by Rumer Raines
He wasn’t going anywhere, and I didn’t know if I should be relieved or upset. I realized I wasn’t getting anywhere with him, so we ordered room service for dinner. He talked about how grateful he was to the Deluca family and how blood is thicker than water.
When he asked me how long I was willing to work with the Columbos, I didn’t have an answer for him. I’d never considered a timeline. My focus had only been on finding Bryn. I had no idea how I’d clear her name with the Columbos, or if I even could.
We stared at each other across a sudden ringing silence.
“You do have a get out of Boston alive plan, don’t you? I didn’t raise you to be a second Alex Deluca.” His accusing gaze stared at me.
“The only plan I have is to work with Columbo to find Bryn. I’ll come up with my next step once I have her.”
I watched as his lips thinned with irritation. “I guess it’s a good thing I came to Boston.”
Bryn
“I’m going to ask my mother to lend me the money to go back to Chicago.”
“Good idea,” Maya agreed.
“Yeah, I was thinking that maybe you could come back with me?”
“What?” she questioned.
“You don’t have any reason to stay in Boston. I think you should come back with me. We can start our new life together. I don’t know if my mother will lend me enough for you, but I can send back for you.”
I knew there was a reason that Maya was brought into my life. I couldn’t leave her behind. Once I made it back to Chicago, I would beg Oliver to forgive me, and I was sure he could find something for Maya to do at the club. If he wouldn’t I knew, Adele would be willing to help.
“I can’t leave Boston,” Maya whispered.
Was she kidding? She lived in a shelter and had no family. What could she possibly be staying here for?
“Maya, you have nothing here,” I reminded her.
“I am not leaving!” She spat out the words contemptuously.
“Maya…”
“Fuck off, Bryn!” Her temper became a scalding fury.
I watched as she stormed off, wondering what the hell was wrong with her. She slammed the door to the bathroom, and eventually, I followed. I stood at the door listening to her as she cried.
“Maya,” I whispered as I walked in, grabbing a tissue and handing it to her.
“I’m sorry, Bryn. It was a good offer, it really was. I just can’t leave now.”
“Can I ask why you can’t? There is nothing here for you, Maya. No family, no job, no place to stay…” I reminded her, hoping not to sound like an insensitive bitch.
“There is,” she answered eagerly.
“Who are you staying for, Maya?” I asked with as reasonable a voice I could manage.
Maya walked out of the bathroom, and I followed her until we were outside. She leaned her back against the building as she closed her eyes. When she reopened them, her brow creased with worry.
“My son.”
“I’m sorry. Your what?” I muttered uneasily.
“Do you remember the story I told you? It was about me. I had a baby and I gave him away. I can’t leave Boston.”
I had to choose my words carefully. “If you put him up for adoption, there really isn’t a reason to stay, Maya. I am sure the adoption agency placed him in a good home.”
A shadow of alarm touched her face. “I didn’t put him up for adoption. I just gave him to a family, and they are taking care of him.” She chewed her bottom lip as she stole a look at me.
“Are you kidding me? I confided to you that my father gambled me away, and you gave your own baby away?”
“This isn’t the same thing, Bryn! They are supposed to be taking care of him, to keep him safe. At least, that is what they were supposed to do!” she yelled.
“What do you mean, they were supposed to do?”
“They disappeared! I went to their house and they were gone. They moved and took my son. I have been looking for them for months.” She cried, and before I realized it, I was also wiping tears.
“I can’t leave Boston without my son.”
My heart instantly broke for Maya. She trusted someone to protect her son and they took him. I promised her that before I left Boston, I would help her find her baby.
We went to the last place Maya knew the couple was staying with her baby.
I didn’t even think twice as I followed Maya inside the house. She cleared the broken glass as she pulled me inside. I didn’t think it was a good idea as I listened to her plans of breaking in. The house was empty, but that didn’t mean we should walk in, or in our case crawl in.
The couple that Maya gave her baby to obviously left in a hurry. The furniture was still here and shoes sat next to the door.
“Are you sure they left, Maya?”
She threw her hair across her shoulders in a gesture of defiance. “Yes, they took him, Bryn.”
I snapped my mouth shut, stunned by her bluntness.
“They haven’t been here in months. I have been waiting for them, but they haven’t come back!” Her body stiffened.
“We should look around to see if we can find anything that indicates where they might have gone.” I bit down hard on my lower lip.
I didn’t have time for this, but I considered Maya a friend. I’d made her a promise and I would keep it.
We didn’t find much in the house. Not one damn clue as to where they ran off with Maya’s baby.
“How about we just stay here tonight instead of going back to the shelter?” Maya’s stare drilled into me as I searched the bedroom drawers.
“Okay,” I agreed.
We spent the night at the house and found a bottle of wine left in the cabinet. The fridge was empty, but there was steak in the freezer. As luck would have it, there was even a working oven.
“Why would you just give them your baby, Maya?” I whispered as I took another sip of wine.
