Page 26 of When Autumn Arrives

None of his clues added up to Thea. Not a damn fucking one. Until she hummed the tune of his lullaby. The same tune I’d heard years ago when John Black was a man running a special operation with our team.

And then the lyrics, the French words were like a freight train barreling into me, and all the answers were there. His daughter 'Rose' was the missing piece, and everything slid perfectly into place. But how did he send her to us? How did he know where we were, and what we were doing? And what was he sending to us?

I knew why he was sending her. He wanted her protected, and he probably figured she’d catch the eyes of one of us, that we’d keep her safe without knowing who she was to us.

My hands shook as I pressed them against the driver's seat, looking under the floorboards. I was running out of places to check, and things to tear out. The sweat from my temple wasn’t from the labor it was taking to search this car. It was from the stress of not knowing what I would find, or if I would even find something.

What if I wasted this entire day for nothing? What if I left Thea and Parker with Hendrix back in North Carolina only to find nothing?

I had left her in the midst of chaos, her nails had dug into my forearm while she cried and begged me not to leave her.

But I needed to.

My knees creaked with the movement of bending, and I gripped the bottom of the seat to pop it out. I prayed that there was something here, under the pedals. There was nothing. Not a single screw was out of place.

I groaned, pushing up to move to the passenger side. My last hope was a hidden compartment under the passenger floorboard. I leaned in and yanked the mat from the floor. It took effort, as it had been nailed down. And I knew, I knew before I even caught the square outline of a hidden hatch that I had struck gold.

I sucked in a sharp breath of air, holding it for a second while I prepared myself for whatever would be in this box. Well, as best I could, considering the amount of shock I’d been through these last forty-eight hours.

If there was a sick fucking joke under here, like a post-it note that said “gotcha”, I’d figure out where that lying bastard was buried and dig him up just to kill him again.

I was getting too old for the riddles that came with this line of work.

I grabbed the flathead screwdriver from my back pocket and used it to slide between the gap of the lid. It popped open after some force, and I moved it away. My face heated as I took in the contents of this hidden compartment.

“You fucking cocksucker.” I swiped at the white envelope with my name on it. How did this bastard know that she would find us? Fucking how did he manage this?

I slid my finger into the crease at the top of the letter and tore it until it was open. Inside was a folded piece of paper as well as a small black cube, which I knew would probably be inserted into a computer later.

My priority was this letter. I needed to know what this asshole was doing.

My eyes burned, and I unfolded the paper. I couldn’t stop the heart palpitations as I read.

Shane,

If you’re reading this, the chances that I've headed home.

He meant he was dead.

I know that sounds like a cliche way to start a letter. I know that you’re probably wondering why I would even write one to you. We were work acquainted at best.

The thing is, the moment I caught sight of your team, I knew that your brotherhood was special. You created something that I needed. A family.

It was extremely hard setting this up—hell, I’m not even sure if I pulled it off. I really fucking hope I did.

You’re probably wondering how I sent my precious Roses to you from the grave.

I had a firewall setup, and things were set in motion. If I wasn’t active on a certain network for a certain amount of time, a series of triggers occurred.

First, my lawyer was to convince Mrs. Willcox to put the bar up for sale. When he did, he triggered an Easter egg for Thea. That ad for the bar popped up on her screen every so often until she finally felt compelled to come to you.

I won’t bore you with the details, but it did work out in my favor that you and Calder enjoyed working on cars as much as Thea enjoyed fiddling with them whenever I managed to be there for her.

I discovered your brotherhood not long after the first reunion. It was two years after you and I crossed paths on the cruise. I’d known it was you almost immediately. Only the Top Banana could pull off the sinking of Titanic.

Thea and Paisley needed your family. Please don’t let them down.

Be careful with this chip. It holds the answers you need, and if you’re caught with it, you’ll most likely be forced to return it to the Farm.

-Theodore Rose.

To be continued…

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