Infinity Chronicles Book Two, page 22
“She probably thought she was protecting you,” William adds.
“She always told me that there were bad people, people we were hiding from, but she never told me who. She made it like a game when I was little, but as I got older, I thought she had problems, you know…” I look down not meeting any of their gazes. “Like mental problems, but I still loved her, I took care of her,” I defend, but I can’t even convince myself, did I try hard enough, listen to her enough?
“We know you love her Cara, no one blames you for not knowing.” I let Ares’s words settle over me, but that’s not true. I blame myself. I should have tried harder to understand her.
“If there is anyone to blame, it would be me,” Rosa tells me, looking right into my eyes. “I’m the one who convinced her to upload her information in the database, I’m the reason Leon found her.”
Mal objects immediately and argues, “Rosa you couldn’t have known. Finding your Infinity is a blessing, you were trying to help her.”
“Well, look how that turned out.” I can hear the beginning of tears in her voice, but none fall from her eyes. Rosa’s back is straight as she looks at me like she’s ready to accept any punishment I’m have to give.
I look away. Could things have been different if she hadn’t interfered? I shake away the question as soon as it forms, there’s no point in dwelling on the what-ifs.
“Why don’t you tell us about the real person to blame for this, Leon.” Ares leans down and grabs my fingers, placing them on his thigh.
“Leon Whitmore,” Rosa says the name like it tastes bad. I expect to feel something hearing his name, but I don’t. It’s no more familiar than a stranger’s. “He took less than twenty-four hours to track Amanda down after we uploaded the information about her and her identifier.” Rosa pulls her hand out from under William’s. “At the time, we thought it was amazing. Amanda had only turned sixteen a few months earlier and here she was finding one of her partners. Leon was older, already in his early twenties, from a well-established family out west.” Rosa stands then, like she can’t bear to talk about this while she’s sitting.
Walking over to the fireplace, she sets her fingers on the high mantle and looks into the empty hearth. “Amanda was smitten with Leon the moment she laid eyes on him, we all were.” She looks over at her pairs with a sad smile on her lips. “He seemed to be just as taken with her. I was sad that I was losing my new friend, but we made promises to talk to each other, even visit since her family was still near.”
“I have a family?” I can’t keep the shock from my tone, and maybe even a little hope there too. Maybe Mom is with them.
Rosa’s shoulders fall, “You did, bellara gazza.”
“Jesus Christ,” Milo curses from the couch, his hands balled into fists over his thighs.
“What happened to them?” My voice sounds detached, but I can’t help it. Until this moment I never even let myself believe in the possibility of a family. If we had them, then surely we would have been with them.
“Leon.” Rosa spits the one word like it’s enough of an explanation.
Mal looks over at Rosa then leans forward so his elbows are on his knees. “Amanda stopped returning Rosa’s calls,” he tells me, saving Rosa from speaking. “We didn’t think too much of it at first, they were newly paired, and it can be overwhelming at first.” He looks away clearing his throat.
“Anyway, after a few weeks with no word from Amanda, Will and I tried to get ahold of Leon to see if we could get the girls together, for a visit or something. Leon took our call, but he was… dodgy.” Mal looks over at William who nods in agreement.
“He said it wasn’t a good time, that Amanda had a lot going on with setting up their new house and getting to know everyone out there. We didn’t like it, but we accepted it. We knew it would make Rosa sad, but what could we do?”
“Time passed, and I made new friends, Linda and Carolyn were new to the area, so I lost track of my old friend.” Rosa’s words are edged with guilt and I can hear the regret in her voice. She turns to face me then, her eyes wide, and she twists her hands together. “I should have known something was wrong.”
In the next second, Mal is up from the couch with his arms wrapped around Rosa’s shoulders. William watches them, longing in his eyes, but instead he turns to face me. He’s letting Mal comfort Rosa so he can tell me more of the story. Voice pitched low, like he might spare Rosa from hearing, he says, “What we didn’t know, was that Leon had tried to get his and Amanda’s information removed from the directory. He didn’t want to have a pair, but it was too late. There was another man, Wyatt, who had already found the information.” I squeeze Ares’s hand as I sit forward on my seat.
Rosa pulls away from Mal. “Let me,” she tells William, returning to the couch. “Only Amanda and Leon know the whole story, and she never told me the details. But we know something happened between the three of them. Leon did something to Wyatt, something that was intended to take his abilities and get rid of him.”
“I don’t understand, why would he want to do that?” I look at Dante, and then Milo and Ollie who are not far away on the couch. “I thought you said it was different, that pairs don’t feel jealousy toward each other?” I don’t mean for my words to come out like an accusation, but they do.
