Page 63 of Corpse Roads

“F-For me?” she stammers.

“You can have her back to say goodbye.”

“Theo,” Hunter warns darkly.

Ignoring him, I sink to my knees and hold out the bone as a peace offering. Harlow tentatively accepts it, her bottom lip wobbling. She studies the remaining piece of the last girl she saw alive.

“I’m so sorry, Laura. I thought… I just wanted to help you,” she murmurs, stroking the femur. “I wish I could’ve taken all of you.”

No one utters a single word, watching the devastating sight as Harlow holds her friend close. She spares me a quick look.

“Thank you for giving her back to me.”

I sit back on my haunches, nodding. It’s been a long time since anyone thanked me for… well, anything. Harlow’s eyes are haunted as she holds my gaze for a moment.

“I lied to you all,” she says, looking back at the others. “My name is Harlow Michaels. They’re my parents.”

“What the fuck?” Hunter curses loudly.

But Harlow’s already gone, cradling the femur to her chest like it’s a teddy bear. Her eyes are open, but empty. Unseeing.

“Hunter,” Richards calls sternly. “A word, please.”

Retreating to the other side of the office, Leighton stands and storms over to butt into their conversation. I can hear them arguing about suspending the rest of the interrogation.

“Harlow,” Enzo begs, lingering behind me. “Why can’t she hear me?”

“Careful,” I advise. “Don’t spook her.”

Harlow’s body is in our presence, but the essence of her has been scooped out. All we can do is wait for her to come back. Climbing to my feet, I gesture for Enzo to take my place.

He crawls closer to her, an impressive feat at his size. Slowly and carefully, he manages to ease the bone from her hands and pass it back to me. Harlow doesn’t even notice, too spaced out.

I take the evidence and carefully repackage it. The Whitcomb family has something to bury now. Enzo takes his time lifting Harlow into his lap, and she soon collapses against his chest.

It triggers a barrage of memories that wash over me before I can clamp them down. Each one hits like a bullet between the eyes.

Bright-pink strands of hair sliding through my fingers. The love of my life’s nose buried in Enzo’s chest. His eyes squeezed tightly shut as insomnia surrendered its control.

We had someone before, what feels like a lifetime ago. She made us whole. Happy. Complete. I haven’t felt that since the day we lost her.

“I’m gonna get Harlow out of here,” Enzo rumbles.

I have to look away from them to conceal my grief. “Sure. Go before Hunter stops you.”

Holding Harlow’s trembling body like she weighs little more than air, Enzo strides from the room without another word. No one would dare stop him with the bone-chilling anger on his face.

“I’ll see them out,” Richards announces, his face grim.

Hunter watches him go with exasperation. Gathering my stuff, I straighten my plaid shirt, needing a moment to collect myself. It’s been a long time since I thought of… her. Seeing Harlow has stirred all that shit back up again.

“You need to rush through her DNA profile,” Hunter barks as I approach him. “I want dates, relatives, the works. If she had so much as a fucking cold as a kid, I want to know about it.”

I clear my throat. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“No one passes completely under the radar for twenty-two years. I want this done quietly. Enzo and Richards clearly want to continue walking on eggshells.”

“Got it, boss.”

---