Secrets (Portentous Destiny Series Book 2)

by S. E. Rose

  “I’m sorry that you had to find out this way,” he says. “It’s a horrible thing he did. Unforgivable.”

  I nod. “I guess that makes you my uncle,” I say softly. He takes my hand in his and squeezes it.

  “It’s not how I would have wanted to become an uncle, but I am glad to meet you,” he says.

  “Where is my father now?” I ask. I can feel Lance’s hand on my back. His thumb rubs small, comforting circles.

  “Bogota, I think,” he says. “We haven’t spoken in many years. The church moved him around quite a bit after the incident with your mother. I’m not sure if they found out or if others came forward. I guess it was about a year later that he was moved.”

  “He came to the hospital when we were born,” I say.

  “He did?” Father Nicholas frowns.

  “The doctor who delivered us said he came by after my mother died. He said she had worked at the church and held us and then left,” I explained.

  I can see a bit of anger in his eyes when I say this. We are all quiet for a few moments.

  “I think there were other things going on,” I say.

  “Like what?” he asks.

  “I don’t know, but I think Sister Rebecca knew,” I say.

  “Well, I’m not sure what you mean, but you can certainly talk with Sister Juanita,” he says. “The two of them were very close.”

  “I’d appreciate that,” I say. We stand to walk back to the church and he turns to me.

  “I am truly sorry,” he says to me as he places his hands on my shoulders. “I wish things were different.”

  I nod and look into my uncle’s eyes. They look just like Nicholas’ eyes.

  “You look just like him,” I say, more to myself. He looks at me quizzically and I reach for my phone and turn the screen to him. It’s a photo of Nick and me. He takes the phone in his hands and stares at it for the longest time, shaking his head in disbelief.

  “The resemblance is amazing,” he says.

  “Yes, it is,” I agree.

  We walk back to the church in silence and he leads me down a different corridor. He turns to me as we walk into a large room with books. “You do speak Spanish? Yes?” he asks.

  “Yes, fluently,” I say.

  “Good, Sister Juanita doesn’t speak English,” he explains as he walks up to a middle-aged woman who by her dress is clearly a nun.

  “Perdóname,” Father Nicholas says as he taps the woman on the shoulder. She turns slowly around and smiles at him. She is lovely looking. She looks much younger than her real age if I had to guess. She has brown hair from what I can tell and dark brown eyes, a splattering of freckles cross her nose and cheeks. Her skin is fair but still tanned. She looks past Father Nicholas at Lance and me and I see the color drain from her face. Father Nicholas seems to either be oblivious to this or he just doesn’t care. He explains why I’m here and offers us his office to talk. Sister Juanita declines and instead wants to walk right back to where we just came from. I shrug and follow her, Lance trailing behind us.

  We sit on the same bench as before and she turns to me.

  “Why are you here?” she asks in perfect English. I’m startled for a moment but think perhaps my uncle was confused.

  “You speak English?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

  “That is between you and me,” she says, smiling. “You are Rosa’s daughter, no?”

  “Yes,” I say. “You know about me?”

  She sighs. “Yes.”

  “But how? I don’t understand,” I say.

  “I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see you again,” she begins. “I was working at another church with Sister Rebecca when your mom got pregnant. She tried to hide it, but I knew the truth. My grandfather had spent time in America as a boy and spoke English. He taught me but said to keep it quiet. He said I’d learn more if people thought I didn’t speak English.” She pauses, smiling at the memory and then leans toward me and whispers. “Between you and me, he was right.”

  I smile a bit at that.

  “I decided to be a nun when I was sixteen. I came to the church your mother attended when I was eighteen. Father James seemed nice enough at first. But then one night, I couldn’t sleep, and I was walking outside when I heard a child crying and then it abruptly stopped. I thought I was hearing things. I walked a bit more and then as I was going back inside I passed the window to Father James’ office. I could see a candle and I glanced inside and…” She covers her mouth and shakes her head. “I saw the most horrible thing.”