“We don’t Laura, I’ve never met another pair that has ever felt that way,” Ares tells me, his eyes searching mine to see if I believe him.
“Laura, it was Leon. I can promise you, nothing like that has ever happened before, or since,” William adds.
“So, he was like, crazy or something?”
“That’s all we can assume.” Rosa lifts her hands at a loss for more answers. “I know Amanda called me one night, frantic about something that Leon had done. I could barely understand her she was so upset.” She looks at the fireplace, her eyes glazing over with the sheen of tears.
Taking a few moments to compose herself, Rosa wipes a delicate finger under eye and takes a deep breath. “She came to me for help, but there was only so much she would let me do. She was afraid of what Leon would do if he found out I was the one to help her. She wouldn’t tell me where she was, or even what Leon had done, I just knew she was desperate to get away from him.”
I sit forward on the chair, eager for any information she can give me. “So, what happened? Did she come back here? How did you help her?”
“Not much.” Rosa looks over at William and he gives her an encouraging nod. “I gave her money, but she would only take cash. I gave her everything I had and she wouldn’t stay until I could get more. I begged her to stay with us. I promised we would protect her, but she wouldn’t. She was terrified of Leon by the time she ran away from him.”
“So, she came back here then?” I mutter, almost to myself. Thinking back on how my mom said this was where we belonged, was she really ready to stop running?
“She did, she was only an hour away when she called, that’s why I didn’t have much time to gather anything for her, she wouldn’t even stay the night with us.” Rosa tips her head up to the ceiling before meeting me eyes again. “It was dark, but she looked horrible. She was too thin. She had dark circles under her eyes. I knew something bad had happened, but she only told me that Leon was dangerous, and made me promise I wouldn’t ever go near him. I begged her to go home to her family, to stay with us, but she wouldn’t. She said if she stayed, she would only put us in danger.”
“Did she have a plan, or tell you where she was going?” Ares questions, running his palm over my back, reminding he’s here with me, and so are the others.
Rosa is shaking her head before he can even finish the question. “No, if she hadn’t been desperate for the cash, she wouldn’t even have come to me. I told her I would get more money, that when she was safe to get ahold of me, and I would get it to her, but I never heard from her, and then, your grandparents…” Rosa covers her mouth and buries her face against Mal’s chest.
William pinches the bridge of his nose, a heavy sigh falling from him. “After Amanda disappeared, it was like nothing happened. We didn’t hear from her again. Leon was still out west, I know because I checked up on him.”
“It wasn’t until the fire two years later that we learned what had really happened.” William places his hand on Rosa’s leg. “Leon had somehow managed to strip Wyatt of his abilities. Apparently, it killed Wyatt in the process and Leon was injured as well, that was when Amanda came to us.” The information isn’t exactly new, but it’s still shocking to hear.
“Leon hadn’t given up looking for Amanda, he went to her family, your grandparents.” He pauses, and then cautiously continues, “They think it was an accident, that things got out of hand, but no one knows for certain. There was a fire, but it wasn’t any normal fire, it was elemental fire. All we know is when the fire finally stopped burning, there wasn’t anything left of your family home, nothing, just ash.”
“How did you know it was Leon?” My voice is flat. Some unnamed emotion is simmering under the surface of my calm.
“The fire was unnatural, had to be investigated. Leon didn’t make it a secret he was coming to visit the Carmichaels. Everything unraveled as soon as the counsel looked into him. He had several norms working for him,”
Dante interrupts his father and informs me, “Norms, normal people like Mia.” I figured, but it was nice of him to clarify
“Leon had isolated himself from any other Infinities. No one had any idea Amanda was missing, or that Leon had already killed Wyatt. It was a simple matter of having someone with the right abilities questioning his employees, you can’t keep secrets from someone that can get inside your head.” William glances at Ares but looks away quickly.
“That’s crazy,” Ollie mutters from the floor near my legs.
Rosa’s eyes are rimmed in red and she sniffles a few times before clearing her throat to speak. “Mal works with the counsel, that’s the only reason we know so much, and she was… is my friend. We looked for her after they presumed Leon was dead, but…”
“Presumed dead. You mean no one knows if he’s actually dead?” I blurt before Rosa can finish.
William shakes his head slowly. “No one could have made it out of that fire Laura. No bodies were recovered, but everyone involved is confident that Leon is dead.” He eyes lower, and what he’s not adding is that my grandparents died with him.
