Healed (The Found Book 3)

by Caitlyn O'Leary

  “It’s strange and complicated. You know how I was discovered in the backyard of the Johnson’s house when I was little.”

  “Sure, we talked about it a lot. You could never remember where you came from.”

  “Well, I kind of remember now. Not a lot, but some. It was after I met some of the others who were found.” They both looked as Jeremy brought them a stick he found, and then proceeded to poke a dead log with it.

  “You mean like Kelly Wachowski?”

  “Yep. She goes by Kali now. She married a man named Noah.”

  “Wasn’t she kidnapped? I read about it in the newspaper last year.”

  “Yes, it was terrible. But she got away. There are some really awful people who want to get their hands on the found.”

  “I also read about Alfred Hawley in England, he was killed last year when someone attempted to kidnap him.” Sarah shuddered, remembering how she felt when reading the story in the newspaper.

  “He was.”

  “That’s why you’ve been in hiding. You’re in California aren’t you?” Sarah stopped on the path.

  “How’d you know that? I know you contacted me through Ramone and he gave you my number but it was an Atlanta number, so how did you know I was in California? Damn it was it Kyle shooting off his mouth?”

  “Don’t blame Kyle too much. Chris has a way of getting everyone to talk to him. He always wants to know everything. That’s how he kept people under his thumb.” Sarah looked up the dirt path and saw Jeremy using his stick to press against a toadstool.

  “Still, he shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “I don’t think he said anything more than you being in California, otherwise Chris would have told me. He liked bragging about how much he knew about things.”

  That made Sarah feel a little better.

  “So people are trying to kidnap you? Hurt you?”

  “Damn it, you just said he didn’t say anything more than me being in California!”

  “I’m not stupid, if they kidnapped Kali, and killed Alfred, obviously they’re after you too.” Sarah calmed down. She needed to keep it together.

  “There have been a few different types of groups out to get the found. Some have been out and out hate groups that want to kill us. I think those groups have been stopped. But the one that tried to kidnap me, wants me for a breeding program.” Sarah pulled her jacket tighter around her, the warm air in the forest suddenly feeling cold.

  “A breeding program? I don’t understand.”

  “Somebody thinks combining my eggs with their sperm will make some kind of super baby. They want to breed with me. I don’t know if they just want to harvest my eggs, or what.” Sarah kept her eyes on Jeremy, not wanting to see the horror mirrored in Amy’s eyes. She still couldn’t stand to think about it. The whole idea of someone wanting to use her to for such a purpose, and then steal her babies made her sick.

  “But you got away.”

  “I did. With a lot of help. There is a naval unit is tasked to protect the found. Their leader is actually found himself. Apparently there were a lot more children who came to this world on that day then were ever publicized.”

  “This world? What do you mean this world? Are you from outer space?” Amy’s eyes were wide green circles that reminded her of Jeremy.

  “No. The memories I have before waking up in the Johnson’s backyard are pretty foggy. I rely a lot on what others have told me. We came from another universe. We came from Earth, just a different Earth.”

  “What do you remember?” Amy asked, obviously fascinated.

  “I remember having an aunt I really loved. I remember making the decision to come here after talking to her and a lot of adults.”

  “Why, if you really loved her?”

  “I was going to make a difference, I could be of service and make a difference. I knew I was going to come and live in a big family that would love and care for me, and it would be fun. But the most important thing is I would make a difference and help people who needed it.”

  “That’s amazing.”

  “Then I learned even more from Kali and Noah.”

  “What did you learn?”

  “That after about twenty years we were going to find other found and our gifts would start manifesting, and we could help more.”

  “Is your gift healing?”

  “Yes. I mean, I’m a doctor. You know that. But since I’ve been in contact with some of the other found, I have been able to touch people and bring relief to their injuries.” Sarah couldn’t quite meet Amy’s eyes.

  “That’s bullshit, you didn’t give me relief. You healed my cracked ribs.”

  Sarah rubbed the back of her neck. It’d be great if she could totally heal her headache, because it seemed to be coming back with a vengeance. “What about my baby. Is my baby okay?”

  Sarah stopped, and so did Amy. “Your baby is fine. Amy’s smile lit up her entire face.

  “You’re sure.”

  “Absolutely.” Amy threw her arms around Sarah.

  “Thank you, thank you so much.” Just hugging her, touching her, Sarah could feel the life growing inside her. The baby was a girl. “Oh Amy, I just felt her, you’re having a baby girl!”

  “I am?”

  “You are,” Sarah assured her. Amy stared at her, a look of joy on her face.

  “You can tell those types of things, oh my God. That’s a miracle.” Then a look of dread came over Amy’s face.

  “Sarah, how dangerous was it for you to come here?”

  “What?”

  “I asked you how dangerous was it for you to come here.”

  “I was careful.”

  “I’m serious.”

  “So am I. Not only do I not want to be captured, I would never put your son at risk.” Both women smiled at the little boy squatting as he pushed at something with his stick.

  “Why did you come? I mean I really wasn’t expecting you when I contacted you on Facebook. What made you decide to help me after you talked to me on the phone?”

