Chloe’s mouth dropped open in disbelief, her chest tightening with every intake of breath, and Alice tried to hold back tears but failed. “They tortured her, Renee. They burned her, and cut her, and forced her to…I’ll never forget her screams. Your father just watched and let them torture her with every unanswered question. We were told to let it be a lesson to us, and if he found out we were keeping secrets from him, what happened to Charlotte would happen to us. He paid the mortician at Carter’s and she was cremated that night. He literally made her disappear from the face of the earth.”
Chloe never considered that her leaving would lead to her friends being beaten, tortured, or murdered. “I killed her.”
“And I helped by keeping my mouth shut. Now I have to wonder, who are you and why are you here?”
Chloe propped her elbow up on the table and rested her forehead in her hand, feeling sick and light headed. Once she got home, she would deal with the emotions, but for the time being she was trapped. Chloe lifted her head to lock eyes with Alice. Even with what she had just been told, Chloe couldn’t let her guard down. She only revealed information she thought she could trust Alice with, vaguely explaining how Renee Parnell disappeared and Chloe Riggs was born. Alice listened and didn’t press for more; Chloe would give whatever information she wanted and the rest would have to wait.
In an effort to sweep the gloom out of the room, Chloe let Alice catch her up on what her life had been like after leaving Boston. Alice stopped in Mississippi and got a job as a data entry clerk at a trucking company where she met her husband, Reggie, and within a year they married and moved to Louisiana after Reggie was offered a job working in the oil field. They had six-year-old twin boys, Charlie and Samuel, who were obviously the center of her world.
“Do you still have the key?” Chloe asked.
“Well, not the original key you gave me, but a key. I was actually moving the box last week. That’s why I wasn’t here. I just get a pang in my gut that tells me it shouldn’t be kept in one place for too long.”
“Can I ask where it is?”
“Rockford, Alabama. Box number eighteen.”
Chloe knew where Rockford was and was relieved that Alice would hide the box somewhere so remote nobody would ever think to look for it. “And the key?”
“The key is in the light.” At Chloe’s confused look, Alice added, “You know. You just don’t know you know. Because I don’t have a signature card at the bank for you, if you ever need to get to the box without me, ask for Mr. Wilkins and tell him the key is in the light. He is being well compensated, so only talk to him.”
Chloe shook her head in disbelief. “My father’s keeping his promise. He knows that each one he kills stabs me with unforgivable guilt every time.”
“Don’t think for a second that I don’t feel the same way,” Alice said. “If I hadn’t kept my mouth shut—”
“Then it would have been you instead of Charlotte and you wouldn’t have Charlie and Samuel. You didn’t know—couldn’t have known—what he would do to Charlotte. Even I didn’t see it coming.”
“Enough about that,” Alice said to change the subject. “You should come over for dinner.”
“Alice, we have to be careful. I mean, Jack Lawrence is in New Orleans, and he probably has people here.”
“Do you honestly think that any of Jack’s boys, or even Jack himself, would know who we were?” Chloe gave her a stern look. “Okay. Jack might know it if he saw you, but how long has it been?”
“It’s not only that. I’m the one who is theoretically deciding the fate of your employment. Speaking of which…”
Taking the hint, Alice nodded and they both stood up. “I understand. But you are coming over for dinner. You can think of it as a receptionist extending southern hospitality. You’ll come for dinner tonight, and after the boys go to bed and Reggie starts watching Sports Center, I’ll tell you what happened when David found out you were gone.”
Chloe didn’t want to hear it. Her heart hurt just thinking about David. She still loved and missed him so much that she had to fight tears when she thought of him. He was her family, and with a few choice words, her father made it clear to her that David wouldn’t be there to stop him from hurting her. Every time she thought about David, she wanted to break down.
Alice must have seen the despair on Chloe’s face because she smiled and said, “You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”
Alice and Chloe embraced once more and Alice left the room with a smile on her face, leaving Chloe with too many thoughts going through her head and wondering if there were more surprises waiting for her in Louisiana.
Chapter 23
It was after five o’clock on a Friday night and Chloe had been in Louisiana for almost four weeks. She was done with her employee assessments, had moved on to the business plan for the new office, and was optimistic that if she pushed herself, she could be out of Louisiana in less than ten days.
From the conference room on the tenth floor Chloe could hear music, varying in style from rock to what sounded like African tribal drums celebrating the hunt. She turned toward the only window in the room, closed her eyes, and let herself be distracted by the sound of the drums until a knock at the door broke her peace.
She had expected Alice or Walter to be on the other side of the door, but instead it was an older woman with skin the color of burnt caramel, her hair almost completely gray, and piercing dark eyes. She was dressed in bright pink scrubs and held an unfolded plastic garbage bag in her hand. As she opened the door wider, Chloe noticed a rolling cart behind her stocked with cleaning supplies. When she spoke, her Cajun accent was so thick, Chloe focused intently to make sure she understood what was being said.
“My apologies, chérie,” the woman said as she pointed to the garbage can against the wall next to Chloe.
