“So we slowly got her to trust us enough to tell us why she wasn’t with her parents,” Mike’s jaw tensed at the memory, the anger at the couple who had sold her and walked away, never to look back.
“And I wanted us to take everything to the police. I thought she deserved justice, she deserved the system to work,” Greg said quietly. “And she…I was terrified she’d run on us. She got so pale every time I mentioned the authorities.”
“They told us…over and over…the police won’t help you. Your parents gave your rights to us until you’ve twenty-one,” Molly’s head shook, along with her shoulders. “I was so scared. I knew…I knew some of the kids had died. I knew. And I couldn’t…it was a long time before the nightmares stopped.”
“We had some arguments,” Mike recalled, inhaling slowly. “We’d only been together as a couple for two years. I was…I think I knew what the right thing was but I was terrified of losing either one of them. I also knew if there was a hint of police, Molly would vanish on us and I couldn’t live with that.”
“I’ve since altered my views of either black or white,” Greg admitted raggedly. “With these two, there really wasn’t much choice. I believe the term might be situational ethics for some things in life and this was definitely one of them.”
“So that’s why I…I was afraid to tell you,” Molly sat up, still clinging to the crumpled hanky as she sniffled into it. “And then I mostly forgot about it. Until this started happening.”
“Tasha?” Jonathon seemed to finally remember she was standing, listening. He looked over at the pale features and casual way she tried to rub at her cheeks. “I don’t have another hanky,” he said with a smile, rising and leading her to sit behind the desk. “But I’m not sure Dell would appreciate you passing out on us. Water?”
“Yes, please,” Tasha drew in a slow breath. She waited, drank deeply from the cold bottle of water Jonathon brought her from the small office fridge and looked around at the people. “The files…contained personnel information as well as the documentation of the kids that were there at the time. They had spreadsheets of original names and assigned names. I don’t know if the original names were true or false. They also had copies of the documentation they were creating in the new identity for each of the kids, including what I hope was a current photo.”
Molly pushed to her feet, two hands up and on the back of her head as she paced. “I copied everything I could think of. I’d make the copies at night when it was mostly empty…they thought they had things locked up tight…” she shook her head. “Isabel had left several months before…some of the others were gone, too. Their security…” she sighed. “It was like the projects they gave us to work on. A game, a puzzle. Only most of us wanted out. We’d been growing and learning and watching. If…if someone rebelled…they were punished…locked in the bad room for a couple days with nothing but a bathroom and darkness…” she stared out the large window, her palm up when Jonathon moved toward her. “Don’t. Please. Not now…”
“At least sit down, Molly,” Mike said firmly, rising out of the chair and ignoring the step back she took. “You’re never too old, remember that. Now, sit, young lady.” He braced one palm at her waist and led her back to the desk chair. He took the bottle of water Jonathon had pulled from the fridge, broke the seal and wrapped her fingers around it. “Drink.”
“This is your fault,” she growled with a glare at Jonathon.
“Guilty as charged…” he offered a little smile. “I’m taking notes for the future.”
Molly let the little laugh free but if faded quickly. She wrapped both hands around the bottle and stared into the clear plastic. Her voice went flat, her eyes slightly glazed and vision somewhere far in the past.
“I found out they were giving some of the kids tranquilizers because they were asking questions the adults didn’t want to answer. I think that was the final straw for me…the locked room was bad enough…Isabel grew up with amazing parents and an aunt that never hindered her. That’s one of the key differences between us and her. And escaping was something she exceled at,” she told them with a low, shaking laugh. “So I took lessons before she left. We helped others make survival packets. No one was heading back to their guardians or parents,” she recalled. “But we knew enough to survive. Most were older than me…we didn’t really know where we’d go…but we knew we didn’t want them taking more kids…or being given kids no one wanted. We also knew who to trust…we kept the plan secret until that night. It was warm…we planned it for April…”
Tasha got up and sat on the corner of the desk. “I showed you the photos. I showed you the photos of the after that the police and fire department had. The blame lies at the feet of the parents, Molly. So come back from then and focus on now because I need you and your guardians to pay really close attention. We have a problem with now that I don’t want repeated,” she waited until Molly nodded, straightened her shoulders and managed a resolute frown on her face. “Not perfect, but better.”
“Alright, what…” she stopped when the old jingle from Batman came from Tasha’ pocket. “The bat cave signal?”
“It’s my research guy…hold on a sec,” she said, tugging the phone from her pack and tapping screens. “Well…”
“I don’t like the color you just adopted, Tasha Banks,” Mike Fielding edged to the ends of the seat, his hands ready in case she passed out.
Jonathon pushed the water at her again with a firm: “Drink.”
“I’m good,” she lied when she drained the bottle. She set the phone down and shifted slightly to the side so she could see them all. “I had him scan the kid photos and age them. Then we ran them through the data program we had for matches. For numbers sake, we’re saying twenty years have gone past since you left the academy, Molly. Eight years after you left, the first three people who escaped with you, died somehow. Accidents, muggings, theoretical home invasions…it’s bounced from one to five a year since then.”
“Theoretical?” Jonathon was the one to speak the word that had trapped the attention of all three men.
