Daring Hearts: Fearless Fourteen Boxed Set

by Box Set

  It had only been maybe two minutes since she’d been separated from the Lamberts. She searched for them and liked what she found. They were pushing through the lines of people around them and coming in her direction. They must’ve discovered her absence was not temporary. They would get to her and save her.

  Galtem’s phone rang. He loosened his grip on Kate and answered it, keeping one arm around her neck.

  “What?”

  She couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation. “Yes. I have Kate. At the airport. Says the FBI raided the club.” He pushed her toward the snaking lines of people leaving the airport. Pause. “I knew there was something going on when I saw her.” They entered the queue. She could barely breathe, his arm crushing her neck. “They arrested him? Seriously?” He grimaced at Kate. They were only feet from the escalator, their path made easy as people moved out of the way to accommodate the huge man. She had no choice but to go with. She glanced at the Lamberts, who had only now burst through the masses of people and were running toward her and calling to the guards, yelling for assistance. The guards joined the race, talking on their radios as they advanced, calling for support. She could only hope that they had seen her and knew where she was. She was determined to escape, but had no clue how. She only had TV shows and movies to draw on. Where she lived was totally safe. Nothing bad ever happened. The need for self defense was nonexistent. She waited for the right moment.

  One more step and they’d be on the escalator and most likely lost to everyone. Galtem pocketed the phone, but then she felt a jab in her side. He glanced back. He must have noticed the disturbance coming their way. “Keep moving. Be a good girl and pretend that we’re together. No problems. The club was raided, but you should have stuck up for us. I bet you told them everything you knew. You sang like a bird.” He jabbed the barrel of the gun into her side and stepped on the escalator.

  “No. No. I didn’t. They fingerprinted me and found out who I was.” If she stepped on that escalator, she could see her chances of rescue disappearing. In less than a minute he’d have her out the door and into a car, never to be seen again.

  “We’ll see about that,” he snarled.

  The Lamberts and guards were too far from her to stop it from happening. Her chance arrived with his step onto the escalator.

  She let herself go limp. It made him stumble. With one hand on her neck and the other on the gun, he had no way to steady himself. He released her neck and the gun almost simultaneously, his survival instincts kicking in. His hands clawed for the side rails and Kate’s arms wheeled, trying to stop her fall. He tumbled into the person directly in front of him, bowling the person down with them. He put his hands out, trying to grab onto the next person, but his weight and frenzy only pushed that person and the next two down, too. Kate slammed into the bodies of the people as they fell, but Galtem didn’t stop despite his best efforts, momentum dragging him down with ten others in a heap at the bottom. The bite of the teeth of the escalator dug into her as she tried to get up. She was moving ever so slowly toward him. Crawling over the people underneath her, she finally found a clear stair. She jumped up and ran up the steps, glad that the traffic had stopped once Galtem fell. The way was clear. She pushed hard until she reached the top. Pained, bruised, and broken. She’d taken her only chance and it’d paid off.

  She bent over, heaving, trying to catch her breath. The police had arrived at the bottom of the steps and were cuffing Galtem, his gun confiscated. She pushed through the crowds to the Lamberts, eyes gawking all around them.

  The airport security detained them in a room off to the side of the security scanners. Once their story was corroborated by the special agents who had brought her there, they were released, barely making it on the plane as they were rushed in a small electric cart to their gate.

  29

  The five of them were rushed onto the plane, Colby handed Kate her carry-on as she took her seat. She was curious what they had packed in it. The flight attendant brought around orange juice and bottled water, a great perk of being in first class. She happily accepted both while buckling in. The three kids all had single window seats on the same side of the plane without anyone next to them. Mr. and Mrs. Lambert sat in the middle two seats on the same row with Ellie.

  After the requisite safety announcements, the plane backed out and headed for the runway. Kate opened the bag Ellie had most likely packed for her. Right on top was a new pack of gum. She stuck one piece in her mouth, happy to be back with friends who would know she needed that.

