Page 50 of Assassin's Heart
I had to clear my throat before I could get any words out. Standing before the table, I pointed to each person. “Brooke, this is Levi, my brother. And his girlfriend, Abby. And my younger brother, Eli. This is Brooke.”
My brothers smiled and said hello while going pale, as if I was about to ask them to babysit or change shitty diapers. Ignoring their weirdness, Abby was out of her chair and around the table in a flash. “It’s so great to meet you, Brooke,” she said, dropping to her knees in front of the six-year-old. She held out a hand to shake. “I hope you slept well.”
Thank fuck for the woman in our family.
Brooke placed her hand in Abby’s. “No,” she said quietly, solemnly, “but Remi watched over us.”
Abby reached for something around Brooke’s throat. “That’s a very pretty locket. Did your mommy give that to you?”
I glanced down to see a delicate filigree heart-shaped locket lying just under the edge of Brooke’s shirt. Abby pulled it out to admire.
“My daddy gave it to me,” Brooke said confidently.
I jerked my gaze to Leah, holding my breath.
Leah’s smile was sad. “Angelo gave it to me. It became Brooke’s on her fifth birthday.”
Angelo had given it to her? I went slowly to my knees, not wanting to startle Brooke. “It’s beautiful,” I told the girl. “Can I see?”
When Brooke nodded, I took the heart from Abby. The light danced on the silver surface, disappeared into the valleys of the delicate pattern. “I didn’t see this last night.”
Leah frowned. “I took it off for her bath. Brooke’s allowed to wear it during the day. She had it on when…”
I nodded, understanding what she didn’t say—that Brooke had the necklace around her neck when she’d been kidnapped. I fingered the catch on the locket but didn’t feel any give. Using a nail, I pressed harder, finally rewarded with a smallsnick.
The locket popped open.
Brooke and Leah both gasped. Brooke took a step back, stopped by Leah’s body behind her.
“It’s all right,” I said, easing my hand closer so the chain didn’t pull on Brooke’s neck. “Eli, come here.” Heart pounding hard, I glanced up at Leah. “When did Angelo give this to you?”
“When…” Her voice shook. “When I found out I was pregnant.”
I held her gaze as the gravity of her answer settled on my chest. Angelo, knowing the woman he loved, the woman who carried his child, needed security, had given her what he’d thought was the only security he could—the evidence against his employers. Because there, glistening inside the small heart, was a microchip. A chip that had hung around his daughter’s neck while her kidnappers searched for the fucking thing everywhere but there.
Why the hell did the men I wanted to kill all have to be dead? Leah had carried the evidence on her body when she’d fled that night. Brooke had worn it for over a year, with no idea that the pretty necklace from her daddy could be either her salvation or a death sentence.
Jesus Christ, I wished I could kill the man all over again.
“Brooke, little one”—I dropped the heart, then tapped her chin playfully—“we need to borrow your pretty necklace a minute, please. Can Eli see it and bring it back to you in just a few minutes.”
A vee appeared between Brooke’s eyes, making her look so much like Leah for a moment that I almost let a laugh escape. She glanced up at her mama, then back to me.
“Just for a minute; it’s really important.”
“He’ll give it back, Brooke,” Leah assured her.
Brooke finally nodded.
“Okay.” Gently I lifted the necklace over her head. When I passed it to Eli, it was with the heart open, the chip plainly visible.
“I’ll be right back.” Eli winked at Brooke. “I promise.” He sprinted from the room.
I helped Leah settle Brooke at the table. “How about a cinnamon roll and some eggs?”
Brooke’s eyes lit up. “And bacon?”
Leah chuckled. “We both love our bacon, don’t we?”
