Mimics of Rune 02- Surrender

by Aimee Laine

  “Absolutely.”

  “With hot dogs?” A smile filled his face.

  Oh, gross. “Sure.” What is it with kids and hot dogs?

  “And ketchup?”

  Blech. Lily rubbed at Max’s hair. “Whatever you want.”

  “And can we have rocky road for dessert?”

  Lily wanted to say how apt rocky road ice cream fit her life at that moment. “Sounds perfect.”

  Max slipped from the chair, grabbed Tony’s hand and tugged. “Let’s go so I can come back faster.” He let go only long enough to yank up red sweat pants hanging low and covering his shoes.

  Tony’s eyes had narrowed sometime during her back and forth with Max.

  I agreed to something I would never have agreed to, didn’t I? Shoot. Shoot. Shoot.

  He took Max’s hand again. “Okay, champ. Let’s roll. We’ll be back around five. We can talk tonight, right, Anj?”

  Lily stayed at the table, forcing herself to breathe naturally. “Yeah, sure.” Just make it about something I know.

  The front door open and closed.

  Silence.

  “I don’t know how Charley does this,” Lily said to herself as she rose to begin her search for information on Angela Jenkins.

  • • •

  Lily headed straight to the rooms on the second floor—ones she’d passed at least four times by that point.

  The first door opened to a space filled with frilly pink. Boy-band posters plastered the wall. The contrast made Lily smile. She stepped in, assuming Leigh’s absence constituted some sort of authority to do so.

  Despite the amount of stuff in the room, boxes lined the back of the desk and dresser, each closed tight but holding only one type of item—pencils or paperclips labeled in various colors. Leigh had a distinct organizational technique, much like Lily herself. No papers littered the desk; no clutter graced the space.

  Lily backed out and switched to the door across the hall. It contained labeled boxes like she’d seen in a lawyer’s office years before when Charley mimicked an attorney. Lily shuffled away from that room, figuring the information within would reveal stuff she didn’t care about.

  At the third door, next to Leigh’s bedroom, pale sage walls with simple, maple trim greeted her. A glass desk and large, suede chair sat by floor to ceiling glass, giving Lily a view to the outside—a perfect and real, picture window.

  This has to be Angela’s office.

  Lily took measured steps to the window. A ragged coast and crashing waves made her gasp, a memory taking hold of her conscience. Thirteen. Hungry and tired. Lily had traveled for what seemed like days from the only place she’d called home, one full of kids—her friends and her school. They’d taken trains and an airplane to the pretty, blue sky of California, to a building that overlooked the raging coast. She’d thought it beautiful until the woman accompanying her—her mother—leaned down to Lily and whispered in her ear, “Goodbye” and walked away.

  Forever.

  Lily shook off the memory and stared down at the landscape of earth. “No wonder she picked this room.” A spin back to the desk and she lowered herself into Angela’s chair. Sitting there gave Lily very little new insight except that Angela’s taste in office products ranked right up there with Lily’s, like Leigh’s room had.

  She swiveled to the bookcases behind her. The pictures grabbed her attention first. Lily scanned the ones on the left, finding some similar to those in the hall. In the middle, another set of family mixed with other random people Lily didn’t recognize.

  On the right, Angela had filled a shelf with photos of Leigh and Max—images of them on the coast, walking the trails, playing in the ocean and yard.

  The second photo on the third shelf had Lily’s hands at her mouth in a second. “She is a Mimic.” Lily pulled the silver frame forward.

  Leigh sat in the grass with her arm around Max. Her dark irises had metamorphosed into a bright, vivid blue.

  “What would I do if I were a mom and saw this? At twelve-ish? Freak out? What would you have done, Angela? And you, Leigh? What did you do when you saw your eyes turn?”

  The same thing you did, Lily.

  Her chest tightened. She closed her lids and pressed the photo against herself, willing a virtual hug to Leigh.

  Lily had run crying to her mother who yanked her arm so hard she’d ripped her favorite raspberry-colored shirt. Two days later, they’d been on the first train out of their apartment, away from her school and friends and home.