  “He was raping a child,” I state, knowing exactly what she will say.

  “Yes, your mother,” she says. “I tried to tell another nun, but she said I must have been sleepwalking and dreamed it because Father James was a good man and would never do such a thing. I tried to talk to others, but no one would listen, even the police. Eventually, I was moved over here for ‘lack of subordination,’” she says with another smile. “But, I found out your mother was being hidden when I overheard something I should not have heard. Many months later, eight to be exact, I followed Father James as he went to the hospital down the road. I saw him and heard him. He held you both and left. When the nurses weren’t looking, I went to see you and held you, too. I vowed to protect you both and arranged to have you sent to where your mother had been hidden for all those months.”

  “So, it’s true then,” I say as I feel Lance’s arm come protectively around me. He’s been quiet today, letting me take the lead and figure things out. I lean back against him, relishing in the warm, hard support his chest offers my back. “She was raped,” I whisper out loud. The evidence is now irrefutable, there is absolutely no other explanation.

  Sister Juanita nods. “I tried to get into his office, to stop him, but by the time I got in there he was done with her and she lay on the floor sobbing,” she says. “I asked what had happened and he said she had broken up with a boyfriend and was upset. He told me to go to sleep, that he would take care of it. I didn’t trust him at all after that and I think he didn’t trust me as he kept his door locked and curtains closed after that. But there were several other occasions that I heard her and others. The church eventually moved him after other nuns grew a conscience and came forward.”

  “I’m sorry no one believed you,” I say. “I wish someone had.”

  She nods and then stops. “But then you wouldn’t be here, my dear.”

  “True, but my mom would be here,” I state, my eyes misting at the thought. I feel the handkerchief against my arm before I see it. I take it from Lance and smile at him.

  “You ought to keep that one,” she says, grinning. Her grin seems way too mischievous for a nun.

  “I might do that,” I say. I suck in a breath and look at her. “You heard other things too, didn’t you?” I ask, mustering up all the courage I can, not sure I want to know what secrets may have died with Sister Rebecca.

  “Yes, Sister Rebecca heard things and then I heard them too,” she says in a low voice, looking around as though she is afraid someone might hear us. “You have to understand, we were young, the youngest nuns there. It was hard for us to go to sleep that early. One night, Rebecca told me she had heard talk of taking children. She said it didn’t sound right. I asked her who was taking children and she said she heard Father James say something about bringing children to a meeting spot. This was before I saw him with your mother. I overhead a similar discussion between Father James and a man who was tall, but local. I remember the other man had a mustache and was maybe a few years older than Father James. They spoke in English which I thought was strange but figured they didn’t think I or the secretary at the time spoke English. They talked about kids from the foster care system that would be reported as runaways and then someone would deliver the children to a meeting point outside of town. They were interrupted by a phone call. I kept trying to listen from then on but never heard anything more about it. I thought it strange, however, I couldn’t put two and two together. I never saw that man
again. Sister Rebecca claimed she heard discussions of selling the children and sending them overseas. I just could never corroborate what she claimed to hear.”

  The wheels in my brain start spinning as she’s speaking. I think of all the kids at the orphanage who were suddenly gone in the night. The missing children, could it be?

  “Do you think something like that could still be happening?” I ask her.

  “Perhaps,” she says slowly as she contemplates this. “Money still speaks here, unfortunately. Father James isn’t here any longer, but the other man, I have no idea. Why?”

  “I’m volunteering at the orphanage in Las Naranjas and we’ve had a lot of missing kids the past few weeks. It seems odd to me, but the director made it sound like kids run away all the time or get foster homes.”

  “Well, she does have a point. Many of the older kids in care are very troubled and do tend to turn back to the streets and sometimes to drugs. Finding foster homes though is a bit tougher,” she says with a sigh.

  “Sister Juanita, how did Sister Rebecca die?” I ask as my brain continues to work in overdrive.

