Page 125 of Malachi
“But what?” she urged.
“It’s nothing,” I shrugged, abandoning the thoughts. I could say them later.
“No, tell me. Please, Malachi,” she pleaded softly.
“I just know that whatever happens now, whatever comes next — I want you there with me. Whatever that looks like,” I admitted, feeling emotions grip around my chest like a vise.
“There’s no place I’d rather be.”
Her words soothed me, giving me a sense of calm. The spark of hope that I had buried so long ago sprang to life, flickering from a glowing ember into a full-blown flame.
CHAPTER29
MALACHI
“I got it!” Agent Alcott called out excitedly as he rushed through Levi’s front door. We had set up shop in Levi’s house after a slightly heated discussion with Agent Driscoll a few days ago. The plan had been for them to set up a headquarters of sorts at the church, but Levi and I were not about to let that happen. It wasn’t right to force our wives back into that building, not after what happened. Hell, it was hard enough for me to go back there the handful of times I’d had to, over the last few days.
Instead, they’d turned Levi’s house into their temporary offices. He and Ruth were staying at our place for the time being, letting the agents work in peace as often as possible. It gave us a bit of distance we all desperately needed.
“Got what?” Agent Driscoll called from the kitchen, his head poking around the corner to the living room.
“Come in here. Everyone,” Agent Alcott called excitedly. The ten of us gathered in the little space that was available in the living room, standing close in a semi-huddled mass, other than Talia, who was sitting on the couch.
She and the baby were healthy, but they were taking it easy and working to keep her stress down as much as possible.
“Okay, after hours—endless hours, mind you — of searching through records and documents, we found it,” the man announced, nearly bouncing up and down with excited energy.
“You said that already, Alcott. Get on with it,” Agent Driscoll said with a roll of his eyes. The man was clearly not a fan of the dramatic. The second agent was much more like Ollie, bouncing around and cracking jokes far more than I would have expected a federal agent to.
“Hold your horses, Driscoll, I’m getting there. We found the information you were looking for.” His words confused me for a moment, until I realized the man was looking directly at Zeke. Everything became quiet and still in an instant as understanding grew amongst us.
“You found the names?” Zeke asked quietly, as though he were afraid to even voice the hope we all felt.
“Not just names, my friend. We found names, addresses, and more,” Agent Alcott announced. Talia’s sob of surprised relief echoed in my heart. This was it. They had connected all the dots. “We found out exactly who you are, ma’am. We have your parent’s names, and their address. Turns out you’re from California,” he explained.
“California?” she repeated. Her eyes darted back and forth rapidly as she looked at him, processing the massive information we’d just been given.
“Yup, and you’re from Oregon,” he stated to Naomi.
“Oh my God, Zeke,” Talia cried softly from the sofa.
“Easy, love. You need to keep your stress down,” Zeke gently reminded, moving to sit next to his wife.
“This isn’t stress, Zeke,” Talia spoke through a teary-eyed smile. “This is joy. This is relief.”
“I just want to make sure you’re taking it easy. Can you blame me?” Zeke chuckled, brushing her hair behind her ear gently.
“Your parents are named George and Delilah Barlowe,” the agent continued.
“Excellent name,” Delilah whispered under her breath, making all of us chuckle. Eden’s hand slipped into mine, squeezing and drawing my attention down to her. She looked up at me, giving me her own watery smile. It was more than we had thought we’d get, more than we dared to hope for.
“Barlowe. My name is Talia Barlowe,” she whispered, barely able to form the words around her tears and the smile stretched across her face.
“Your name is still Talia Temple, love. But yes, it would seem that way,” Zeke teased lightly.
“Hush, you know what I mean,” Talia hushed her husband, smacking him lightly in the chest.
“Actually, you’re both wrong,” Agent Alcott stated.
