TWENTY-SEVEN

KAINE

"What the hell are you talking about?" I snarled. "Sent her away to where?" 

"As if we would tell you!" Maggie's mother huffed. "A shameful, disgraced pastor who took advantage of a young girl. Go back to your wife and pray she forgives you!" 

"I don't have a wife," I spat, climbing up the porch stairs to tower menacingly over Lila. Her hand flew to her chest as she recoiled but she stood her ground. I didn't like using my size to intimidate people but she had information I needed more than anything else on earth. 

"And I'm pretty confident where I stand with God," I said in a low voice as she stared up at me. "I'm not straight-laced but I've never done anything truly dishonorable to another human being. You, on the other hand, have mistreated both of your children, leaving them out for slaughter."

Her face went as pale as a sheet and I thought she might faint. 

"God sees and he knows what you've done, Lila. Your soul will suffer for failing to truly mother your children." 

"I only have one daughter and she is being reformed!" she cried out with spit flying everywhere. "You have no idea what you're talking about, you lusting demon!" 

In some ways, she wasn't wrong about that last part. What killed me was how she completely denied the existence of Marie. It was just like how Maggie said and absolutely heartbreaking to hear it in person with my own ears. 

She seemed to regain her strength from yelling maniacally at me.

"Get out of here! Or I'll have you arrested for trespassing!" 

I turned and left without a word, happy to never see that woman again now that I knew Maggie wasn't there. 

My gut twisted with worry. I needed to find her but had absolutely nothing to go on. Going back to that house would only ensure I ended up in the back of a police car with handcuffs on my wrists. 

I started walking toward my only option, the only person I knew whose heart was almost as big as Maggie's and might be able to tell me where they shipped her off to. 

It was a long shot but my only shot. 

***

Marie and Jeremy watched me approach the underbelly of the freeway overpass from a distance. He didn't run up to greet me like he did every time with Maggie.

I didn't blame the little guy. He was getting used to seeing me around but I was still a stranger to him. 

The fact that he didn't run over, squealing with his adorable laughter just amplified Maggie's absence. 

It was like there was a hole in time and space next to me where she should have been, but she wasn't. I missed her terribly and hated not knowing anything. With the lack of information, my brain was left to speculate. 

I tried not to think of worst case scenarios. Hopefully, she was at least somewhere safe and not in North Korea or something. 

"Hey," I greeted Marie and Jeremy, who she carried on her left hip. 

"Hey," she replied while Jeremy just looked at me curiously. 

"Maggie's gone," I said, my voice heavy with emotion. "They caught us...together and sent her away. It's my fault." 

Saying the words aloud released my emotions like a popped water balloon. 

Fuck. It was my fucking fault they did that to her. I should never have done that in the chapel. Hell, I should have never let her suck me. They were probably watching and recording us from the beginning. 

Tears wouldn't fall but I knew my face revealed how twisted and gutted up I felt inside. 

"Hey," a small voice said. 

I looked up to see Jeremy, still on his mother's hip, reaching out to pat my arm reassuringly. 

"S'okay. Don't be sad," he said. 

I cracked my first smile in well over twenty-four hours. 

"Thanks, buddy." And then to Marie, "I need to know where your parents sent her. I've got to get her back. Do you have any idea?"

"They loved threatening to send us to Christian camps and boarding schools when we were bad," she said with a light chuckle. "They almost made good on their threat with me but then we found out I was pregnant."

"Christian camps and boarding schools," I muttered to myself. "She's too old for those now, isn't' she?" 

"There's one I remember for young adults," she replied. "One of the strictest ones with tight security. Girls only and they're not allowed to leave the grounds. Mom threatened to ship us straight there when we turned eighteen if we didn't turn around." 

"Do you remember what it's called?" I demanded, my voice filled with hope.

I made a silent, wordless prayer as she thought. This was my answer. This was God showing me I was meant to be with Maggie if I could just get past this obstacle placed in front of us.

"It's West something," she said. "Westhaven or Westfield." 

"Good enough!" I breathed. "That's definitely a great place to start looking. I can't thank you enough, Marie."

"Don't mention it. Just bring her back for us," she replied, bouncing Jeremy on her hip. "We miss our aunty." He nodded emphatically to agree. 

I paused to think for moment before deciding to just say fuck it. 

"Actually, I can think of a way to thank you," I said. 

"Really, don't worry about it," Marie said.

"Would you and Jeremy like to stay at my place?" 

