“So when were you going to tell me Soto was fucking Portia?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Labado stuttered.
“My wife, the woman you didn’t want me to divorce. How long has she been having relations with Soto?” Seth enunciated every word very clearly.
“I confronted her. He means nothing to her. It meant nothing to her. She promised me.” The last was said with much hope and conviction.
It clicked. “Are you fucking her too?” Seth asked incredulously. There was nothing but silence. “Jesus, you are.” Seth thought his head might explode.
“She came onto me, it wasn’t my fault.”
“Of course it wasn’t,” Seth’s voice dripped sarcasm. It wasn’t like he cared, but how had he missed it? And he wasn’t missing the significance of Labado’s concern about Portia’s time with Soto. Labado cared, he cared a lot. Seth let the silence draw out.
“What are we going to do? I can’t afford to have any fighting blocks away from me. I need to get the distribution settled, and everybody friendly for just another week, then Soto can take down Vargas. I just can’t have it this week when everything is in such a state of flux.”
“Well you should have thought of that when you brought Soto into the mix.” You stupid bastard. Seth wondered if Labado could hear those last three words, even though he hadn’t said them aloud.
“One more week. I need one more week, and I’ll have everything out of Vargas’s hands. In the meantime, they can’t be warring, they need to be friendly at tomorrow’s party. Have you figured out a way to get them both there?”
“Portia, she’s your draw. I’ll bring her on Saturday, apparently everyone wants her, so everyone will show when they know she’s coming.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Of course he didn’t. “Do you have a better idea?”
Again the man was silent.
“Thiago?”
“No my friend, I don’t,” his voice was thick with regret. “I’m so sorry.”
“Save it.” Now he needed Rolaids and aspirin.
Seth hung up, and looked at Max.
“Okay, now you need to explain yourself. This has to be pretty bad shit for you to have shown up.” Seth watched the tall man walk over to the big window overlooking the Miami shoreline.
“After talking to Noah, it seemed like you could use some help.” Seth got a God damn tickle on the back of his neck like ants were taking up residence.
“What were you doing in LA, Max? I thought you were my guardian. So you showing up here because you were bored and wanted to help me isn’t cutting it.”
The office door opened, and Annie came in freshly showered holding two cups of coffee.
“Oh, I didn’t know we had company. Hi Sierra.” She grinned at her friend. “There’s coffee in the kitchen. I was going to fix some breakfast after Magda woke up. I didn’t know if she ever had Eggos, and I saw some in the freezer. I love those. But seriously Seth, Eggos and Hot Pockets?”
Seth wished he could be soothed by her teasing, but the tickle became a shiver. Something was so wrong about Max showing up. He knew his guardian showing up was epic. This wasn’t about the operation either. If it had been, he would have come straight to Miami.
“Let’s do the Skype session with Grandmother, shall we?” He gave Annie a forced smile as he took the proffered coffee cup out of her hand.
“Oh, that would be great. Nell’s always up early. I can’t wait for you to see her.” Annie fairly bounced over to the office chair. “What’s your password?”
“Annie.”
“Yes?”
“No sweetheart, my password is Annie. At least that’s how it starts.”
She gave him a beautiful smile. “The password to my computer is SethNell.”
“We don’t have time for this. Don’t you have to contact Tomas about Portia?” Sierra asked. Seth wasn’t surprised at Sierra’s comment. There was something so wrong. He looked at Max who looked resigned.
“Max, do you have anything to say before we make this call? Something you’d like to clue us in on?”
Annie’s head jerked up.
“What’s going on?” There was panic as well as steel in her voice. “You tell me right now. Is something wrong with Nell?” Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she entered the Skype address to video connect with his Grandmother, while she continued to look between him and Max.
“Make the call Annie.”
As her peered over Annie’s shoulder, he saw the face of his grandmother for the first time in over two years, and she looked every one of her many years.
“Thank God. I’ve prayed you would call. When can you come home? Nell needs you.”
****
The world narrowed, she couldn’t even see the full computer screen, only Shilah’s black eyes. Her mouth was moving, but she couldn’t hear what was being said. She heard the anguish, and the words Nell needed her. She tore her gaze away from those soundless lips and looked back up to the beseeching eyes, and then heard more words.
“…for days. Sarah and Max promise she’s okay. She dream walked, but she’s safe.”
“What did you say?”
Seth crouched beside her. His arm around her shoulder, they were both looking into the screen.
“Noah and Kali tried to reach her, but they weren’t as powerful as Max and Sarah. They found her safe in an impenetrable bubble.”
“Did you say she’s in a coma?”
“It happened when you were unconscious Annie. We think she went looking for you.”
Annie clutched the edge of the desk so hard she felt two of her nails break before Seth pried her hands loose and held them in one of his.
“Let me see her,” her voice was so low nobody heard her. But Seth did. Or he read her mind.
“Grandmother, bring Nell, we need to see our daughter.” Annie felt something odd on her shoulder, it felt heavy, and she tried to shrug it off.
“Stay with me sweetheart.” It was Seth’s arm around her. She didn’t want it, she wanted her baby. She needed Nell. She wasn’t going to take any comfort when her baby was in danger.
