“Since then, we’ve made our own tradition. Rowan throws me an imperfect party every year and I love it,” she said, smiling.
Corbin smiled at the two of them, even as he rolled his eyes. “Just be glad Maggie made the cake this year,” he said. “Last year, he made it himself. It was terrible! We all had to pretend we weren’t hiding it in our napkins. Stella made us promise not to say anything. I think she actually ate it, poor girl.” As though suddenly realizing what he was saying, Corbin’s words trailed off and he looked down at his feet.
Sawyer pulled Rowan tighter to her briefly as though comforting him. “Is she coming tonight?”
Rowan gave a shrug as though it didn’t matter. “I invited her,” he said. “I hope so.”
Sawyer nodded and gave him a smile. “Me too.”
“Happy birthday, sis,” he said with a smile.
Over the next half hour, guests began to arrive with Sawyer smiling and greeting each one. Corbin walked over to stand next to Rowan who was surveying his crowded living quarters. “You know her birthday was yesterday, right?” he asked in a low voice.
Rowan only smiled. “Yep,” he said. “That’s what makes it so perfect.”
Corbin rolled his eyes, but he grinned. “I’ll never understand you two.” He looked over to where Sawyer was laughing with Bree and Declan at something Jon had just said. He felt something in him slowly uncoil as he looked at her. He didn’t want to think too hard about what it mean. “She looks happy,” he said instead.
“Yeah,” Rowan agreed. “It’s been too long since she has been.”
Corbin turned to look at his friend. “You, too,” he said.
Rowan nodded, but smiled, this one seeming genuine. “I’m getting there,” he said. “Hey. Don’t waste time talking to me when I know I’m not the one you’d rather be talking to.” Rowan nodded in Sawyer’s direction with a pointed look at Corbin who rolled his eyes again but walked off in her direction.
Rowan stood near the kitchen counter and watched his sister and his best friend for a moment. He wondered if either of them realized how obvious they were. It was clear to everyone but them that there was something between them. They were both just too stubborn to admit it. He let his gaze roam over the room for a few minutes. Then he smiled as he felt that familiar pull that meant she was nearby.
“You don’t have to hide, you know?” he said in a quiet voice. “She’d be happy to see you at her party. Everyone here would.”
There was no answer for several seconds and then he heard Stella’s voice from his right. “I don’t want to draw attention to myself. It’s Sawyer’s night.”
Rowan kept the smile on his face though he wanted to roll his eyes. “That’s not why you won’t show yourself and we both know it. You need to stop being afraid. You belong here. With us.” With me. But he didn’t say that last part. He couldn’t. He knew she’d disappear and this time it wouldn’t just be from his sight. She’d go back to avoiding him. He couldn’t bear that idea.
“I’m just not ready yet,” came her quiet response.
Rowan let out a small sigh, but he didn’t push the issue further. It was enough to have her there beside him. He could smell the faint scent of her perfume. It was something light, maybe lilacs. He wasn’t certain, but he liked it. They stood together in comfortable silence, neither speaking. Rowan didn’t need to hear her voice to know she was standing next to him. He could feel her there beside him. That was enough.
When she finally broke the silence between them, she sounded hesitant. “Rowan,” she said. “Do you think maybe later—after the party, I mean—maybe we could talk?” Rowan’s heart sped up. He wanted to turn and face her, though he knew he wouldn’t see her. Even as the thought came, he knew he couldn’t do it. If he drew attention to her presence in front of all these people, she’d leave. So, he just gave a little nod.
“Of course,” he said in a low voice. He felt her fingers brush the back of his hand and slide down to twine with his own. She gave his fingers the briefest of squeezes and then she was gone. Rowan didn’t know what she wanted to talk about, but the fact that she wanted to speak to him was a huge milestone. He had to work to keep a silly grin off his face.
As the evening wore on, more and more people dropped by to wish Sawyer a happy birthday. She was checking out the food table when she felt a tap on her elbow. Turning around, she saw James and Gwynn standing there. She gave Gwynn a smile before turning her attention to the little boy.