Her eyes grew watery as she looked past me. I could see she was deep in her own thoughts, choosing the correct words to use. “I wanted to protect him. If I would have kept him, he would have been taken from me,” she finally whispered.
“Who would have taken him from you?” I asked.
She took a deep breath before answering. “I told you. My father worked for a rich, powerful family. If they would have found out that I was pregnant, they would have never let me keep it. These people are ruthless, Bryn.”
I listened with bewilderment. “What happened to the father?” I asked.
Maya pushed away from the table and stared out the back window. “He walked away from me. I can’t talk about this anymore, Bryn. Let’s just get some sleep. It will be nice to sleep in a peaceful house instead of at the shelter.”
She left me alone to finish off the bottle of wine, and I wondered what Maya wasn’t telling me.
Oliver
“Where the hell have you been? You should have been here hours ago!” Columbo yelled.
“You wanted me to look for that girl, so I wandered the damn streets looking for her.” My voice, though deep, was crisp and clear.
I only hoped he was buying this shit. I wasn’t there to find some missing girl for him; I was there to find Bryn. He hadn’t kept up with his end of the bargain, and I had no plan to keep up with mine.
“Do you have any information on Bryn?” I asked.
“Don’t worry about her.” His tone had become chilly.
“Don’t worry about her? She is the only reason I am sitting here. I have done shit that I normally wouldn’t get my hands dirty doing.” My voice hardened.
“Oliver, you’ll do what I ask, and I’ll do what I promised,” he said in a nasty tone.
I quickly stood, and with long, purposeful strides, moved to the door.
“Where are you going? We still need to talk.”
“I am going to look for that damn girl,” I replied smoothly, with no expression on my face.
Plan B was failing. I should have stuck with
Plan A from the beginning.
I parked Columbo’s car on Newbury and walked the rest of the way. He made it sound like he was doing me a favor by letting me use this car, but I found the tracking device before I found the ashtray.
I stuck out like a sore thumb when I caught the bus to the normal spot. I didn’t trust cab drivers; if you gave them enough money, they would talk. Bus drivers didn’t pay any attention to who got on and off at every stop.
“Union Street Restaurant in twenty minutes,” I whispered and ended the call.
I looked at every person that got on the bus, hoping it would be Bryn. It never was, and each time, my heart broke a little more. I wished I could go back in time and stay awake. If only I wouldn’t have trusted her enough to close my damn eyes. Maybe I could have said something to her that would have kept her from leaving. I kept replaying the night wondering what the hell I said to her that made her run. What was she doing for money? I knew she took the cash I had in my wallet, but she couldn’t still have any of it.
When the bus was finally at my stop, I got off and walked a few blocks to the Union Street Restaurant. He didn’t do a good job at fitting in, so I walked to the back table and slid into the booth.
“Oliver,” he mumbled.
“Thomas, where are the others?”
“Frank is working on some contact he has, and Alex is keeping your father occupied.” His expression stilled and grew serious. “What about Columbo? He still hasn’t given any information on her?” His dark face set in a vicious expression.
“No, Columbo’s focus is on me finding some girl for him and me killing you,” I replied.
“I can’t wait to see his face when he finds out he’s being double-crossed.” Thomas laughed low.
I leaned over the table as Thomas narrowed his eyes. “Columbo can’t be touched until we find Bryn. Once we know where she’s at, and that she is safe, I don’t give a fuck what happens to him,” I replied sharply, and Thomas nodded.
Thomas filled me in on everything he, Frank, and Alex had been looking into while in Boston. They had only been in town for one week, so they hadn’t found much. People weren’t very trusting when newcomers showed up asking too many questions. Frank had connections in Boston since his wife was originally from New York and her family handled the business there. Her father was also a judge, which was very helpful when Columbo ordered the hit on the judge.
“We’ll find her, Oliver,” Thomas soothed, and I believed him. We were family, and we did whatever we could for family. They came to Boston to help me when I walked away. When I sent Thomas the text about Columbo calling a hit on the Delucas, I hoped he would do something about it. I hoped he would realize that I would never betray the family. I sent the text praying that he would come to Boston to stand beside me in the fight. I never expected to get the entire family.
Thomas dropped me off at the car so I didn’t have to take the bus. When I got back to the hotel, I knocked on my father’s door. He opened the door with a smirk, wearing boxers and a t-shirt.
“How was Mr. Columbo today, son?” He threw the words at me like stones.
My father knew I was only pretending to work for Columbo. He still didn’t like it and made sure to let me know every chance he got.
“Pop,” I groaned.
I watched him as he walked over to the desk and took a seat. He picked up the picture of the girl that I was supposed to be finding for Columbo.
“Do you know this girl?” His brows drew together.
“No. Columbo wants me to find her. Why?”
“I saw her. This is one of the girls that tried to steal my wallet downtown.”
My heart started to pound. My father had seen the girl I was supposed to find for Columbo. “Are you serious? Did she say anything? What did the other girl look like? Did you notice what direction they went in?” I rambled off questions, and he shook his head and stood before he began to pace.
