Dangerous Lies Page 10

  A tear starts to roll, but I wipe it away quickly.

  “Where is the child?” Langston asks, still not convinced.

  “He’s with his parents. I did a quick search of the missing child reports. There was one from a few months ago that matched his description. He has a sister with reddish-brown hair that matches his.”

  Langston looks at me like he needs my assurance.

  I sit down, right in the middle of the driveway. I don’t have the energy to stand anymore. I just need a minute to process all of this.

  “We should run the DNA test just to confirm, but it doesn’t sound like that child is mine,” I say.

  “Then, where is Declan?” Langston asks.

  Dead?

  Missing?

  With Corbin?

  I don’t know the answer, but we have to find out. Until I know for sure where Declan is, I have to keep searching, hunting. I’m the huntress, after all, and I won’t give up. Corbin and Maxwell are still out there. They could still have him.

  Langston sits down next to me on one side. Beckett slumps down on the other.

  Seeing his bandaged hand breaks me. “Oh my god, you went through all that pain for nothing. You lost your other hand for nothing.”

  Beckett shakes his head. “It wasn’t for nothing. I saved that kid. I don’t regret it.” He unwraps his hand, revealing boils and burns all over his skin. “And I didn’t lose my hand, just my sense of touch and attractiveness until this heals.”

  Langston whips out his phone. “I’m going to call for a doctor to look at those ASAP. I already have specialists flying out tomorrow for Siren and Zeke.”

  He stands and walks a short distance away to make the call.

  “Siren and Zeke are okay?” Beckett asks.

  “Yes, Siren sacrificed her voice; Zeke, his hearing.”

  “And the kids?”

  “Rose and Atlas are safe and sound. They aren’t injured in any way we can see. I think Langston has a pediatrician and psychologist coming out to check on them just to be sure, but they seem perfectly fine. When I left them, they were eating a tub of ice cream.”

  He smiles at that.

  “Thank you, Beckett. You have no idea how much your sacrifice means to me, even if it didn’t turn out the way we planned.”

  “It was the right thing to do—no regrets.”

  We both turn and look out at the ocean. The sun is already beginning to set. Where did the time go?

  “What happens now?” Beckett asks.

  Langston returns, standing over my shoulder.

  I turn to answer Beckett. “First, we talk to the kids. We tell them the truth or as much of the truth as they can handle. Then we make a plan to find Declan and protect all of us from Corbin, Maxwell, and Phoenix.”

  Langston lowers his hand to me. I reluctantly take it.

  I’m not sure I’m doing what’s best for Rose and Atlas by telling them the truth. A large part of me still feels like I should hide the truth from them to protect them, but the other part wants to love them openly.

  That part can’t be silenced any longer.

  19

  Langston

  “They are going to love you. There is nothing you should be nervous about,” I tell Liesel as we walk back into the house, Beckett trailing behind.

  I can tell she’s nervous, her hands are shaking at her sides, and she doesn’t respond.

  “Or we can go with the whole hate me thing we got going on. They’ll think that’s a hoot,” I joke.

  I tilt my head, hoping she’ll crack a smile—she doesn’t. She’s a woman on a mission, and I have no choice but to go along with it and hope she’s ready to tell the truth. Maybe after she tells the kids the truth, she can start talking to me?

  We head back inside, and Liesel freezes. I’m guessing she’s having second thoughts, but I’m not going to let her think too hard about this. She needs to tell the kids who she is. It’s the only way we can be a family again.

  “Rose, Atlas, you want to go for a walk on the beach with Liesel and me?”

  “Yes!” Rose says immediately.

  Atlas nods, and they both pop off the couch.

  Beckett walks in behind us, and Kai runs to him, engulfing him in a hug. They all have a lot to talk about, so I take Liesel’s hand and lead her out the back deck, then down the stairs toward the beach. Rose and Atlas chase after us.

  As we get closer to the beach, I find a quiet spot and sit down. Liesel doesn’t sit immediately, so I tug on her hand until she takes the hint and sits.