  “I need to talk to Charley.” Lily twisted back to the desk and picked up the phone. Ten numbers later, the line connected.

  “Hello?” Charley’s voice greeted Lily, filled with worry.

  “Charley?”

  “Lily!” The voice went from perturbed to on alert. “Where are you? What’s going on? Wyatt! It’s Lily. Go get James. Talk to me, Lil.”

  Lily chuckled. “I’m okay. Really. You won’t believe this, but whoever took me dropped me at a house with a missing mom—wife—mom. Lady. Whatever. And she looks just like I do right now.” She whispered the last.

  “So you did … leave?”

  Lily shook her head. “Huh?”

  “Never mind. Just … what’s going on?”

  “I don’t know, but, Charley? I have this sense I belong here. It’s really weird. I want to figure it out and help them.”

  “Wait. Lil? But you’re okay?”

  “Aside from having no memory of how I got here, yes. Though the husband thinks my memory is shot in general because I can’t remember a thing—which of course isn’t true. I just don’t know who these people are.” Lily continued to whisper, even though she sat alone. “I think something happened to her. Her husband—Tony—he thinks she’s me.”

  “That’s very … coincidental.” Incredulity came through Charley’s tone.

  “I know. It gets weirder, Charley. The little girl? Her name is Leigh. Anyway, she’s a Mimic—”

  A gasp came before Charley said, “How do you know that?”

  “I can see the change coming in about a dozen pictures on the wall. How improbable is that?”

  “Um …”

  Lily tilted her head at Charley’s lack of answer.

  “What changes? Just hair and eyes? Because, Lil, there are diseases that have a similar affect.”

  “It’s not a disease. Will you help me, Charley?” Even as she asked, she realized her request would butt right into Charley’s wedding plans. “Dammit, the wedding. Charley, I’m sorry. Never mind. I’ll—”

  “No, no, Lily. If this is something you want to do, do it.” The firmness of Charley’s statement made Lily cringe.

  “Okay. Just maybe one or two days, and I won’t let any other delays happen.”

  Phone clicks suggested two joined the line. “Lil?” James asked as Wyatt said “Lily?”

  “Hey guys—” That Cael’s voice didn’t join them sent a flare of panic through her.

  “Where are you?” James asked.

  “In California, I think. There’s an address in a cell phone.”

  “That’s assuming you’re in that location,” Wyatt said. “Why haven’t you run? Did you get phone privileges?”

  “No. I—I—I’m looking for info, like you guys taught me.” Despite having tons of responsibilities at home and a wedding to finalize for Charley. Lily’s shoulders fell. Can I do both? She straightened. Yes, I can. Two days. I can do this.

  “You need to get out,” James said, “get home and let us—” “No. Yes. Not yet. But yes, I need …” I need to see that smile stay on Max’s face.

  “Lily,” James interrupted her thoughts. “We’re experts on this kind of stuff when we work as a team.”

  Lily slumped forward. She wanted to learn more without disrupting Max’s life, and she needed to find out Leigh’s story so she could try to help her—or help Angela, or help Tony find Angela or whatever. James had been right, though, she needed the whole team, including the best of them.
>
  “Where’s Cael?” She hoped getting them off the Lily topic would stop the line of questioning. “If I find out where I am exactly, can you come? Maybe for just a day? Or look up stuff from there? Or …”

  The line stayed silent.

  “Guys, are you there?” She tapped the mouthpiece.

  “Lil?” James asked.

  “Yeah?”

  “He’s gone.”

  “What do you mean, gone?” Lily stood. “Oh my god, don’t tell me something happened to him? Did they get two of us and drop me here and hurt Cael?” Her body shook as her imagination ran away without her.

  “No, no, no!” Charley called out. “Lil, no, he’s—”

  “He’s coming to get you, Lily,” Wyatt said.

  No one had come for her when she’d been left in California the very first time. Even the thought of being sought after brought a measure of happiness that warred with what had happened nearly fifty years before.