“She looked homeless. She was pretty, but her clothes were dirty. I felt bad for them. I gave them money. You should check the homeless shelters nearby.”
The next morning, I called Columbo to let him know I would be late. I texted Frank and asked him to get me the address of the shelter. He wasn’t from Boston either, but he had contacts. Within an hour, I had the address to the shelter.
As I walked toward the shelter, I felt overdressed. I was wearing black slacks and a blue button-up shirt. Being so nicely dressed, I realized no one was going to talk to me. When I got to the door, a girl with red hair greeted me with suspicious eyes.
“What the hell do you want? Are you a fucking cop?”
Damn, isn’t she pleasant? “I’m here looking for a girl.”
“How much are you willing to pay? I can be your girl. Of course, anything kinky will cost you extra,” she added.
My eyebrows drew downward in a frown as I pulled out the picture that Columbo gave me. “I am looking for this girl. Have you seen her?”
Her eyes narrowed as she looked between me and the picture. I instantly saw the recognition on her face.
“She wouldn’t be as much fun as me, hot stuff.” She inched closer to me and grabbed my shirt.
I shook her off and pulled my wallet out. “I am willing to pay you for information on this girl. It’s very important that I find her. Is she here?”
She crossed her arms over her chest, and I realized she wasn’t going to talk easily. I pulled two hundred dollars out of my wallet. Her eyes widened as I held it up for her to see.
“This is a lot of money for someone staying at a shelter. All you have to do is give me information on this girl.”
She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at me. It felt like someone punched me in the gut when she turned her back on me to walk away. Was she seriously going to walk away from cash? I grabbed her by the arm to stop her, and she snatched it away.
“How about the cash and I’ll take you to get something to eat? It will get you out of here for a little while. Please, help me,” I practically begged.
Her cold eyes stared at me, and she finally nodded. I shook my head, realizing that Boston obviously had the most stubborn women on earth.
“What’s your name?” I asked as we pulled back into traffic.
“You don’t need to know my name,” she answered.
“Okay, well, I’m Oliver. I’m glad that you came with me. I really need to find this girl.”
“Can we just find somewhere to eat? We’ll eat, you’ll pay for the food, you will hand over the cash, and I’ll walk,” she replied
“I’ll call you… Red,” I told her. She’d think it was because of her hair, but I felt like I was in the car with the female devil.
Red almost jumped out of her seat as we drove past a pizza joint. Realizing that this would be the place to get her to talk, I pulled over.
Once inside, she walked to a table closest to the window and ordered a large pineapple pizza and breadsticks. I was offended when the pizza arrived because no Italian wants pineapple on their damn pizza. Who does this? Is it only a Boston thing?
Luckily, the breadsticks appeared normal, so I let Red focus on the pizza. After watching her attack the first few slices, I began asking questions.
“Do you know the girl, Red?”
“She stays at the shelter sometimes, but she hasn’t been there in a few days. Are you happy now?” she asked while grabbing another slice of pizza.
“Do you know why she hasn’t been there?” I asked.
“Do you think we keep track of each other?” she spat.
“I don’t think that. I was just hoping you might have heard something or know where she would have gone. Does she have family?”
Her eyes narrowed at me. “She used to have family. She doesn’t anymore. She and her friend left the shelter, and all I know is they didn’t come back. They seem to be thick as thieves. You find one, you’ll most likely find the other.”
“What is the friend’s name?” I asked. Pop said there were two g
irls.
Red finished off the last slice of pizza as her eyes met mine. “The girl in the picture is Maya. She is always with some girl named Bryn.”
Bryn
Maya and I found an address that had been crumpled and tossed in the garbage. The address was a place across town, but we knew we had to go there. The only problem was how we were going to get there. Maya insisted that, even though it was a forty-minute car ride, we could still walk.
“We can catch the bus or take a cab,” I suggested.
“We need to find a bus schedule,” she replied.
While walking, Maya was quiet. I suspected that she was thinking about her baby. I glanced at her, and she was so deep in her own thoughts she didn’t even notice.
“What’s your son’s name?” I asked.
“Kaydence.”
“That’s a nice name. Are you going to take him back when we find him?”
She sighed and didn’t answer immediately. “Can I still go to Chicago with you?”
“Of course, you can, Maya.”
“I can only take him if I am leaving town with him,” she stated seriously.
None of it made any sense. Why would Maya give her baby away but watch him from afar? It also didn’t make sense that she could only get him if she left town with him. I stopped walking and it took her a few minutes to notice I was no longer next to her.
“Bryn?” she called out as she walked back to where she left me.
“Maya, what the hell is going on? If you want my help, you’re going to have to tell me the truth. Why do you have to leave town if you take your own baby?”
Maya started to answer, but before she could speak, a car squealed to a sudden stop next to us. Two men jumped out, and one pulled Maya by the arm toward the car. The second one put his hand across my mouth, lifted me off my feet, and pushed me into the car. Maya was screaming, and I opened my mouth to scream, too, when the hand once again covered my mouth. I twisted and turned in the backseat. My first instinct was to start kicking when I heard the familiar voice.