  “She was called out to help at Las Naranjas one night. They were short-staffed and needed an extra adult for the night. She borrowed a car that Father James had donated for use and it had ended up over here, maybe because of Father Nicholas. I don’t really know. Anyhow, it was late and the roads here through the mountains are not great. They think she slid off the road…anyways the car was found down a ravine the next day. She had bled to death, probably wasn’t even conscious after the collision. The staff at Las Naranjas just thought she decided against coming so late so they didn’t call, and we assumed she was there. It’s a shame, if she had been found earlier, well…” She trails off as she stares at kids playing on swings not far from us.

  “So, it was ruled an accident?” I ask.

  “Yes, of course,” she says, looking at me with bewilderment. “Why would you ask that?”

  “Just curious,” I say, trying not to reveal too much.

  “Well, it’s getting rather late and I shouldn’t stay out too long,” she says as she nervously looks around again.

  “Sure thing, we’ll walk you back,” Lance announces from behind me. She gives him an appreciative look as we turn toward the church. We follow Sister Juanita back. She stops a distance from the front of the church and turns to us.

  “I can trust that my language secret is safe with both of you, yes?” she asks.

  “Absolutely.” “Yes.” We both answer at the same time. She nods and bids us a good evening.

  I sit down on a retaining wall. Lance sits down next to me.

  “Well, that was…intense,” he says and bumps his shoulder lightly against mine. “You alright?”

  “Yes,” I say as I frown and bite my lip. I turn to Lance and can see he is concerned. “I have a bad feeling, Lance, a really bad feeling,” I say quietly.

  “You think there’s more to what Sister Juanita said?” he asks, placing a hand on my thigh.

  “Yes, a lot more,” I answer as I look up into his eyes.

  “Come on, let’s get back home,” he says as he pulls me up with him. We drive back to the villa in silence. I’m so deep in thought I nearly jump when he opens my car door.

  “Hey,” he soothes as he pulls me into an embrace. “Let’s go in and have a drink.”

  I follow him into the kitchen.

  “Hey, that you guys? How was your day?” Cody calls down from his room.

  “Yep. Fine, we’re just going to have a drink on the patio,” Lance calls out.

  “OK,” Cody answers. I’m glad when he doesn’t ask to join us.

  Lance pulls me onto his lap on the outdoor sofa and we sit for a while just looking at each other.

  “Lily, I don’t think you should pry anymore,” he says finally.

  “What? What do you mean?” I ask, getting annoyed that he’s trying to dictate what I do.

  “You have your answers about your family, yes?” he asks. I nod. “Well, then let the rest go. If something bad is going on…Lily, this isn’t like home…I can’t protect you from…” He pauses, trying to read me and sighs. “Promise me you’ll be careful. I don’t think this is the Pandora’s box you want to open.”

  I look at him for a long moment and let my guard down for once. “I…I have a hard time trusting people, Lance,” I say into my lap as I can’t quite muster enough bravery to look into his eyes. “But I trust you.” He slowly pulls my chin up until I’m forced to look at him.

  “Lily, I trust you, too,” he says.

  “I have to figure this out,” I say. “I just know something bad is happening to those kids and I think it’s tied to what Sister Juanita told us. I think whatever it is has been going on for a very long time. And if my parents hadn’t adopted me, maybe the same thing would have happened to Nick or me.”

  “Please, just be careful,” he reiterates.

  “I promise,” I say, and he brushes his lips over mine.

  “Alright, enough with the seriousness,” he says, smiling. “This was a big day for you. Did you have a nice time visiting with your family and Lorena?”

  I smile. The day has been so long, I’ve almost forgotten about it.

  “Yes, I did,” I answer suddenly feeling the atmosphere shift with the change in subject. “It feels so good to know them and to feel a connection to them. It’s like missing pieces of me are falling back in place. Pieces I didn’t know were missing,” I try to explain, my eyes brim a bit with emotion as I speak.

  Lance leans his forehead against mine. “I’m so happy for you, gorgeous,” he says with a grin. “You seemed so tense, so lost when we first met and now, I can sense a calmness in you. It’s good.”

  I nod. “It’s not all because of them though,” I admit out loud.