  “Are we building sandcastles?” Rose asks.

  I shake my head. “Maybe later. We both wanted to talk to you about something first. Liesel is…”

  Jesus, it’s harder to tell my kids their whole world has changed than I realized. And if I tell them Liesel is their birth mom, do I have to tell Rose that I’m not her biological father?

  I rub my neck, unsure of what to do next when Liesel speaks.

  “I’m your birth mother.”

  Both Rose and Atlas snap their head to Liesel.

  “Whose? Mine or Atlas’?” Rose asks, staring at Liesel in awe.

  “Both. See, once upon a time, I was a young woman, and I got pregnant with three special children.”

  “Three?” Atlas blinks.

  “Yes, three. I was young and scared, but I loved my three babies more than anything in the world. Those babies were you, Rose.” She smiles at Rose. “And you, Atlas.” She turns her smile to Atlas. “And another baby named Declan.”

  Neither of the kids ask questions anymore. They are entranced with Liesel’s story.

  “The day came that you three were finally ready to leave my belly. I got sick and fell asleep when you were born. Someone took you three away before I got a chance to see you or hold you. You were split up and given to different people to live with.

  “Rose, you were given to your mother, Phoenix, and your father, Langston. Atlas—eventually, Phoenix and Langston found you. They didn’t know that you and Rose were biological brother and sister at the time, but they knew you belonged to this family all the same.”

  He smiles up at her.

  “Now, we are looking for your brother, Declan, to complete the family.”

  “We really have another brother?” Atlas asks.

  Liesel nods.

  She reaches forward and takes both of their hands. “What you need to know, though, is that even though I wasn’t around, I still loved you and tried my best to protect you all your lives. Langston, your father, is your father in every way that matters. Phoenix—” She takes a deep breath.

  “Phoenix is still your mother. She loves you desperately, and she’s helping us find your brother. We all love you. Your mom, dad, me, and all your aunts, uncles, and cousins inside. We all love you.”

  I’m not sure about telling them that Phoenix is still their mother and loves them, but everything else is spot on.

  “Do you have any questions for your father or me?”

  “Can we call you Mom?” Rose asks.

  Liesel smiles. “You can call me whatever you want.”

  “What do we call Mom, though?” Atlas asks, confused.

  “You can call your other mom, Mom, too. You can have two moms.”

  “I like that idea,” Atlas says.

  “Are you two dating?” Rose asks, looking from Liesel to me.

  “That’s a complicated question, but yes, we are,” Liesel replies.

  “What about our other mom? Do you not love her anymore, Dad? Where is she?” Rose asks.

  “She’s looking for Declan, but I have a feeling she’ll be back soon,” Liesel says, stepping in before I can answer, forcing me to follow her lead.

  “I love both of your moms very much in very different ways. We still have a lot to figure out as a family, but we are all a family. All of us in our own complicated way, okay?” I say.

  All three pairs of lips smile and nod at me while I get a queasy feeling in my stomach. I tru
st Liesel with my life; I just hope she knows what she’s doing.

  20

  Liesel

  We put all the kids to bed, and then it’s just the adults sitting in the living room.

  Kai sits on the floor, leaning against Enzo’s knees. Siren and Zeke sit snuggled together, a large legal pad and pen lying on their lap so Siren can communicate.

  Beckett sits in a single chair with his hand in a new bandage. He has a smoothie with a straw, so he can lean over to get some calories until a doctor looks at his hand.

  Langston and I sit on a loveseat with Langston’s arm around my shoulders, just as much a couple as the rest of them. I twirl my ring around my finger. We talked to the kids. They know almost everything and took it surprisingly well, even though it’s ridiculously complicated. Now we all have to decide what we do next.

  There would have been a time when I thought it was just my and Langston’s decision. I thought everyone in the room betrayed us, but now that everyone has sacrificed so much, I know differently. We are a family, no matter what happens.

