Page 21 of Leo

“Yes,” he smiled. “They were married here, but I was born and baptized in New York City. My family didn’t return until 1951, at which time the estate was in near ruins. My father worked the rest of his life to get it back to where it should be.”

“Brooklyn. Can you tell us where in Brooklyn?”

“Near the Cathedral Basilica St. James. That’s where I was baptized,” he said, staring at them.

“Does Fred know this? Your son?” asked Aiden.

“Yes.Of course.”

“Sir, you’ve been tremendously helpful. Please let us know if anyone else reaches out to you,” said Wes. Marc, Aiden, and Devin were racing up the steps, already barking orders to comms and to Evie. “I promise we’ll be doing everything we can to get your son home.”

“Thank you. Thank you, all.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Fred approached the priest, taking soft steps on the tiled floor. He hated the sound of his heels hitting the tile. The echoing of heels on tiled floors only brought terrible memories for him. It reminded him of the hospital his mother died in.

“May I help you?” asked the man.

“I’m not sure you can do anything, Father, but if you’ll allow me to hide here while I call for help, that would be wonderful.”

“Oh, dear,” he said, staring at him. “Are you in danger? Should I call the police?”

“I’m not sure that I can trust the police, sir. I just need a phone that I can call my father and perhaps someone else who might help.”

“Of course, right this way,” he said, waving toward his office. He nodded at the old desk phone and smiled. “I guess some things are good to hold onto.”

Fred nodded, dialing the number that he’d memorized for Tillie. He wasn’t sure who she really was or who the men were that came to rescue her, but he knew for certain they could help. She didn’t answer, so he left a voicemail and then called his father.

“Father? Yes, I’m alright.”

He spoke to his father for nearly twenty minutes and then turned to see the priest standing nervously at the door.

“Is everything alright?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. There are several men upstairs asking about you. When I said you weren’t here, they insisted that you were and said to tell you that Tillie sent them.”

He pushed past the priest, taking a chance that it was Tillie’s friends. When he peeked into the church, he was relieved to see the faces of Mav, Saint, Pax, Brax, and Leo, along with a few other men.

“Oh, my goodness,” he said with relief. “I’m so happy that it’s really you.”

“We need to get you out of here,” said Leo. “We know that someone is looking for you, and we’re trying to figure out who it might be.”

“What about Jewel and Gemma?” he asked, following the men.

“We’re trying to figure it out now. When we landed, we discovered that Jewel contacted your father. We have no idea where Gemma is located. What happened?” asked Saint, pushing him toward the door.

“I just knew that someone was following me, and I started to panic. Tillie and I spoke, and I knew that the Gemma and Jewel were missing, or I thought they were. The only thing I could think of was coming here. It’s the church that my father was baptized in as a child before he and his parents returned to Germany.”

“It was smart of you to come in here. Fred,” smirked Leo.

“Oh. So, you know that I’m not Brad,” he smiled.

“We know,” said Mav. “We wish we would have known sooner. Our team leaders have spoken to your father, and he’ll be anxious to hear that you’re okay.”

“He asked me not to go on this last part of the trip. He said he just had a feeling,” he said, shaking his head. “I thought he was being an old man. Dramatic. I guess he knew something might happen.”

“Any clue who was following you?” asked Pax.

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