having difficulty right now, but it’s because she’s the absolutely strongest woman I’ve ever known.” I allowed a smile to form. “When she’s better, we’ll tell you the story of how we met. I promise you’ll be proud.”
“Does it have to do with an apple?”
My head tilted. “How did you know that?”
“Her tattoo.”
How had I forgotten?
It had been prominently displayed as her fingers splayed upon the tile or she knelt on all fours upon the bed with her hands gripping the headboard as I took her from behind. It was there as she lay upon her stomach, worn out, her dark hair tousled and lips parted as she slept.
“See,” I said to Ruby, “she’s strong and resilient. Your mom will come out of this on the other side. We just need to let her find her way back.”
“You’re not a shrink. Isn’t Laurel a doctor or something?”
“She is.”
“Maybe she should talk to Mom?”
I nodded. “That’s a good idea. In time, we’ll see. In the meantime, we’re all here to support your mom.” I turned back to the hallway and back to Ruby. “I don’t want to leave her alone for long.”
“Araneae told me,” Ruby said, “about her husband and Mom.”
My chest clenched. “Fuck, Ruby, we were going to.”
Ruby grinned. “You didn’t stop yourself.”
The word hadn’t even registered.
I shook my head. “Your mom and Mr. Sparrow just recently learned the truth. None of us knew before a few days ago.”
“I think it’s pretty cool. It kind of makes living here seem even more right than it did before.”
I reached for my daughter’s hands. “I’m sorry it wasn’t your mom and I to tell you.”
Ruby shook her head. “No, it’s okay. It was Aunt Araneae.” Ruby giggled. “That’s not easy to say.”
“I’m confident she’d be fine with just Araneae.”
“She might be, but well, I’ve never had an aunt or uncle before. I kind of like saying it.”
She hadn’t had a dad either, but now wasn’t the time to bring that up.
“You call them whatever feels right.”
“Thanks. I’m headed upstairs. Tell Mom I love her.”
“She knows that, but I’ll remind her.”
With Ruby heading one direction, I stopped at the doors to my and Madeline’s bedroom with a jolt of revelation.
I’m a father.
I’m a husband.
And I’m a friend and soldier in the Sparrow army.
With the help of my colleagues, I would bring down every fucker I could. And during it all, I would find my level head because at the end of this battle, I had a family to return to.
Now, a few days later, Saturday, the plane we were aboard was about to land near Naples, Florida. During our flight, Mason had filled me in on what I’d missed.
I hadn’t told my friends the particulars of Madeline’s history, and I didn’t know if I would. The four of us shared enough mutual trust for me to simply state that she’d been through more than most and survived. The specifics weren’t up to me to share, just as Jana’s hadn’t been up to Sparrow or me to share with Araneae.
The saying was that time healed all wounds, and that was what I wanted to give my wife. She deserved time to heal with the knowledge that no one would harm her again.
Our next stop would help that process.
At least it made me feel like I was doing something.
Pastor Roberto and Kristine, the fuckers that put the entire chain of events into motion.
I looked at Mason, staring into his green eyes. “You’ve done this before?” I tilted my head toward the syringes on the table in front of us.
He nodded. “I should say I’m not proud, but damn, I took out some serious motherfuckers with this agent.”
“How is it not registered but being used by our government?”
Mason’s lips straightened. “Come on, Patrick, you think we’re told everything? Even those of us in the Order weren’t told all of the specifics. We were given an order and the means. I happened to keep some after one mission, and with Jack’s help, we analyzed it.” He nodded toward the syringes. “It’s better this way. You don’t want that shit getting into the wrong hands.”
I scoffed. “I’m not sure about the bad motherfuckers you took out, but I am sure that I’m glad the bad motherfucker Kader is on my side.”
The plane’s wheels touched down as I grabbed the two syringes and placed them in my suit coat pocket. “I want both Pastor Roberto and Kristine to know who did this to them.”
“You’ll have time to reintroduce yourself