“I’ll have someone walk you out.”
“I don’t need an escort.”
“Buzz, walk Jo out.”
I didn’t ask how he knew my name, let alone my nickname. I worked for him, along with hundreds, likely thousands of others. Maybe he made it his business to know everyone. I wasn’t going to make a big deal over it. I’d let his guy walk me out if he wanted to. I wasn’t going to be greedy with my victories.
“I’m fine.”
“I know.” And as quickly as that, I was dismissed, he walked off in his own direction while his big blond brute followed me in mine.
I left Buzz at the bus stop on the strip, but I didn’t feel alone until I was in my trailer, hours later.
Chapter Four
The church was deathly quiet when I walked in the next afternoon. I’d started looking for my parents the day I had turned eighteen. No one had been willing to talk to me before then. I never understood that. It was my history, I had a right to know. Turned out, there wasn’t much to tell. The only thing I had found out was that a priest had dropped me off at the hospital, but no one had bothered to write his name down at the time, or perhaps they had simply lost the record.
This was the thirtieth church I’d visited. My steps echoed off the high ceilings as I walked down the aisle. I was running out of churches to go to in the area. I’d have to expand my search radius again, soon.
“Can I help you?” I turned to find a middle-aged nun behind me.
“Is your priest in? Or do you know where I could find him?”
“I’m sorry, but we aren’t holding confessionals, today.”
“No, I’m not here for that. Is there any chance I could speak to him?”
“I’ll go see if he’s available. Wait here.”
I wished that my life could be simple enough to just give a confession and move on, that I could fix my problems that easily. This was one of the oldest churches I’d been to, about twenty minutes outside of Vegas. I sat down on the hard wooden pew and gazed at the afternoon sun streaming in through the stained glass windows. I could smell the age of the place, the scent of incense that had been burned over and over again still lingered in the air and I wished I could just let it all go.
I didn’t even want to know these people who had given me up. They had abandoned me to a cruel world, and I had no love in my heart for them. When I had been a young girl, I would daydream of them coming and saving me. Those days were long gone. If I could walk away from this chase, I would. I didn’t have that option. Every year, things got a little stranger. I was afraid of what I was becoming. The only thing I wanted from them was answers, and they’d better be ready to give them.
“Miss?” I turned to see an elderly man, probably in his mid seventies, with thin white hair. “You asked to speak to me?”
“Yes, if you have a moment? I had a couple of questions.”
“Sure, what can I do for you?”
He smelled of soap and detergent, as he sat down next to me on the pew. If I hadn’t been through this so many times, I might have actually felt awkward. I had initially. I’d even gotten butterflies the first few times, thinking that I might finally get the answers I craved. Now, I just felt jaded, but I started my questions, anyway.
“Did you find a baby about twenty one years ago?”
His face changed instantly, and I knew I had finally found the priest who had brought me to the hospital. He reached down and took my hand in his. I swallowed back my unease at being touched but didn’t pull back.
“You’re her? I remember it like it was last night. Your eyes were so unusual. I’d never forget them.”
“Could you tell me what happened?”
“Yes, I still remember the night. It was a late Sunday evening in the middle of January and cold. I think it actually even broke a temperature record that day. I had just locked the doors not fifteen minutes before, and was gathering a few things, when I heard a light banging at the door. When I opened it, there was a beautiful young girl there covered in blood, with a small child not more than a year old. I let her in immediately. She was bleeding heavily from her side, so heavily that I was worried about even waiting for an ambulance. They aren’t always so quick to get out this far. I left her to go grab car keys to drive her to the hospital myself. When I got back, she was gone and you were sitting on the bench crying. You were swaddled in a blanket covered with your mother’s blood. I called one of the nuns, Loretta, to help me and I drove you to the hospital.”
“Do you remember what she looked like?”
“She looked like you. You could’ve been twins.”
“And she just disappeared?”
“There was so much blood, but when I looked for her outside she wasn’t there. Even after I returned from the hospital, I couldn’t find a trace.”
“Did she say anything to you?”
He shook his head. “No, but I did find something that night. Come with me and I’ll get it for you.”
I stood and followed him into a back office. Shelves packed to the brim lined the walls. I was surprised they were still even clinging to the walls and hadn’t crashed down from their awesome burden.
The priest was surprisingly spry for his age as he dragged a step stool across the room.
“I think it’s here. Ah, yes! Here it is.” He climbed down with a single sheet of paper in his hand. “It was lying on the pew right beside you.”
I took the sheet and looked at it quickly.
A golden child born and left will be the hope of those bereft. When eternal lilies bloom after a torturous night, the giver of gifts will stand for the right. The one who’s sought is suddenly found, it will come time to stand their ground. So comes the reckoning where many fall. Tis not the end, but the start of it all.
“Odd, right?”
The priest’s voice distracted me and I looked up at him. “Yes. You really think this was left by her?”
“Yes. It was left right beside you. In the excitement of the moment, I left it behind when we went to the hospital. I kept it, figuring I’d give it to you at some point. Then days turned into weeks and years. I’d forgotten about it until you came here today.”