Sarah and Shilah came on screen. Shilah was cradling Nell, who looked like she was asleep.
“Nell, honey, it’s Mommy. Oh, you’re wearing your pretty red sleeper. You look beautiful. Can you wake up?” Annie watched as Shilah stroked her knuckles down Nell’s soft cheek. Her baby didn’t stir. Her little bow mouth barely moved. Annie choked out a sob, and Seth’s arm squeezed her tighter.
“Nell,” she said in a loud firm voice. “It’s Mommy, time to wake up.” Nothing, there was no response at all, not a twitch of an eyelid, nothing. She reached out and touched the screen, smearing it with fingerprints.
“My baby.” She turned to Seth. “My baby. We have to go home. We have to go home right now.”
“Annie, it won’t help if you go home.”
She whirled and looked at the man who was talking. All she saw were gray blue eyes, looking at her with compassion.
“What do you know?” She wrenched out of Seth’s arms and dashed to the door. “Annie,” Sarah called. “Listen to Max. Let him show you.” She was in the hall pushing past Magda when strong arms pulled her to a stop, and warm breath grazed her temple.
“Wait sweetheart. Wait. We need to go back and listen.”
“No, I want to go home. I need to get to my baby.”
“Annie, we need to help her.”
“They’ve lied to us. We can’t trust them. We can’t even trust Shilah. I need to get to Nell.” She sobbed uncontrollably. She would have been on the floor if it hadn’t been for Seth’s strong arms holding her up.
“I know they lied. We have to go back and listen and try to understand. We have to find out what’s wrong. They said we can help her. We need to listen. We can help her. We have to listen.” She tried to focus but it was so hard. When she could see, Magda pressed up against the wall of the hallway look
ing at her in pity and horror. She didn’t care.
“Help me, Seth.”
“Always.”
He took her weight and guided her back into the office. Sierra was shell shocked. Sarah and Shilah were still on the computer screen, Sarah now holding Nell. Annie didn’t want either of them touching her daughter. They were both liars.
“They’re not. They love your daughter very much.” It was the man again.
“Who are you?” So tired. She was so tired.
“I’m Max Lawrence, I’m a friend of Seth’s.”
“He’s my guardian, Annie. It’s a long story, but I think he can show us some things about Nell, right?”
“Yes.” He stood from where he had been leaning against the desk, and walked over to them. “Can I hold your hands?”
Annie was so hollow, but maybe he could show her something. She looked over at the screen, wanting to touch it again. Perhaps this time she could somehow feel the soft skin of her baby. “Annie?” Both men were holding hands and extending theirs to her. She wiped hers down her jeans and looked beseechingly at Seth.
“Max is special sweetheart.”
“I trust you, Seth.”
“And you should.”
She looked at the man named Max again. She put her hand in Seth’s warm clasp, sighing deeply at the connection. Needing it. Then she grabbed the hand of the other man fast, getting it over with like you would some bad tasting medicine.
She stiffened like she was jolted with electricity, and immediately she was taking a wild ride through the cosmos, winding through stars and clouds, until she could see something shining in the distance. Closer and closer, until finally she saw a large oblong shape filled with liquid. Inside was her baby. Asleep. She felt Seth’s hand grip hers tightly, she looked to her right, and there he was, looking back and forth between her and Nell.
They broke apart and floated towards the capsule, softly touching, not wanting to disturb and harm their child. She looked peaceful, asleep. Just as she had in Shilah’s and Sarah’s arms. Finally Annie couldn’t stand it a second longer, she pressed hard, trying to get through. She had to hold her baby. The bubble pushed in with her hand, not allowing her access. She poked, she tried to tear it open with her fingernails, with her teeth. Nothing.
“Annie, Nell needs to come out, you can’t go in.” She looked to her left and it was the man.
“Who the hell are you? If you know so much, make her come out.”
“Let’s go. You see she’s safe. We need to go now. We’ve been away a long time.”
****
It was up to him and he was failing. It was the third time he had centered himself and tried to dream walk, and he hadn’t been able to coax Nell out of her protective barrier. This last time though. This last time. The stinker had rolled over and smiled in her sleep.
“Seth, you need to stop.” Max was sitting cross legged in front of him. He had been providing his strength as well, but it hadn’t been any use. He pushed the base of his thumbs in his eyes, trying to stop the pain and the tears.
“Seth, you saw what I saw, she’s responding.” Annie was curled in the fetal position on the couch. She was cried out. Sierra was long gone. It was two in the morning, and he still had to get Portia’s ass to tonight’s party. He didn’t trust that Isaacson was actually going to come through. Brice and Nate called, there had been more girls who were brought into the office park building.
Labado had called and told him what was expected for Annie and Magda, as they would be part of the party favors. Seth had told him to go fuck himself, since he was bringing Portia, he wouldn’t be bringing Annie and Magda. Within an hour of him saying that, a sealed envelope was left with the concierge in the lobby for Seth, inside was an engraved invitation to the event. In it was a handwritten note regarding Annie and Magda. Labado’s point had been made.
“Seth, this is the reason we didn’t want to tell you about Nell. You can’t help her with your attention split in so many directions.”
