“I’m not purposefully giving the TV attention, it’s just that you’re worrying for no reason. Lincoln knows you want to go away with him this weekend. He also knows that Ramona is important to you. She booked that ritzy show down in Denver, Maeve. The one that you did all the legwork for. He’ll understand.” Aspen turns her gaze to me. “Why wouldn’t he?”
Because I’ve been deceiving, and he’s going to think I’m being deceptive. Aria left and I have to admit, that visit only shook me up more than it fulfilled some deep familial well. I should have known better, but it’s the damn orphan in me. Always reaching for things that I’ve never had.
“Well, it’s just with everything that’s happened he’s really… protective, so I don’t want to worry him.” Which is the truth, mostly. I know that you’re honest to those you love. I also know that what I have with Lincoln is something that has to be protected at all costs, and my lies all stem from that.
“Invite him to the gallery showing,” Aspen says, flicking through the guide, trying to decide what to watch. I came over here before work because Aspen wanted to borrow a dress to wear on a date with her rancher this weekend. He’s taking her to some restaurant in the city that has multiple courses. She said she wants to be his final course and needed to dress appropriately.
“That’s actually a great idea. I’m not sure why I didn’t think of that. I’ve always separated my lives, I guess.” Blending only leaves me with eventual heartache. That’s the past Maeve. Get over it. “You have free rein over my closet,” I announce, picking up my work bag. “I’ll see you at the office at one.”
“Why did you have me cancel patients this morning again?” Aspen asks, but she’s already engrossed in a reality show.
Thank God.
“There are some loose ends and the detective needed me to swing by to clarify some things.” Not a whole lie. “I might even be finished in time to have lunch with you before the first patient.”
Aspen grunts her acknowledgment as she gapes at the show.
“Lock up when you leave, Aspen.” I use her name so I know she’s listening. “There’s still a psychopath on the loose.”
Her head whips toward me. “Oh God, that’s right. Those cameras are rolling, right? In case that bitch starts up her shit again?”
I have to laugh. “That bitch? She killed a man, Aspen. She’s more thanthat bitch.”
“Whatever,” Aspen groans, patting the couch to invite Chonk up. “I have the dog.”
Shaking my head, I bid one more goodbye before heading downstairs and locking up the three new door locks I had installed. My hands shake as I start my car. A little from the cold, but also because I’m heading to the local jail. Visiting hours are today and I need that asshole Rufio to talk before they ship his ass somewhere else.
* * *
This wasn’t something I’ve planned on for long. Actually, it wasn’t until Aria asked if I was going to try to get the bastard to talk that the lightbulb came on. The man’s obsession runs deep, or at least it did. It’s intriguing that a man can think he loves a person when he’s never spoken a word to her. He merely watched me while I didn’t know he was watching. He sang to me when I couldn’t hear. Listened when I mistook a moment for private. I understand what it’s like to obsess over a life that belongs to someone else—I don’t know what it’s like to fall in love with the idea of a non-existent relationship. Flipping down my mirror, I check my makeup and hair.
I made the appointment yesterday, and I have to admit it was easier than I thought it would be. They explained perfectly which door I needed to go through and what I could expect with the security screening process. I wouldn’t be allowed to bring anything into the meeting room. It goes as smoothly as they said it would, and soon enough I’m walking down a hallway to booth number seven where Rufio should be waiting for me behind plate glass. My heels clack against the cement and the stench of old water and metal twists my stomach into knots. Good, they complement the butterflies I’ve felt since waking up. This man knows Rena, knows how she thinks and schemes. How she hates, and how she loves. My pulse pounds as I take my seat, keeping my face at the ground until I steal one last breath and raise my gaze.
His flat, brown eyes hold no emotion, but his lips twitch before he licks them. Bile rises up my throat and I have to work to swallow it down. My hand shakes as I reach for the phone on my left and hold it to my ear. He does the same, mimicking my shake.
Pull yourself together, Maeve.
I know I’m safe, but seeing him transports me right back to my living room and to a terror so deep, I still can’t shake it. I’m a connoisseur of heartbreak, but Rufio and Rena dealt me one I hadn’t yet experienced. I swallow once more to steady my voice.
“Thank you for meeting me.” The statement is void of emotion, and I’m not sure if that’s good. I debated playing on his feelings by pretending to reciprocate, but I didn’t want to look like an idiot. Surely, he wouldn’t believe me.
“This is a face I didn’t think I’d see again.” Rufio’s eyes narrow as he speaks.
I choke on my next breath and cough. “That’s right. You’re pretty familiar with my face.” A scary thought because this is the second time I’ve seen his. “How are they treating you in here?”
“What do you want? I’m not ratting anyone out. If that’s why you came, you’re shit out of luck. I don’t mind looking at you though.” His hand moves from his side to his lap, and I slam my eyes shut.
I shake my head fiercely. “No. I don’t want that. I want to know more about my… sister. About Rena. You have to know by now that I didn’t know she existed.” My words taste bitter. “You know her personally. That’s the only reason I’m here. Nothing about her location. I want to know her.”
“Ask Lincoln. Seems he knows her pretty well.” Rufio’s thick accent sounds odd around Lincoln’s name, but I see the spark in his eye. He can give me something I need, and that means a lot to him. “Tell me what it is you want to know about her.”
“Anything. Everything. Tell me everything you’ve learned about her. When did you meet her? How she goes into the friendship with you and… your friends.”How could she abandon such a precious child, like Turner?
Rufio leans back, folding his arms across his chest, tucking the phone in the crook of his neck. “Rena came to us by debt. She was with a man who owed my boss… er, friend, a lot of money. Sometimes in instances such as the one mentioned, we take human capital.”
Trading humans like cattle. To think I felt sick before, but this time it’s in a familiar way. There are many instances in my childhood when I’d be placed into a new foster home because the family requested me. They didn’t really wantme, they wanted the check that came with me. I meant nothing to them. I was worth as much as a monthly stipend and nothing more.
Wincing, I ask the next question from a place of empathy. “Did she adjust well? When she came to you?”