Page 130 of Enthrall Shadows
“Have they harassed you? Is that why you need to spy on them?”
She gave a shrug, hinting her team might be just as bad.
“We lost a backpack along the way,” I said, studying her. “Someone stole it.”
“Wasn’t us.”
“What last name are you going by these days?” I asked.
“Vergara.”
“Your married name?”
“We’re divorced.”
“I met Lilly. Is that her dad?”
“Yes. She liked you.” She considered her words. “You brought her tea. Made her welcome.”
“Is she here?”
“No.”
“It should have been you who delivered the letter.” I raised my hand. “Correction, delivered the coordinates.”
“I doubted you’d agree to a meeting with me.”
“You just had to keep the mystery up.”
“I knew you’d come,” she whispered, “ifI made it intriguing.”
“We searched for you all those years ago,” I said coldly.
She looked away. “Want a drink?”
“I want answers.”
“I respect that—”
“I thought you were dead. You led me to believe that. Do you have any idea how much pain you’ve caused?”
“Let me explain.”
“Did you even suspect I was searching for you?” I bit out. “Night and day, relentlessly—even after I came back to America.”
“You had a different path.”
“Don’t make this about me.”
She raised her hand to calm me. “I wanted to work with the Peace Corp. You were heading off to the military. We were opposites. You just refused to see it, Henry.”
My name sounded like poison in her mouth.
“I need a better explanation,” I said. “The way you disappeared is unforgivable.”
“I went off exploring. I only planned to be gone a few days. But the days turned into weeks. I started by hiking Mount Cerro Castillo, and I became obsessed with helping the people there.”
“And you never once thought of coming back to base camp?”
