Page 39 of Twisted Salvation
I sigh and take his phone. I watch the situation unfold, and I’m realizing there’s a third person. Walter and Alvin were with her, but someone pulled up in that van. I zoom in on the video slightly and see that the driver has black hair. Nothing else is clear enough to see.
“Running the plate,” Trish says.
“Dom, I texted you the address,” Megan says. I pull up the GPS, and I see that it is only twenty minutes away.
“We will be there soon. Trish, can you work on seeing where they might take her?” I ask. “They headed north toward the interstate.”
“If they have any brain cells, they won’t keep her nearby,” Paul says.
“No,” I say. “They’ll move her as far away as they can. We will be there in just a little bit.”
As we drive, I let myself feel this for a moment. Tears roll down my cheeks as I navigate the streets. I’m trying not to be consumed by things that I cannot control. I have to focus on the things that Iknow to be true. They won’t kill her like Leon would have. I will find my wife and kill every single person who put their fucking hands on her.
When we pull into the driveway, Paul and Megan are on the front porch. I have not met Rose before, but I’m sure she is just as sassy as her mother. Megan and Paul are easily old enough to be Rose’s grandparents.
“Hey,” I say with a sad tone.
“Hey, sweetie,” Megan says, hugging me tightly. She moves to hug the others who are in similar states of sadness, while Paul greets us with a firm handshake.
“Come in. Rose is dying to meet you all,” Paul says.
“I wish Myra were here to meet her,” Natalie says quietly.
“We may not know Myra as well, but we know her daughter. She is a fighter. We will bring her back where she belongs,” Paul says.
“We aren’t asking you to be involved,” I ask. “We just wanted to make sure that Rose was okay.”
“We have the money and the means. We love Myra just as much as we love Rose. We are helping you,” Megan says, giving no room for argument.
When we walk in, I’m stunned to see Rose. She looks just like her mother, just younger. I remember Myra at eighteen, and I do not doubt that Rose will grow up to be a clone of her mother. “Whathappened to her?” Rose asks. “This is about my mom, right? Why else would you be here at nearly midnight?”
“It is,” I say, waving her over to sit on the couch with me. I glance at Paul and Megan for a moment. “Can I?”
“Yes,” Megan says.
“Myra…”
“Mom. She’s my mom,” Rose corrects me firmly. “She saved me from her life, and I know one day she will be able to finally get to know me.”
“Your mom was tricked,” I say. “Her biological father and your biological father tricked her into thinking that they were going to hurt you. To protect you, she was told to leave the hotel where we were staying. Out of desperation, she did what they said. We have the camera footage of them getting to her. Your biological father drugged and kidnapped her.”
“What is the plan then?” she asks. “You have to have a plan. In all the shows, they set up a board and write out everything that they know. So, what is the plan? What do we know?”
“Rose,” I say softly.
“No!” she yells at me. “You have to have a plan. I haven’t gotten to meet her yet. I haven’t been able to tell her that I love her and that I am thankful for the decision she had to make, but I want to get to know my mom. Don’t treat me like a baby. I’m not a baby.”
“Okay,” I say. “We don’t have a board, though.”
“I do,” she says as she jumps up and bolts down the hallway.
“How involved are you going to let her be?” I ask.
“Let’s be real,” Matt says. “She is just like her mother. Good luck keeping her away from this.”
“I was about to say,” Natalie laughs. “We may as well call her part of the team.”
“She’s a smart girl, but she’s stubborn as hell,” Paul says. “It’s easier to include her, or she will end up going off and finding out on her own. She is homeschooled, so it’s not getting in the way of anything.”
