Fractured Innocence (#2 IFICS) (15 page)

Eventually, a pretty woman with curly hair and a hesitant smile approached the table. She pulled a pad out of her stained apron. “Where ya from?”

“That obvious?” Ace asked with a genuine smile that surprised Kaitlyn. 

“The five of you stick out like sore thumbs on a leprechaun. Whatcha doing in these parts?” The woman narrowed her eyes.

Well, that’s a new one
. Even Kaitlyn’s slang dictionary wasn’t sure what to make of the leprechaun addition to the phrase. She hoped her smile didn’t look as strained as it felt.

“We’re just here for a visit,” Nick piped up. 

“Visit? Eastport, Maine, in the middle of the winter? You got relatives around here?”

“Nope, no relatives. Just picked your cozy little town off the map,” Ace said, lacing his fingers through his hands and placing them on the table in front of him. “We’re ready to order.” 

She went around the table taking their orders. When it was Kaitlyn’s turn, she glanced down once again and flipped the menu over. “I’ll have the chocolate cake and a slice of apple pie with ice cream. Oh, and hot chocolate with whip cream.” 

The waitress raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you want some chowder or something?” 

“If I wanted chowder, I would have ordered it.” 

Lucas grabbed the menu from Kaitlyn’s hand and placed it on top of his. “She’s already had dinner. You can bring out her order the same time as ours.” 

“Whatever you want. I wish I could have a figure like that and overindulge.” The woman patted her hips, smiled, shoved the pad back into her apron and turned away. 

Kaitlyn wondered if she’d made a mistake with her order, but she saw no logic in ordering something she wasn’t going to eat. 

Ace and Nick exchanged a glance. 

“I forgot how nosey people are in small towns,” Nick said with a shake of his head. 

 Ace shrugged. “They’re harmless. Just don’t care for strangers. I grew up in a small town. You get used to the lack of privacy after a while, but I prefer the anonymity of city life.”

Kaitlyn could relate. Life on the compound was often like living under a microscope. 

The waitress came back with their drinks. 

Kaitlyn sipped her hot chocolate. It was a little too rich, but still delicious—almost as good as Nick’s.

The guys engaged in small talk while they waited for their food. Kaitlyn couldn’t help but notice the patrons in the restaurant kept staring at them, and when she extended her hearing, every last one of them were discussing where they were from. Some of the women were commenting on never having so much hotness at one time at Waco Diner. It humored Kaitlyn to hear their thoughts. Some were arguing over who was the best looking of the guys. It was almost unanimously Erik. Kaitlyn’s gaze flicked between Erik and Lucas, and she thought they were out of their mind. But like Quess said, she was biased. 

Lucas caught her looking and winked.

As they waited for their food, Ace told a story about his wife, Grace, and his whole demeanor changed. Gone was the coarse persona. His tone softened, and his face relaxed. It seemed odd to think of Ace as being in love with anyone, but Kaitlyn could tell he loved his wife. 

Kaitlyn recalled what Erik had said about them trying to have a baby and figured she would try to engage in small talk. Maybe she hadn’t given him a fair chance. 

“Ace, I heard you and your wife are trying to have a baby?”

Ace shot a dirty look at Erik. His laugh was sudden and harsh. “Jesus, man, are you trying to crush what little manhood I have left around this chick?”

Erik sighed. “It came up. Wasn’t a big deal.”

“Whatever.” Ace’s voice sliced through the air as he looked away, his jaw flexed. 

“Trouble conceiving?” Lucas asked. Kaitlyn was grateful Lucas spoke up, because she wasn’t sure how to defuse the situation. She couldn’t quite understand why a simple question would cause so much anger.

“I guess if you call trying and failing for seven years trouble, then yeah,” Ace said icily. 

“You know Harrington’s company dabbles in fertility issues.”

He shook his head. “We’ve tried everything.” 

Lucas tapped his fingers on the table. “Well IFICS is a bit ahead of the game. Of course, everything is still in experimental stages, but if you guys were interested, I’m sure Harrington would agree to at least having a consultation.” 

Ace stared at Lucas for a long time. “I hope you’re not shitting me. I can’t get Gracie’s hopes up again. She’s finally coming to terms with the fact that we’ll never have our own child. We’ve been put on a waiting list for adoption. That shit takes years.”  

