The trees zip by, the outside nothing but a blur as Presley drives like a bat out of hell. I know we’re flying faster than we should be. But still, it feels like we’re creeping along, puttering down the dark highway. I lean over and check the speedometer. “Can we go any quicker?”
“Not if you want to get there in one piece and without getting pulled over,” she says, shaking her head. “I’m going as fast as I can, Brynne. How do you feel, by the way? You freaked out the guy at the restaurant with your little fainting spell.”
“I’m fine. I think. I don’t know.”
I rest my head against the window and glance at my phone again. My head is a disaster, swimming from Brady to Fenton to the feeling of complete and utter helplessness that I can’t alleviate. Trying to talk to my brother on the phone was useless; my mother’s back-and-forth of wailing and cheering makes it impossible to hear. All I know is that he’s okay, he’s home, and I’ll be seeing him in approximately eleven minutes.
Presley gives me a sympathetic glance and presses forward, working our way through the night. I look again at my phone, silently praying to see a message from Fenton, but there’s nothing. No call. No text. I even check my email, although he doesn’t have my address, but it’s empty too.
As is my heart.
Brynne, do you hear me? I love you.
My throat squeezes as I force a swallow down the constricted tube. I don’t know what to think, what to believe. I try to gulp passed the tears I feel building, will them to go away, but my emotions are more powerful than my control. My lashes wet as they spill over, making their way down my cheeks.
The look on his face. The way he glanced at me over his shoulder, his beautiful face crinkled, lined with concern and frustration. I can only imagine the horrified look I gave him back, and I wish in retrospect I had given him a smile or some sort of encouragement.
“It’s going to be okay, Brynne.”
“Brady’s back,” I smile, but the jazz that should be leeching out of my tone isn’t there. It’s dampened with the loss of another man, another one I love.
“He is,” she smiles, more brightly than me. “He’s home and he’s safe and we’ll be seeing him in just a few minutes. And Fenton will be okay too.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Nah, I do.”
“We don’t even know why they whisked him away, Pres. Duke isn’t answering, the staff and the restaurant looked and seemed as clueless as me. No one will tell me anything.”
“Just don’t get overwhelmed.” She looks at me out of the corner of her eye and snorts. “Well, no more than you already are. Just take it one step at a time. Fenton is a big boy and you can’t fix any of that, regardless of what it is. So let’s go see Brady and wait for Duke to call you back. And for the record, that’s a super awesome name.”
My head lies against the cool glass again and I watch my best friend nod her head like she’s got it all figured out. It’s an act; most of Presley is just that. But it’s why I love her.
She turns the car into my parents’ subdivision and I unbuckle my seatbelt, my hand already on the door. I watch the houses tick by as we near the end of the cul-de-sac. The car doesn’t hit a full stop before I’m out the door and running up the flagstone steps.
I burst into my childhood home, a small white split-level my family has lived in since before Brady was even born. It smells just like always, like I’m going to walk in and have a roast on a random Sunday afternoon. Like warmth and food and heavy doses of cinnamon and vanilla with a touch of bleach. All I need to round out the scenario is a baseball game playing on the television.
Instead, I hear something even better. Robust, booming laughter from the kitchen.
The door slams behind me, tears coursing down my face as I run down the hardwood hallway, slipping on the stupid woven rugs my mother buys on clearance somewhere every year. Almost falling into the wall before I can catch my feet and turn the corner, I dash into the kitchen.
I run blindly to my brother, sitting in his chair at the kitchen table. I can barely even see him, to see that he’s in one piece, and too thin, and a little scarred from his journey. He’s there. And as I lunge into his arms, he stands and I almost knock us both over.
“Brady!” I sob, my arms around his neck. He smells faintly of himself, of the boy that used to hold me down and dangle spit over my face.
“Brynne,” he says, wrapping me in a huge bear hug. He’s much smaller than he was a few months ago and the bones in his back are easily felt beneath my hands. I pull back, laughing and crying at the same time, wiping my eyes so I can see him.
“You’re home,” I choke out. “You’re really here!”
Tears flow down his face too, but a smile that’s as wide as the room shows his joy. And it makes my heart burst.
I shove him gently on the shoulder. “You should’ve listened to me, you fucker!”
“Brynne!” my mother admonishes, a laugh in her voice.
“So I’m back for a full five minutes and you’re already starting with the name calling. Thanks, little sister.”
“I can’t believe my eyes,” I declare. “How did you get here? How did this happen? Senator Hyland?” I look at my parents and they sit in their seats, smiles as wide as Brady’s on their faces.
“Hi, Presley.” My brother looks past me, his eyes settling softly. He sidesteps me and encompasses Pres into his arms. She gives him a quick hug, murmuring something in his ear, before releasing.
“Does anyone want anything to drink? Coffee? Wine? Water?” My mother motions for us all to sit. She looks more content, more peaceful, than I’ve seen her in so long. Even with her tear-streaked cheeks, she’s radiant.
“I’m good,” I say, sitting across from Brady. Presley sits next to him and shakes her head at my mother. “So, how did this happen? Where were you? Were you okay? How did—”
“Breathe, Brynne,” my father rumbles. “Let’s do this one step at a time. He might not want to tell us everything right off . . .”