“I’m not real big on coincidence…especially since the accidents happened shortly after their photo appeared in a local publication of some kind. The kind that also publishes online,” she watched the dawning understanding. “Molly’s photo appeared in the local and large city paper in Seattle a little over two months ago. That’s how they found her,” Tasha held up a finger when she saw questions in all their eyes, except Molly’s. “I don’t know why. All I have is guesses at this point. But it would appear that someone is cleaning up loose ends.”
“There couldn’t be a mistake in the recognition program?” Greg ask, his throat constricted and voice tense.
“With a percentage, of course it’s possible. But I have a human validating things before that person is added to our list,” Tasha answered with a sigh. “Tommy is very smooth and tactful…and incredibly efficient. At this point, we have the numbers and names. By tomorrow, I’ll have verification on a lot of them because I’ve snagged another person to help me. In the meantime…”
“I’m a target. And I’ve made all of you targets,” Molly said flatly.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“How many remain unaccounted for?” Mike asked after a long pause.
“There were almost two hundred kids in both sections of the school at the time it was destroyed. My information says that two a week had been escaping,” Tasha grinned crookedly. “You won’t contain either nature or kids with brains for long. The coroner’s report detailed the health of the bodies found and I’ve eliminated twenty from that report. I…they had such debilitating physical limitations…they could never have made it without constant nursing staff, Molly. You knew that then.”
“But we were going to try,” she whispered. “Tory and Rachel and…and…”
“You never researched the fire, did you, Molly?” Tasha accepted her silence. “They only found the bodies of the disabled kids and four staff members. Cor
oner reports on the adults, laid their death as smoke inhalation due to alcohol abuse. The people I chatted up in town, claim no one was seen after the fire. But I’ve already managed to verify that several of the kids ended up as part of population. The adults that were among the missing…” she shrugged. “I’m naïve and want to believe the names on file were genuine…but I’m not holding my breath on that one. I’m also inclined to believe that they knew what they were doing would be questioned by police and other officials and they vanished.”
“I don’t want to disturb their lives,” Molly shook her head. “But they have to know that…”
“We don’t have any proof,” Tasha said softly, feeling the anxiety rolling off her friend. “I’ve got Cat talking to Lieutenant Templeton with the police. What she can do is request files and make formal inquiries based on a pattern that she found when pursuing a line of inquiry based on your complaint toward Harrison and Hamilton. Which, Harrison was the wrong spelling…it’s actually Harriston and Tommy found him for me, including his current employer, which happens to be a major corporation now sponsoring the latest academic endeavor that appears to be the same type of thing.”
Tasha paced over the large office. She knew they were well out of time, but the office people must be taking up the appointments Molly had because no one had interrupted them and it had been ninety minutes.
“I could get a list of their enrollees…but it wouldn’t be legal and therefore, useless for anything we might use to shut them down.” She exhaled. “But I’m working on some ideas. In the meantime, I need you to be very careful. Okay?”
“I’m watched constantly,” Molly answered, struggling with the dislike in her voice. “And I don’t want to sound like that. I’m not stopped from doing anything or going anywhere, it just…I’m taking resources from the resort and this shouldn’t be their problem.”
“You are part of the resort now,” Tasha told her emphatically. “You aren’t alone, sleeping in alleys now and we aren’t about to give you up because of a little bump. So deal with it,” she ordered, snatching up her jacket and backpack. “I gotta go give Tommy grief and check in with Cat about the police angle. You guys…she’s yours now.”
“Thank you, Tasha,” Jonathon spoke to her and offered a smile. “She’ll be alright. I won’t accept less.”
“Yeah…I know,” Tasha grinned and left the office, closing the door behind her.
Tasha decided she needed an unknown. And she was thinking on that when the door opened behind her. She turned to see Jonathon striding after, his gaze intent and a small card in his hand. He stopped and raised his palm.
“Molly helped them the night we met. They might come in handy,” he said as she scanned the names on the card and the numbers on the back.
“Thank you. This might just be what I need,” Tasha tucked the card into her shirt pocket and watched him go back to the office, his shoulders stiffening before he opened the door. Somehow she was able to see Dell in that stride and fury ridden expression.
She stood in the hall, pulling the card free and reading the names again. Tasha tapped the edge of the card against her cheek, her mind going a mile a minute as a plan began to form.
She managed to wince a little when she sent the text to Dell explaining that she couldn’t make it this evening and that she’d probably not be free until Friday evening.
A long, weary sigh broke free by the time she made it into her apartment. She’d spent the rest of the afternoon setting up a meeting for tomorrow and collecting every piece of data and information her and Tommy would gather. Hopefully, more than enough for the warrant and the undercover plan she had sketched out in her notebook.
She was mulling over the papers and collecting everything in a timeline sort of order when her phone sounded. She pushed a long sigh from her lips, smiling when she saw the caller’s name and quickly opened the phone.
“Dell! I was hoping to reach you before bedtime,” Tasha told him honestly.
“Then you can talk to the guard and let him know I’m safe to admit to your apartment,” came the low, warm voice.