I nodded, absorbing the fact that maybe she hadn’t wanted to abandon me. For some unknown reason, it hurt worse knowing that. It had been easier to wall off those emotions behind anger than to consider perhaps I had been wanted. The strange note added to my bewilderment. It was hand written, but looked as if it had been pulled from a bond book.
“Would you like to come have a cup of tea? I’ve always wondered what happened to you.” He reached out and grasped my hand.
I pulled back, and I saw understanding in his face. Logically, I knew he hadn’t had a hand in how my life had unfolded from that point, but in my heart, I felt just as abandoned by him as by everyone else. I had no desire to retell the story of neglect and abuse, and I felt no obligation to paint a pretty picture to ease his conscience. He had been one of many who passed the buck and left an innocent child to fend for herself. Not once in the many years of my life had he come by to see if I was okay.
“Thank you for your time.” I felt a twinge of remorse when I saw his face sadden, but I ignored it, just as he had ignored the baby he had dropped at the hospital.
I tucked the mysterious note into my purse and I walked out into the dry heat that came at the end of spring, but I didn’t mind. I closed my eyes as I looked up and let the sun’s heat sink into my skin before I walked back to the only bus stop in the area. I didn’t own a car, not wanting the additional debt on top of tuition bills and rent, but I was doing so well in tips lately that I had started to consider it.
I took the bus to Lacard, not home, because I had a shift tonight. Even with all the passengers and lots of stops, I still got there an hour early, so I went to have a coffee and stroll the mall. My nerves were raw, and the priest’s words buzzed in my head like an angry swarm from a disrupted hive. Was my mother dead? I’d grown up believing I was a
bandoned; now I didn’t know what to think. The note made no sense at all other than the golden child born and left. I was light blond, naturally golden tan and one hundred percent left.
I was gazing at the storefront, feeling akin to an emotional zombie, when I caught a glimpse of him in the reflection off the glass. He stood across the aisle, was in his early twenties, and the epitome of average, not too tall or short, not good looking, nor ugly. He was the perfect tail, or would have been if I hadn’t noticed him on the bus ride over here.
I’d learned to take care of myself. That meant being aware of any possible physical threat, even if it was someone who blended into the background. There was still a chance it was a coincidence. The Lacard had the best mall on the strip nestled in its enormous walls, and it drew all sorts of foot traffic.
Trying to confirm my suspicions, I walked down a wing that carried only two stores, one lingerie and the other shoes. I discreetly glanced around and found I was alone. I ducked into the shoe store for a few moments, and pretended to be interested in a pair of boots, all the while eyeing the hallway out front. When he didn’t follow, I relax a bit and then made my way back out and into the main thoroughfare. I scanned the area with my peripheral vision and inwardly cringed. I spotted him as he lingered in front of the dress store I had left. Walking slowly, I stopped and paused at a cart in the center selling earrings, and I saw him start to move in my direction again but stopped when he got within twenty feet.
I looked down to check the time, I had to head in to work, or I’d be late for my shift. I held my phone up, and I tried to catch the reflection of the guy on the screen. I walked briskly and tripped. My legs swung out up in front of me and I landed in an undignified lump right in front of Godiva Chocolates. I heard a few young giggles that attested to my audience. Little jerks. What were they doing in a casino mall anyway? Didn’t their parent’s ever hear of Disney World?
“Are you all right?”
A male palm hovered a few feet in front of me, waiting to assist. My eyes followed the arm up to look at the well-groomed man attached. He was tall; even from my current vantage point his height was obvious. His polo shirt and khakis did little to hide the trim lean build of someone who exercised regularly, and probably had a few marathons under his belt. As a runner, I could always spot another. I waved his hand away and jumped to my feet quite smoothly.
“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.”
“I’m Vitor.”
“Thanks again. Sorry, but I’m in a bit of a rush. I’m going to be late for work.” I hurried off before he had a chance to ask my name. From the expression on his face, I knew it wasn’t a reaction he was used to getting. It wasn’t how I would normally treat someone just trying to help me, either, but my unease was growing by the minute. This was the second day in a row I felt like I’d been followed. It was becoming a bit too much for me to ignore or excuse away. I didn’t want another problem, and I certainly didn’t need one.
As I hurried into the back staff rooms, I felt a little of the tension release. No one but casino staff could follow here. I only had a few minutes left now before I was due on the floor, so my respite was short lived. I’d barely stepped onto the casino floor before Arnold was already calling me.
“Can you do me a favor?”
“Sure, Arnold. What do you need?” I tried to play nice with Arnold. He was the gate keeper to the best shifts, plus, I thought he was a nice guy everyone walked on.
“I’ve got a new girl training tonight and some guy just threw up on her. I know, gross,” he said replying to my silent but strong reaction. “She’s hysterical in the women’s bathroom. I’ll call down for it, but I need you go to laundry and inventory and pick up a new uniform for her.”
“Sure, but I don’t know where it is.”
“Go to the basement level one. Take a left out of the elevator; make a right at the first corridor, and then the third door on the right. Thanks.” Before I could ask another question, Arnold pulled out his phone and walked away, heading toward the bathrooms.
