by Angela Foxxe
“She didn’t remember putting me in the box?”
“Maybe she did or maybe not. But the fact is that she walked away, and she was almost to the parking lot when she started having more contractions, and an orderly who happened to be bringing a wheelchair back from delivering a patient to their vehicle swooped in and saved the day. Otherwise, Jessica might have been born right there on the pavement.”
“That’s awful,” Naomi said. “What a horrible way to start a life.”
“It is, but there’s nothing we can do to make that better. I know looking at the pictures that Jessica appeared happy before her death, so I think you can take heart in the fact that she was eventually happy with her life.”
“I guess. It’s hard to know if she would have been happier growing up with us, but we’ll never know. I do know that the DNA sample they took from me matched the sample they compared it to. Too bad being Jessica’s identical twin doesn’t keep me from having to fight for Evie. Genetically, I’m practically her mother.”
Senora was floored.
“You remember Evie?”
“They tried to wipe her away, but every time they would ask me questions to see if it took, I would start to remember. It would begin like a dream, but within a few hours, I would know. I couldn’t separate myself from it. Eventually, I learned not to tell them. It was easy, because I’m hiding a lot of memories that I still have. J and I decided that it was best if only he and I knew what I still knew, and the doctor isn’t going to break patient confidentiality.”
“J was here?”
“He was. He thinks really highly of you. I’m not surprised. You’re an amazing woman.”
Senora smiled.
“Too bad he’s never told me that.”
“You can see it in his eyes when he talks about you. There’s pride there.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve never met him in person. I don’t even know what his voice sounds like. He disguises his voice on the phone.”
“I wonder why.”
“I think it has to do with this,” Senora replied, gesturing at the courtyard and the building that surrounded them. “Until you, I don’t think I had the security clearance to know about this place.”
“It’s all so strange, the things they hide. This experience has opened up a lot of truths that I wish I didn’t know. I don’t know if I’ll ever look at people without wondering if they’re secretly a bear.”
“Or a dragon,” Senora offered.
“Or a wolf.”
The pair laughed, and Senora felt Naomi take her hand and give it a friendly squeeze.
“You saved me when I was left for dead. I can’t thank you enough.”
“You’re helping us put these people behind bars no matter how hard it is for you personally. You don’t know how much that means to me and to our case. You are the missing piece that puts the entire puzzle together. Nothing I did even compares to what you’re doing. If there’s anything I can do to help you make it through this transition and the move back home, let me know. Anything.”
“Anything?”
“Yes. Just name it, and I’ll do everything I can.”
Naomi took a deep breath.
“J told me that Evie is in foster care, and I’m going to get one shot at proving I’m the best person for her to be placed with. But the hearing is scheduled for after the trial is over to make sure that Matt and Chelsea are behind bars and their rights are stripped.”
“Is Chelsea actually related to Matt? She looks a little young to be his mother.”
“She’s his sister.”
“Whoa.”
“I know. They’ve been conning people for decades.”
“That’s insane. So, what can I do for you?”
“I have to stay here for a year after I get guardianship of her. I can’t just leave the state because they want to be able to check on her, and because I’ve been here over a year, I’m legally a resident.”
“That’s a crap technicality.”
“I know. But it’s what I have to do to give Evie the life she deserves. I couldn’t help Jessica; it’s the least I can do, and to be honest, I can’t leave without her. I know that I’m not her mother, but what I know and what I feel are two different things.”
“I believe it. Your love for Evie is what got you through so much.”
“They haven’t let me see her.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I need a place of my own, and I need some sort of income. Something to show that I can take care of Evie.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Senora said, thinking that Ty would probably help her out. “When are they letting you out of here?”
“As soon as I have a place.”
“I’ll see what I can do, but I think I’ve got that covered. Anything else? Don’t hesitate to ask.”
Naomi sighed, looking down at her hands.
“Can you call my parents? I want them to know that I’m alright, but I don’t want to hear the disappointment when they find out that I’m staying here for a year. I don’t know if I can handle that.”
Senora nodded.
“I’ll talk with your parents.”
“Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“I can imagine,” Senora said. She stood, and Naomi joined her. “I have to go if I’m going to get all this done. I’ll see you soon, alright?”
Naomi hugged her, squeezing Senora hard and holding on as if it was for dear life.
“I always wanted a friend like you,” Naomi whispered. “I know you’re just doing your job, but I’ll never forget this.”
Tears threatened, but Naomi let her go and turned quickly as if to hide her own tears, lowering herself down on the mat and sitting quietly. She breathed in deeply, her breath the only sound aside from a tiny artificial creek that bubbled somewhere in the courtyard.
