by E B Brooks
This book is dedicated to the person who never let me give up on my dream. My best friend, the love of my life, my husband, Stephen.
Acknowledgments
To my son Josh, thanks for understanding about all those fend-for-yourself dinners. And, no, this doesn’t mean they’re over.
To Mrs. Sullivan, my high school English teacher, who told me one day she would see my name on a book.
To Covey Publishing, thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me a chance.
To Lyn Forester, this book is as much your’s as it is mine. Thank you for all the time and energy you put into this book, and for not punching me because of all my tense switches. With out your edits, this book wouldn’t be here.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Also by E. B. Brooks
About the Author
Prologue
Flicking on the lights in the kitchen, Beth walked to the sink, glad for the quiet. In a few hours, the babies would wake up and demand to be fed. She filled the sink with hot water and washed the baby bottles.
Bzzzzzz. Bzzzzz.
Well, there went her peace and quiet. With Maryann in the shower and Linda caring for the older children, Beth got the thrill of answering the door. Flicking the excess water from her hands, she took off her apron and used it to finish drying her hands before she walked out of the kitchen and through a maze of highchairs and the toddler feeding tables.
Bzzzz.
Shit.
This early in the morning, whoever was at the door couldn’t be bringing good news.
Long ago, Martinsville Ohio was a bustling coal-mining town, until one day the mine closed without warning. Over the next few years, most of the town’s businesses moved away. Only the state’s decision to keep funding the one orphanage, Little Tikes, and the group home, Wings of Refuge, plus the large juvenile detention center, prevented the whole town from vanishing.
As a result, it didn’t surprise the residents of Martinsville when gangs and drug dealers moved in to fill the cracks.
Bzzzz.
“Coming! Hold your horses!” She smoothed the front of her dress over her large stomach and pushed back her short brown hair.
The closer she got to the foyer, the more she heard the babies crying. When they converted the old farmhouse into Little Tikes Orphanage, the only place available for the babies was in the front of the house. There were five bedrooms upstairs. Maryann, Linda, and Beth lived in three of the rooms while the other two each held four bunk beds for the older children.
In the hallway, Beth stumbled, then glanced back to find what the hell she’d stepped on. Right in the middle of the beige carpet lay a yellow Lego brick. She shook her head.
Those damn things seemed to breed faster than rabbits.
Cautiously, she opened the front door, unsurprised to find no one waiting. Instead, a baby bundled up in a pink blanket rested on the porch. Bending, Beth picked up the baby and cuddled her in her arms. She was a beautiful little thing with red peach fuzz on her head.
Closing the door, Beth took her into the babies’ room. Cribs lined the wall, with two changing tables in the middle. Animal stickers dotted the off-white walls.
“Let’s get you comfortable. Then I have to go back to washing bottles or you won’t have any breakfast.” As she unfastened the blanket, she found a note.
I seek sanctuary for my child.
This child can never be found, never be adopted, and never be fostered.
It will mean her death and yours.
Maria Moretti.
Moretti. The name sent fear straight to Beth’s soul. Oh, shit, this was not good. Her heart thudded in her chest. Staring down at the baby, Beth wondered how something so damn cute could come from something so evil.
Maryann needed to know immediately.
Shuffling out into the foyer, Beth yelled for her, then cringed as it made all the babies cry again.
Linda rounds the corner from the living room. She must have come down the rear staircase. “Beth, what are you yelling about? Are you feeling all right? You’re white as a ghost.”
In answer, Beth handed her the note and paced as she read.
Linda’s eyes bulged with horror. “We’re in trouble. We need to call Mrs. Reynolds.”
Maryann glided down the main staircase. “What are your two ninnies yelling about now?”
Linda’s hands shook as she passed Maryann the piece of paper before she disappeared into the babies’ room.
Maryann read the note and let out a gasp.
Linda stepped back into the foyer. “Wait, a minute! The Moretti are Italian. Don’t they all have black hair? This child’s got red fuzz.”
Maryann read the note again. “You stupid idiot. Why do you think the child’s here? Mrs. Moretti obviously had an affair. If Mr. Moretti ever finds out, it will be death to anyone involved.”
The Moretti moved in as soon as the mines closed down. Those who stayed were so desperate to get money, they would do just about anything. Soon, word got out what would happen if you double-crossed him. It wasn’t a pretty sight, that was if the person survived.
Linda shook with fear. “What are we going to do?”
“Here’s what’s going to happen.” Maryann stared both of them in the eyes. “Nothing. We never laid eyes on the note and know nothing about it. No telling Mrs. Reynolds. She’s foolish enough to call Moretti and tell him herself. Got it?”
They both nodded.