“You…yes! Put the guard on,” Tasha bounced to her bare feet and crossed to the door. It was open and her toes curled on the cold concrete. She crossed to the small landing and couldn’t stop smiling as she waved toward the guard shack. She knew they couldn’t see her…but still. “This is Natasha Banks…code 834659…thank you so much!”
“Be there in a few, babe,” Dell said with a chuckle.
Tasha went inside and dropped her phone into her pack, her hands working over the folders and pages until she had things neatly arranged in her pack. About that time, the sound of boots on the landing made her look up and smile at him. The large duffle over his shoulder brought a puzzled look.
“Clean underwear?” She asked with just the slightest choke in her voice.
“And then some. I figure we’re gonna be spreading our time and I don’t like being unprepared,” he looked down at her pointedly seconds before his hand closed around the nape of her neck and tugged her closer.
Her mouth was opening to speak when he swooped in and tangled his tongue with hers, completely wiping out any words that might have existed. Tasha felt herself melting against him, the sound of the door being closed vaguely making her wonder how he did it since his hands were full. But she really didn’t care at the moment and circled his neck with both arms.
She was on her toes when she heard the duffle he carried fall to the floor. His mouth wandered from hers, nipping and kissing along her jaw to her throat. And that spot. That spot that made her toes curl and her lower girl parts clench hopefully. She felt the uncanny need he was able to build in her, a need that made her breasts firm and nipples peak in anticipation.
“You work too hard,” he murmured against the hollow of her throat.
“Hmm…I’m sure lots of people have told you the same thing,” Tasha laughed and pulled back until she could see him. Well, not really see him since her glasses were significantly fogged over. “This is a surprise.”
“You really didn’t think I’d let an excuse get in my way…”
“I didn’t think of it, to be honest. I spent most of the afternoon trying to co-ordinate people for tomorrow and was afraid my head would be too crammed full of…stuff…to be social and attentive…”
“Hmm…as in I might be offended that you’re ignoring me,” Dell turned without releasing her and turned the bolt on the door. “And that I’m not demanding enough to drag you away from work when you’ve had enough of it?”
“It’s hardly fair to put you in that position…and you might think I’ve had enough, but I might think there’s something more to be done,” Tasha squirmed but realized he wasn’t relinquishing his hold. She scowled at him. “You can let go now.”
“I bet you skipped dinner,” he remarked, ignoring her request.
Her mouth opened and closed with a little crunch. “Maybe. I was thinking about it…”
“Then we can eat while you tell me about tomorrow and how the mystery is progressing,” he said simply. “I know there’s stuff in there to eat.”
Tasha was still forming a response to that one as he walked with her into the kitchen. He released her to open the fridge and start setting things that interested him on the counter.
“You don’t mind sandwiches?” She found the plates and knives before filling two tall glasses with ice and water. She was perched on one of the breakfast stools when he added the loaf of seeded bread from inside the fridge.
“Long as it’s food, I honestly don’t care,” Dell admitted with a laugh, draining half the water before refilling it and sinking into another stool. He began building his sandwich, slicing into one of the large tomatoes that had been sitting on the counter. “So tell me how the mystery went today.”
Tasha relaxed, ate and talked. She didn’t notice the time as it slipped past them, eating, cleaning up and bumping into one another over and over inside the small kitchen. Not that
he seemed to mind. In fact, she was pretty sure he was deliberately going out of his way to find reasons to brush against her. And she was more than a little sure that each time he did, the massage of his groin against some part of her, explained exactly why he was getting up close and personal.
“I’m thinking you’ve lost track of the conversation,” Tasha whispered shakily, her hands beneath the running water when he pressed up behind her. She knew the hard length inside his jeans had become more solid with each pass he made to reach around her.
“I’m dual tasking,” he promised her, his mouth down on her shoulder. His hands came from his side, stroking along her ribs and taking a breast in each palm. His fingers pinched and tweaked until she was leaning heavily into the sink and completely forgot the running water or the purpose for it.
Dell reached over and flipped the large handle, turning the water off before tugging her shirt from the band of her jeans. While she was still thinking about his fingers and her nipples, the shirt had gone flying and his very adept fingers had popped the single little plastic snap on her front opening bra.
“Nice…I love these free and full,” he murmured, turning her and sliding the straps down her arms at the same time. He lifted her to the counter and wrapped one arm behind her back while the other hand speared into the free hanging tousled hair. His fingers closed and he held her mouth in place for his kiss.
Oh, how she really liked his kiss. She could taste the sharp mustard he’d used on his sandwich and smell the outdoors all over him. Her tongue was taken along for the ride, his was clearly in charge of their kiss as his hands were of her movements. And it was amazingly exciting. He knew what he wanted and had traveled to her apartment because she was the target. He was there because he wanted her. He talked to her, listened and laughed with her. And worried about her.
She felt the low whimper rumble from deep inside her and turn into a plaintive groan when his mouth traveled from her lips to one breast. She loved his touch, her back arching for more when his teeth grazed the taut peak and then swept his tongue around it, tugging and pinching over and over until her nails dug into the arms she clung to.
WindSwept Narrows: #23 Molly & Natasha Page 31
