Among the Shrouded (29 page)

“So you just had to trust.”

“Yeah.  I’ve never had to do that before.  Not once in my entire life.”

“But you did for me?”

“I did.  Mostly.  Except for at the warehouse.  In the basement.  I started to doubt you.  I began to think that maybe you were involved in some way.  I didn’t know.  I’m so sorry, Thomas.”

“
It’s okay, Mia,” he said, bringing her face to his and kissing her gently on the lips. “Stressful situations bring out the worst in all of us.  And besides, it’s better this way.  Now you know for certain you’ll never have to doubt me.”

“But
I can’t understand why I don’t see your aura when it’s clearly so bright.”

“I
can’t either.”  He paused and when he spoke again, his voice had changed dramatically.  “Mia, I think there’s something more important than my lack of an aura that we need to discuss.  I’ve been doing a lot of thinking while I’ve been sitting here waiting for you,” he began.

“
Yes?” she prodded when he didn’t continue right away.

“Mia,
someone realized you knew about the trafficking and they didn’t like it.  Whoever it was had you imprisoned, but for some reason, they didn’t do anything to me, even though I knew about it too.”

She
thought for a moment about the implication of his realization.  “I assumed while I was in the basement that if they’d found me, they’d found you too.  But they didn’t,” she said.

“No,”
he replied.

“Then obviously
, they didn’t know about you,” she said.

“And if they knew about you but not about me
, then we weren’t discovered at Brookins’ house,” he continued.  “So that begs the question, who knew you knew but didn’t know that I knew?”

She stared at him
, blindsided by his clear line of reasoning that was pointing in only one direction.  She couldn’t respond.  The revelation she’d had in the basement about the commissioner using Thomas as an informant came rushing back to her and the reality of the commissioner’s involvement was clear.

“Did you tell anyone here
at the station besides your father about what we found?” he asked finally.

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“Commissioner Dalton,”
she replied grimly.

CHAPTER

41

KATE

Kate had already been seen by a physician and, after submitting to a rape kit and medical examination, was given a clean bill of health.  As soon as the medical staff left the room, a police officer arrived carrying a large stack of files and a bowl of hot vegetable soup which he placed in front of her.  While savoring each delicious spoonful, she recounted the story of her capture and imprisonment for the second time as the officer took detailed notes.  The last thing he asked her to do was look through a series of photographs to see if she recognized any of the men who were involved in her abduction. 

Once
the officer left the room, she was completely alone for the first time in many weeks.  It was unnerving, sitting by herself with nothing but her thoughts.  She was growing impatient for the questioning process to end so she could concentrate on finding her sisters.  Her annoyance turned to joy several minutes later when Mia entered the room with an attractive young man.  Suddenly, she felt hope return.

“Oh
, Mia!” she exclaimed.  “I’m so happy to see you!”

“Me too,” Mia said
as she crossed the room to give her a hug.  “Kate, I want you to meet my boyfriend, Thomas.”

“
The
Thomas?” she asked, taking his hand in her own.

Mia blushed.  “Yes. 
The
Thomas.  And Kate, we have him to thank for our freedom.  He led the officers to the warehouse.”

“You are a hero,”
she said.  “Thank you so much for finding us.”

“I’m no hero
,” Thomas replied, smiling at Mia.  “Just a man who won’t take no for an answer.”

“How are you holding up?  Have they given you something to eat? 
Did they do a physical examination?” Mia asked.

She
took a moment to digest Mia’s litany of questions.  The entire situation was overwhelming and she was having difficulty thinking about anything other than whether or not her sisters had been abducted as well.

“I’m okay, I think.  I had a bowl of soup, but to be honest, I could eat ten more. 
They combed my hair and cleaned and clipped my nails.  They also took my clothes and swabbed me even though I told her I didn’t need it.  Oh, and I also looked at a bunch of pictures of men to see if I recognized any of them.”

“I’ll see if I can get you more soup, or at least some crackers or something.  As for the men, how many did you recognize?”
Mia asked.

“Six.”

“That’s amazing, Kate.  I’m so proud of you.  Any chance you might be up for looking at a few more photographs?”

“But I just told you, I already looked at all of them.”

“The photos you looked at were only of the men who the police think may be involved based on their prior criminal activity,” Mia explained.  “Thomas and I are doing a little side investigation and I need your help.  We are trying to see if you can identify any of the other men you may have seen at any point during your ordeal.  I need you to think back all the way to Kiev.  Do you think you’re up for that?”

“Yes.  Of course.  Whatever you need.”

Mia took the photographs from her hand and spread them out on the bed.

“All I need you to do is p
oint out anyone you recognize.  That’s it.”

She
looked carefully at the portraits of the men.  She knew immediately she had never seen the first two before.  However, the third photo was of a man who was present at the first auction.  He hadn’t been one of the bidders.  He also didn’t interact with any of the women in any way.  And yet, he had been there.  She was sure of it.