She flashed a smile at James who was holding a folded piece of paper in his hands. “Happy birthday, Miss Sawyer,” he told her.
Sawyer felt her smile grow larger at the sight of the missing teeth in the boy’s smile and the slight lisp it caused when he said her name.
She bent down to his level and said, “Thank you so much, James. Did you get a piece of cake yet? Miss Maggie made it, so you know it’s yummy.”
James’ grin widened, and he nodded, eyes wide. “It’s chocolate!” he said, enthusiastically. “But I can only have one piece.” He glanced up at Gwynn who nodded sternly but her eyes were sparkling.
“Do you have something for Miss Sawyer?” she prompted him.
James nodded again and held out the folded paper for Sawyer to take. “It’s a birthday card!” he said brightly. Sawyer couldn’t help but smile again as she took it from him.
“This is a great card!” She said as she studied his artwork on the front. There were some stick figures and she assumed one of them was her, although she couldn’t decide which it might be. When she unfolded the paper, she saw what she assumed was a rainbow and some balloons.
“I love it, James,” she told the boy. “Thank you very much.”
To her surprise, James walked forward and put his little arms around her neck in a hug. She wrapped her own arms around him, hugging him briefly before he stepped back, suddenly shy again. Sawyer flashed him another smile before he ducked behind Gwynn’s leg.
Just then, Conrad appeared behind Gwynn and scooped James up into his arms, tickling him. The two women focused on the little boy’s giggles and the tension between them was broken for a moment.
“Come on, Jamie,” Conrad said in a cheerful voice that Sawyer knew was for James’ benefit. “Let’s get some cake.” He began to walk over to the table, James hanging over his shoulder, giggling.
“Gigi said I could only have one piece,” James said loudly through his laughter.
“Then we can’t tell Gigi, can we?” Conrad said, casting a wink back at Gwynn who tried and failed to keep the stern look on her face.
Sawyer smiled as she watched Conrad interact with James. He became a different person with his grandson and it was surprising to see the transformation. When she thought of the pain he must be in after losing Lydia, her heart clenched. She knew he was doing this for his grandson, the little boy who had just lost his mother. Sawyer felt a lump in her throat and quickly looked away from Conrad and James.
She turned back to face Gwynn and watched the other woman as she watched the two of them. Despite the smile she wore, Sawyer thought she detected a hint of worry in Gwynn’s eyes. It wasn’t surprising, given all that had transpired recently. She wondered how Gwynn was handling everything and felt a swell of shame rush through her as she thought about the way she’d avoided Gwynn since Stella’s return. She took a deep breath.
“Gwynn,” Sawyer said, tentatively. “Can we talk?”
Gwynn looked away from James and Conrad and gave Sawyer a nod, her face devoid of emotion now.
The two of them walked down the hall to Rowan’s bedroom and closed the door behind them. Sawyer spoke immediately.
“I’m so sorry for not telling you sooner,” she said. “About Rafe. About everything. I know I said that already, but I don’t know what else to say. I could give you a bunch of reasons why I didn’t say anything, but the truth is that I was selfish. I’d just lost Tess and Liam and the medics were telling me Corbin wasn’t coming back. I was a mess. I didn’t
think. I just shut down. I didn’t think about anyone but myself and I’m sorry.” Sawyer stopped talking and tried to judge Gwynn’s reaction to her words.
Gwynn studied Sawyer for a moment before she sighed. “It’s okay,” she said in a soft voice. “I was never angry with you for that. I’m sorry I’ve been so distant. With Stella back and losing Lydia…” she trailed off and glanced to the closed door. “And James losing his mother.” She cleared her throat and turned back to face Sawyer. “I think part of me was hurt that you felt you couldn’t trust us—trust me. But I was never angry with you.”
Sawyer felt her heart clench at the idea that she had caused Gwynn any pain. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “Can you forgive me?”
“Of course,” Gwynn whispered, pulling Sawyer to her in a hug. “Happy Birthday, Sawyer.”
Sawyer felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted as Gwynn’s arms came around her. When they pulled away, Gwynn reached a hand up to smooth Sawyer’s hair in a motherly gesture that took Sawyer by surprise. She smiled, remembering all the times Gwynn had done the same thing over the years.