“Well, I can’t promise results, but I can promise you’d have the most cutting edge treatments. I’m not involved with that side of the company, but I do know that Harrington only works with the best doctors in the field.” 

Ace sat back in his chair and let out a long breath. “I’ll talk to Gracie about it. Thanks, man. I’m sorry I snapped at you, Kaitlyn. It’s a touchy subject.” 

“It’s okay. I can’t have children either.” The words slipped out before she even realized they were on the tip of her tongue. 

A pin could have been heard if dropped. The whole diner became silent. 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Ace said quietly. 

“It’s okay. I don’t think I would be a very good mother anyway.” Kaitlyn blinked back the moisture that had pooled in her eyes out of nowhere. The tears were a genuine surprise to her. As well as the empty feeling in the center of her chest. 

The waitress placed the food in front of them. They all picked at their food, appetites suddenly lost. 

Small talk
, she told herself. Just say something. But no words would come to her mouth, which was suddenly very dry. 

Kaitlyn took a bite of the moist chocolate cake, and for once, didn’t savor each bite. 

As soon as the bedroom door shut, Lucas cupped the back of her head, and pressed her face into the crook of his shoulder. Kaitlyn slid her arms around his waist and squeezed. After several moments of holding each other and not speaking, Lucas pulled away and looked down at her. 

“We should talk about this, Kaitlyn.” 

“What’s there to say?”

“I didn’t realize you thought about having children.”

“Don’t you?” she asked, bracing herself for his answer. 

“No, not really. I guess I haven’t given it much thought. I love you, Kate.”

“You shouldn’t have to sacrifice for loving me.” 

He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I assure you, I’ve never once felt as though I’ve sacrificed anything to be with you. You’ve given me far more than I could have ever hoped for.”

“I can’t have children, Lucas. Ever.”

“Do you want children?” He studied her face. 

“I don’t know. I mean, I don’t think I do. But when Erik told me that Ace wanted to have a baby, it made me wonder if you did.”

“You should have told me,” he said gently. 

“I meant to, and I would have eventually. I guess it didn’t seem important right now. My focus has been on saving those children and making sure Dasvoik can’t harm anyone else.” 

“We’ll come back to this conversation later. But Kaitlyn, I really want you to talk to me about anything that is bothering you. It’s very important to me.”

She pressed her head against his chest. “I will. That was nice of you to offer to help Ace and his wife tonight.” 

Lucas shrugged. “What good are all these advances if we can’t help the people we know? Besides, I had to do something, Ace looked like he was about to strangle you.” 

“He really doesn’t like me.” 

“I think you’re growing on him.” 

“Really?” 

“Sure. He just needs more time.” 

Kaitlyn doubted it, but what did she know when it came to human nature?

CHAPTER 15

Oh how she hurt! Her head throbbed and her back and arms felt as if they were on fire. The pain in her chest was so strong it stole her breath. Cracked ribs? Her eyes fluttered open, and she tentatively touched her ribs. The room was dark, as usual, but light seeped underneath the door. 

Raised voices. She realized it was the commotion outside that had awoken her. Feet pounded loudly on the metal floors. The usually quiet ship was in an uproar over something. What was going on? Aaliyah strained to understand the voices, but they were not in English. And certainly not in her native language. She hated the foreign voices. It only made her feel more alien, alone. 

 Aaliyah winced. It hurt to breathe. Where in the world was she? Not in the cage and thankfully not in the monster’s chamber. Glancing down, she realized she was laid out on a narrow cot. The dingy white blanket that covered her smelled of mildew. Her stomach rolled. She licked her cracked lips with her thick, swollen tongue. She was hungry and probably dehydrated.  How’d she get there?

And then, she remembered. Dasvoik had been very upset with her. 

Wincing, she attempted to sit up, but the pain was too much. Reluctantly, her head dropped back to the pillow. Seconds later, the door opened and closed with a clang.  Heart hammering, Aaliyah closed her eyes and feigned sleep. 

“Too late, I saw your eyes open,” a rough voice said, barely above a whisper. Involuntarily, she attempted to push herself back, trying to make herself smaller. It surprised her he was speaking English. “I brought you something to drink. Wet your whistle. I will try to bring you something to eat later.”