Her jaw dropped. Her surprised expression looked so much like Maggie's and my heart clenched at missing her even more.

"What, you mean live with you?" she asked, dumbfounded. 

"Yeah, Maggie and I kind of had this plan," I said a bit sheepishly. "We'd leave this place, move somewhere we can be together openly, and bring you two to live with us." 

Marie's eyes brimmed with tears. 

"That damn Maggie," she laughed. "Always thinking of others before herself."

"I know," I agreed. "It's one of the things I love about her."

"We won't be intruding on you?" she asked cautiously. 

"Absolutely not," I said. "Well, I only have one bedroom in my apartment but my couch is comfortable. And anyway, I want Maggie to flip her shit when she sees you guys with a roof over your head." 

"A couch would be amazing," she breathed. "Only if you're two-hundred percent positive about this." 

"Definitely," I said. "And we'll have more space soon. Once everything is settled and we can move." 

Marie gave me a curious look.

"I wasn't sure about you at first but you really are serious about my sister."

"More than anything else," I said. "I was married for ten years before and that didn't even hold a candle to what I feel for Maggie." 

She beamed at me with the same light and spirit as her twin sister as she bounced Jeremy on her hip.

"Hey buddy, you ready to go live inside a house?" 

"House??" he shrieked.

I helped them gather their meager belongings and we piled into my car. When I led them inside my place, Marie stared agape as if she just entered the Sistine Chapel. 

"It's perfect," she breathed. "So comfortable and cozy." She turned to me, eyes glittering with tears again. "Thank you so much. I'll keep the place spotless, I promise."

"Don't worry about a thing," I said, giving her a brotherly hug. "I just want everyone that Maggie loves to be safe." 

Marie's eyes flashed with determination. 

"Let's find out where she is and get her back." 

We hovered over my laptop for the next hour, bouncing ideas back and forth as we Google searched, and finally deduced that Maggie must have been sent to Westminster Boarding School for Young Adults. 

"This place looks like a fucking fortress," I muttered, scrolling through photos on the website. "For the best chances of rehabilitation, students are not permitted to leave grounds unless approved by someone on their contact list," I read off the page. 

"Mom would make herself the only person on that list of course," Marie muttered.

My heart leaped with an idea and I cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Do you think you could pretend to be your mom on the phone?" 

A hesitant smile grew on her face. 

"Maybe. They'll ask a ton of security questions though. I don't know if I'll be able to answer everything correctly."

"Do you know social security numbers? Addresses? Her maiden name?" 

She nodded slowly. 

"Then you've got this in the bag!" I told her. My heart pounded with excitement. We would have Maggie back before evening fell.  

I dialed the number and handed Marie my phone.

"Yes hello. This is Lila Mays calling for my daughter Magdalene Mays. I would like to pick up my daughter to take her to dinner after her lessons this afternoon." 

I bit my knuckles to keep from laughing. With her voice slightly lowered and an air of snobbery, she sounded exactly like Lila. 

Marie's nostrils suddenly flared and her eyes widened at me. 

"Are you serious?" she demanded over the phone. "I'm paying you all this money for what? I should be able to take my child when I please!"

Fuck.

I held my breath through a long pause as she listened. 

"I don't care if it was in the contract I signed, your school is in business because of me! You better believe I'll go to your governing board about this!" 

She hung up. 

"What?" I demanded, exhaling my breath. 

"No students are allowed off-campus during their first week. No exceptions," she said in her normal voice. 

"Shit," I muttered, dropping my forehead into my hands. A whole fucking week seemed like an eternity. 

"But the good news is," Marie said. "We know for sure she's there. They looked her up in the system to check her enrollment date when I said her name."

I nodded, trying to be grateful for that small victory. 

"And now we have a week to figure out what to do next," I sighed.

I turned back to the computer and studied the web page, clicking around and looking for some chink in their armor. Absentmindedly, I clicked on the 'Careers' section. 

When the page loaded with the list of job opportunities, the realization struck me like a sledgehammer to the head. 

It was so obvious. I should have looked here first. 

"Marie, I think we have our way in," I said, trying to contain my excitement. 

"What?" She peered over my shoulder. "Job listings?" 

I nodded, scanning over each job title. With my minister's license and years of experience in religious teaching, I qualified for each position they had open. 

Silently, I prayed a thanks to Deacon Parish for not blacklisting me when he let me go. 

"My old church fired me," I said to Marie with a grin. "Time for me to find another job."