fucking important to this” —she gestured around— “all of it. The men have their roles too, but I realized in that room with a table and chairs that you are our glue.”
It was my turn to tear up. “I love you too, by the way.”
“Please know that everything you do is appreciated.” Araneae grinned. “I guess you’re the female Patrick.”
“I am?”
“You’re the one who notices everything, who asks questions, and who takes the time to care.” She wrung her hands. “The woman made it sound like you didn’t matter. She was wrong.”
I had a vision of standing in this same office nearly a decade earlier having a similar heartfelt conversation with Araneae’s husband. I looked my friend in the eye. “We are all somebodies.”
“Yes.”
As I began to leave, both of our phones buzzed. I pulled mine from my back pocket and looked at the screen. “It’s Ruby.”
Araneae looked up from her screen the same time I looked up from the message.
“They have Madeline settled,” she said. “And she’s five centimeters dilated.”
“Sounds like we’re going to have a baby today.”
We both hugged before I made my way to the kitchen.
Our conversation played in my mind, sprinkled with memories of Sparrow’s and my conversation years ago.
We are all individually a somebody.
And we were all as a family having a baby.
Whether I ever gave birth or not, I was content in knowing I’d have my role in Madeline’s son’s life as well as in Araneae’s child’s.
The kitchen was exactly as we’d left it. The food and dishes were on the table. Even the oven was still on. And as I busied myself, I couldn’t have been more content to stay working.
About an hour later, the food was all put away, dishes were in the dishwasher, and the surfaces sparkled with the sunshine streaming through the large windows. As I was climbing the stairs to the second floor of the penthouse with a million small tasks on my mind, my phone buzzed again. This time it was a call.
My screen read Reid.
“Have you heard from Ruby?” he asked in lieu of a greeting.
“Araneae and I received a text from her about an hour ago. Madeline is dilated—”
“Get Araneae and Laurel, I’m on my way up.”
I heard the concern in his voice. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“I’d rather—”
“You’re scaring me.”
“Ruby is missing.”
Reid
An hour earlier
For the first time in quite a while, as I entered 2, I was alone. Earlier this morning, all four of us had been present, not unusual in the middle of the night-slash-early morning. Now, the entire floor was still except for the hum of the computers. My steps echoed in the vastness and the scent of coffee lingered in the air. As the steel door closed behind me and I traveled deeper into our command center, a peace settled over me. This floor was my sanctuary. That wasn’t meant to diminish the apartment I shared with Lorna. The two were separate. Upon entering each one, my expectations differed. These desks, keyboards, and monitors were who I was and what I did. The weight bench, the coffee pot, and the other amenities were all familiar extensions.
I supposed in many ways this floor of the tower was cathartic for me. Within its realm, I lose all track of time as I delve deeper into my work. While it all focused in some way on some aspect of the Sparrow outfit, it was where I could contribute the greatest.
As I hit the button for another cup of coffee, I had a realization.
I was back.
That wasn’t a statement that referenced my physical presence. Instead, it was a statement that implied my mental focus. Since Lorna was taken, I had been scattered on too many fronts. The need to seek revenge fueled an inability to see what I usually saw, to do what I usually did.
Maybe it was the deaths of Maples and Zella that gave me a taste of retaliation. Perhaps it was being shot that brought a new appreciation for each day. Or more likely, it was the one woman in the world who could look at me and know my inner thoughts. It was the strength and resolve she’d proclaimed and demonstrated that made me stronger.
Carrying my fresh cup of coffee, I made a quick stop at Patrick’s workstation. He’d begun his search of Nancy Pierce’s financial transactions prior to her disappearance. I could have started the work on it, but when it came to following the money, Patrick was our resident expert.