The O’Connells Books 10 - 12

Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

There was no sign of the kids.

Anywhere.

Ryan and Jenny were furious, and Charlotte was sitting with little Eva on the sofa. Iris could see how the worry was taking its toll.

“The back door at Ryan and Jenny’s was open, and the lock was splintered. I found this.” Raymond held up the hoodie Brady had been wearing. “It was on the floor at the back door. How did they even get out of the house without anyone seeing?” The way he said it sounded so accusatory.

Marcus paced at the foot of the stairs, his cell phone to his ear, talking to one of his deputies, she thought, or maybe it was someone else. Harold pulled open the screen door, which squeaked. He had already pulled on his deputy’s jacket, and he handed something to Marcus and said something to him. Marcus was listening to whoever he was talking to on the other end, then nodded. They really did have a good working relationship.

“Do you think the kids took off, or is it that Raymond being here brought a world of trouble down on us?” Owen said, still wearing his dark all-season coat. She knew he’d been outside, over at Ryan’s. Tessa was now sitting on the sofa on Eva’s other side. Iris took in her eldest, who’d been there for all of them. He wasn’t giving an inch, still seeing Raymond as the enemy.

“Well, Alison has a way about her,” Iris said. “You know that. Being reasonable and making things easier for everyone are things she doesn’t do well. But taking off… Let’s hope it’s just as simple as the kids slipping out together deliberately to worry all of us. At the same time, Owen, ease up on your dad.”

Owen hesitated before dragging his gaze back over to her. From his expression, he seemed to really dig in. “And when did you jump to Raymond’s side?”

She rested her hand on his arm. “Don’t look at me like that, and don’t be so obstinate, either. This isn’t about sides, Owen. This is about keeping everyone safe. You can still be angry. Everyone has a right to be, and you especially, but you have to be able to set it aside so we can find Brady and Alison. At the same time, I’m not completely blameless here, considering I’m the one who created this mess for you kids…”

“No, Mom, you’re not,” he said. “You were scared, but he ran out. You did what a mother’s supposed to do to protect her kids. What did he do?”

She could see his point of view, how one sided it was, filled with so much resentment. “Okay, I get it, but let’s table this for now. How about we all work together, find the kids, and then we can talk about this more? I think, for your sake, you need to talk to him. This isn’t about me; this is about you two. You don’t have to like him, Owen, and you can still be angry, but you have a way of holding things in, and I know I’m responsible for that.” She ran her hand over his arm again, over his shoulder.

Ryan was already walking out the door, and she knew that Jenny, Luke, and Jack were across the street. She could see the lights on.

“I’m going to go over,” Owen said. “Tessa, stay here with Charlotte and my mom.” He seemed to hesitate for a second. “Okay, I take your point, but consider it tabled for now.” He rested his hand on her shoulder as well, then pulled it away.

She realized Raymond was staring at her from where he stood with Marcus and Harold. Owen was gone, and Raymond watched him as he walked out the door, then glanced back to her. She started over to him, hearing Suzanne and Karen in the kitchen.

“So what’s the verdict here?” Iris said. “Where do we start? It’s now pitch dark outside. Any ideas? Come on, I’m sure one of you has something. Let’s be honest here. This is completely up Alison’s alley, sneaking out with Brady…”

All three were looking at each other, and she had the feeling they knew more.

“No, that wouldn’t explain the busted lock on the back door at Ryan and Jenny’s,” Marcus said. “We were over here, all of us, and no one was there. How did they get out of the house? I didn’t see them slip out, but then, we didn’t exactly have a guard posted at the door.” He looked down at her, and she knew he wasn’t holding anything back.

Harold hesitated before saying, “Luke has called someone he works with to get into the kids’ phones.”

“Sienna and her team,” Raymond cut in. “She’s CIA. She trained under Brady’s mother.”

For a second, Iris was speechless.

“I’m going to head back over to Ryan’s after I talk to Suzanne,” Harold said, then slipped away to the kitchen behind her. Then Marcus did as well, and that left her and Raymond and the awkwardness of what was beginning to seem like too small of a world.

Raymond rested his arm on the bannister of the stairs, and for a moment the silence lingered between them.

“So, this Sienna, who works with Luke, was aware of you?” Iris said. “She said nothing to Luke, obviously, because I know he’s been looking for you for years. I suspected it but only found out recently.”