Chloe began gathering the papers in front of her. “I can leave the room if—”
The woman gave a tsk and waved her hand at Chloe. As the woman walked in the direction of the garbage can, Chloe asked, “Where is all that music coming from?”
“Why, the festival, o’course,” she replied with a laugh. “You not from here.”
Chloe smiled at the woman. “No, ma’am.”
The woman forgot about her own work and sat at the table next to Chloe. “Willetta Boudreaux.”
Chloe prepared herself for the game of twenty questions she knew was coming. “Chloe Riggs.”
“Where you from, Ms. Chloe?”
“Michigan,” she lied.
Willetta looked at her with curiosity and gestured with her chin to the stacks of files and papers on the desk. “What is it you do?”
“I’m a consultant.” Giving the shortest description she could, Chloe explained what she did for a living, and while she listened, Willetta would nod in understanding.
“Well, now. That sounds like a good job. Are you happy, child?”
Chloe felt bad that she had to lie to Willetta again. “Of course.”
“Hmm,” Willetta said with a doubtful tone. “What about your family?”
“My mother passed away and my father and I don’t spend a lot of time together.”
“Well, maybe if the Lord smiling down, you be able to see your father again soon. Nothing more important than family.” Chloe faked the best smile she could as Willetta patted Chloe’s hand. “Well, enough about that. Back to your question. The Festival International is what’s being celebrated outside. It’s quite a celebration, it is. People from all over the world come to this festival, it’s true.” Willetta stood up and changed out the garbage liners in the can. “You need to go to that festival, chérie.”
Chloe had been captivated by the music and had a feeling Willetta was right. “I might be able to spare some time tomorrow.”
“You be sure and do that.”
After Willetta left the room, Chloe looked at her watch, realizing she had an hour before she had to be at Alice’s for dinner and wondered if the music c
ould be heard from that far away.
***
“I most certainly did too tell you about the festival,” Alice said, setting a cup of coffee in front of Chloe, and sat down at the table. “Sometimes I wonder if you hear half the things I say to you.”
Chloe had been spending a majority of her free time outside of the office with Alice and her family. Reggie was good for Alice and obviously loved her unconditionally. Charlie and Samuel—who could be heard playing together in the other room, either video games or pretending they were warriors hunting down dragons and bad guys—were the center of their world. Chloe instantly fell in love with the boys and they took to her as if they had known her since the day they were born. Occasionally she would read them a story before bed, knowing it was just an excuse to get to stay awake for an extra ten minutes, but she didn’t mind. There was a part of her that was jealous Alice was able to achieve her dream of a family and being happy, so she took what she could get until she had to leave Louisiana.
Alice took a sip of her own coffee, glancing at the clock, counting the minutes until she would force the boys to go to sleep. “Ms. Willetta actually lives two houses down across the street. Her granddaughter lives with her, but I’ve never met her. From what I’ve been told, she is in a wheelchair and prefers not to leave the house.”
“That’s too bad.” Chloe decided it was time to ask the question that had been burning in her mind since she first saw Alice. “Do you think it’s a coincidence that we’re both in the same place at the same time?”
“I did for a little while, but not anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re still here.” From the other room she heard the boys howl with laughter and Alice smiled. “And because I think we have been careful to make sure nobody knows who we are.”
“Reggie knows about your tattoo,” Chloe pointed out.
“True, but he doesn’t know who I used to be.” Alice let out a sigh. “Reggie knows I am keeping secrets from him. Every once in a while he asks questions about my past and I am either vague or make something up because I can’t tell him. I know he gets frustrated sometimes but he doesn’t press me for information. He says when I’m ready, I’ll tell him.”
Chloe stared into her coffee cup and silently wondered if the day came when she met someone she was willing to give a relationship a chance with, would she would keep all of her secrets or trust them enough to tell the truth and not be afraid anymore.
“Besides,” Alice said, “we won’t be hiding forever. Maybe, if we’re lucky, your father will get sick again and won’t have the energy to go on.”
Chloe’s head snapped up. “What do you mean, sick?”
“I told you about that,” Alice said defensively, then thought about it. “Didn’t I?”
“Trust me, I would have remembered.”
Alice shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know if he’s still sick, but about a year after you left, your dad got sick. Nobody knew for sure, but all of the girls agreed it must have been a heart attack. He was in the hospital a few days. David came out to check on things and Dr. Michaelson was there every day for weeks.”
Chloe took a drink of her coffee, taking her time to think about it. Her father was sick or had been. If something were to happen to him, as his daughter, she would be the beneficiary of his kingdom. But if she wasn’t there to claim the crown, who would it go to? The next question she had to ask herself was, if—not if, when—she inherited the throne, would she even want it? She was surprised to admit to herself that she didn’t know the answer.
Alice interrupted Chloe’s thoughts. “So, the festival. You should go and at least check it out.”
“I’m not too crazy about hanging out in crowds for very long.”