“Beth, come up with a name. Linda, go do dishes.” Maryann ripped the note up as she headed back upstairs.
Beth returned to the babies’ room and gazed down at the beautiful girl. “What should I call you? Hmm. You remind me of a movie star, Madeline Walsh. Do you like that name?”
The baby girl cooed.
“Good. Welcome to Little Tikes, Madeline.”
1
Maddy
“Arg!” Maddy slammed her hands on the bed. All she did all night was toss and turn. “I give up.”
Pulling herself up, she leaned against the back wall. Today she turned eighteen.
For her entire life, all she dreamed about was escaping the orphanage and group home where she grew up, but now that the day finally arrived, it scared her shitless. This town was all she had ever known, and while it wasn’t always easy, it was filled with people she at least knew.
Soon, she’d leave the state for college where she wouldn’t know a single person.
She met Ryan Corvino, one of her only friends, here at Wings of Refuge. He saved her from Nikki and her bitch crew, then taught her how to defend herself, giving her a switchblade with a beautiful pearl handle.
Ryan became like an older brother to her, and th
ey had so many plans for when they both got out. He had turned eighteen a year before her, and he planned to find a job and have a small apartment waiting for her.
Sadly, that didn’t happen. Six weeks after Ryan left, he was dead.
She missed him every damn day, but he’d forever be in her heart.
Letting out a heavy sigh, she dragged herself out of the hard bed—little more than a thin pad on a worn, wooden frame—and changed into comfortable clothes for the long bus ride. Mrs. Jones would arrive in half an hour to take her to the station.
Clear as day, she remembered when Ms. Maryann brought her here from the orphanage.
“What’s taking you so long, Maddy? You don’t have that much,” Ms. Maryann bellowed from below.
Maddy wiped away her tears. “I’m almost ready.”
For her entire life, Maddy watched other kids be adopted or sent into foster care and never understood why she was pushed to the side. When she’d worked up enough courage to ask, she got a stern brush off and was told some things are better left alone. Maddy knew better than to push the subject.
Now she was moving on, but not to a family. She was being kicked out of the only home she’d ever known because she had turned twelve without ever being adopted.
She stuffed everything into the garbage bag Ms. Maryann had given her after breakfast and looked around at the room once more, silently saying goodbye. With slumped shoulders, she slowly walked down the stairs to where Ms. Maryann waited for her.
No one else came to see her off, and with a heavy heart, she said, “I’m ready.”
As she dragged her feet out of the house and down the sidewalk, she knew that, once she got into the car, the life she knew was over.
Beads of sweat popped out on her forehead. She needed to say something.
“Come on, Maddy. We’re going to be late.”
“I… I don’t want to go. Please let me stay here, Ms. Maryann,” Maddy begged with tears running down her face. “I won’t be any trouble. I can be an extra hand to help with the babies.”
“You know we can’t do that; it would break the law. Now, get in the car,” Ms. Maryann commanded in an agitated voice.
With her heart thumping and fear racing through her veins, she climbed into the car.
The drive was eerily silent for the five miles across town to Wings of Refuge, where everyone would be older than her.
As they got closer, Maddy’s heart rate kicked up a notch, terror curling in her stomach.
When Ms. Maryann pulled up in front of the big, white farmhouse with blue shutters, Maddy flung open the car door before they even came to a complete stop, and threw up her breakfast.
“Thank God you didn’t get sick in the car,” Ms. Maryann said with the back of her hand over her nose. “Are you done being sick?”
Maddy’s head dips in a quick nod. Ms. Maryann handed her a tissue, and Maddy wiped her face, looking up at her new home. Please don’t let anyone have seen that.
On the porch, a full-figured lady with salt and pepper hair waited to greet them.
As Ms. Maryann led her to the door, Maddy kept her head down.
“Maddy, this is Ms. Reynold. She’ll be showing you around. Behave, and you’ll be fine.” Ms. Maryann nodded once to Ms. Reynold, turned around, and walked away.
“Well, young lady, are you ready for your tour? I’m sure you’ll fit in just great. Everyone here is nice.” Ms. Reynold opened the door for Maddy, stepping into a large, open space.
The only piece of furniture in the front room was a flowery couch. The white walls were bare except above the fireplace where a painting of a fishing village hung. The carpet seemed to be a taupe color, but there were so many stains she couldn’t truly tell. A staircase lined the back wall.
Ms. Reynold headed to a door to the left of the stairs. “This is our kitchen.”
Ms. Reynold flicked on the lights, and the kitchen came alive. It was huge with two refrigerators, a deep freezer, deep fryers, and a large table in the middle.
“Everyone gets jobs that need to be done daily, and some that will have to be done weekly. All kids above age of fourteen have a schedule for when it’s their turn to make dinner.”
