by S. E. Rose
Secrets
Portentous Destiny Series
Book Two
By S. E. Rose
Copyright © 2018 S. E. Rose
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
www.seroseauthor.com
Cover Page Note:
Cover design © Arijana Karčić, Cover It! Designs
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Each book in this series primarily takes place in real locations where the author has previously visited. However, aside from names of countries and cities, the places are described in a fictional manner. The author has drawn from her personal experiences to describe these locations, but also uses fictitious embellishments for the purposes of the story.
This book contains descriptions of adult relationships and violence as well as derogatory language. If such things offend you, this book is not for you. The book is intended for mature readers.
Author’s Note:
Human trafficking is a serious global problem. According to a multitude of sources that this author has found through simple internet searches, there are over 20 million individuals enslaved in the world due to human trafficking. It is a serious problem that can happen anywhere, no matter how safe you think your community is. While the antagonists in this story are involved in a variety of crimes including human trafficking, the author wants to point out to readers that this is a fictionalized story and details relating to criminal activity or police investigations is purely fictitious.
You never know when you might be able to stop human trafficking. Pay attention to your surroundings and if something doesn’t look right, speak up! Visit your local police department’s, national police’s or the United Nations’ webpages on human trafficking to learn more about this crime and how you can help to stop it.
This novel also discusses adoption. The author is an adoptive parent and wants readers to know that the international adoption process is a very long and tedious process. While it is not impossible to adopt internationally within a time frame of months, almost all adoptive parents end up waiting years to adopt. This book paints a “best case scenario” about adoption time frames for the purposes of the timeline of the action within the novel. Please know real adoptive parents usually spend years preparing for their adoption through countless hours of paperwork, interviews, and home studies. It is both a financially and emotionally draining process, which in the best-case scenarios ends with a child being matched to an adoptive family. Also, it is not typically easy for adoptees to find information about their birth families beyond what is provided to families at the time of adoption. The process of trying to find out more about one’s birth family is difficult and oftentimes adoptees are not successful in finding all the answers they are looking for in their search.
To L & A, mis hijos - You are the smartest, bravest, most amazing people I know. (I know, every mom says that, but I mean it!) I am constantly in awe of how you have overcome obstacles that would have crushed a lesser person, and you do it with a smile and a sense of determination. Never forget your past, because it makes you who you are, but always enjoy your present and reach for your dreams in the future! I love you both with all my heart and I am so very proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished! Love, Mom
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
Epilogue
Interlude
Lily’s Playlist
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Prologue
Lily’s Playlist: “Mayday (M’aidez)” by People in Planes
June 29th
I can’t sleep. I’ve tossed and turned. I don’t want to take the sleep meds my doctor gave me. I’ve been off them for weeks now. I know it’s not my insomnia, but the steady stream of recent events passing through my mind like a movie reel stuck on replay. The fact that it is ridiculously hot and humid with not even a faint hint of a breeze doesn’t help the matter.
I look over at my cell phone again. I sigh and pick it up, walking out of my room and toward the back patio. I plug in the wireless router and turn it on as I pass by it. The door is locked, and I struggle to undo the lock and steel beam across it. Eventually, I figure it out and open the door to find the patio quiet and slightly illuminated by the moonlight.
I sit down on a chair and prop my legs up on another one. I take my hair band off my wrist and twist my hair up into a messy bun, securing it with the band. I unlock my phone’s screen and flip through social media. The Wi-Fi is spotty but seems to be working at the moment.
I’m not sure how long I sit there reading posts and watching videos with my earbuds in, so the sound doesn’t wake anyone, but after a while, I turn off my phone and just sit. I listen to the rustling of leaves in the jungle beyond and the occasional cry of a bird. I close my eyes and allow myself to sense my surroundings.
My mom is a yoga fanatic. She’s been practicing for years and insisted I join her when I was just a kid. I hated it at first because it required sitting still and being quiet, but eventually, I found it cathartic. It settles my mind and calms me, which isn’t an easy thing to do. Even my therapist notices when I haven’t had time to practice. So, I take this moment in the silence of the night and just let myself still. I cross my legs and straighten my back and breathe in deeply. After a while, I get in my zone.
I’m not sure how long I’m there when something brings me out of my meditative state. My eyes flash open and then I hear it again.
It’s a soft crackle at first and I think to myself that it must be an animal in the forest. I can only see the trees about midway up their trunks as the garden wall blocks the ground view. I don’t see any strange movements so I still myself again and listen. The sound is coming from the direction of the road. I swivel around and then, ever so carefully, I get up from the chair so that it doesn’t make a sound. I creep over to the far edge of the garden wall where there’s a gate door. I try to open it, but it’s locked. Damn, the security! I take my phone and put the camera app on, and reach my arm out of the gate, so I can see what lies beyond.