“Fine. Then I’ll walk away with Annie right now. Get on the next plane to LA and concentrate on my daughter.” As soon as he said the words he knew them for the lie they were. He was a failure as a husband and a father, and he wasn’t even a husband to Annie yet. He said as much to Max.
“It’s not true,” Annie whispered from the couch. Her voice was hoarse. “You are my husband. In my heart, you are and you’re perfect.”
“And that’s why you’ve been sobbing for the last five hours?”
“I saw her Seth, I saw her roll over and smile.”
“You did?” He watched as she lifted herself up on her elbow, and he pushed himself off the floor and went to the leather sofa, lifting her up onto his lap.
“I did.”
“Max, why can’t you help her? You’re a guardian. I thought you were able to take care of all of us.”
“I have some dream walking abilities, but not nearly as strong as yours. What’s more, she knows you, she will want to come to you.”
“That’s not true. I only came to her a couple of times. She won’t know to come to me, she’ll want Annie.”
“She knew you, she asked for her Daddy before you ever knew about her, she’ll want to come to you,” Annie assured him.
“That’s impossible.”
“That’s your daughter. She recognized your picture.” Annie explained how their daughter had pointed to his photo, and Seth stared at her in amazement.
“When this is all over, when you can concentrate, she will come to you.”
“You’re not understanding something. You think I can’t concentrate on helping her? Well what makes you think I’ll be any better concentrating on this mission now? I’m going to screw things up.”
Seth looked at the man who called himself guardian. His power rolled over Seth in huge waves.
“It’s why I’m here. I can amplify your powers, and I have my own. We will stop this, and get you and Annie back to your daughter.”
“You can’t know that.”
“Can’t I?”
“I don’t understand. I mean, we never really discussed your role, when you came to visit in New Mexico. I was just a kid. You spoke to Grandmother a lot more than me.”
“I came over from our world with my memories intact. My purpose is to watch over the people in my care. I don’t have precognitive abilities, but when I know someone is in trouble, and I can’t get there, I can protect them. It’s that simple.”
“Why haven’t you protected Nell?”
“She is protected, Annie. Her own abilities took over and put her in stasis so she didn’t disperse into many different directions looking for you. Now it’s a matter of her finding her way back with Seth’s help. They almost had it. By this time tomorrow, you’ll be with her.”
Seth wasn’t putting his faith in Isaacson, but he was putting it in the found team. They could and would bring down this filth, and then he and Annie would be with their daughter. Then he remembered Labado’s instructions and broke into a cold sweat.
Chapter Nineteen
Annie looked at the engraved invitation Seth left on the dresser in the bedroom. She’d left Max and Seth in the office, it might be Saturday morning, but she needed some real sleep in a real bed. After showering, she grabbed one of Seth’s shirts from his dresser, intending to snuggle into bed and sleep in his arms. But after reading the invite, sleep wouldn’t be happening.
The day at Labado’s house she had been concentrating on Magda so much the talk about the party had mostly gone over her head. Since then she hadn’t paid much attention because she knew the whole ordeal would be over before they would have to make an appearance. Now it wasn’t the case.
This invitation actually told Seth he had to bring her and Magda, and referred to them as slaves. They were to wear collars and be dressed appropriately for the night’s festivities. Labado had even taken the time to hand write the instructions for Seth.
“Carson, I look forward to sampling your
purchases.”
A long time later, Seth found her sitting on the end of the bed.
“Sweetheart, why aren’t you asleep? You need to get some real rest.” She saw the exact second he spied the papers in her hand. He rubbed the back of his neck.
“We’re going to take him down tonight. All of them,” he assured her.
“I know.” She tried to sound positive. She looked at him through the fall of her hair. He brushed it behind her ear and raised his eyebrow.
“You know the trick, huh?” she asked.
“Yep. Not that I don’t like your hair, but I love your eyes even more.”
She threw the invitation onto the floor. “There’s no way Magda’s going.”
“I agree.”
She plowed on. She’d been thinking about this since she’d seen the invitation.
“The girl has been through enough. She doesn’t understand English or Spanish. You don’t speak Albanian. She’s not going. I’ll have to be enough to satisfy the slimy bastard.”
“I agree, you’re right, you’re not going.”
Annie took a deep breath, the first one since reading the vile note. Then she gave him a sharp look.
“Wait, what do you mean? I’m going. You can’t go empty handed. I just said Magda wasn’t going, I’ll be fine.”
“Neither of you are going, I’m taking Portia.” He sat beside her, and she was warmed by the heat of his body.
“I don’t understand.”
“Vargas Jr. and Soto have been fighting. They’ve both threatened not to come tonight.”
“Oh no.” She wanted this over with.
“It turns out the fight is really about Portia, they both want her, so I’m taking her to tonight’s party.”
“Portia? Your wife?” God she hated using the words wife and Portia in the same sentence.
“Not for much longer, but yes. She’s been sleeping with both of them, and they’re fighting over her. She’s going to be the bait.”
It felt like she was under water, the push and pull of waves had her in their grip.
Forsaken (The Found Book 2) Page 19