Left, right, right I repeated to myself, wishing I had a pen to jot it down on my palm. I’d always been direction deficient. Leaving the floor, I walked to the staff elevators in the back and got in. I looked at the buttons and hit B One, that had to be it, I figured. The elevator doors opened at my selected floor to reveal all cement pathways, in stark contrast to the lush gold and red carpeting of the casino upstairs. Cinderblock walls coated in a dull grey utilitarian paint and dim fluorescent lighting above that flickered slightly gave me an eerie feeling, similar to the opening of a horror film.
I had expected to see some sort of signs, maybe a couple of arrows taped to the floor, but there was nothing. I turned, turned again, and started to count the doors to the right. When I got to the third it was locked. Maybe it was the one on the left? I counted the ones on the left and bingo, the third door opened.
All I could see were tall, box-filled shelves that climbed all the way to the ceiling. It looked like storage. There had to be some uniforms somewhere around here. “Hello?” I called out, but there was no answer, so I went farther in the room and tried to find someone. The aisles went back farther than I would have imagined, and the immense scope of the room impressed me.
A voice across the other side of the room drew my attention, so I went in that direction. “Hello?” I repeated but with no reply.
When I turned the corner, the area opened up and I could see clear to the other side of the room where a dark haired man was pinning a guy up against the wall with his forearm pressed against his throat. The guy that was pinned was the same guy I’d kneed the other night. He wasn’t having a good run.
“Stay out of it! I’m going to handle it. I told you!” The dark haired man was a mere inch from the other guy’s face as he spoke.
It wasn’t exactly clear to me if the guy was going to choke him or if it was just a threat. The guy was a creep. Maybe he deserved what he was going to get. After I mentally debated it for a moment, I didn’t think I could watch the guy kill the man who attacked me. I’m not sure what that said about me, that I’d had to think about it. Some people would have just leapt to his defense. I guess I wasn’t one of those people. Nope, not really a shocking revelation.
I started looking around for a weapon of some sort to hit the one guy over the head with, when I heard a horrible growl and paused. Just wonderful, they brought a dog, too, I thought to myself. I turned to locate the furry critter, but there were only the two men still there. Then something flickering near the pinned man’s face caught my eye. Bumps were breaking out and growing out of his skin. I stood and gaped at what happened next. The creep I didn’t like morphed into a tall fur covered monster, complete with a muzzle full of pointy teeth.
If I hadn’t been in shock, I might have just quietly run, as I didn’t think either of them had noticed me. Unfortunately, that’s not how things worked out. Once I saw those horrific teeth snap and growl, I screamed bloody murder. Both men instantly turned and stared at me, forgetting their own fight in the process. I belatedly turned and ran straight into what felt like a brick wall. I tried to pull away, but I was held firmly.
I looked up at the living mountain and saw that it was Buzz. He was Hawking’s man; it would be okay. He was tough. Between the two of us, we could probably take them.
“Come with me,” was all he said.
I eagerly preceded him from the room and didn’t look back, just walked quickly away with Buzz at my back. I was too relieved to press my luck. As long as I didn’t feel sharp teeth piercing me, all was right in the world.
When I headed toward the elevator, he grabbed me quickly and motioned toward the other direction. He let go of my arm as soon as I turned around so it didn’t set off any alarm bells. He had been sent to protect me last night, perhaps Hawking had been the one having me followed?
“What was that thing?”
“I can’t speak about it.”
“You know what? That’s completely o
kay with me. I’m just glad you showed. Those guys looked like they wanted to rip me to pieces.” He didn’t respond, and I didn’t care. I was just happy I wasn’t a bloodied mess chewed up for dinner. The one guy, or creature, or whatever he was, looked like he’d have been a tough fight in his new form. I wasn’t sure my little trick would work through a thick coat of hair. I’d never zapped an animal before.
I turned to make sure we weren’t being followed.
“They aren’t following us. I locked the door. They won’t get out until I send someone back there.”
“Where we going?”
“To the top.”
I looked and saw the elevator at the end of the hall. Boarding the elevator, I suspected he meant we were going to Hawking. I watched the buttons light up until it blinked on the top level, Hawking’s level. I didn’t realize it initially, but this must be Hawking’s private elevator.
The doors opened to the familiar tan hallway of art, but this time the penthouse door opened for us as if on cue. The butler type person didn’t speak, just shook his head, shut the door after us, and left the room.
A muscular man in his mid thirties, the type you would expect to see at Gold’s Gym, came out of the living room area. He was tall and muscular like Hawking, but without any of the refined feeling to offset it. He seemed a bit brutish, closer to the impression Buzz gave. He had very dark hair, but it was brown, not the true black of Hawking’s.
“What’s this?” he asked Buzz.
“She saw Tracker change,” Buzz replied.
Right then and there I got a sinking feeling in my gut. He hadn’t been saving me at all. On the outside, I played it cool, but on the inside, I was shooting off a list of expletives that would do the most jaded streetwalker proud. After all these years, I knew better.
The Keepers (The Alchemy Series) Page 3