Brady takes a long second to look across the table. He takes my mother’s hand in his and squeezes it, making her tear up again.
“I could talk all night about this,” he points out, biting his lip. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“How did this happen?” I ask. “Where were you? Why did they take you?”
My brother laughs and I notice the deepened lines around his eyes. His face is more weathered than when he left, his hair scruffy, in definite need of a cut. There’s a scar along the right side of his face, near his jawline, and I’m too scared of the answer to ask where it came from.
Seeing him across from me feels surreal and I keep blinking just to see if he goes away—poof!—like an apparition. But every time, he’s still there. Still smiling. Still on the verge of cutting a joke. Still Brady.
His features darken and he composes himself before he starts talking. “The night before I was taken, I was looking for a magazine you guys sent me. I’d loaned it to Grant a couple of days before and figured he hadn’t given it back. So I go to his bunk and start looking through his shit and find ivory.”
“Ivory?” my father asks, leaning against the table.
“Yeah. Ivory. I was stunned. He comes in the room and realizes I’d found it and wants to take a walk, away from prying ears. So we do. Come to find out he was buying ivory from the locals and then trafficking it to foreign dealers.”
“I’m shocked,” Dad says, shaking his head. “Why on Earth would he get into something like that?”
“Because there’s money to be made. Lots of it,” Brady says. “It’s illegal, but there’s a huge demand in foreign markets. You can make a killing if you have the contacts, and Grant apparently made them. He said he did it one time and this would be the last one. He was worried he was going to get caught anyway and he said he’d quit. He’s not a stupid guy, you know, so I believed him. It was the logical thing for him to do.”
“How does that tie in with your disappearance?” I ask.
Brady looks around the table. “Well, the day I went missing, we were on a mission. There were three of us and we were in a low-risk neighborhood. The other two were providing light security to the homes in the area and I was being the intermediary between the people and the organization. Doing well-checks on kids, elderly, things like that. It’s what we did day in, day out. But then Grant says we got a call to move. So we load up and take off and as soon as we roll into the area, I know we aren’t supposed to be there.”
A knot twists in my gut, a clenching of anticipation mixed with dread that almost makes me nauseous. It might be the way his voice hollows as he’s getting to wherever he’s going or it might be the way his gaze has focused on Mom’s apple clock on the far wall. But my father notices it too, and he tries to comfort me with a look. It doesn’t work.
“Grant and the guy with us head immediately into a building and I suspected then that this was about ivory. I pull out a map and realize we are not only in an area we shouldn’t be in, we are in one we aren’t legally allowed to be in. Boundaries and things aren’t what they are here and we definitely crossed a line.”
“So I’m waiting on them to come out and a little kid races into the street after a ball. He falls and a dog comes at him, one of these feral animals that are ruthless—I’ve seen them take out grown men. So I rush out there and fire some shots and get the dog to leave and check the kid out. And before I know it, I’m face-first in the dirt and being kicked in the ribs and tossed into the back of an old SUV.”
“You’re all right, though. Right?” Presley asks.
“Yes,” he turns to her, smiling. “I had another doctor check me out as soon as I landed here. I’m fine. A little roughed up, but I’m okay. I was able to kind of do basic treatment on myself while in that hellhole, thankfully.”
“Thank God,” my mother whispers.
“How did you get back here? What happened?” I ask.
“Well, two days ago, I was sitting in this room I’d been in for a few weeks. I have no idea where it was, obviously, but it was with a family, which was a first. They seemed like they didn’t know what to do with me or even want me there, really. So I’m sitting there a couple of days ago and everything is just the same as it had been. Same routine by the father, the mother, the little girl. And a bunch of men come, a few I recognize from various places I’d been, and they’re having this argument outside my window. I can’t understand any of it, but I can tell something’s wrong.
The family is getting nervous. I’m getting nervous, trying to figure out what I have around me I can use for a weapon when one of them sneaks past me and tells me to be patient. The way he said it,” he shakes his head, trying to relive that moment, “there was something about his accent or the look in his eye that made me think this might be a good thing. It’s hard to explain. And, a few minutes later—thirty, maybe forty—guns start going off and Unit A, Mandla’s advanced unit, comes in and gets me out.”
My father leans back in his chair, the squeaking cutting through the gush of air that I release. “If they knew where you were, they should’ve gotten you out sooner.”
“No,” Brady says, shaking his head empathically. “It’s not that easy, Dad. They had no idea where I was. I think they did come get me as soon as they knew. I was moved a number of times. Only a handful of people ever saw me. It wouldn’t have been easy to find me. And you know, there’s a good chance they’re going to be in some trouble for doing it the way they did.”
“So you don’t think Nzou knew it the whole time? Senator Hyland thinks—” Dad starts, but Brady cuts him off.
“Senator Hyland has no clue, to be honest. I was moved eight or nine times while I was over there. And from what I understand, as soon as Nzou knew for sure, they did come and get me. And I don’t even want to know what it cost them. I’m sure there was money in paying bribes and spies and things like that. And they had a private plane ready to get me back to the States right away. “
My heart lurches in my chest, tears stinging my eyes.
