Page 64 of Erase Me
The kitchen was empty.So was the living room, despite the soft glow of the muted television lighting the space.On the screen, a hungry and determined lion was in relentless pursuit of a nimble gazelle.Even though the sound was off, it seemed like the rhythmic beat of the current song being piped in synchronized perfectly with the tense chase unfolding before my eyes.
My gaze shifted to the built-in bookcases surrounding the entertainment system.The extensive collection of volumes was a testament to Nadine’s years of work as a Scribe Guardian.Her role in the agency had been to make sure the literary works and the authors writing them remained unchanged.While her profession had been to safeguard, it stood in stark contrast to my own work as an assassin.
On the television, the gazelle somehow escaped the claws of the predator.It would live to see another day.
Leaving that room behind, I moved silently through the first floor.Lights had been left on in every room, as if someone had planned this, making it easy for me to see into every corner.
After I’d navigated through the kitchen, a dining room, another sitting room, a pantry, and a sunroom, I was satisfied that this floor was empty.
Approaching the foyer and standing at the base of the staircase, I gazed upward, listening.Nothing.Alert for any sign of movement, I went up.
Each bedroom and bathroom proved to be empty, as well.The music surrounded me here too.By the time I reached the master bedroom, I was beginning to wonder if Nadine hadn’t gone with her husband when he left.That would seriously complicate matters.
I pushed open the door to a connecting room off the master bedroom and stopped dead.I’d never expected this.
It was a nursery.
The walls were adorned with cutesy cartoon characters.A crib, decked out in pastel shades, was positioned against one wall, a baby blanket draped neatly over the rail.Small stuffed animals hung from a mobile above it, and a dream catcher swung lazily in the breeze coming in an open window.
I scanned the room.A rocking chair in the corner was surrounded by two side-by-side bookcases filled with children’s books.A changing table and diapers in a nearby bin.I glanced into the trashcan next to the door.There was even what looked like a dirty disposable diaper in there.
This was the only room in the house where there was no music.
I couldn’t quite wrap my head around it.These two had a baby.
Fuck.Thisreallycomplicated things.Why hadn’t that asshole Vaughn said anything about this?He had to know.How could he miss it?It wasn’t possible that he’d think a baby was irrelevant.
This was the last room left to check.There was no one in the house.I was pretty certain of it.Perhaps there was a way into an attic, but I hadn’t seen it.The way things looked, it seemed that the couple had just gotten in the car and gone.Most likely, Nadine had decided to go with her husband and had taken their little one along for the ride.
I returned to the master bedroom and shifted my focus from searching for signs of Nadine to the photographs on a nearby dresser.Several of the framed images depicted the parents enjoying a moment with their infant.A sunlit beach.A snowy, wooded landscape, the baby snug in a pouch.Others were pictures from before parenthood.There was a large photograph, and I picked it up.A formal wedding portrait.I stared at the expression on Nadine’s face.
I had seen her picture in the file, but we’d never crossed paths.Still, that face was familiar.I knew her.Knewher.I grabbed another photo.The couple stood at an altar, pure joy beaming from their faces.An Elvis impersonator was presiding over the ceremony.The frame had a date embossed at the bottom.2022.
How did I miss this?The high cheekbones, the shape of the face, the unmistakable smile.Suddenly, it all clicked into place.Nadine and Xander had a child.Their line didn’t end here.No, it definitely didn’t end here.
As I stood by the dresser, my phone buzzed with an incoming text.If it was Vaughn, he’d have some serious explaining to do.It wasn’t Vaughn, though.The text was from an unknown caller.
I tapped open the message and read it.
- Looking for Nadine?
- Who is this?I typed back.
- Avalie
Fuck.Fuck.Fuck.Fuck.I took a deep breath and fixed my gaze on the pictures once more.I was an idiot.How could I have overlooked the resemblance between those two?Maybe I deliberately ignored it.Maybe I didn’t want to see it.Believe it.Acknowledge it.It didn’t take a genius to figure out the exact connection between Avalie and Nadine.
Avalie had to have gone rogue.The Division wouldn’t risk deploying an operative anywhere near an ancestor.Establishing ties with one’s past was strictly prohibited.It was a serious violation of protocol.And as an agent, delving into your own family’s history was explicitly out of bounds.
Okay, so were they unaware of the connection?
- Still there?
- What the fuck are you doing?I answered.What are you after?
- We need to talk
- You can say that again