Senora left quickly, too overwhelmed with emotion to stick around. Naomi’s trust was a huge burden to bear, but it was exactly what Senora needed. She would figure out a way to get Naomi settled and on her feet here, and then she would stand before a judge and tell them every reason that Naomi was the only person that Evie should go home with. Family Court was outside of her experience, but she would stand up for Naomi and make sure that everyone knew exactly what type of mother Naomi was. Everyone deserved a mother like Naomi, but Evie deserved her more.
Ty was still sitting in the car when she got in. He moved to get out of the driver’s seat and let her drive, but she waved him off.
“I can’t drive right now,” she said softly.
“Bad news?”
“Not really, but I have to ask you for something.”
“So, ask.”
She laid it all out, and she was only halfway done explaining when Ty stopped her.
“So, she needs a home and a source of income, right?”
“Right.”
“Done and done.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been looking for a virtual assistant for a business I want to start up, and she would be perfect. I need someone that can handle herself and isn’t easily intimidated. I was thinking you’d be perfect for the job, but I know how you hate desks.”
“This would be perfect for her,” she said. “Then, she could stay home with Evie full-time and take care of her.”
“There’s more to it than that; I’ve had to deal with child services a few times.”
“Really?”
“You would not believe the number of times nosey neighbors confuse something that’s normal for a shifter family for child abuse.” He rolled his eyes. “Plus, when they’re learning to shift, they sometimes get bruised and there’s soreness involved when the body is first learning to shift. When their teachers question them, it’s not like they can come out and say that they’re bruised or that they broke a bone shifting into a creature most Americans believe aren’t real.”
“They’ve broken bones?”
“It doesn’t happen often, but it never looks good. I’ll help you get her situation ready to prove that she’s a fit parent, even though she shouldn’t have to.”
“Thank you,” she said. “Now, all that’s left to do is call her parents.”
“I’ll leave that to you, but I will tell you this: if her family is willing to move out here for the year that Naomi has to stay or they’re at least willing to spend most of their time here, that will look good. Having a support system in place is important, and while we’ll be here for Naomi, it’s not the same as family.”
“We’ll? Aren’t you going back to Texas?”
“Do you want me to go back to Texas?”
“I don’t, but I don’t know if I’m-”
“Don’t get your feathers ruffled. I’m renting an apartment while I work out this business plan. I’ll be close, but you’ll have your independence until you decide you’re ready to move forward.”
“And if I’m not?”
“Then I’ll be close, and that’s going to have to be enough.”
“Thank you,” she said, and for the first time, she reached out to him and grabbed his hand.
The moment wasn’t lost on him; that much was obvious by the expression on his face. But he didn’t comment, and they spent the rest of the drive quietly enjoying one another’s presence.
Things were going well, and Senora felt ready to conquer the world. They were going to help Naomi and Evie, and they were going to take down two of the big players in HUB, if not the entire cult. Everything was looking up, and she still had plenty of vacation time to consider Ty’s proposition. It would be so different from working for the FBI, but Naomi’s case had proven to her that she needed more control of what cases she worked and how involved she got. She couldn’t handle walking away and letting someone else take over in situations like Naomi’s.
And if Senora had listened to her superiors and walked away, Naomi would be dead, and Evie would be living with a pair of monsters masquerading as mother and son.
THE FINAL CHAPTER
One month later
Naomi stood in the middle of the room, dressed in a simple blue tailored suit and matching pumps. Her hair was down, blonde curls pinned back neatly away from her face in a soft up-do that Senora thought made her look angelic.
The room was quiet while Naomi worked through her feelings and prepared herself for what she was about to face. Her family stood quietly behind her, her adoptive mother and father close but not overbearing. This was Naomi’s fight, and they were there to lend support and nothing more. They’d even gone so far as to rent their own place less than a mile away. They were retired, though they didn’t seem quite old enough to be. Mister Martin had made some smart investments in their twenties that had paid off, and the pair of them didn’t think twice about renting out their house in Spokane and moving to one of the many quiet suburbs outside of D.C.
“We have time,” Ty said. “Take deep, calming breaths. You’ve done your home study, background check, gone to counseling and all the recommended classes and more. You’ve got this. They’re not going to say no to the woman who raised this child for the first four years of her life.”
“She won’t be four in two more weeks. She was born on the fifteenth, and we always make sure to give her a big birthday party. And it was only two years, but it feels like four. In my memories, it’s four.”
“I know,” Ty said. “Just be as honest and vulnerable as you can without being weepy. They need to know that your heart is in it.”
Naomi nodded, then stood up straighter and took a deep breath.
“I’m ready for this.”
Ty smiled at her.
“We’re going to do whatever it takes to get her back,” he promised.
Senora watched him, and she was struck again by how wonderful he was. Unlike the hundreds in his field that she’d encountered that found the victim or their body then turned away, Ty was in it for the long-haul. He cared deeply about Naomi and everyone he’d ever rescued, and that made all the difference in the world. They were a lot alike, and his offer got more tempting by the minute. Maybe it was time to take her talents to the private sector and work each case the way she saw fit. She still hadn’t decided, and she had more vacation time and sick time left than she knew what to do with. Because she was still technically employed, she was accruing four hours of vacation and one hour of sick leave every single week. She could go an entire year before she had to make up her mind, but she had no intention of taking that long.
