47)

  A Tip of Balance (Book 48)

  A Shield of Glass (Book 49)

  A Clash of Storms (Book 50)

  Series 7: A Call
of Vampires

  A Call of Vampires (Book 51)

  A Valley of Darkness (Book 52)

  A Hunt of Fiends (Book 53)

  A Den of Tricks (Book 54)

  A City of Lies (Book 55)

  A League of Exiles (Book 56)

  A Charge of Allies (Book 57)

  A Snare of Vengeance (Book 58)

  A Battle of Souls (Book 59)

  Series 8: A Voyage of Founders

  A Voyage of Founders (Book 60)

  A Land of Perfects (Book 61)

  A Citadel of Captives (Book 62)

  A Jungle of Rogues (Book 63)

  A Camp of Savages (Book 64)

  A Plague of Deceit (Book 65)

  An Edge of Malice (Book 66)

  A Dome of Blood (Book 67)

  A SHADE OF DRAGON TRILOGY

  A Shade of Dragon 1

  A Shade of Dragon 2

  A Shade of Dragon 3

  A SHADE OF KIEV TRILOGY

  A Shade of Kiev 1

  A Shade of Kiev 2

  A Shade of Kiev 3

  THE SECRET OF SPELLSHADOW MANOR

  (Supernatural/Magic YA. Completed series)

  The Secret of Spellshadow Manor (Book 1)

  The Breaker (Book 2)

  The Chain (Book 3)

  The Keep (Book 4)

  The Test (Book 5)

  The Spell (Book 6)

  BEAUTIFUL MONSTER DUOLOGY

  (Supernatural romance)

  Beautiful Monster 1

  Beautiful Monster 2

  DETECTIVE ERIN BOND

  (Adult thriller/mystery)

  Lights, Camera, GONE

  Write, Edit, KILL

  For an updated list of Bella’s books, please visit her website: www.bellaforrest.net

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