  “So, what do we do next?” Kai asks, starting the conversation.

  All eyes fall on us.

  “We talk to Phoenix,” I say immediately, even though I know the whole room will disagree with me. There is no immediate outrage, at least not from anyone except Langston, who looks at me like I’m off my rocker.

  Siren jots down what I said, so Zeke is up to speed. I get no protest from them either. I do need to remember to pause after I speak, so they can get caught up.

  “For now, we have to assume Corbin and Maxwell have Declan. Phoenix is likely to confirm or deny it, so let’s start there,” I say.

  There’s some nodding from the room.

  “Phoenix won’t tell us the truth. We will gain nothing from talking to her,” Langston says, removing his arm from behind me.

  I miss the loss immediately.

  “She told us the truth about the clubs.”

  “No, if she did, then we would already have Declan.”

  “We have Rose and Atlas because of the information she gave us. And they didn’t hurt the kids. If she truly wanted to hurt us, then they would have hurt them—they didn’t. They just want more from us. We need to talk to her.”

  “Or we could attack Corbin and Maxwell. Kill them and their team, extract Declan ourselves, if they even have him.”

  “And what would you do with Phoenix?”

  “She doesn’t deserve to live after what she’s done,” Langston says.

  I sigh. He’s just being a protective father. He feels betrayed by her. But every person in this room has hurt and betrayed people, oftentimes betraying others in this room. We’re all human, and we have all fucked up when we were hurting or trying to protect others. Everyone deserves a second chance.

  “It’s no longer just up to us to decide, so let’s put it to a vote. Should our next step be talking to Phoenix or not?” I ask the room.

  Langston stares them down, trying to persuade them to his side. It wouldn’t shock me if they took his side, simply because they are closer to him than they are to me.

  “Enzo?” Langston asks.

  “I don’t trust Phoenix, so no, I don’t think you should talk to her. I agree with Langston—we should attack Corbin and Maxwell, then find Declan once we’ve destroyed them,” Enzo says.

  Kai looks at me with sympathy in her eyes and says, “I agree with Enzo.”

  That’s two for Langston and none for me. It’s not looking good.

  We all turn our attention to Siren and Zeke. Siren is writing furiously on the paper, and Zeke is studying every word closely. He looks at Siren, who nods at him.

  “Siren agrees with Liesel. We should get every bit of information we can from Phoenix. And for the kids’ sake, she deserves a second chance,” Zeke speaks.

  That makes it two to one, but Zeke and Beckett will take Langston’s side.

  Zeke thinks for a moment and then speaks. “I also agree with Liesel.”

  I blink rapidly, not sure I heard him correctly. Two to two.

  Everyone’s attention turns to Beckett.

  “You’re the deciding vote, Beckett,” Langston says.

  Beckett stares at his injured hand. He’s lost the most. Sure, Siren lost her voice and Zeke his hearing, but they can rely on each other to make up for the losses.

  And I lost…

  But Beckett has no one to help him. He was already at a disadvantage, and now that his other hand is injured, he’s going to struggle without a lot of help.

  “We have to do what gives us the best chance to get Declan back. Talk to Phoenix, find out what she knows. Then, you can decide what the best course of action is to get Declan back.”

  Langston stands in a huff. I think he’s going to storm out, frustrated with the group’s decision. He holds his hand out to me instead.

  Carefully, I place my hand in his.

  “Fine, let’s get this over with,” Langston says.

  21

  Langston

  I got outvoted.

  That’s why I’m currently climbing on board a yacht instead of planning a tactical mission to take out Corbin and everyone who works for him. Being on the ocean like this used to be my sanctuary, but now it’s my nightmare. Anywhere my kids aren’t is my nightmare.

  Liesel stands next to me on the top deck as we ask one of the employees where they’re keeping Phoenix. He gives us her room number and the code to get in before walking away to continue his duties.

  We head downstairs to her room. My hand hovers over the security keypad outside her room.

  “You sure?” I ask Liesel.

