I cut my eyes to Raul, catching the slight shake of his head.
“This isn’t something we can decide for our club. We’ll have to vote on it.” I followed my brothers out of the study. Killing someone in cold blood wasn’t something the club took lightly. The consequences could be life in prison. We all had to agree to take that risk.
Ciro smirked. “How very diplomatic.”
I grinned at his sarcasm. “It’s the American way.”
31
Tara
MY HEART RACED as I eyed the white envelope Brad had given me yesterday. I’d totally forgotten about it after Hero entered my classroom. It was the first thing I noticed on my desk when I arrived at school this morning.
My heart had been in my throat since.
It wasn’t a letter from Brad. Or a drawing. I recognized the chicken-scratch handwriting on the envelope. I’d been too afraid to read it because I knew it was fromhim. I just knew…
The wizard, aka my dad, somehow gave it to Brad. Jesus, that meant he’d been at the school. In my small, safe space.
“Brad, could you come here, please?” There were only three minutes left until the bell rang. I needed to find out where he got this envelope from.
He bounded over, ready to leave for the day with his jacket and backpack on—and a huge grin. “Yeah?”
I returned a strained smile, trying to not look as if I was about to lose my shit. I’d spent most of the day fighting to hold it together for my kids and myself.
I pointed to the reason for my current panic. “Can you tell me where you got this from?”
His blue eyes went wide. “You haven’t opened it?”
“No. Where did you get it from? Was it a man?” I searched his innocent face for answers. “A tall man with long hair.”
He shook his head. “No. A girl. Why didn’t you open it?”
Phew, a girl. Maybe I didn’t recognize the handwriting.
“I will open it, sweetie. But first, tell me what the girl looked like. Was she a mom? Or a teenager? An elderly woman? What did she look like?”
He teared up. “I promised you’d open it so she’d give me a kitten.”
A kitten? My blood turned cold, throat constricting. This was most definitely my dad’s handy work—a master manipulator.
“What about a kitten?” Luna flashed in my head. He knew about my baby. My heart raced as I worked to not fall apart in front of this confused second-grader staring at me like I just stole hiskitten.
“She said if you read the letter, you’d go to the meeting place. Then I’d get a baby kitten as a reward for doing a good job after school today.”
I jumped to my feet. “She’s coming to school today? Do you know her name? What does she look like? Please, Brad, think hard.”
The first crocodile tear fell. “You didn’t read it. Now I’m not going to get my kitten.” The second tear skirted down his cheek.
I clutched my chest. Sure as hell, I was about to have a full-on panic attack. My face felt hot, but my hands were icy cold. I swallowed excess saliva, sniffed back snot trying to run out of my nose.
Ever so calmly, I said, “What does the girl look like, Brad? It’s not safe to talk to strangers, sweetie. We talked about this in class. I need to know who she is.”
He stared at me, blue eyes scanning my face as he fidgeted with his fingers. “She’s… she’s not a stranger.” His gaze moved to the top of my head. “She looks like you.”
“Me,” I croaked.
He bobbed his head. “Mhm. She’s your sister.”