Raymond looked past her, and she wondered what he wasn’t going to say. “She knew, but in the CIA, secrets are your life. Luke knows that. He signed on for the same thing, just like I did. It’s the life we picked. Luke is aware now. But this is about finding the kids, getting them back here. I didn’t expect this, but maybe I should have. I got too comfortable, Iris. I made that mistake once before, and you know what happened.”

She could feel the end coming again. “So you’re saying the government you work for—”

“Worked for, past tense. I left them. I told you that, but I didn’t tell you everything. I have an insurance policy, copies of the kind of dirt every country has but would never want in the wrong hands. It’s just that my threat doesn’t seem to be effective.”

She heard footsteps outside just as the screen door was yanked open.

“Dad,” Luke called. It was the first time she’d heard any of her kids call him that since he’d been back. Luke gestured to him, holding the door open, and Raymond walked out. Instead of staying put, Iris followed, taking in the surprise on their faces.

“Whatever you have, Luke, this isn’t the time for secrets,” she said. “We’ve gone way past that. I may not understand how all these government agencies work, or the politics, or who these people are, or why they want to hurt us, but I’m well aware of the kind of evil that’s out there. I’ve seen enough, so whatever it is…” She gestured to them all.

Luke seemed to hesitate before lifting his gaze over to his dad. She could see some type of connection, one she wasn’t sure she was that happy to see. “My team is working it,” he said. “They found something on Alison’s phone, a text from an unknown blocked number that said if they wanted to know the truth, the real truth, about Brady, they needed to find a way to sneak out of the house and go over to Ryan’s. Evidently, someone was in the house, waiting for them. All we can assume at this point is that whoever it was took them.”

Her arms were crossed over her chest, and even though it was cold out, the chill she felt had nothing to do with that. “And what now? How do we find them?” she said, catching another unreadable exchange between Luke and his father.

“We already found them,” Luke said. Raymond seemed to know what that meant, by the way he glanced away, looking out into the darkness.

“And? Come on, you two, out with it,” she said. “What does this mean? If you found them, go get them. Or am I missing something here?”

Maybe it was that second of hesitation that seemed to ramp up the uneasiness that had found a way to wedge itself deeper into the pit of her stomach.

“They want me, don’t they?” Raymond said, not looking her way.

Luke didn’t nod, but he did take a second to look down at Iris. “Yeah,” he said. “They called Jenny and texted a photo of Alison and Brady to her cell phone. They want you, and then they’ll let the kids go.”

Raymond said nothing. He seemed to be thinking, considering. That was just something about him, she realized, that she’d never really understood.

“If they don’t get Raymond, then what?” she said. “Did they give a time frame or anything else?”

Raymond gestured to Luke and then turned, looking down at her. Just his one look made her think she’d be sick because of how tight the knot was getting. He sighed. “If I don’t go and hand myself over, give them what they want, the kids will be dead. It’s not an option.”

This was worse than she could have imagined. She stared at the man who was the love of her life, the man who had broken her heart by leaving, then by coming back. She had known it couldn’t last, but now, as she stared at him, she realized she wasn’t ready to say goodbye again. Maybe that was why she looked over to Luke when she said, “And there’s no other way?”

Her voice had cracked. She felt Raymond’s hand on her shoulder.

Luke nodded to the house. “I’m going to get Marcus and Harold up to speed,” he said, then pulled open the door, leaving Raymond and Iris alone outside.

“Look, we knew this was going to happen at some point,” he said. “There’s no choice, Iris. This is the kids. Damn them for taking off! Still, it was just a matter of time. This is the only way to make sure they don’t come after anyone else.” He had both his hands on her shoulders and was standing so close that the ache in her chest seemed too much.

“There has to be another way…” she said, but he was already shaking his head.

“Them getting their hands on one of you was the thing I feared, and now they have. Iris, when I left you, there was so much left unsaid. This time, I need you to know that the happiest time of my life was with you. After all those years with you, walking away was the hardest thing I had to do. They say everyone has that one great love in life. Well, for me, that was you.” He rubbed her shoulders, his hands sliding up over her cheeks. He was so close, and she could see it there in his eyes, how hard this was.

“Damn you to hell, Raymond O’Connell! You’re going to do it to me again, aren’t you?” she said. Her eyes blurred, and she could feel the kind of tears she hadn’t cried in years coming out of nowhere.

He pulled her close in his arms and just held her as she tried to fight a losing battle against the despair that just wouldn’t stay away.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and murmured softly, “I never for one moment stopped loving you, Iris. Just know that. I love you.”

But as she fisted her hands in his shirt, feeling his arms holding her, she wished for a moment that he could be anyone but who he really was.