Page 98 of Unexpected Redemption

Wait, wait, wait.

My spine stiffens, lurching my back off the chair. “What about Savin?”

Mia screws her lips over to the corner of her mouth, her eyes looking anywhere but at me.

Oh shitake mushrooms.What else is wrong?

“What is it, Mia?”

She puffs up her cheeks around her tightly sealed lips. There’s a slight shake to her head.It’d be adorable if I didn’t need her to spit out whatever she’s holding back.

Klein answers for her. “That’s what the video call with the feds was about earlier.”

My chest constricts, making oxygen harder to come by. “Oh no.What happened to them? Please, tell me they’re okay.”

His throat bobs. “They lost them.”

“Lost them?” I parrot, my voice shrill. “What do you mean they lost them? They who?”

He folds his hands outward, flashing his open palms. “The feds. WITSEC. They lost Savin and Tasha.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Boss Dad just got the message from them this morning. About the dolls. The butterfly cocoon thing. How did they lose them that fast?”

I’d like to ask how they lost two grown humans to begin with, but I was lost quite easily myself once. So I’ll keep my snark to myself.

Mia finally rejoins the conversation. “Sure, Bossreceivedthe message this morning, but Savin and Tasha relayed it to their WITSEC coordinator yesterday.”

Suppose that makes sense.

I hate to ask this next question, but I need to know. “They don’t think they were... murdered, right?”

Klein rolls out his neck and shoulders. “No. They escaped or fled. They left aDear Johnletter for their WITSEC coordinator.”

I bing-boing my eyes between them. “Who is John, and what did the letter say?”

Mia twists her hair into a messy bun while explaining, “It’s an expression. Before your time. Now I feel old, so thanks for that.” She bares her teeth at me facetiously. She’s adorable. “Essentially, they didn’t feel safe testifying against Lenkovanymore. They said they were going into hiding and wished everyone well.”

With his eyes glazed over as if deep in thought, Klein muses, “It’s almost as if they waited until they got that message to us before making their escape.”

My hands flop onto the table, palms down. For once, my knees are perfectly still. “Well, I guess that’s it then. We have to use this email, huh?”

Especially since I haven’t let the cops know about Viktor yet.

Mia clears her throat, shifting in her chair and fidgeting with her blouse. She seems uncomfortable in her skin, which is unusual for her. “Lettie, can I ask you a question about the email from Viktor? Or would it be too upsetting?”

I roll my shoulders back, injecting confidence into my frame. Just like Papa always told me—fake it ’til you make it.“Ask away, Mia.”

She licks her lips and lowers her volume. “Can you clarify what Viktor meant in the email when he said to share it withthe one who has your eyes?Was he referring to Big Al?”

Some of the stifling panic I felt earlier threatens to return, tickling at the edges of my frayed nerves. To quell it, I take three deep breaths and focus on the feeling of the worn carpet under my shoes, the chair beneath me, and the sounds in the room.The panic slowly ebbs, a lightness returning to my mind.

Steadier now, I answer, “Yes. He said I had my father’s eyes. He made a big deal about it as he...” I force a swallow and another deep breath. “Well, you know what he did to me.”

She reaches over the table to rub my arm in short, soothing strokes. “That’s what I figured. I’m sorry. I needed to confirm whether we were missing something that could factor into the investigation, like another person.”

Wringing my hands, I make a last-ditch plea. “Is there really nothing we can do to keep the email away from Tomer?”

Mia shakes her head in a slow, long arc. “I’m sorry, Lettie.”

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