  She nods. “Phoenix is not a bad person. She’s done some horrible things because she’s hurting, and she doesn’t know how to deal with the pain. She’ll help us.”

  I’m not sure if I agree with her, but I enter the code and open the door. I step inside first; I’ll do anything I can to protect Liesel.

  Phoenix is sitting on the bed, staring out a window, looking out at the ocean. She doesn’t glance over at us as we enter.

  “So, you failed and are begging me to convince my brothers to give you your kids back, huh?” Phoenix asks.

  I’m about to yell at her, attack her, squeeze her until she pays for everything she’s put us through.

  “No, that’s not why we are here,” Liesel says, stepping out from behind me.

  Phoenix snaps her head to Liesel.

  I grab Liesel’s hand, trying to keep her back. Phoenix is going to try to attack her.

  Liesel shakes me off. She walks over and sits on the foot of the bed staring at Phoenix.

  “We won the games,” Liesel says.

  “You got the kids back?” Phoenix asks.

  “We got Rose and Atlas back,” Liesel says.

  Phoenix exhales, her shoulders visibly relaxing, acting relieved. But then she looks Liesel in the eyes with concern. “You sacrificed? All of you?”

  “We did,” she says quietly.

  Phoenix nods.

  “We did our part. We felt the pain. We hurt. We won, but we only got Rose and Atlas back. We didn’t get Declan. Corbin gave Beckett another kid, not Declan,” Liesel says.

  Phoenix looks down as she picks her nails.

  “Phoenix? Does Corbin even have Declan?”

  She nods.

  “How do we get him back?”

  “I’m sorry,” Phoenix says, looking from Liesel to me. “Truly, I am. I never wanted the kids to suffer. I only wanted to hurt you.”

  “Will Corbin hurt Declan?” I ask. If he would, I’m not waiting. I’ll fight Corbin to the death right now. I’m not going to wait for whatever games.

  “No, he just doesn’t think you all have suffered enough.”

  “What do you think?” Liesel asks.

  Phoenix exchanges a glance with Liesel. “I think once you finish the games, you’ll have paid me back for the pain your father caused me.”

  “So, how do we finish th
e game?” I ask.

  “You get the treasure. You give it to Corbin. You set me free, and you promise to never attack my family again.”

  That’s not something I can promise.

  “Can I ask for something?” Phoenix asks.

  “No,” I say, at the same time Liesel says, “Yes.”

  “I’d like to say goodbye to the kids. I know you don’t think I deserve it, but I want to explain to them why they won’t be seeing me anymore when the time comes,” Phoenix says.

  “No,” I say, walking out the door. I’m done with her. I don’t trust her. She’s manipulative and did the one thing I view as unforgivable—hurt my children.

  I’m nearly out the door before I hear Liesel say, “He’ll come around. He’s just hurt. We’ll figure something out when it comes to the kids.”

  I head up to the top deck of the yacht and lean over the edge of the railing, looking out as the moon rises over the ocean.

  Liesel stands next to me.

  “Are you upset with me?” she asks.

  I inhale a deep breath. “No, I can’t be upset with you, even when we disagree—not anymore.”

  “You can be mad at me and still care for me. I’m sure you get mad at the kids sometimes, but that doesn’t mean you don’t love them.”

  I shake my head. “I’m not upset with you. I just disagree with you. And I’m upset with myself that you don’t trust me enough to tell me what you sacrificed so I can help you heal.”

  She sighs as she leans further over the edge of the railing.

  “What if I told you the sacrifice I made didn’t matter because I already lost that part of me years ago? The reason I don’t want to tell you is that nothing has changed. I don’t want you to think I was suffering and you weren’t there to stop it when it’s not true.”

  I frown. “I’d say that whatever you went through, no matter how small, I want to know. I need to protect you. I need—”

  “No, you don’t. Sometimes, it’s better if you don’t know.”

  We are both silent a moment.

  “What do we have to do to get the next clue to the treasure?” she asks.