Dark Siren (20 page)

“Why can’t I remember?”

“We’ll figure this out. Don’t worry.”

She listened to him breathe, was comforted by the rise and fall of his chest. “It’s going to be worse for you.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

After another long moment, she softly inhaled, preparing to say she was ready to call Greg and Lisa. Rhane stepped back abruptly. “I need something from you, Kalista.”

Kali raised her eyebrows. “What?”

“The cops are going to be at your home when we get there. How we met Friday night will probably come up, but you can’t tell them what really happened.”

“Rhane, it’s time for me to come clean about the attack. That creep might hurt another girl. If I don’t say anything, it would be my fault.”

“Don’t concern yourself with that.” Rhane’s eyes were suddenly very hard. “He won’t be hurting you or anyone else again.”

Kali eyebrows went even higher. “How could you possibly know that?”

“I really need you to trust me on this one. Okay?”

She swallowed and nodded. Rhane had saved her life and forgiven her for almost taking his. It was the least she could do.

“Okay.” He rubbed his face. “Let’s go call your folks.”

Chapter 29

Lisa answered on the first ring. On hearing Kali’s voice, her relief poured through the receiver. Then she handed the phone to her husband. “She’s safe,” Kali heard Lisa say to her father. After Greg was certain his daughter was alive, had not been kidnapped, and suffered no bodily harm or grave ailment of any sort, then the tough questions came.

“Where have you been, young lady?”

Kali winced. “I’m with a friend.”

“Why didn’t you call?”

She knew Greg was only ignoring the vague reference to a “friend” for now. “I couldn’t. I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Kalista, this is unacceptable. Do you have any idea what’s been going through our minds?”

“I’m so sorry, Daddy.”

Greg breathed heavily into the line. But when he spoke again, his tone had softened considerably. “Give me straight answers, Kali. Where are you?”

“Hunter’s Valley.”

“Who are you with?”

“Rhane.”

One remarkable thing about Greg that had helped him become a successful lawyer and an even better district attorney was that he never forgot a name or a face. An unbearable pause passed before spoke he again.

“Put him on.”

Cheeks hot with guilt and embarrassment, Kali obediently handed Rhane the phone. She felt rotten for having made her parents sick with worry, not to mention the waste of time and resources she knew had been expended in her behalf. She chewed her lip and watched Rhane converse calmly with her father, though most of the talking came from the other end. He said “yes sir” a couple of times. After a moment or two, he glanced at Kali and held his hand out. When she took it, he squeezed her hand and held it.

“I will, sir.” Rhane hung up the phone.

Kali looked at him as if to say, “Well?”

“I have exactly one hour to get you home.” Rhane grinned nonchalantly. “He gave me an extra fifteen minutes for traffic. Get in the shower. I can’t take you home dressed like that.”

#

Aside from experiencing the expected amount of relief and joy to have their youngest daughter returned to them alive and unharmed, the Metts were not very happy. After both of them hugged Kali tightly and multiple times each, Lisa sat her daughter down on the sofa. Rhane remained where he stood. Without invitation he ventured no further than the threshold into the living room. Looking on quietly, he was able to identify with the mixed emotions of the reunited family. He also knew the situation was going to be tricky.

Two uniformed officers remained at the Metts’ residence. If Greg did not receive the right explanation of events, charges were going to be pressed. But Rhane was a good judge of people and knew Greg only needed two things to put his mind at ease. First of all, he had to see with his own eyes that Kalista had not been hurt in any manner. And second, he needed to know that some opportunizing pervert had not taken advantage of his little girl. The first issue had been resolved right away. Convincing Greg of the latter was a whole other monster.

Switching gears from doting dad to prosecuting attorney, Greg directed a piercing stare at Rhane. “Why don’t you have a seat, son?”

It was a question but hung a fingernail short of being an order. Greg was letting the pizza boy know who was in charge. Referring to him as “son” meant he had graciously given Rhane the benefit of the doubt. At least for right now, innocent until proven guilty held true. He hadn’t been labeled a pervert. Yet. It was a good start.

“Okay.” Rhane silently added, Here we go.

Chapter 30

Greg took a seat in an armchair positioned directly across from the sofa. Lisa joined him, perching on one of the plush arms of the off-white chair. The picture of solidarity wasn’t a front. And it garnered more of Rhane’s respect.

Kalista wrung her hands anxiously, but stopped when Rhane sat next to her. Greg’s eyes narrowed a bit. He got straight to the point. “Officers Harlow and Remington are good friends of mine. Between the two of them, there are over thirty years on the force. These admirable men are waiting to see if their services will be further needed.” Greg paused.

Rhane waited.

“But first, I want you to help us sort this out. I ask. You answer. That’s all.”

“I’ll do my best, sir.”

“Very good.”

Eye contact was a big deal to Mr. Metts. That much was evident. In a profession like his, it was essential to weed out small seeds of truth in fields ripe with dishonesty. A life or death sentence could very well depend on it.

Liars often had a hard time getting the proportions right with eye contact. Either they made too much or too little. Rhane knew how to make lies sound like the truth. Given a lifespan that far exceeded that of any human, he’d had ample time to hone and perfect the particular skill. Rhane hated liars. But if the situation demanded it, he didn’t mind becoming one.

“Kali has been missing since Monday afternoon. I have interviewed her office manager, several classmates, as well as her principal. After she left work, no one saw or heard from her until this morning when she called from this number.” Greg pulled out a small notebook and slowly turned a few pages. Finding the right one, he read off a ten-digit phone number. “Is that your number?”

“Yes.”

“I’m a thorough man, Rhane. It’s gotten me where I am today. That being so, I had the number traced to a residence up in Hunter’s Valley.” He recited the address to Rhane’s newly acquired country estate. “That’s Holsenbeck Hall. It’s practically a piece of history and has been vacant for years. Are you living there?”