A cup touched her lips and she swallowed greedily. The cold water felt incredible sliding down her aching throat. 

“Slow down.” He pulled the cup back. “You’re going to make yourself sick.” 

Flopping her head to the side, she got a better look at the old man. He was plump and had a kind, weathered face with tufts of grey hair above his ears. It was hard to tell in the dim light, but his eyes were pale. Probably blue. 

“The boss man really did a number on you. You’ve been out for days.” He stood up and dunked something into a bucket and came back with a cloth to wipe her forehead. “You’re too damaged to leave with the others.” 

Suddenly, she was wide-awake. Panic filled her.
Her baby brother.
“Leave where?” Her voice was hoarse from the lack of use. 

The man shrugged and continued to gently clean her face with the cloth. “They had to dump the cargo early. Seems someone had the bead on the boss. No concern for you.” 

“What do you mean dumped?” Her heart hammered in her chest. “It concerns me a great deal. My little brother is on this ship.” 

He paused, his hand in the air still holding the cloth and nodded. “Ah, I understand my dear. I wish I could help you, but I have no idea where they went. I just know they were transferred from this ship to another. The boss must really have taken a liking to you, or else you would be dead right now. Swimming with the sharks.” 

She tried to process the information. If they knew what the evil man was up to, did that mean she had a chance of being rescued? Probably not. 

Where was her brother? Did this delay give her brother an opportunity or was he handed off to a worse fate? Of course, without her, it was worse. She had to find him. She struggled to sit up, but the pain cut through her. “Please, I have to find out where he went so I can save him.” 

The old man’s voice was sad. “I’m afraid there will be no saving for either of you. If your injuries were not so grave, you would have been on the boat with them. You have to heal and then you will be sold off with the next wave. Unless, the boss decides to keep you for himself. He’s never done that before.” After a brief pause, he continued.” I’m not sure I would wish that on anyone.” 

Desperately, Aaliyah clung to the man’s forearm. “It’s still loud out there. Have they transferred everyone?”

“That’s what they’re doing now.” 

“Please. I beg of you. I don’t care how you have to do it. Get me on the ship. I cannot leave my brother.” 

“I’m afraid you cannot go anywhere. Your ribs are broken. One of your lungs is collapsed and I am too old to carry you. Here take another sip of water. You need to regain your strength.”

With much effort, she lifted her head to meet the cup. He was right, she had to find the strength and the courage she would need. If it was the last thing she did, she was going to kill that monster. A deep seeded rage bubbled inside of her. 

Just the thought of little Darrius being all alone, shuffled from one boat to another, tore at her heart. “Where the hell are they taking him?” her voice was near manic. 

The man just shrugged. 

All of the sudden, Aaliyah became suspicious. No one had been nice to her since the day she had been abducted. They all treated her like an object not a person. “Why are you helping me?”

He sighed and continued to dab the towel on her face. “Because I have a daughter myself.”

From nowhere, a lightness came over her along with a wave of hope. “It’s you.” 

 She’d been praying for this for so long it was hard to believe that her prayers had been answered. She’d almost given up. 

“My guardian angel.” Aaliyah’s voice shook. Her breath caught in a silent sob. “You finally came.” 

The man looked startled. “I wouldn’t go that far. All I did was bring you water.”  

“Please, you must get the name or the number off the ship that they are transferring the children to.” 

She could see the indecision in his eyes and her heart leapt when he sighed and nodded his head. “It won’t do you any good, but I will find out for you.” He patted her head and stood up. His back stooped as he shuffled his way towards the door. 

Aaliyah closed her eyes. The old man had been right. She needed to rest. Needed to heal so she could seek revenge. A plan was starting to form in her mind. If pretending to enjoy the madman was what it took to get her brother back, she would endure it. And she would take great pleasure when she sliced the monsters throat in his sleep. Her guardian would find her a weapon. He had to. 

She knew she was not strong enough to take him while he was awake. 

Perhaps during sex? She had to make sure he wanted her again. Which meant she had to heal. He would not want her if her face were bruised and ugly. He didn’t seem to mind the scars on her body.