Theirs To Take(70)

It was late afternoon when I headed to the coffee shop to meet Jamison. I hadn’t had contact with him in the last year, not until a few weeks ago. I knew he was the link between Gabriel, Syn, and Arthur. He was the informant who had tipped them off to the cargo, to my being on that truck. He was also the one who had sent the evidence of Arthur’s betrayal to Syn. And he had agreed to meet with me.

I checked my watch as I pulled into the parking lot of the busy café. I was early, but when I went inside, I found Jamison already sitting in a booth at the very back. A mug of coffee stood on the table in front of him, but his eyes were on the door, and when he saw me, he greeted me with a short nod.

I slipped into the booth across from him and smiled. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me.” It was still strange to be here with him. I couldn’t shake the memories of him always in the background, always near when Arthur was there.

“I figure I owe you one,” he said. I knew he referred to the night of the kidnapping. They had been pretty rough with me and he’d had no choice but to stand back and let it happen. It was either that, or blow his cover.

“I don’t blame you for anything,” I said, wanting to make that clear.

“Would you like a cup of coffee? Something else perhaps?”

“No, thanks.” I studied him, wondering how forthcoming he would be. “Have you talked to them?” As soon as I asked it, the guise I’d adopted for my father’s sake fell away, and the happy, confident face I’d worn for the last year gave way to the truth. I felt vulnerable, I felt sad, and as strong as I tried to appear to be for my father’s sake, inside all I wanted was to see them again.

I missed the brothers. I missed them so much.

I knew from the way Jamison looked at me, that he saw it too.

He nodded.

“How are they?”

“Reasonable.”

They had sold the house half a year ago but I knew it had been emptied long before then. I had looked, I had searched, but the Rivera brothers and all of their staff had disappeared.

“Do they… ask about me?”

He studied me intently as if weighing his thoughts, measuring what he could, what he would tell me. I had to remember this was a man trained to keep secrets.

“Ms. Webb,” he said, leaning forward, exhaling. “It would be best if you were to forget about what happened, and move forward with your life. You’re young. You can start fresh. This is an opportunity most don’t get. Forget the past.”#p#分页标题#e#

“Is that what they said? Have they forgotten the past?” Hot tears filled my eyes. I took a tissue out of my bag and twisted it in my hands. “Have they forgotten me?” I swiped at the few tears that fell down my cheeks, my hands shaking.

He looked beyond my shoulder for a moment, his expression at first softening, then hardening again. “I’ve had contact with them twice in the last year. They’ve asked about your well-being during each of those visits.”

I would take that. I would take any little bit of hope. “I just want to see them one more time. I need to…”

He shook his head and looked away, and for a moment I feared he would walk out. I reached out and took hold of his forearm with both hands, determined to keep him here.

“Please. They left the house and I can’t find anything about them at all. They just… disappeared. I want, no, I need to see them one more time. You’re the only one who can help me. Please.”

I held onto him. He was my last hope and I knew it.

Jamison glanced at where I held onto him before returning his gaze to mine. I placed my hands back on my lap. He called the waitress over and asked for a pen. Once she had left, he turned a coffee stained napkin over and scribbled down an address, then slid the napkin over to me.

“This was the last address I had. They’ve moved twice though so I can’t be sure if they’re still there. They’ve now cut off all ties with the government.”

I picked up the napkin, memorizing the address, recognizing the name of the small California town.

“Thank you,” I said, smiling up at him. “Thank you so much.”

“I hope you find what you’re looking for,” he said, rising to stand. “Goodbye, Ms. Webb.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Jamison.” As I watched him go, I realized that wouldn’t have been his real name. But it didn’t matter anymore.

I left a few minutes after he did, heading home to book my flight.





My flight landed at Santa Barbara’s small airport in the early evening the following day. I picked up my rented Jeep, programmed the address and drove up along the coast to where I hoped Gabriel and Syn still lived. I realized there could be a chance they were gone but I wouldn’t allow myself to think about that. Not yet. I had a lead, finally. And I had hope.