Page 126 of Faded Gray Lines
“But...”
“I said, cut the crap. I know everything. Meet me at three o’clock. I’ll text you the address.”
“And you went?” he asked. “Why not call the police?”
“She’s my daughter, Brody! There was no time. If there was one last chance to save her from them, don’t you think I’d try? Plus, I had to tell her that I’d found out that...”
“What?”
“The San Marcos PD couldn’t get in touch with Leighton, so they called me. Your grandparents were murdered, and your niece is missing.”
My heart seized then slammed against my chest until I thought it would explode.
Stella...
“Isn’t it obvious what’s happened?” she continued. “Our family has been their target since your father’s death. Emilio Reyes tried to use Leighton against me. Now she’s gone, and...” Letting out another wail, she managed to squeeze out a few tears. “God knows if little Della will ever be found.”
I clenched my teeth. “Stella.”
She popped an eye open. “Of course, Stella.”
I would go insane if I thought about losing my wife and daughter right now. Brody was one question away from splintering, so I had to take control.
Focus on Leighton now. Find Stella after. Kill everyone later.
“Did you see her?” I asked, stepping in between them. “You don’t have a scratch on you, Mayor Donovan.”
“If I could’ve gotten in the door, don’t you think I would’ve?” she hissed. “I suppose something didn’t go as planned. When I got there, the whole house was already in flames.” I bit my tongue as she wiped invisible tears. “I couldn’t save her.”
I felt robotic. I saw the smoke, but I refused to believe it. Maybe the need for her to be okay had filled me with such rage there wasn’t room for acceptance.
“No!” Brody finally shouted. “You’re wrong.”
Climbing to her knees, Lilith reached into her pocket, pulling out a thin gold chain stained with dark brown splotches. “I found this outside.”
As soon as Brody took it from her, the gold “L” slipped between his fingers, and his tortured wail drowned out the sound of two SUVs pulling up. Glancing over my shoulder, I watched four of our men walk up to Val, their expressions somber.
Val wasted no time. “Casualties?”
“We lost three men going in. No one’s called the fire department. This far out, people just assume it’s just a brush fire.”
“Not us,idiota,” he muttered.
The soldier nodded. “Three charred bodies.”
“It seems we have an extra player in this game.” Val noted with interest.
I wasn’t interested in games. I only wanted answers, but nothing made sense. Years ago, I’d warned Leighton about this place. I even brought her out here just to warn her to stay away from it. She sure as hell wouldn’t come here voluntarily—especially with Emilio.
I couldn’t make myself believe she was in that house.
“I told her where to go if she was ever in trouble,” Brody whispered to himself. “Why didn’t she call me?”
Closing the distance between us, I bent down. “What did you just say?”
Brody glanced up, still gripping the pendent. “We had a deal. If she was ever in trouble, she was supposed to go to my apartment and wait for me. She promised me.”
The ice in my chest melted and blood pumped through my veins again. What I felt made sense. All I had to do was trust it.
