Page 83 of The Woman

“In public,” he corrects. “I told you not to do it in public again. I didn’t want anyone else to suspect anything if my suspicions turned out to be valid. I knew what Avery was as soon as I met her, but there was a chance it was only a coincidence that you picked her, like it was with your grandfather.”

I lean forward, pressing my elbows to my thighs, and clasp my hands together, staring ahead, still processing everything he’s telling me. My mother was a WOUN. His mother was a WOUN. If he never turned his woman in, there’s no reason to think he’d turn Avery in.

I look at him, really look at him, and try to reconcile this man standing across from me to the one I grew up with. It’s hard, I must admit.

“Okay. So, what changed?” I finally ask. “Why bring me to this place the way you did?”

“As I said, I originally thought you were the one to report Avery. When I found out you knew what she was and that it couldn’t have been you, I decided to bring you here. I told them just to get you into the van any way possible since I know you can be quite stubborn. It may have been a little extreme.”

I scoff. “You think?”

“I also told them to make sure you couldn’t tell where they were going.”

Having me sit sideways with my head covered messed with my sense of direction, so I guess they succeeded in that.

“Why couldn’t I know?”

He straightens up, facing me completely now. “You may be sympathetic toward Avery, but that doesn’t mean you’re sympathetic to all of them. I didn’t want to risk you knowing the way here.”

To all of them? What the hell is he talking about?

“You’re speaking in riddles, Father. What is this place, and why bring me here at all?” I ask, confused and splaying my hands out to the side.

“Let me ask you something first.” He closes the distance between us, coming to a stop in front of me, his unreadable mask in place. “Do you think the way WOUN are treated . . . what’s done to them is fair? That they need to be changed?”

Avery’s smile instantly comes to mind, along with the way she used to tilt her chin up and challenge me and how her eyes would light up when she looked at me. My chest hurts at the memory of it.

But then her face starts disappearing, blowing away with the wind like the musical notes on my arm.

My molars mash together, my lips pursing. None of that needed to be changed. None of them need to be changed.

“No,” I answer through clenched teeth.

At my reply, he blows out a breath of what appears to be relief. “Good. That’s good. I’ve made the right choice then.”

Just then, his phone starts ringing, and his previous demeanor changes to that of the same businessman I’ve known my whole life.

“Yes?” he says by way of answering it, holding a finger up to me as he walks down the hallway and into one of the rooms to talk in private.

I run both hands through my hair, my elbows still perched on my knees. I would never have imagined my day turning out like this when I dragged myself out of bed this morning after another sleepless night.

And though I’m still left with many questions, and I still don’t know who reported Avery, nor do I have her back, this does eliminate my father, and there is a sort of comfort in knowing he’s on my side. I also now have an explanation as to why I feel the way I do about certain things.

I let my eyes drift shut with exhaustion, then weave in and out of memories of Avery and our time together as I wait for my father to return.

A few minutes later, my father walks back into the room with a pleased look on his face as he pockets his phone.

“Come,” he says to me, motioning with his head. “I have some things to show you.”

And because I’m more than curious to know what this place is and why I’m here, I get up and follow him to the front door. Right before opening it, he glances at me over his shoulder, his look serious.

“This will change a lot of things for you.”

Chapter 34

Phoenix

He opens the door, and we walk out into the sunshine. Then, I freeze on the spot.

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