At first, I don’t see anything, because it’s too dark. But then, on my phone’s screen, I see the glow of a cell phone and shadow of a person. Then I see a second person. The second person is holding a cigarette. I can just barely make out the orange glow from it. I strain to see my phone’s screen a little better, but it’s very dark and only the illumination from the moon makes it possible to see. After a minute, a third person walks up to the other two carrying something. Another person? A child?
I pull my phone back in and cover my mouth with m
y hand. Oh my God, the kids!
I quietly open the back door and ever so carefully I close it, trying to keep it from squeaking. I lock it and then very gently I place the steel bar over the door.
I’m in the kitchen, so unless someone opens a door, they can’t see me. Lucky that I chose to go out the kitchen door and not the main room doors; I would have likely run right into these people, men, I think.
I tiptoe toward a side door that leads back to the hallway which I took to get down here in the first place. I creep slowly, placing one foot down toe to heel and then the other. I hear movement in the front of the house. I make it to the stairs. I look up and then back down the hall.
Shit! This is straight out of one of those horror movies. You know the ones where the girl goes upstairs instead of outside and then she gets hacked into fifty pieces by the machete-wielding crazy guy. I’ve watched them all, seriously, like all of them. My Netflix account is a steady stream of bad horror movies and I love every single one of them, except for the ones I hate, of course.
There’s a door to my right that goes into Directora Martinez’s office. I turn the knob and find it is unlocked. I take a good thirty seconds to open the door so that it makes no sound. I peek around the corner and the office is empty. Her phone sits on her desk and I know I need to call someone. The police would take forever to get here. And where the hell is the security guard? Most nights the gardener’s brother stays out at the post by the front gate. I stare down at my phone, zero bars. Classic! Can you hear me now? Yeah, not so much. Fuck, this is not good. There’s no way sending a text is going to wake anyone up at this hour. I make my way to her desk and pick up the phone. There’s a dial tone. I thank several gods and then pull up my contacts on my phone and begin to dial a number.
He picks up on the fourth ring.
“Jesus, do you know what time it is? Someone better be dead!” Lance Cunningham says with a grunt.
“Lance, it’s me, Lily,” I whisper.
“Shit…Jesus, Lily! Do you know what time it is?” he says. I can almost hear him rubbing his eyes. Then I hear him suck in a breath. He sees the time. “Lily, what’s wrong?” his voice now completely serious.
“Lance, some guys are here. I just saw them carry out a kid. I don’t know what to do.”
“Wait, what?” Lance says, clearly now awake and alert.
“I couldn’t sleep, and I was out in the garden and then I heard something, and I saw three guys. One of them was carrying what looked like a kid.”
“One of the kids?” he asks.
“I don’t know. I’m too afraid to go upstairs and check.”
“Where are you?” he asks.
“I’m in the directora’s office,” I answer. “What should I do?”
“Stay put, I’m coming.” And with that, the line goes dead.
Chapter 1
Lily’s Playlist: “I Lived” by OneRepublic
May 25th
I put my hands on my hips and look around my apartment bedroom. Yesterday, I graduated from college. Today, I’m finishing packing up my belongings to store in my mother’s basement while I spend a few months in South America.
The room I’ve called home for two years looks barren. Aside from a bedside table, I borrowed from my roommate, and the two boxes sitting on the floor next to me, the room is empty. I fish a pen out of my purse and go into my closet. Just to the side of the closet door molding, I scribble my initials and “was here.” I smile as I run my finger over it and then I stick my pen back in my bag, pile one of the boxes on top of the other and carry them out to my car.
Maya comes running out as does Eva and we group hug right there in the parking lot.
“God, I’m going to miss you two so much!” I exclaim as I fight back the tears.
“Promise you’ll text me every day!” says Maya as she wipes tears from her eyes.
“And you better Snapchat all those hotties you find down there,” Eva says with a smirk.
“You guys are ridiculous, Snapchat was so last year,” I reply with a laugh.
We burst into a fit of giggles and embrace once more before I turn and get in my car. I almost feel like I should ask them for a push, my car is filled, and I mean filled, to the brim with boxes, clothes, bags, stuffed animals, and God knows what else. I wave to them as I pull out of the complex and head toward I-95. It’s time to get this show on the road.
I park in my mom’s driveway and look up at her townhouse where she’s lived with her boyfriend, Jack, for the past year and several years before Jack on her own. I pull out the key to my mom’s house with one hand and try to balance two boxes on my knee with my other hand. I’m fairly confident that I can get the door open without a major catastrophe. Just as I push the key into the lock, the door flies open.
“Hey there, Lily!” Jack says as he grabs a box from me.
“Hi, Jack,” I grumble as I walk inside. Why can’t folks just trust me to get the job done? I see the look on Jack’s face and my heart sinks. Damn, why am I such a bitch sometimes?