“Thank you,” Sawyer said softly. “For everything. All these years you’ve taken such good care of me even though I never made it easy for you.”
Sawyer hoped she understood what she’d been trying to say. She was thanking her for always being there, for being the mother she’d needed for all those years. She’d never been overly emotional, and Gwynn had never tried to pry. She seemed to understand her in a way that very few people did. It was something that Sawyer hadn’t realized before this moment. She realized how lucky she was to have that.
Gwynn studied her for a moment before she returned the smile. “I like a challenge,” she said wryly. They both laughed as they left Rowan’s room and rejoined the party.
Chapter Eighteen
Declan stood with his arm around Bree’s waist, talking to Cole and Hannah. The four of them were discussing music and Bree had been thrilled to find that she and Hannah had similar taste in bands. As they talked about some of their favorite songs, Declan glanced around the room, feeling content. It had been nearly two weeks since he’d been shot, and he felt almost back to normal. There was still an impressive bruise on his chest and it hurt to touch the skin there, but his breathing was good, and he didn’t notice any real limitations. The coughing at night had stopped as well. He was supposed to go see Sean in the morning, and hopefully the medic would clear him to return to his team. He’d enjoyed the break, and it had given him time to train with Rowan, but he was ready to get back to work.
He saw Pax enter and scan the room, clearly looking for someone. When he glanced his way, Declan smiled and waved, but Pax seemed not to notice him. His gaze was intent and focused. Declan realized that he hadn’t come to socialize.
He watched Pax’s eyes stop scanning and he followed the man’s gaze to where Conrad was standing with James and Jon. Pax walked directly to him, barely acknowledging the people who greeted him as he passed them. It was rare to see Pax so focused and Declan felt his curiosity spike. When he reached Conrad’s side, Pax gave Jon a small smile then looked at Conrad with tilt of his head toward the door. Conrad seemed to understand the meaningful look because he signaled Gwynn to let her know he was leaving and she retrieved James from him. Now Declan was overcome with curiosity. He kept his eyes on the pair as they turned to walk toward the door, Conrad leaning over so Pax could speak into his ear. His brows rose in surprise and then lowered, and he looked around the room. His gaze landed on Bree where it lingered for a moment. Declan didn’t like the way that made him feel. Had something happened that concerned her? Conrad glanced back at Bree and seemed to notice Declan’s gaze on him. He looked away quickly and the pair continued walking to the door. Declan quietly excused himself and moved to follow them from the room.
As they approached the elevator, Declan called Conrad’s name. He and Pax both turned to face him, expressions tightly guarded.
“What is it?” Declan asked bluntly. “Is it something to do with Bree?” When they both looked at him blankly without answering, he sighed. “I’m not blind. Something’s going on, and you looked right at her. I deserve to know.”
Pax looked at Conrad and shrugged. Conrad sighed. “Bring Bree and Rowan to Ops. We’ll meet you there. Keep this to yourselves. The less people involved, the better.”
Declan felt a hint of worry now, but he just gave Conrad a nod and turned to walk back to the party. He hadn’t liked the expression in the man’s eyes. Whatever was happening had to do with Bree and for some reason Conrad didn’t want the whole team to know about it. He was torn between loyalty to his team and the need to follow orders. Conrad was the highest authority in this compound and he’d always trusted him. He decided to wait and see what they found out before telling the others. He schooled his features into neutrality and rejoined the group, sliding his arm once more around Bree’s waist. She turned and smiled up at him. He did his best to return the smile and act normal.
After a minute, he pulled Bree away from the others with an excuse of getting something to eat. He guided her past the table of food and down to the end of the hall. Bree looked at him in confusion but didn’t protest. When he stopped them in front of the door to Rowan’s room, he bent to speak into her ear.
“Conrad wants you, me and Rowan in Ops now,” he said in a low voice.
“What for?” she asked, a note of concern in her voice.
“I don’t know. He didn’t say.”
Bree still looked skeptical but nodded. “What about the rest of the team?”