  Now that was the question. Sarah chose her words carefully. “I remembered the girl I grew up with. You always stood up for me, even though I was different for being adopted. Also, I researched you. Your story was such a direct conflict from the report the doctor wrote, something seemed fishy.”

  “How did you know what the doctor wrote?” Amy asked.

  “I might have hacked into the hospital records.” Sarah’s cheeks heated up. Hacking into medical records was something she would have totally abhorred in the past, but the last eight months in hiding had changed her perspective.

  What’s more after talking to Amy, she knew she was telling the truth, and checking the records was a double check.

  Amy opened her mouth, as if to ask another question, but then closed it. Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. How did you explain to someone you now have a sixth or even seventh sense about people, and you could pick up their intentions over the telephone? That wasn’t her gift really, it was Kali’s gift. But the more time she spent with other found people, residual amounts of their abilities became hers. These days other found could now do a slight bit of healing.

  Jeremy came running up with both of his hands full of blossoms.

  “I picked flowers for each of yous.”

  “They’re beautiful,” they said simultaneously and laughed. It might just turn into a good day.

  Chapter Four

  It was a shit day. He’d been looking for Amy for almost two days. He had to find her. She couldn’t really have left him. She loved him, like he loved her. They were meant to be together. He knew he fucked up five days ago, but she told him she had forgiven him.

  A little voice in his head reminded him he didn’t really screw up. He had done what was necessary for the good of their relationship. They had the worst argument of their entire marriage. Amy refused to see reason. An abortion was their only option. How often had he fantasized about having her all to himself as it was? There was no way
he was going to tolerate another child, especially a baby. Babies took up too much of Amy’s time.

  When she refused to listen to reason and threatened to take Jeremy and leave, he saw red. He had grabbed her and shoved her to the ground. It was like he was outside of himself, when he saw her lying there. Then he realized, within her she held that thing that was going to keep them apart and he could do something about it. So he saw himself kick her.

  He was appalled but he kept doing it, trying to drive out the little piece of humanity that was spoiling everything. He wasn’t doing anything to her, he rationalized to himself, even as she lay there bloodied, he was just trying to get rid of the thing that was going to monopolize all the time that rightfully belonged to him. Didn’t she understand he loved her? That he would do anything to keep them together?

  It took him a while before he came back to himself and realized what he had done. Before he had realized he had hurt her. She was bleeding. Hopefully she lost the baby, which would be a blessing. She was crying, begging for mercy. When he saw the bruises on her face, he realized he hurt Amy, so he stopped. He got her into clean clothes and called Ed, and they met at the hospital. Ed and he went way back, he had gotten him out of a bad situation a few years back when he had been driving drunk. Ed owed him.

  He immediately gave her some painkillers and sedatives, and then started treating her for injuries. He corroborated Chris’s story that Amy had been in an auto accident. The few times Amy tried to say something, both men overrode her, until she finally gave up and fell into a drug induced sleep. Chris took her home, and treated her like a princess that night and the next day. She told him the next night she had lost the baby and three days later she was gone.

  Now here he was trying to track her down. She must have taken the battery out of her cell phone, because it wasn’t showing any way for him to track her. She hadn’t taken her brand new SUV. So he couldn’t use the GPS in the vehicle either to track her. He couldn’t figure out how she had left. He hated when it came down to old fashioned police work.

  Chris Jeffries didn’t want to put out an APB on his wife, he didn’t want to admit to anyone that she was missing. They were devoted to each other and everyone knew it. Their life was perfect. They were only ever seen together, so he couldn’t explain her disappearance. Thank God it was summer vacation, and he didn’t have to explain Jeremy missing school. Still, where in the hell was she?

  He rifled through the mail on the table until he found the credit card and cell phone bills. Finally, he had some way of tracking her. Chances are she checked into some motel just out of town. He couldn’t stand the thought of sleeping another night without her next to him. It wasn’t right.

  When he went online to check her charges, he found one charge at a small electronics store. When he went there and showed her picture, they remembered she had bought a cell phone. Chris scoured the house for the receipt and finally found it in one of the kitchen drawers. She had actually written the phone number of the cell phone on the receipt. Now to trace who she called. He called over to one of his friends in the precinct who owed him a couple of favors. She had used the phone, but she had only called one, and that number belonged to Sarah Johnson.

  “Isn’t that Kyle Johnson’s sister,” Lucy asked. Damn busybody. Chris should never have asked her to do him a favor.

  “Yes it is,” he responded brightly. “I was doing my wife a favor, Lucy,” Chris immediately covered. “She couldn’t remember which number belonged to Sarah. So she asked me to check a couple of numbers on her statement.”

  “Oh, well I never met Sarah, isn’t she one of those found?” Sarah was quite the celebrity in the city of Atlanta, even twenty years later. Everybody remembered the child showing up in the Johnson’s backyard, especially people who worked with Kyle Johnson.

  “Yes she is. But she’s also a respected physician. She’s a remarkable woman.” Who was butting in where she didn’t belong. “Thanks for your help, Lucy.”

