Chapter Four
We drove home in almost complete silence. Garrick offered support with the simple touch of his hand on my knee. The contact always soothed me. With the light of my phone in the backseat of the SUV, I studied the picture of Carrie and the picture of me. Mom and Dad let me take them. Why I wanted them, I wasn’t sure. Maybe it was because they kept my thoughts from spinning out of control—an innocent misunderstanding on their behalf.
Carrie’s story lingered in my mind. For my parents to completely uproot themselves, it had to be bad. Yet the story of what happened to her wouldn’t leave my mind. A girl so lost and guilt ridden, she’d kidnapped me to give her parents a gift. The gift: a child who wouldn’t have the trauma she’d had. The thing was, they would have loved her through it all. They’d never wanted to replace Carrie. At least that made me feel better, and I was able to process what happened.
It was almost one in the morning. I should sleep, but I can’t. Exhaustion loomed, but the jitters won out, keeping me on edge.
I kept looking at the pictures of us. We’re so similar. Mom and Dad had looked for Carrie for years, and nothing ever showed up—no body or proof of life.
If the Monroes knew who’d taken me, most likely they would have sought revenge. Revenge. My parents. Now that it was out in the open, the Monroes might act against them. I had to protect Mom and Dad.
“Can you call Hastings? Have him meet us at your office.”
“Now?”
“Yes. I want my parents to be protected. I don’t want the Monroes to do anything to them now that I know. Until I know they’re safe, I won’t be able to sleep. They thought they were doing their best for their grandkid. They’re innocent in all this.”
I put the pictures away and turned to Garrick. The dimness of the interior light sent shadows across his face. “I believe they are, too. Carrie had certainly been gone long enough to have a child, and you look alike. They just wanted to protect you.”
A dull ache throbbed behind my eye sockets.
When I didn’t respond, Garrick asked, “How are you doing with all this? I’m not sure what to say or do to help you.”
Fog settled further in my mind, making it hard to wade through. “I feel numb. I don’t know what to think or how to even process it. They’re still my parents. But I have a biological mother and father, too. And they’re part of the mob. If I had a child and she’d been kidnapped, I would be desperate for her.”
After I’d lost the baby with Dylan, I’d felt an unexplainable desperation to have him or her back. And desperation led to extreme emotion. I’d shut out the world entirely.
Someone used to violence might—
I wasn’t able to finish the thought.
“Let’s wait until morning.”
Wait. What? I cleared my thoughts to focus on Garrick. There was no option in this. “No. Tonight. This morning. Whatever it is. I need to see him.”
Garrick watched me thoughtfully before saying, “Joe, prepare security for Hastings to come to the office. I’m calling him now.”
“Yes, sir.”
Garrick dialed and then put the phone to his ear. “Hastings, Knoah wants to speak with you at the office. No, the office. If Navarro is watching, it will be best for an office meeting.” He paused briefly. “I’m still considering it. I’ve asked Dad to give me twenty-four hours. Yes. What? That will be Knoah’s decision. I’ll call you back. No, I’ll call you back.”
He ended the call. “Evelyn and Ricardo want to come with Hastings.”
My biological parents wanted to see me. Officially as their daughter. Of course they did. But I thought I’d have a couple of days to communicate through Hastings before I faced that truth. Meeting them as my biological parents would make it real. I mean, technically, I’d already met them at the gala, but it wasn’t the same. “Do you think that it will help protect my parents if they do?”
“Your parents are safe. I’m making sure of that.” Garrick sounded confident, and I believed him. But it was something else for us to worry about.
“You know what I mean.”
“Yes, I understand. But I’m still making sure they’re okay.”
I put my hand on top of his. “And I love you for it. But we have so much going against us right now.”
Garrick let out a deep, audible breath. “I don’t think it’ll hurt matters if they’re able to talk to you.”
“Then let them come.”
Garrick put his phone to his ear again, and when the call connected, his voice was cold. He offered Hastings no greeting. “Bring them. No one else. If I suspect anything, there won’t be a second chance. We will want more information.” After he hung up, he turned to me. “They’ll be there.”
“Is this dangerous, what we’re doing?”
At some point, all this had to be more than what Garrick wanted to deal with. I needed to talk to him about it, but I was scared he’d decide it was too much.
“Yes, there is some risk. But I’m taking the necessary precautions.” For a second he reflected. “I was thinking back to the gala; Evelyn was too eager to be near you. Your parents’ story corroborates what Hastings said, but we won’t know for sure until we get the DNA results back.”
“When will that be?” I looked outside. We were nearly halfway home.
Putting his arm around my shoulders, he brought me to him. “Tomorrow, we’ll have the fast forensic results back. It’ll take another two or three days for the official report. We’ve got a private lab conducting the tests.”
I leaned my head against Garrick’s chest. Not once had he acted as though this was too much for him, for us. But still I worried. I needed to know. “What do you think about this?”
“Which part?”
“My parents. Us. Everything.”
Part of me feared the drama would become too much. What if—no, I refused to play that game. My therapist, Brooke, had challenged me to not become stuck in the cyclical dangers of what ifs when they weren’t a healthy part of moving forward.
“Knoah.”
When he said nothing further, I looked up.
“First off, there are no issues with us. When I asked you to be my wife, it meant I will be by your side through everything, regardless of the situation. You will never lose me. Understand?”
That warm, squishy feeling spread throughout my body. “Completely.”
“And that will never change. Ever.” He said it like a vow, which was what I needed.
I reached up and kissed him, murmuring against his lips, “Forever.”
“Yes.” The deep reverb of his voice added to the intimacy. His thumb traced my bottom lip. “We’ll figure this out. I will keep you, your parents, and everyone else you love safe.”
“I believe you. Do you think my parents did anything wrong?”
For a second, he was introspective. “I think they’re good people who were dealt a less-than-ideal hand. You came along, and it was easy enough to believe you were their granddaughter. They wanted to protect you.”
“You do believe they’re good people? You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?”
“I really do think they are. They love you. They loved Carrie. Actions that are motivated by real love are rarely bad. Sometimes they can be misguided. But what if Carrie had been involved in something bad? It’s possible if she was with the Monroes.”
I’d felt their pain, sitting in their living room. I would have likely done the same thing. It was hard to say since I hadn’t walked in their shoes. But knowing Garrick thought the same helped soothe my troubled thoughts.
My phone vibrated.
Mom: We love you, Knoah.
Tears stung the backs of my eyes. They would forever be my parents, regardless of blood relations.
Me: I love you guys, too. Never doubt it.
Me: You will always be my parents.
Mom: Forever.
Me: And ever. We’re almost home. Night, Mom and Dad.
Mom: Night.
Earlier, we’d decided to move our celebration dinner to later in the week. I knew I would be exhausted tomorrow, considering how late it already was and who knew when I’d finally get to sleep. “What day works good to have Mom and Dad over to your place?”
“They are welcome in our home any time. We’re getting married, Knoah. That makes your parents my family, too.”
Our home.
We’re a team.
We’re united.
“It’s hard to believe we’ve been engaged for less than a day.”
He chuckled. “We’ve been busy today. But, sweetheart, I would do this every day for the rest of my life if it meant having you in it.”
From the certainty in his words, I knew we would survive. He touched my finger, stroking his thumb over the band of my ring. “Mine.”
“Yours.”