Heading up the stairs, she explained, “There are ten rooms; five for the girls, and five for the boys.”
Maddy was three steps away from the top of the stairs when she sneezed. What did they do, pour a bottle of perfume on themselves? Maddy covered her nose with her shirt.
Ms. Reynold stopped at the top of the stairs. “This is the showers and bathrooms for the girls. I tell them all the time they put on too much perfume. Your room is the last door. The door that’s across from yours is the door that connects with the guys half of the house. It will be open during the day but locked at night.”
Maddy walked down the hallway, hoping to get some idea of what these girls might be like by looking at their rooms. No such luck; they all had their doors closed.
Ms. Reynold gave her a thin smile and opened the door at the end of the hall.
Maddy’s heart sank. The room was small as hell and smelled like old, forgotten food. There was a window on the back wall, but no blinds or curtain coving it. Under the small window was a single bed, the frame made of wood. The mattress was thin and worn. On the right of the bed, a side table held a small lamp with an old, cracked shade. A metal rod stuck out of the wall on the left with hangers dangling from it.
Queasiness filled Maddy’s stomach again. She wanted to go home.
“You can hang all your clothes up on this rod. The other girls will be home soon,” Ms. Reynold said. “So long as you don’t cause trouble here, your stay at Wings of Refuge should go by just fine.”
As Ms. Reynold left, Maddy threw her trash bag full of belongings on the bed before sitting on the edge, feeling more alone than she had in her entire life.
A petite girl with blond hair and big blue eyes popped her head around Maddy’s open door. “Please tell me you’re staying and not a figment of my imagination.”
Maddy stared at her in confusion. “Yes, I’m real, and I just moved in.”
“Yes!” The blond hair girl pumped her fist. “I’m Shelly, and I’m so glad you’re here.”
Hope bloomed in Maddy’s chest. Maybe things wouldn’t be as bad as she thought they’d be.
No, they had been so much worse.
Maddy soon learned Shelly’s excitement wasn’t about having a new friend, it was because her status as punching bag for the older girls now fell onto Maddy’s shoulders.
Maddy glanced around at the room she’d spent the last six years in, little of those years filled with happiness, but at least her life held a pattern right now that she understood.
Her room still smelled like old, forgotten food, despite Maddy’s efforts over the years to scrub it clean. It had felt smaller over the years as Maddy grew, but the only real change she’d made were the milk crates in the corner. Maddy had collected them over the years to hold her jeans and shorts. They now sat empty, just like the old rod attached to the wall.
It wasn’t much, but she’d eventually come to think of Wings of Refuge as home, and leaving it behind terrified her in the same way coming here had.
Her eyes stung with tears.
“Happy Birthday, Madeline!”
Spinning around, she pressed her hand over her heart. She was so wrapped up in her head she didn’t hear Mike open her door. At over six feet tall, he filled her doorway, looking intimidating with his left arm covered in tribal tattoos.
She dropped her hand from her racing heart. “Mike! Hasn’t anyone ever told you it’s not nice to sneak up on someone?”
“How else am I supposed to surprise the birthday girl?” Mike strolled in, holding a cinnamon roll with a candle in it.
Mike had moved into Wings of Refuge a few weeks after Ryan died. She’d been too lost in her grief over losing her only real family to pay much attention to him at first, but they’d slowly become friends, mainly through Mike’s
persistence. Her gut had told her he was bad news, and it was never wrong, but when another guy in the home, Ben, attacked her, Mike had been the one to save her and nurse her back to health.
She gave him a watery smile. “You didn’t have to do this, but thank you.”
Meeting him halfway, she bent over the cinnamon roll and blew out the candle.
As she straightened, his dark eyebrows drew together, and he gently led her over to the bed before handing her the roll. “All right, what’s wrong? You should be bouncing off the walls today.”
Biting her lip, she let out a deep breath. “I’m scared. I’m heading to a place I’ve never been and know nothing about. I don’t know anyone.” She took a ragged breath. “For the first time in my life, I’ll be truly alone.”
“Look at me, Maddy.” When her eyes stayed fixed on the foot she was running up and down the carpet, he placed his hand under her chin and lifted it. “Maddy, please look at me.”
Reluctant, she met his blue eyes.
He shook his black hair back from his face. “You are the strongest girl I know. You grew up without a family your whole life, and you worked your ass off to get a full scholarship. If anyone can make it out there, it’s you. You are so much stronger than you think.”
Setting the roll down, she pulled him into a hug. “Thank you. I needed to hear that. I’ll miss you. These last few months, you’ve been there when I needed you.”
He pulled away and tucked a piece of hair behind Maddy’s ear. “You know, you do have a second option.”