  This changed everything. Chris broke into a sweat. Sarah would be documenting that this wasn’t a car accident, but an assault case. But they still couldn’t prove it was him. Of course, how was he going to contradict Sarah’s evidence, and say that days ago he had her in the hospital with findings of a car accident?

  Dammit. Think Jeffries. There had to be some record of where Sarah was. Come to think of it, hadn’t Kyle said she was in hiding because people were after her? God, that boy couldn’t handle his liquor. Give him a couple of shots of tequila after some beers and everything spilled out to good ol’ Captain Jeffries.

  Of course Chris wanted to know what Marshall Johnson was up to, but it turns out this intel on Sarah was going to come in mighty handy. Hell, Kyle even told him the name of the pharmaceutical company after Sarah. God only knew why they wanted her, she was a freak anyway, and she shouldn’t be around his wife. Maybe they could help him find Amy.

  ****

  Nate checked in with Noah. He had been scheduled to infiltrate one of Rixitron’s board meetings by acting as a bodyguard, but there was no way he was going to be carrying out that assignment while Sarah was in danger.

  “So Nate, are you finally going to pull your head out of your ass or are you going to let your past keep fucking your over?”

  “I take it we’re done talking about Rixitron and the new nanotech division?”

  “You got it in one. I want to know what you’re going to do about Sarah.”

  “I’m going to find her and get her ass back to California where she is safe and sound.” Nate was silent, willing Noah to keep his mouth shut, but that was the problem with really good friends, they wouldn’t always do what you wanted if they thought they could help you.

  “Your parents fucked you up.”

  “I called to talk about the op, not go through a bunch of psychobabble.”

  “So hang up.” Nate considered it. “You watched two bitter people fight a war against one another, and treat you like a hostage.”

  “You’ve got it wrong. It was a high society marriage and I needed to learn how to fit in and run the business.”

  “If you actually believed that happy horseshit you’d still be in Long Island married to some plastic debutante running Goodman Enterprises. Instead you went to Oklahoma University to play football for God’s sake. Then put the cherry on top when you joined the Navy.” Noah was fighting back laughter as he spoke. Nate did laugh. It had taken courage at seventeen to make the break from his family, but by twenty-one when he entered the Navy he was damn glad of his decisions.

  “You know I already told them to go to hell.”

  “You did when it came to your career. But something has been holding you back about getting serious about Sarah. I don’t know if you think you’re unworthy, or marriages can’t work, but whatever it is, you damn well better figure it out before she slides through your fingers.” Every muscle in his body went tense at the idea of Sarah not ending up in his arms, not being his.

  “Look asshole, I’ve already made some decisions. I decided to ask for a transfer so I’m not taking any more overseas assignments. I want to be old and boring like you. At least that’s my intention if I can get Sarah to agree to go on a fucking date.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

  “Now that’s more like it.”

  “I’m hanging up now.” Nate pressed end. He looked around the campsite and found Ramone showing some of the younger scouts how to build a fire. He called Brayson over, and asked him to show the scouts instead, so he could finally have his talk with the Reverend.

  “Reverend, enough with this bullshit, you need to tell me where she is now.”

  “I promised I’d give her until the day after tomorrow. Then I’ll take you to her.”

  “Something is going on, and she’s in danger, admit it. She wouldn’t have taken all these precautions if it wasn’t dangerous.”

  “Agreed. That’s why she’s in the middle of a forest. Look she’s meeting up with an old friend of ours. She neede
d help only Sarah could give.”

  “But she trusted you? You somehow brought her to the middle of nowhere to wait for Sarah?”

  “I told you, she was an old friend of mine too. We were all in elementary school together.”

  “Not good enough,” Nate knew he was growling, but he couldn’t help it.

  “Look Nate, if I thought for an instant they were going to come to harm I would be the first one to bring in the troops, you and her brother included, but they’re not. We need to give them forty-eight more hours. Sarah needs to develop a plan and get Amy on board.”

  Nate’s back molars weren’t going to survive this, he was going to end up with dentures for sure.

  “Why didn’t you stay with them? I don’t get that, why didn’t you stay around there?”

  “I just couldn’t for two reasons, I had commitments here, and Amy wouldn’t have felt comfortable with me there. But I didn’t leave Sarah undefended.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She’s armed.”

  “Does she even know how to use a gun?”

  “Are you kidding? Coming from that family? Of course her daddy and brothers taught little Sarah how to take care of herself. Just give her the time she asked for.”

  “Fine. But, first thing Sunday morning, I better see Sarah,” Nate turned to walk away.

  ****

  “Sarah, I’m scared to go back. Chris will convince everyone he didn’t hurt me. If I try to leave him he’ll use Jeremy as leverage in a custody case. I don’t know what to do.” It was cathartic for Amy to cry and now was a good time for it to be happening. Jeremy was in his room sleeping after a long day walking and playing in the woods.

  “Amy, we have solid evidence you’ve been beaten, and the imprints of his ring in the photos. It’s obvious he is holding something over Ed Jorrelson’s head, we need to find out what that is and get him to turn.” She needed help to find out what it was. She really needed Cyrus and Kyle. Cyrus was going to be so pissed she left the apartments in California. Then there was Kyle who was not going to believe Chris did this.