Fenton did get him back.
Presley grabs my hand and I squeeze it, trying to keep from breaking down at the table. I keep envisioning him being led out of the restaurant, hearing him say he loves me. And now, seeing what he did for me, for Brady, for my family, my heart splinters into a million pieces.
My father has been talking, but I haven’t followed along. So when Brady responds, I have no idea what he’s responding to.
“His name is Fenton Abbott,” Brady says, taking my breath away. He furrows his brow, flashing me an inquisitive look, but I don’t respond. Just hearing his name come out of my brother’s mouth is awe-inspiring. “His mother was from Zimbabwe, so he had regional contacts there. It’s very clannish; it’s hard to explain. He told me on the way over here he was forbidden to deal with them, but as soon as he had enough concrete information, he did anyway. I’m pretty sure he’s going to lose his company because of it. The government won’t let him get away with that.”
A small gasp escapes my lips and Brady reads it like a book.
“Brynne?”
“It’s nothing . . .” I let go of Presley’s hand and slip my phone out of my pocket. Still nothing from Fenton.
My heart plummets.
“Do you think your boss is going to be okay?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.
“I don’t know. I hope,” he sighs. “He’s a really good guy. I’m not sure he’s always one-hundred percent legal, but everything he does is done so that someone else can benefit. Like, the guys were saying he’s in with some of the clans over there. That might be true. But I also know how much he gives back to people and the good he does, so what’s it really matter? As a doctor, sometimes I have to do things that aren’t necessarily going to get me a big thumbs-up by the board, but you have to do things to save lives sometimes. I don’t think he’s much different than me, really.”
I can’t stop the tears. They pour down my face before I can even attempt to stop them. When Presley hugs me, the sobbing begins. They’re so forceful I’m not sure they’ll ever stop, wails racking my body so hard my mother gets up and flies around the table to be at my side.
I hear her hushing me, trying to console me. But nothing will. Not until I see Fenton again. Not until I know he’s okay.
“Are you all right?” I hear Brady’s voice as my tears start to falter and I regain my composure, using a napkin off the table to dry my eyes. It soaks within a second.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay.”
“Do you know him? Fenton, I mean?” Brady asks. He studies me in the way he always has. He knows the answer, an ability honed from years of sharing the same bedroom and eavesdropping on my phone calls.
I consider lying about it because it seems so awkward, so strange that I know him. But I realize it’s pointless. They all know, anyway. And I have every intention of standing by his side as he goes through whatever he’ll face from doing this.
“I do,” I answer, glancing around the table. “We met a while ago.”
A haunting smile crosses my brother’s face. “So, you’re the rudo.”
I gasp. “How did you know that?”
“It was a long trip from Concord,” he smiles. “Fenton was waiting when we landed to refuel and flew back with me. We had a long talk.”
“Do you know what it means?” I ask. “He says it’s just a word, but I don’t think that’s true.”
Brady laughs softly. “Yes, but I think he should be the one to tell you.”
“I wasn’t very nice to him,” I admit. “I thought he had something to do with you being missing. I thought he left you there.”
“We all did,” my father chimes in.
“Is that who you went to Las Vegas with?” my mother asks, never missing a thing.
“Yes,” I sniffle. “I’ve been seeing him.”
“Well, you were all wrong to think he left me anywhere,” Brady says. “Because from what I understand, and from what I believe happened that day—and trust me when I say I’ve had a long time to think about it—Grant is the one that left me there.”
“Grant?” my mother gasps.
“Yeah. There was a window, a small one, where he could’ve done something. When he heard the shots I fired at the dog, he should’ve come running and he didn’t. Do I think I was set up because I knew about the ivory?” he shrugs his shoulders. “Maybe. I don’t know for sure. It’s possible. But if it weren’t for Grant, we never would’ve been where we were anyway.”
I’m stunned, my mouth hanging open. I look at Pres and she’s as shocked as me.
“Can we kill him now?” she asks. I’d normally laugh, but I don’t think she’s kidding. And I don’t think I’d be adverse to the plan either.
“He’ll get his,” Brady says. “I have to be debriefed again in the morning because the guys that had me were terrorists. But between them and Fenton, I have no doubt Grant will be handled. We just need to let it play its course.”
I rub my hands down my face, trying to soak in all of this information. It’s all clear now, all of it making sense. But there’s still a hole in my heart and I can’t fill it . . . because he’s not here.
“What will happen to Fenton?” I ask, looking at my brother. “We were at dinner tonight and they came in and took him . . .”
“He expected it. I don’t think he knew when, and I don’t think he’d want them to do it in front of you,” Brady says. “But he warned me and told me they’d try to arrest him, but he’d already discussed it with his attorneys and nothing would stick. But Mandla, at a minimum, will be closed most likely.”
“Oh my God,” I say, my lip trembling. “It’s his mother’s company. He’ll be devastated.”
Brady grins. “He won’t be happy about it. But he’ll come out a winner. Trust me.”