“So take a once-around just to say you’ve been and go home. Seriously, blow off work for one weekend and go have fun.” Alice looked at the clock then turned her head down the hall. “Boys! Ten minutes!”
Within seconds, Charlie and Samuel, came running in, both dressed in old Halloween costumes—Charlie in an almost too-small Spiderman costume and Samuel wearing Superman, complete with cape whipping out behind him as he ran. They both rushed Alice with hugs, begging to stay up longer.
“Just a few more minutes,” Charlie said.
“We love you, Mommy,” Samuel added in the sweetest voice he could muster.
Then both at the same time, with puppy dog eyes, “Pleeease?”
Chloe smiled into her coffee cup. Those boys were fantastic.
Alice had to hide a laugh and smile. “We have to get up early in the morning to go see Granny and Papa. Go get ready for bed. I’ll be in in a few minutes.”
Both boys turned on Chloe, still with the puppy dog eyes, looking for some kind of savior to let them stay up just a little while longer. All Chloe could do was press her mouth shut so she wouldn’t smile or laugh, and gave them a look that told them they’d better listen to their mother. Defeated, both boys slumped and turned back toward the bedroom. The disappointment was abruptly forgotten as Charlie turned to Samuel.
“Race you!” Charlie ran down the hallway with Samuel on his heels.
It was confirmed. Chloe was jealous.
Chapter 24
Chloe’s senses were bombarded all at once by the different smells of various foods wafting throughout the air, at least six different bands playing six different styles of music from six different corners of the festival, and the enormous crowd of people filling the streets. There was music, food, and purchases to be made from all corners of the globe, and Chloe inspected every one of them. Cautious that such a large festival might bring Jack Lawrence up from New Orleans, or any associates who might recognize her, she was able to let herself get lost in the festivities, while at the same time paying close attention to her surroundings. That was a habit she would never be able to break, and it was also how she knew she was being followed.
She’d noticed him earlier in the day when she had stopped at one of the stages to listen to a band. While standing in the crowd, she glanced around the people surrounding her and saw him staring at her with his knee-melting smile. Both his hands were full, a drink of some kind in one and food in the other. Instantly attracted, she wanted to return the smile, but didn’t want him to take it as an invitation to approach her, so she turned around and left. Not paranoid, but not completely comfortable, she decided to take another walk around the festival to test herself and make sure that every warning of possible danger was all in her head. She strolled through the various rows of vendors and stopped at one for a few minutes, leaving with a pair of earrings and matching necklace. As she continued to walk past local businesses whose doors were open and happily welcomed customers during the festival weekend, she could see his reflection in the windows. He was still following her, and, surprisingly, she was okay with it. Realizing her need to be overly cautious was all in her head, she stopped and calmly turned around to confront him. When he stopped in front of her, he smiled and the pit of her stomach tightened.
“Hello, strange man who has been following me for the past forty-five minutes,” she said coolly with curiosity filling her thoughts.
She could see that he was obviously trying to think of something to say so she waited for him to speak again. She would give him thirty more seconds and if he didn’t speak, cute or not, she was going home.
His smile widened. “I guess there are some people I can’t follow without being caught. I’m Hunter.”
“I’m Chloe. You know, you’re not very good at following someone.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Don’t let my boss hear you say that.” She raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him. “I’m an FBI agent.”
Her eyes widened and panic struck her momentarily. FBI? This was the perfect time to make an excuse to get away from him, go home, and pack her bags to leave town, but she didn’t feel any threat.
“You’re not wanted, are you?” he asked in a joking manner.
In
voluntarily, she looked at him with all seriousness in her eyes and slowly shook her head. “Not by the FBI.”
She could tell he was trying to determine if she was kidding or not, but he laughed all the same. They stood across from each other in silence for a few minutes, each taking the time to look the other over carefully. He was beautiful, with a square jaw, straight nose, perfectly shaped ears, broad shoulders, and eyes that seemed to pierce through her. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved button-down shirt. There was no way the conversation, or the fantasies, would continue until she knew something for sure.
She cleared her throat, not believing what she was about to ask and hoping he didn’t think she was some crazy lady with a fetish. “Can I ask you a favor without having to give an explanation? Would you mind rolling up your shirt sleeves? Just to the elbows will be fine.”
He seemingly found her request amusing as he threw his beer in the garbage can, rolled up his sleeves, and rotated his lower arms with no clue what she did or didn’t want to see. She felt absolutely foolish, but had to make sure there was no indication he was part of the Family.
He began to roll his sleeves back to their previous position. “Got a thing for arms?”
“Sorry. It’s just…” Stupid, she thought to herself. She waved her hand in front of her in an effort to make the cloud of idiocy forming around her vanish.
Neither of them seemed to notice hundreds of festival visitors passing by them in all directions while they stood across from each other. The more he smiled at her, the more her stomach fluttered. She knew this was simply lust at first sight and nothing more. The fact that he had no tattoo on his arm made her want to talk to him, but her wall wasn’t coming down.
“So,” he said in an effort to keep the conversation going, “are you enjoying the festival?”
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