  Just under the gum was her journal. She pulled it out and looked over each page. Ellie had taped in the pictures of her and her mother as well as the notes she’d found in the folder and all other pictures she’d taken on the trip. Kate’s fingers caressed the picture of her mom and the one of her dad helping her walk.

  Then she wrote down everything that had happened since finding the folder. As she wrote about getting caught and being forced into the mafia, a feeling of worry settled over her. She fingered the diamond star. She hoped Salvatorio would never find out that Duran had tipped off the FBI. She hoped her dad wouldn’t be held responsible either. The FBI was smart, right? They would cover their tracks nicely. Surely they knew that any information they recorded about her and anyone else could be accessed by someone who really wanted the information. If not, she’d be right back with the Bellinis before she could settle in at home.

  She dedicated a few pages to her father. She wrote, FOUND, at the top of the page. Underneath the heading, she wrote Vincenzo (Vinny) Bellini. Father. She wrote what some might call a eulogy for him, full of all the things she’d learned about him. She felt a sense of peace come over her. She knew who her birth father was. He wasn’t perfect, but he had tried to help her. And he loved her in his own, imperfect way.

  She wrote a page about Duran and what he’d done for her, risking everything, but being smart enough not to leave a trail. She even dedicated a page to each of the other people she met and dealt with, including all the Marconis and every Bellini she knew. And she didn’t forget to write about the new priest or Savino Cremashci, the savior of children, the savior of Kate.

  Then she wrote, NOT FOUND and underneath the heading, she wrote, Carmela Bellini. Mother. She then wrote Dead? Alive? It’s still a mystery.

  Kate fell asleep with her hand still on her mother’s picture. She woke to Ellie shaking her awake. “Kate. Wake up. You were screaming.”

  Kate’s rapid breaths slowed.

  “It was a dream,” she said shakily. “I’m fine.”

  “Was it the piano dream?” Ellie asked.

  Kate nodded, what she didn’t tell Ellie was that she knew why the people were in a panic at the performance. The room had been full of applause and the audience had been thrilled with Kate’s performance. Many stood and called encore. Encore. And that’s when it happened. Blood splattered on Kate’s face. The woman next to her slumped down. Was it her birth mother?

  The captain spoke over the intercom that they had begun their descent into Dallas. Kate pulled out a fresh stick of gum and thought about her adoptive parents. They would be so upset. They might not even let her come back home. She’d broken so many rules. She tapped Ellie who looked back at her. “Do you think I can stay with you guys for a little while at least? I mean, I don’t know how my parents are going to react to all of this.”

  “Of course. You know my parents will be happy to have you.”

  Kate glanced at them, both watching movies on their screens. She knew they wouldn’t mind. She’d used almost every cent of her savings while in New Jersey. She had no way to live on her own, nor did she want to.

  After deplaning, Kate and the Lamberts headed for baggage pick up. Kate’s head whirred with what could only be called dread at going home. Her parents were going to hate her. She didn’t know if she could handle that. She loved the Lamberts and living with them would be a continual party, but was that what she really wanted? What she’d wanted was to find her bir
th parents, but she didn’t really bargain for losing her adoptive parents in the process. Shame and regret washed over her when she thought of how she’d lied to them. She knew now, they’d only been trying to keep her safe. She felt sick and looked for a bathroom, but found none. Maybe in the baggage area she’d find one.

  As they rounded the corner into the large area, she stopped in her tracks, tears springing to her eyes. Her entire family stood only ten yards away with signs and balloons welcoming her and the Lamberts home.

  Ellie leaned into her and said, “I hope you don’t mind. I called them.”

  Kate hugged Ellie, “No. Not at all. Not at all.” Then she ran to her family.

  “Mom! Dad!” Her mom grabbed Kate first and then her dad, then all the kids piled around her hugging her and laughing and talking.

  “My dear, sweet, Kate. Kate. Kate. Kate.” While affection wasn’t sparse in their house it wasn’t something that was enormous and overwhelming like this. “Kate!” “Kate’s home!”

