Page 3 of Last Hope
Victoria blew out a breath. “Miss…I’m afraid I don’t know your last name…”
“Don’t have one.”
Agent Phillipe rolled her eyes. “Okay then, Isis, I’m going to have to take you down to the station for a few questions.”
“I already gave my statement weeks ago with your department. You asked me everything you possibly could, I’ve helped. Caesareon is dead. What more could you want from me?” Isis really hated cops.
“What is going on out here?” Anya came up behind Isis, holding a squirming Viktor in her arms, a sweater pulled hastily over her. Viktor must have started crying at some point, Isis thought.
Victoria raised a perfect eyebrow at Anya, probably reading between whatever lines she saw. Not that Isis cared what she thought. The woman could be a total fucking bitch and right now she was getting on Isis’s last damn nerve.
“Just asking if Isis could come down to the station with me. We need to ask her a few questions.”
“But I thought the investigation was over.” Anya’s eyebrows furrowed together.
“Well, you see, it really isn’t. New evidence has been uncovered and we really need to talk to you, Isis.” Victoria put a hand on her rounded hip, waiting.
“To be honest, I just want to be done with all of this. I’m not really interested. As long as Caesareon is dead, I could give two shits about what you’ve uncovered.”
“I think that you’ll find you’ll care aboutthislittle piece of evidence…”
Isis snorted. “And what little evidence is that?”
Victoria blew a breath out and looked at Isis intently. “Your younger brother…”
Isis was gripped with rage. She wanted to reach out and claw Victoria’s throat out for talking about her brother. It brought up the memories, the nightmares. She clenched her fist at her side. “My brother is dead,” she said slowly.
And then Victoria’s eyes met hers and somehow, Isis knew what she was going to say before she actually opened her mouth to say it. “No,” she whispered. “He’s not.”
2
Esmeralda cradled Viktor in her arms. Her son was sleeping, his chubby little hand shoved into his mouth, drool seeping out. His dark eyelashes curved against the top of his cheeks, making him look very much like his father.
She sighed and looked up, watching Antonio pace the floor in front of her. His dark curls were sticking out all over the place from running his hand through it every five seconds.
“Will you please stop doing that?” she snapped impatiently. He was beginning to worry her and she swore she could almost see a hole in the floor from all that pacing.
He stopped and stared at her with his red eyes. “I’m worried!” he practically screamed. Esmeralda felt her cheeks heat as eyes in the police station turned to look at them.
“Keep your voice down,” she ordered on a harsh whisper. “And I’m worried too, okay? But there’s nothing we can do except wait.”
They had gone out on a date, to take a break from baby watching for a little while, when they had received a call on the phone from Isis. She had told them Victoria Phillipe was taking her to the station to interview her about the whole Caesareon case. Isis had sounded weird over the phone.
“What’s wrong?” Esmeralda had asked.
“He’s alive!” Isis choked. “My little brother is alive!”
So they left early and met with Isis at the police station, where they found Anya holding a crying Viktor. Ezzy had quickly tended to her son and then they waited patiently for Isis to come out and explain to them what was going on. Antonio had done nothing but pace since they got there, Anya fiddled annoyingly with her thumbs but otherwise remained silent. Ezzy thought that she was the calmest one, under the circumstances, and it was really starting to bug her.
“It doesn’t make any sense!” Antonio growled.
Esmeralda sighed. She could tell him to keep his voice down as much as she wanted but he wasn’t going to pay her any mind until he got answers. She almost wished he would be like Anya, and sit there quietly to avoid making a scene.
She looked around the FBSI station, noticing a bunch of familiar faces, but one that particularly stood out was the face of a lanky orange headed guy with bright green eyes and glasses heading in the direction of the bathrooms.
Esmeralda stood up abruptly. “Hold Viktor, please.” She handed her son off to Antonio, who took him carefully in his arms but stared at her quizzically. “I have to pee,” she explained and walked quickly away after the kid.
She recognized him from the last time she had been at the police station. If she remembered correctly Victoria had called him ‘Savvy’. Esmeralda kept her eyes on his orange hair as she followed him to the men’s bathroom. Luckily, he didn’t notice even as she slipped into the men’s bathroom after him.