“This man,” she said, pointing to the third photo, “was at the auction.  He stood to the side.  He didn’t talk to us.  Didn’t touch us.  In fact, I only saw him speaking to one
other man.  But I definitely remember him being there.”

“You’
re sure?” Mia asked.

“Yes.  Positive.”

She saw a look pass between them she interpreted as excitement.

“That’s
wonderful, Kate.  Thank you,” Mia said as she scooped the photos off the table.  “I’ll talk to the nursing staff to see about getting you something more to eat and I think maybe you should stay here and rest for a while.”

“Actually Mia, there’s something else
before you go.”

“
Name it.”

“It’s my sisters.  I need to know if they are here in the United States.  I need to call my parents to find out.  Please,”
she begged.

“I’ll get you a phone right away
.”

Within fifteen minutes, Mia and Thomas returned with a cell phone.  As Mia handed it to her, she tried to maintain her resolve.  The handset felt heavy in her hands and she was suddenly unable to dial the extension.  During the days of not knowing, hope had remained.  She knew that as soon as she spoke to her family, she would either be overcome with joy or ravaged by despair.

“Would you like me to call them?” Mia asked.

“No.  I can do it.  But I can’t tell them the truth.  Not just yet.  Please don’t think less of me for it.”

“This is your life
, Kate,” she said.  “You do as you see fit.”

“I just don’t want to cause them
undue pain.  Especially if my sisters are still at home.  They don’t need to know what has happened to me.  At least not yet.”

At last
, she found the courage to dial the familiar digits of her family’s phone number.  Her body was shaking and she had to steady the phone with both hands.  She closed her eyes, willing someone to answer the call.  After the third ring, she heard her mother’s voice.

“Hello?”

“Mama!” she cried.

“Yekaterina?  Is that you?”

“Yes, Mama!  It’s me.  I am here.  I am fine!” she replied.

“It has been such a long time.  We were so worried for you.  Why have you not called us sooner?” her mother
scolded.

“This is the first opportunity I’ve had to use the phone
, Mama.  I just wanted you to know that I am fine.”

“And Tetyana and Natalya?  Are they fine as well?  Can you put them on the line?”

She stopped breathing and nearly dropped the phone from her hands.  Mia was immediately at her side, holding her steady to keep her from collapsing onto the floor. 

“Yekaterina?  Where are your sisters?” her mother asked again.

“They aren’t here with me right now, Mama, but I will let them know you send your love when I see them, okay?”

“Okay.  We love you all.  We are excited for you to return
home.  Your father is lost without you girls.  And so am I.”

“Me too
, Mama.  I have to go now.  I love you and I will call you again soon.”

“Goodbye
, my Katerina.”

“Goodbye
, Mama.”

She
handed the phone back to Mia and couldn’t keep herself from crying.  She sat on the bed, buried her face in her arms and sobbed uncontrollably.  She felt Mia rubbing her back in an effort to soothe her aching heart, but it did little to ease her pain.  She knew the only way she was ever going to feel better again would be if she saw her sisters safely back to Kiev.

“They’
re here?” Mia asked when she had finally dried her eyes.

“Yes
.”

“We are going to find them,” Mia declared.

She saw the compassion and concern in her friend’s eyes.  She knew Mia would work tirelessly to find Natalya and Tetyana with every tool the police department had in its arsenal.  However, she also knew they would benefit from the use of her power if they had any chance of finding her sisters before it was too late.  “I want to help you with the search,” she said.

Mia
glanced hesitantly at her and then to Thomas and back again. “I think you’ve already given us the information we need to take down the entire operation.  With any luck, we’ll find your sisters in no time.”

“Really?”
she exclaimed, amazed at how quickly her gift had provided a solution for finding her sisters.  “You really think it will be that simple?”

“I think we may know who is behind the entire trafficking ring.  With a
ny luck, when we find him, we’ll also find the location of the rest of the women that have been imprisoned,” Mia explained.

“
We don’t need any luck to find my sisters because we have you, Mia.  You were brought to me.  I asked for a way out of the mess I was in and the universe delivered you into my life to correct everything that had gone wrong,” she said. 

She
fished into her jacket pocket and pulled out the velvet box, handing it to Mia.  “I want you to have them,” she said.

“I can’t take these
!”

“You came into my life just when I needed you.  It was no coincidence
you
were the one
who came to save us.”

“But I didn’t save you.  Thomas did,” Mia replied.

“No, but you did.  You saved our souls.  You gave us hope.  You kept us going when most of the girls didn’t care to go on.  And let’s be honest, if
you
hadn’t been imprisoned with us, Thomas would have never set out on his search.  And I’d still be in that basement.  So please, I want you to have them so you will always remember that you may not know why you are where you’ve been placed in your life, but there’s always a reason you’re there.”

Mia took the box and slid the hair pins
into her hand.  She wound her hair onto the top of her head and carefully slid the pins into place. 

“I will wear them proudly
.”

“Good,”
she said.  “Now let’s go find my sisters.”