  “No?” he asks with a smirk. His thumb rubs my arm as he squeezes it.

  I slap him playfully on the chest. “What is it about the male ego?” I ask rhetorically.

  “The male ‘ego’?” he asks playfully.

  “Yes, ‘ego,’” I repeat, trying to hide a smile.

  He stands us up and leads me upstairs. I can hear music coming from Cody’s room, but he seems oblivious to our presence. As soon as Lance closes the door, he slams me up against the wall, holding my hands above my head with one hand as he brings his other hand up to my face. His kiss is passionate, hard and filled with desire. I forget everything for a moment except the feel of him, his body, his hands, and his tongue. I lose myself in his smell, his taste, and his touch. I’m not sure how, but the next thing I’m aware of is being on the bed with my clothes off and Lance on top of me. His tongue finds my nipple and then lower. I can feel his fingers on me and then in me. I can hear myself cry out from the pleasure and then Lance’s hand is on my mouth, covering it.

  I open my eyes and his face lingers over mine. “Shhhh, baby. Cody’s working next door,” he whispers in my ear as he grazes it with his teeth. I squirm against him, urging him on. He chuckles at my persistence. “What am I going to do with you?” he smiles against my belly as he continues to ravish me until I feel my body shaking. “Let go, gorgeous,” he urges me as he blows against my sex and that pushes me over the edge.

  I’m only partially aware that his fingers have left me and been replaced with… “Oh God,” I whimper as I feel him thrust inside me. Our movements become synchronized and just as I’m beginning to build again, he sits back on his thighs, bringing me with him so I’m seated on his lap. I feel him nudge even deeper inside of me and as he slams harder against me and pulls me down on him, I let go again. My eyes squeeze shut, and I feel my body quivering around him, clenching him. And then I feel his seed as he comes with me.

  We sit like that for a few moments as we both catch our breath. After a minute, he pulls us down so that I’m on top of him. He begins to move again, slower this time. He grasps my hips and pushes me up and down. I lean back and close my eyes as I move on him. I can feel him hard
en again inside of me. Our movements are slow and smooth with the added fluids. Eventually, he flips us over and pulls my legs up and over his shoulders. I shudder with pleasure as he grinds deeper and faster against my core. I lose track of time and space and focus all my senses on the friction between us until the pleasure overcomes me. I’m semi-aware that Lance has also found his release. He crawls off me and pulls me into his embrace.

  “Let’s get a shower,” he murmurs against my head as he kisses me. “We have to have you back at the orphanage bright and early tomorrow.”

  I frown, well, really, I think it’s a pouty face and Lance laughs.

  “Sorry, but you did commit to one more week,” he says as he grabs my hands and pulls me up to stand in front of him.

  “I know,” I sigh and follow him into the shower. He takes his time cleaning me. His movements are slow and gentle.

  “You are amazingly beautiful, Lily,” he says against my skin. I feel the goose bumps as his breath blows against my neck. I turn to face him, and he leans down and pulls me up, so we are face-to-face. “You are so precious to me,” he whispers as he brings his lips to mine. He hesitates for a moment. “For a while, I thought you might slip away from me. But now that I have you, I’m not letting you go, Lily,” he says as he stares into my eyes. I can feel the tears building. He starts to speak. I press my finger against his lips.

  “I don’t want you to let me go, Lance,” I say as I press my mouth against his.

  Chapter 19

  Lily’s Playlist: “Call to Arms” by Angels and Airwaves

  “Four days,” Lance says as he opens my car door at the orphanage the next morning.

  I smile. “Yep,” I say and then frown.

  “What’s wrong?” he asks as he takes me in his arms.

  “I…never mind, it’s silly,” I say to him.

  He pulls my chin up so I must face him. “What?”

  “It’s just when I had the schedule here, I didn’t think about what was next and now…” I trail off and look at him.

  “We’ll figure it out together,” he says reassuringly, giving my hand a squeeze before he kisses me goodbye. I nod and walk into the orphanage.