“Sorry, Jack, I’m just nervous,” I say, trying to make up a good excuse for my lack of manners.
“No worries, love,” he says with a grin. “Where should I put these?”
“Mom wants them down in the storage room,” I call out as I make my way downstairs. Jack follows me and places the boxes on a shelf in the corner of the room. I look at the shelf, which now holds the majority of my belongings. My bed frame and mattress and dresser are in the other corner along with a shelf and chair from my living room. I place a bag of stuffed animals and another bag of clothes on my shelf and then turn to Jack.
“Well, I think that does it!” I announce. “I dropped off the other stuff at Goodwill on my way over here and I left two boxes at Nick’s place. Now I just need to check my suitcase one more time.”
Jack puts an arm around me and gives me a squeeze. “You’ll be fine,” he says. “Don’t let anyone tell you different.”
I smile up at him and lean up on my tippy toes while I pull on his arm, so his cheek is within reaching distance of my face. I plant a kiss on it and then start for the stairs. I turn around before heading up them.
“Jack?” I say. He looks at me as he turns off the light in the storage room. “Thanks.”
He nods and follows me up the stairs. I step out on my mom’s deck. The air is not hot and steamy yet, although I can tell D.C. summer is just around the corner.
Jack hands me a glass of sangria. And I lean back in the rocking Adirondack chair and pull my legs up, so I can rest my chin on my knee. Jack sits next to me and we clink glasses.
“Well, love, don’t forget to call us occasionally. Your mother will freak out if you don’t,” he laughs and winks at me. I laugh.
“I know,” I reply and close my eyes. I’m nervous. I’ve never don’t anything like this before. Come to think of it, I’ve never done anything on my own ever. I guess it’s kind of hard when you have a twin brother. My twin, Nick, is almost always with me. We’ve done everything together. We even went to the same college. Of course, he studied engineering and I studied literature and horticulture. I know, I know, I couldn’t make up my mind, so I did both.
I look over at Jack. He’s an amazing guy. My mom is so lucky she found him. He’s super-hot, super-smart, kind, charming, rich, and did I mention hot? Yeah, my mom found herself a hot sugar daddy, not that she needed it. My mom’s an author and has done quite well for herself. After my dad died in a car crash, Mom spent eight years raising us all on her own. Well, mostly on her own, my uncle Jesse helped out quite a bit. I always felt bad for her. But mostly I just missed my dad and lashed out at everyone. I’m getting better about that, but I still miss him every day. Jack can’t replace him, although he has been a great addition to our family. Jack finally proposed to Mom a few months ago, Valentine’s Day to be exact. He’s such a hopeless romantic. To be honest, they make me sick. But it also gives me hope that Prince Charmings actually do exist. Who the fuck knew?
I had spent time in Scotland getting to know Jack last summer when Mom met him while she was there writing. That led to a whole crazy kidnapping situation with bad guys and Jack turning out to be some kind of spy and crazy shit that even my mom couldn’t have made up for a book. But since then, it’s all died down and is quite normal.
Jack lives here in the U.S. with Mom now and is currently doing trainings at the CIA. Mom is working on some new books and even got a call from a producer about making her last book into a film. I’m crossing my fingers for her, she’s an amazing author.
“Earth to Lily,” Jack says, snapping his fingers in front of my face.
I blink and look at him. Shit, lost in my thoughts again. “Sorry, Jack, guess I’m a little nervous for my trip.”
He gives my arm a squeeze. “Just know we are here and only a phone call away, OK?”
I nod and lean my head on his shoulder. “Thanks again, Jack.”
He kisses my forehead. “Lily, I know I’m not your dad. And I won’t ever be your dad, but I am here for you, always.”
Damn, how did the universe create such an awesome guy? I wish they made them closer to my age.
I hear the sliding door open and my mom walks out holding a glass. Jack doesn’t budge or blink; he merely lifts the sangria and pours it into her glass. She sits down on his lap and looks at me.
“Ready, Lilypond?” she asks as she brushes my hair out of my eyes.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I answer honestly.
We order in sushi and eat on the deck. Nick comes over and has a drink with us after dinner. I spend the rest of the evening checking my bags and having my mom stuff last-minute items in there. That woman is like a travel shop arsenal. She has everything for travel. I mean it, literally, everything. She even has these special footie socks with rubbery soles for walking in planes. I laugh at that one, but other items seem useful, the lockable band that I can put around my bag if the zipper breaks, the backup battery charger, and the fold-up travel backpack make the cut. Hagrid, my mom’s cat, attempts to smuggle away in my bag twice. I love that cat, but he’s like twenty pounds of fluff and I gently shove him out of the room. And then I sigh when I see all the cat fur on my things. “Great, thanks for the reminder of you, Mr. Kittyman,” I grumble as I brush his fur off my yoga pants.