“I am.”

Greg lowered his reading glasses. “Are you living there legally?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t know there was anyone left in that family.”

“I don’t know either, sir.”

“You mean you aren’t related to the Holsenbecks?”

“No.”

“Is it correct to assume you bought the Holsenbeck mansion?”

“Yes.”

Greg’s face hardened. “Then who is Wilfred Harvey?”

Rhane didn’t miss a beat. “That’s me, sir. Wilfred Harvey is the name on my birth certificate. But Rhane is a family name. Neither my father nor grandfather looked very much like Wilfreds, so their mothers called them Rhane. I was named after my father. But Mom couldn’t bring herself to call her baby Wilfred, either. So I got his nickname too.”

“Be sure that I will check that out.” Greg smiled tightly. “What do you make as a pizza boy, including tips?”

Lisa nudged him. “Greg.”

“What, baby? I’m trying to understand this. Even in the dilapidated shape the manor is in, I can’t imagine a pizza boy being able to afford such a lavish piece of real estate.” He turned back to Rhane. “How much?”

“Since I’m not a pizza boy, I can’t answer.”

“What do you mean, ‘since I’m not a pizza boy’? I tipped you.”

Rhane grinned affably. “And it was very kind of you. Had I actually been a delivery boy, I would have been very appreciative.”

Greg was noticeably offended. “The first time I laid eyes on you, you lied to me.”

“No. I never said I was a pizza boy. The delivery arrived just as I came along, so I went ahead and paid for the pizza…and tipped. Then I brought the pie in to your daughter.”

Greg scowled briefly but didn’t admit he was wrong. “So how did you buy the property? How can you afford it?”

“I’ve made a few good investments over the years.”

“Investments?” Greg sounded incredulous. “You’re still wet behind the ears. What do you know about investing?”

“I’m no expert, sir.”

Greg’s eyes became tiny slits. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-five.” Technically it wasn’t a lie. Though Rhane was much older, his current driver’s license said otherwise. Living as long as he did, he couldn’t keep renewing it indefinitely. And since he hardly showed signs of aging, fresh starts and new identities were a frequent part of his existence.

At the admission of age, Lisa’s mouth formed into a hard line of disapproval. Greg’s brown skin turned red. Not a good sign. “That’s eight years older than my daughter.” His voice was barely above a whisper.

Remington and Harlow moved in closer. That was definitely not a good sign. Rhane really didn’t have the spare time to spend a night in jail.

“Has she been with you this whole time?”

Answering truthfully would have brought the spotlight back to Kalista. She claimed to have no recollection of the first twenty-four hours she was missing. Being in China, Rhane couldn’t account for her whereabouts for that time either. Though he was as concerned as Greg regarding the missing timeframe, there was no way to safely discern the answer from Kalista’s mind. Pushing her to remember could once again release what slept dormant inside her. He couldn’t deal with that again so soon. Her parents might never be able to deal with it.

Rhane deliberated all those factors in less than a fraction of a second and decided. “Yes.” Then he moved in for the cover story. “Allow me to explain, sir.”

“Please do,” Greg said forcefully.

The best thing Rhane could offer was a truth seasoned well with a relish of lies. He began relating a half-fabricated story which came out seamlessly. Pauses were in the all the right places to indicate genuine recall. “Kalista had a fight with her boyfriend at school on Monday. She called me, upset and needing to vent, and perhaps wanting to make this other guy even more jealous. I wanted to cheer her up. Knowing how much she loves the water, I offered to drive her to the coast. Let her see the sunset, you know? It was only supposed to be a daytrip, but on the way back, we got a flat. The spare was useless. Nowhere was open to buy a new one, so we waited until the next morning. After the tire got fixed, we both decided to be irresponsible and played hooky from everything.”

Greg was calmer. Still angry, but it was a less red version of angry. “Did you sleep with my daughter?”

“I did not have sex with your daughter.” Rhane cleared his throat. “I only recently became aware of her age, sir. But that’s no excuse. I should have asked.”

“You understand that I can’t allow you to see her again. She’s still very much a minor.” He looked at Kalista pointedly. “And from her recent behavior, she’s very immature as well.”

Rhane exhaled. “I understand.”

Kalista wasn’t conceding so easily. “But--”

“No
buts,
Kalista,” Greg snapped sharply. “You will not see this man again.” He turned back to Rhane. His words came out calm and even. “Get out of my home. If you come near this family or this house again, I will have you arrested.”

There was tightness present within Rhane’s chest that hadn’t been there before. Though discovering Kalista in the body of a human teenager who was mostly dependent on adoptive parents severely complicated his life, he liked the Metts. It wasn’t the reception he’d hoped for. On top of that, protecting Kalista from what was to come had just gotten way more difficult. But considering the circumstances, it was a good outcome. Unexpected things happened all the time. Rhane would do as he’d always done. He would adapt.

As he dipped his head to acknowledge Greg’s decision, Kalista sprang from the couch. Her limbs went rigid. The light fled from her eyes as she stared her parents and the officers down.

Greg and Lisa did not hide their startled expressions. Lisa started to move forward, but Greg placed a restraining hand on his wife’s arm. Officer Harlow reached for his gun. Remington’s cool eyes remained steady, but his stance was very alert. Stepping in front of Kalista, Rhane blocked the view of everyone else in the room. He was all her eyes could focus on. And only he could see the expanded pupils and dark veins that’d slowly begun to snake around and from within her eyes. Staying casual, he grazed a finger across her cheek. “Your father is right, Kalista. Listen to him.” His voice, like his touch, remained gentle.