  “You know Cael’s the best at digging up details, and when it comes to you?” Exasperation tainted James’s voice. “He’s a man on a mission.”

  She hadn’t been anyone’s mission at thirteen—not for a month—until the men arrived, and her life went from bad to hell. A shiver took hold of her body. Gotta stop letting those memories surface.

  Lily narrowed her brows. “How does he know where I am? I haven’t given anyone the address. I can go get—”

  “Lily, honey,” Charley said. “Your text gave him all the stuff he needed, and he took my plane this morning. He thinks you’re in California.”

  Which confirms what I found.

  “In the San Diego area.”

  Which matches up with the rocky coastline out the window and the address in the phone.

  “If the FAA’s flight log is right, he should be there in a few hours.”

  Lily giggled. “He took your plane without telling you? What does he think is going on that he would risk the wrath of Charley? I’m not even missing for over twenty-four hours. And who’re you going to report me to?”

  “Lily, it’s okay. Just wait for him. Don’t go anywhere unless you need to for safety. Let him find you,” Charley said. “And we’ll be there as soon as we can.”

  • • •

  Airplane wheels screeched on the runway of San Diego International Airport. Cael had spent the entire time thinking through why Tony Jenkins would take Lily, and how she could seem so blasé about it in her text, unless Lily already knew about Angela and her connection to Tony.

  He grabbed his bag as the plane slowed. The moment it stopped, he bolted.

  Thanks to a simple phone call to the rental agency, he and a Range Rover with a custom navigational unit roared out of the parking deck.

  If the system calculated the length of the drive correctly, he’d be at the location in under an hour.

  Someone, either Tony or Lily, had some explaining to do.

  6

  Lily hadn’t realized she and Charley talked for over an hour, or that she’d spent two hours before searching through the second floor, until the slam of a door broke her relaxed focus from the phone call.

  “Someone’s here. I gotta go.”

  She hung up, slipped from the room and snuck up toward the bedroom. A quick tug on the blankets and she slid underneath.

  Footsteps banged on the first few steps before quieting.

  Nerves tensed, Lily waited for who she assumed to be Tony.

  Why am I not running, like Wyatt said? She pushed back the covers as Tony stepped into the frame of the door.

  “Hi,” he said.

  On a shiver, Lily sat up on the edge of the bed. “Um … hi.” How’d he get up here so fast?

  He held up a paper bag. “I brought your favorite lunch. Thought maybe we could talk and eat. But if you’re tired—”

  “No, I’m okay. But … could we go downstairs? I love the kitchen.”

  Tony’s forehead creased into four lines.

  She bit her lip at her faux pas. Angela must not like the kitchen.

  “You still don’t remember, do you?”

  She shook her head, hating that she really didn’t have answers for him.

  “They said that might happen.”

  “Who?”

  Tony’s shoulders fell. He shuffled to Lily, fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’m so sorry, babe.” His shoulders bumped against her waist. “I hired bounty hunters to find you. I just wanted you back, and you wouldn’t answer your phone, but it was being used. The PI followed you, but he was sent just to make sure you were safe. I didn’t want you to get hurt. I don’t understand what’s going on, babe. Why didn’t you just answer your phone?”

  Lily’s hand hovered over his head as he hiccupped air. She laid it on his hair, running her fingers through the short strands.

  “I didn’t know they’d be so rough. I didn’t know they wouldn’t bring Leigh. And now she’s missing, and you probably think I’m horrible, and—”

  “No. No, Tony, I don’t.” She stroked the back of his head.

  His breathing calmed. “I’m so sorry. We have to find Leigh. I hired a PI again, but not those—that group. I can’t believe they brought you here, and you didn’t even recognize me. I just thought you were tired. They walked you in, and I still just thought, you’re home!” His voice stayed muffled as he talked into her lap. “I was so happy you were back that I didn’t pay attention to how they handled you, but I see it now … when I think back.”

  “It’s okay.”

  He shook his head against her knees. “No, it’s not. And I’ve screwed up again because Leigh’s not here with you, and I had a moment of happiness last night, and she’s not here.” His hands clenched against her thighs. “I don’t know what to do, Anj.”