Declan shook his head. “He just said the three of us. I don’t know what it’s about,” he said. “Pax came to find him, whispered something in his ear and they both left. It looked urgent, so I followed them out and asked them what was up.”
Bree’s eyes narrowed. “What are you leaving out?” she asked him.
Declan sighed. He said, “After Pax talked to him, Conrad looked around the room and when he saw you, he stopped. I don’t know. It looked like he was looking for you. I thought maybe whatever Pax told him had something to do with you. It was just a hunch I got. That’s why I followed them. He didn’t deny it when I asked.”
Bree’s gaze looked worried and he wondered what she was thinking. After a moment, she nodded and said, “Let’s go, then.”
The two of them managed to find Rowan and signal him that they needed to speak privately without drawing attention from anyone else at the party. They told him what they knew. Bree didn’t like the way his face shifted from happiness to concern in an instant. He glanced around the room and nodded.
“You guys go ahead,” he said. “I’ll sneak out and be there in a few.” Bree and Declan nodded their agreement and Rowan went back to the party as though nothing had happened. Declan and Bree walked casually to the door and slipped into the hallway and onto the elevator unnoticed.
When Bree and Declan arrived in Operations, Conrad and Pax were already there waiting for them. They took a seat and waited for Rowan to arrive. There was an awkward silence in the room. The large screens on the back wall were dark and lifeless. The longer they waited, the tenser the atmosphere became. Finally, the door opened, and Rowan entered, but he wasn’t alone.
Sawyer, Corbin, Rylee and Jon followed him into the room. They all wore matching expressions of thinly-veiled anger. Bree met Rylee’s gaze as she entered and gave her a little shrug. Rylee raised one eyebrow in response as she moved to take a seat. Conrad didn’t look happy with this new development but the only clue to his discomfort was a tightening of his jaw. Bree found it difficult to associate the man before her with the man who’d been playing with James earlier, laughing and carefree. This man was composed, serious. He didn’t look as though he knew how to laugh.
When everyone had taken their seats, Conrad walked to stand in front of them. He sighed. “I’d planned to talk to Bree alone, but I suppose that’s not going to happen now. So be it. About half an hour ago we were a
pproached by an individual seeking assistance. When I say “approached”, I mean that this man walked up to one of the cameras on the street level and waved at it. Then he mentioned the name Bree Warren. That got our attention.” He looked around the room at the faces of those assembled there. They’d all sat up a little straighter at his words. Bree felt a jolt of concern at the idea that someone had known the location of the compound and had asked for her by name.
“We wanted to gather as much intel as possible before we decided how to proceed. We took him into custody and questioned him. He’s been entirely cooperative. The man claimed to know Bree personally and said he had a reason for coming here. He claimed that there had been a kidnapping and that Bree would want to know about it. It took a little digging, but we verified that the kidnapping did indeed take place. We’re working on gathering more information now. I didn’t want to alarm anyone until we had more knowledge.” He spoke in a clear, straight-forward tone, reciting the facts.
Bree wondered why Conrad had only wanted to speak to her and not involve the rest of the team. “Who?” she asked, her voice cracking. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Who was taken?”
Conrad took another deep breath before he spoke. “Zoe Rivers was taken from her dorm room at approximately 19:30 this evening by three of Ephraim’s soldiers.” He looked directly at Bree as he spoke. His voice was clear and without emotion, a news anchor reading headlines from a teleprompter. “As far as we know, she wasn’t harmed during the kidnapping, but we don’t know why they took her or where they may be holding her. The only reason we can ascertain is that he’s trying to lure you out of hiding.”
Bree’s ears filled with a strange buzzing at the sound of Conrad saying Zoe’s name. She felt someone—her mother maybe—reach over and take her hand, but she couldn’t make sense of what was happening. Zoe was supposed to be safe. Wasn’t that why she’d stayed away? Why they’d ran all those months ago? To keep her friends safe. Now Ephraim’s people had Zoe and they could kill her easily. She had no Praetorian ability to protect her. She was an artist. She was the most non-violent person Bree had ever met. Suddenly, she became aware of several raised voices in the room.
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