Naomi rode in the small SUV Ty had bought her as a sign-on bonus for joining his company. He’d offered her something a little flashier, but she’d gone with the CRV. She didn’t want to give the wrong impression to the judge.
Senora rode with Ty, too nervous to let him drive.
“It’s going to be alright,” Ty assured her.
“I know, but this is so important. I don’t know what she’s going to do if-”
“Don’t go down that rabbit hole. We’re almost there, and in a few short hours, we’ll know.”
She felt his hand on her thigh, and her body tightened in response. She loved the feel of his hands on her, and she didn’t know why she’d fought it so hard before. It had been a month, and he’d spent no more than three nights in his apartment. When his lease was up, if things were still going this way, she was going to take the leap and suggest he move in with her.
But she hadn’t mentioned it yet. That was still eleven months away, and she wasn’t quite ready to put her thoughts out there.
“Park over there so we can walk in with her.”
“Are you still worried about the flock?”
“I am. Matt and Chelsea are never getting out, but I wouldn’t put it past one of the members of HUB to come after Evie. With Naomi’s house under a fake name and everything else I’ve done to protect her location, this is the only place they have a chance of getting to her.”
“Have you heard anything that makes you think that’s going to happen?”
“I haven’t. But I have a feeling, and I always trust my gut.”
She nodded, collecting her badge and her gun.
“Just in case,” she said.
He smiled.
“That’s what I love about you.”
“I hope that’s not the only thing.”
He laughed, and they both got out of the car, swooping in to surround the Martins as they went into the courthouse.
The process was so much different than she’d expected, and instead of sitting in the stand, the judge called each person individually to stand in front of the bench and say their piece. The state represented itself, but it was clear that they were all for letting Naomi and Evie be reunited. The tension fled Senora. This was a technicality, something the state had to do to cover itself and prove that they’d done their due diligence. Even though Naomi had been kidnapped and forced into the cult, the state had to prove their belief that Naomi was not a member and therefore not a danger to the child.
When Naomi was called forward, Senora couldn’t help the tears that quietly descended her cheeks. The judge even looked like he was getting emotional, and when Ty turned to give Senora a thumbs up, she knew that he’d been right. Everything was going to work out.
The judge didn’t ask anyone else to the stand, and after quietly reviewing the documentation in his chambers for what seemed like an eternity, he returned through the door from behind the bench, then walked around the side to where Naomi stood.
“Mommy!” a tiny voice shouted, running from behind the judge’s robes and pulling free of his hand.
The judge stopped, his eyes already misty as he and the entire courtroom watched little blonde pigtails fly out behind the little girl. She launched herself into Naomi’s arms so forcefully that Naomi took a step back and plopped down into the pew-style seating behind the Plaintiff’s table.
Naomi squeezed her tight, her sobs so deep and visceral
that she couldn’t hold back. She was laughing and crying all at once, and little Evie’s arms were wrapped so tightly around Naomi’s neck that Senora was sure that she was struggling to breathe. It didn’t matter; she had everything she needed in her arms.
Ty put his arm around Senora, pulling her close and wiping a tear from her cheek before kissing the top of her head.
“I told you,” he whispered.
“This is amazing,” she said.
“I know exactly what you mean.”
The judge waved his arm, and the bailiff announced that the courtroom may be seated. Senora looked around and saw that there wasn’t a dry eye in the room, including the people that were there awaiting their own turn to plead their case.
She saw a woman stand up from the other side of the room, and she braced herself, but she only went as far as the seat directly across the aisle from her where a man sat quietly. Senora couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she knew by the way that Ty was tilting his head that he could hear every word.
The woman stood and walked out of the courtroom, through the doors where lawyers and clients went to have a private conversation. She emerged a few minutes later with a man who was obviously a lawyer behind her and another lawyer that motioned to the man with a barely contained smile that he should come to the meeting room.
When the man left, Senora leaned in and looked at Ty.
“Did I just see what I think I saw?” she said, still watching Naomi a few seats ahead, receiving Evie’s sweet kisses and staring at the child as if she couldn’t get enough of the sight of her.
“Apparently, Evie’s story touched an ex who was here to slaughter that poor man in court. She told him that he was a good father, and if he could forgive her, she was willing to find a way to make fifty-fifty work.”
Senora let out a sigh.
“That’s amazing,” she said.
“I have a feeling that she won’t be the only vindictive woman or man to have the wind drop out of their sails after seeing this.”
Naomi stood and looked back at them and her parents.
“Let’s go home,” she said, still cradling Evie against her chest.