I let my back fall against the chair behind me, feeling tired even though it’s not even noon yet. “My mom never stopped running.” The words just start to fall from my lips. “She either didn’t believe Leon was dead, or she didn’t know.” I drop my elbows to my knees, cradling my head in my hands. “She never once mentioned her family, she didn’t talk about the past at all, not even my dad.” I look over a Rosa, and William has his arm around her while Mal has both of her hands folded in his. She doesn’t look weak for taking their support, they look stronger together, a united front. “Was Leon my dad?”
Rosa flinches, but that’s the only sign of discomfort she shows. “It had to be him or Wyatt. There are no other possibilities.”
“But you don’t know or can’t tell which?” It’s horrible to think, but I’d much rather Wyatt have been my father than Leon, he’s a monster.
“It wouldn’t matter.” Ollie turns so he’s kneeling in front of me. His clear green eyes search mine as he reaffirms, “Even if he was, it’s doesn’t matter.” I tip my lips in a sad replica of a smile.
“I don’t know bellara gazza, I never met Wyatt. But Oliver is correct,” Rosa tells me.
Shaking away the thoughts of which of them might be my dad, I focus on what we need to do now. I still don’t know what happened to my mom, and if Leon truly is dead, where would she have gone?
I peer up at Ares. “Something isn’t right. My mom didn’t just leave. They never even found Leon’s body. I’m not so sure I’m ready to accept that he’s dead and he’s not the reason my mom is gone.”
“Me either Cara.”
Chapter 20
I’m staring at the television in Ares’s room, but I’m not paying attention to what’s on. Dante told his parents we needed a little time to ourselves before shuffling me out of the fancy living room. Milo wrapped his arm over my shoulder while Ollie trailed behind us. Ares caught up with us in the hallway a few moments later.
I’m not ready to talk about what I learned, and I’m grateful that Dante got us out of there when he did. Even more thankful that none of them are pushing me right now. I need time to deal with everything I learned this morning before adding anything else.
Ollie and Milo have taken up residence as my constant companions. The mood isn’t quite somber, but Ollie definitely isn’t his normal flirty self.
I let out a sigh for what feels like the hundredth time this morning. Milo’s hand finds mine without taking his eyes from the TV. In truth, I don’t think any of us are really paying attention, but the distraction is welcome.
Dante is having a hard time sitting still. He’s gone to the kitchen no less than five times, and every time anyone even clears their throat, he offers to get a drink, a snack, anything to get out of the room for a few minutes.
I squeeze Milo’s hand but release him. I feel like I need to be doing more than just sitting here. Scooting toward the end of the bed, I make my way over to Ares. He’s been on his phone or laptop the entire time we’ve been back in the room. I don’t know what he’s working on, but it has to better than sitting here and wallowing in self-pity. “What are you doing?”
Ares turns to look at me, not answering while he takes his time running his eyes over me. Satisfied with whatever he sees, he says, “Now that I know who, and what I’m looking for, I’m running down a few leads.”
I settle next to him with my arm on his shoulder, so I can see the screen of his laptop. He has several windows open, each with a different search running. The one in the top left corner is for the State Police of South Carolina. I glance over at him, wondering, not for the first time, what exactly Ares does?
The name Leon Whitmore is in the search bar, and the window has lines of text scrolling faster than I can read. Another window has the name Amanda Carmichael running a similar search. “Find anything?”
Ares wraps his arm around my hip and pulls me against his side. “Not yet, but I wasn’t expecting it to be that easy. You doing okay?”
I open my mouth to tell him I’m fine but stop myself, and take a moment to actually think about how I’m feeling. “A little numb, actually,” I tell him honestly. I feel like I should be feeling more, especially considering the guy that killed my grandparents has a fifty-fifty chance of being my father.
Ares's eyes soften as he looks at me and he tugs me closer so I’m draped over his lap, facing sideways. Without any false promises or trying to placate me, he lowers he chin to the top of my head and just holds me. I inhale, bringing the scent that is uniquely his with me. I’m more comforted by his presence than any words he could utter. None of us know what tomorrow might bring. But I know Ares, Dante, Ollie, and even Milo, will be with me every step of the way.
About the Author
Albany Walker
I am; a mother, a wife, a reader and a writer. In that order. My truth, I believe in real life happily ever afters, but you have to work for them.
I write what I want to read, romance. Be it hot and steamy or slow burn, crossing several sub-genres.
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Also by Albany Walker
Becoming His
Get to You
Infinity Chronicles Book One
Infinity Chronicles Book Three
Coming Soon
Infinity Chronicles Book Four
Albany Walker, Infinity Chronicles Book Two
