Seize(33)

“Why is it that you have not introduced her to me before?” he suddenly asked me.

My lips parted in silence, not knowing what to answer, but when I spot his eyes swooping over her body like a hawk, I knew not to reply. Ice filled my veins with terror. The pissing dog to mark his territory had just transformed into a rabid creature, plotting to eat her alive.

His eyes told me enough.

This was the moment I realized that I should’ve long been gone from this place.





Present





I find myself staring at my mother in shock. She can’t be here. This isn’t real. She should be dead. I saw her body lying on the ground filled with bullets. How is this possible? I must be dreaming. I shake my head, gazing through the glass. She looks back at me like a reflection, mimicking my movements. This has to be an illusion caused by stress. I can’t explain this any other way.

Tears well up in my eyes. This isn’t real, and yet it feels like it is. My fingers feel numb as I place my hand on the door, inching closer to the tiny window, attempting to find out if what I’m seeing is truly here.

Suddenly, a hand lands on my shoulder, and I scream, startled. Twisting on my feet, I turn to face the man who did all of this to us. Newman has a wretched smile on his face, one that makes me want to scratch his face until it becomes unrecognizable.

“Oh, dear … you do have a way with slipping under the radar.”

“Take your filthy hands off me,” I spit.

He chuckles. “My dear girl, you’re not really in the position to make demands. Now, why don’t we talk for a minute, hmm?”

“I have nothing to say to you bastards.”

He cocks his head. “Oh? Are you not the least bit curious as to why your mother is here? I could tell you, you know …”

The moment that he mentions her, my breath falters.

Is she really here after all? My lip quivers. How? She … she died.

Words cannot describe how I feel right now. A colorful pallet of emotions race through my mind.

“Yes, my dear … look at her,” he says as he slowly turns me around within his claws. He leans in next to my ear, pointing at the glass. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

“How?” I murmur, a tear rolling down my cheeks.

“Do you remember?” he asks.

For a moment, I contemplate smacking him in the face and telling him that I remember every fucking humiliating and dehumanizing act they did, but that would make it too easy for him. He would know I remember … which would give me less of an advantage. So I keep my mouth shut and shake my head. If he knows that I remember, I could be put through worse than just this cage. Now I understand Sebastian’s fear … lying will keep us alive.

I don’t know where in the hell I am, why Newman is here, or what this place is. But my mother is right in front of me, and I want to know how. That’s all I want to know.

“She got shot,” he says.

I swallow away the lump in my throat, which feels like a bullet stuck in my esophagus.

“But you never knew that she was taken to a hospital to recover …”

That must’ve happened when they kidnapped Ashley and me. Of course, it all makes sense now. I remember her being shot. I could see her lying lifeless in the yard, but I never knelt next to her and felt for her pulse. I never knelt down to hear if she was breathing. Maybe she was still alive, and maybe she’s sitting here in front of me in this room, waiting for me. Waiting for me to come back for her and hug her.

“She’s in here to recover from her trauma, just like you. We brought her here, just like we did with you,” he says. “Getting shot isn’t something to get over easily.” He sighs. “Although that’s not the only thing that keeps her from you.”

“What?” I say, my hot breath making the glass misty.

“She hasn’t told you?” he whispers in my ear, chuckling when I shake my head. “Oh, my dear girl, I think it’s time you had a little talk with her.”

He brings his hand to the indent beside the door and places his finger on the scanner. The door opens. Why am I not surprised? These men have their fingers in every pie. They must be allowed access to every goddamn building in the United States.

“There you go,” he says as the door clicks open.

He holds out his hand, signaling me to go in. I push back the nerves as I place my hand on the handle and open the door. I’m about to meet and talk to a person I thought was dead. It can’t get any stranger than this, but I have to be brave.

As I step inside, I see the fear settle in her watery eyes, tears welling up. I slam my lips together, pressing them back as I step closer and into the light that shines down on her face. At this moment in time, there is nothing more I want than to hug her and tell her that I love her. Even if she betrayed my dad, she’s still my mother, and she’s alive.