  “Hey.” Lily nudged his head up so she could look into his eyes. The love he poured out only served to prove he hadn’t been ‘the bad guy’ but a good guy stuck in a bad situation. “When I left, where was I going?”

  Tears glistened on Tony’s lower lashes. He blinked a few times as if confused by the question. “They only said short-term memory. I can’t believe you don’t remember anything at all.”

  “I’m sorry.” She hugged him tight like she’d seen in one of many pictures.

  Tony held her hands in his. “Let’s eat.” He wiped at his eyes as he stood again, one hand still wrapped around hers. “Maybe rehashing our last conversation—no, our fight—won’t be so bad.”

  Lily rose and followed him into the kitchen. She dug into the bag he’d brought and pulled out an egg sandwich and a bag of pretzels. This is her favorite? A need to chuckle built within her, but she kept the emotion to herself.

  “Light mayo, too.”

  “Thanks.” She grabbed two plates and hurried to the fridge for water. The door, covered with pictures, held a calendar with the days of the month ‘x’ed off—an activity Chase had been known to undertake when gearing up for a grand activity. Lily filled two glasses, returned to the table and split the lunch between them, handing half to Tony as he sat.

  He took his and waved it at her like a thank you. A mouthful and a deep sigh later, he took her hand in his. “Leigh’s eyes …”

  Lily swallowed the gasp.

  “They turned color one day. The docs had no idea why. We took her to specialist after specialist and to others. We went to Europe. We flew back here. Nothing. No one had any ideas.” He took another bite. “When you told me about the doctor in Romania …”

  Romania? This can’t be coincidence.

  “… I wasn’t sure whether I agreed or not, but you said it had to be done. You had to find a way to cure her and to get her gorgeous browns back.”

  Can’t cure what is so obvious at thirteen. Been there.

  “All Leigh wanted was to be left alone. Even her hair had changed color … going from burnt gold to pale peach. It was like she was disappearing right before our eyes.”

  Trust me, I know the feeling. “And it
wasn’t, perhaps, anorexia?”

  “No. She ate like a horse.”

  Yup. Mimic.

  As he finished off his half of the sandwich, Lily nudged hers toward him to keep him busy and talking.

  “For the first time in our thirteen years, we fought. I didn’t—I needed you to try, but I wanted you to think of Leigh first.” He ran a hand through his hair. “She didn’t want to go. But I agreed you should try one last thing. Leigh’s expression when I agreed was the worst thing I’ve ever felt as a parent.” He coughed as if fending off powerful emotions. “When you didn’t come back after a week, I flew out. Another week passed, and I had to get back to Max. It’s been two months, Angela. Two months since I saw you last, but the PI said he’s been tracking you for at least thirty days. All the way to North Carolina at last check. Then every time I started to fly out, they’d tell me you left again. How? Why?”

  If Angela had been in Rune, Lily-the-look-a-like could have been mistaken for her. Could Angela be in Rune? I need to go back. “I just don’t remember,” she said.

  His cheeks flushed. “Why can’t you remember this?” Anger tainted the simple question.

  Lily scooted back an inch from the table as his fists bumped the surface.

  “You went away and left Max and me. You wouldn’t return my calls.”

  What are the stages of grief again? Lily wished she had Charley’s photographic memory so she could remember more. Disbelief? Anger? Acceptance? Damn, that’s only three.

  “Why wouldn’t you at least return my calls?” Hurt bled through Tony’s question. “Around the world over the last year. Even your mother said to give it a rest, to let Leigh live her life since she didn’t even care anymore about how she looked, and outside of those changes, she wasn’t sick, wasn’t hurting—nothing but her looks.”

  If Angela had known to go to Romania, someone had to have told her about Mimics.

  Who? And why would she end up back in North Carolina?

  • • •

  Cael checked the garage and found only one car. He’d buzzed the doorbell, but after five minutes, no one had come. Anxiety and tension built up in him to the point his decision came easily.

  He lifted a foot and kicked at the doorknob.