  “We thought we’d lost you forever,” her mom said, placing her hands on the sides of Kate’s face and sighing. She stepped back and took Kate’s hands in hers, looking her over from head to toe. Then her questions and commands came out like a machine gun firing. “Are you hungry? You must be starving. We brought some water and grapes, but we can stop on the way home.”

  Kate squeezed her mom’s hands. “No, Mom. I don’t need any of that. Let’s get my bag.”

  “We’ll get it,” the twins called out before running to the rounder.

  “No! We’ll get it,” the girls yelled chasing after the boys, leaving Kate alone with her parents. The smile in her heart grew, and warmth radiated throughout her whole body. This was family, no fear. Only peace. Only love.

  “I don’t know what Ellie told you, but I found my birth dad and it didn’t turn out so well.”

  “We know.”

  “Everything?”

  “We think so. Ellie thought you were dead and she told us everything she knew.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Kate hung her head. “I understand now why you kept everything from me, and I’m okay with that. You only wanted to protect me. I don’t care what you knew or what you didn’t, just know I forgive you and I love you.”

  “We love you, too, Kate,” her dad said. “We want you to know that we didn’t know about your birth parents. Your mom just had a strange feeling about the whole adoption. We disregarded our fears that maybe someday someone would come for you because you had been kidnapped or something because we so desperately wanted a baby. And when we got you, we decided to create a safe, normal world for you here, a place that no one would ever find you. We hid those things from you, because we didn’t want you to go looking for anything that would hurt you.”

  “Ironic, I guess,” her mom said. She was smiling, but her eyes were filled with regret.

  Kate hugged her. Even if they hadn’t done it the way she might have wanted, they had tried to keep her safe. “Can we make a promise to each other right now, that we will be honest with each other, no matter what?”

  They both nodded, and Kate smiled.

  The twins came running with one bag while the girls came with the other. Kate was going home, and she could hardly wait.

  30

  “I can’t believe how well it went either,” Kate said into her cell. “Of course I didn’t tell them everything, like my mom being an agent.”

  “But you don’t know that for sure.”

  “No. But I’m expecting a call from the FBI any minute to confirm my suspicions.”

  Kate’s phone buzzed. It was Special Agent Johansen. “It’s him. I’ll call you back.”

  “Kate, listen. I know I promised you answers today, but I don’t have them. I’ve asked all around and no one knows about your mom. It’s possible she was an agent, but it seems that if she were, I’d be able to find some indication of it. There is no record of her.”

  “But—her name. Could she have worked under a different name? I’m sure Carmela couldn’t have been her real name if she was undercover.”

  “That’s just it. We have no record of a Carmela as a snitch, as an alias, or as an employee. We sent out a company-wide email asking every agent still working with us about your mom. There’s been no response.”

  Kate’s world spun. A mystery she thought she’d solved hadn’t been solved at all. “Oh. I thought...”

  “I know this hard, and I’m not saying she wasn’t an agent. Her file could be sealed, but as far as we can tell, she is no longer an agent if she ever was one.”

  “Oh. Thanks. I’m sure you put a lot of work into looking for her. Thank you.”

  “If I hear anything, I’ll let you know, but don’t get your hopes up.”

  “Okay. Thanks.

  “Bye.”

  “Bye.” Her mom could’ve gone into hiding. Her records could have been sealed. She would not submit to the idea that her mom was dead. She couldn’t. Curiosity burned inside her. She called Ellie.

  “There’s no record of her.”

  “I’m sorry. Sometimes there really are no answers.”

  Kate pulled out a fresh journal as Ellie spouted about things they had to do that summer. She pulled out colorful paper and markers. She cut out a rectangle that fit perfectly to the outside of the journal and she wrote,

  Carmela Bellini

  In beautiful swirly script. Underneath she wrote,

  My journey to finding my birth mom.

  Pick up book 2 in the Code of Silence Series, Kate Concealed now. Click here.

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  Blood and Snow

  Book 10.1

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  The Dark Moth Society: Alice

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  By

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  Blood and Snow Book 10.1

  The Dark Moth Society: Alice

  Copyright ©2015 RaShelle Workman

 
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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the creation of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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