The Child Thief 5: Ghost Towns Read online

  Henry was Hope’s father. He deserved to have this information just as much as I did. And if Nathan and Corona had allowed him to stay on base and had even given him a job, surely that meant they trusted him. At least, I hoped that was what it meant. Because I felt like I needed to tell him about Hope.

  “Robin,” he exclaimed as I got closer. “I want you to meet my team.”

  The maintenance and repair team was a motley crew. They looked rough and mean, but at Henry’s introduction they all warmed to my presence and took turns shaking my hand.

  “I’m Silver,” a bright blue-haired young woman with a grease-streaked shirt said as she shook my hand. “We’ve heard a lot about you.” Then she nudged Henry suggestively.

  I wondered how much they had heard about me.

  “Henry,” I started. “I have something to tell you. Can I have a moment?”

  “Sure, take a seat,” Henry said, patting an empty spot beside him at the table.

  “Actually, could we talk in private?” I asked. Maybe Henry was comfortable talking in front of his crew, but I definitely wasn’t.

  Henry looked a little concerned but walked with me over to a corner of the dining hall. Then, when we were far enough away from our respective teams, he grabbed my shoulders to turn me toward him.

  “Robin, is everything okay?” he began, almost breathlessly.

  I reached up and squeezed his hands, gently removing them from my shoulders.

  “It’s fine, Henry. It’s good news.”

  Henry sighed. “Oh,” he said with a hint of embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m just worried that someone will say I don’t fit in here and that I have to leave. Like if one of the big bosses thinks I’m not as dedicated as the rest of you guys are. This all happened so fast, but I’m really happy to be here. And I can’t imagine having to go back to my old life. If I even could.”

  I considered this possibility. I knew Henry had little to go back to, and I knew that he was probably now on a terrorist list, just like the rest of us were. I hadn’t realized he was actually so happy in Edgewood, but it was probably a good thing, considering what the government might do to him on the outside. No wonder he was so concerned about being sent away.

  “I think it’s a good sign that they assigned you to a team,” I finally replied. “Obviously they saw something in you.”

  He smiled warmly. “But that’s not what you wanted to tell me. What is it?”

  His face moved between shock, confusion, excitement, and elation as I relayed the information to him. I was careful to share only as much about the mission as he might have already known, knowing how important privacy and caution were to Nathan, and thankfully he didn’t press me on that. He was much more interested in hearing about Hope.

  When I finished talking, we both stood still for a moment. I watched Henry try to process all the information that must have been swirling through his head. And then he leapt toward me and picked me up in a huge bear hug.

  “Whoa,” I managed before he had squeezed most of the air out of me. His face was pressed tight against my shoulder, and I soon became aware of the hot, wet presence of tears. At this I hugged him tightly back. No matter what had happened between the two of us, and no matter how we had individually processed our loss, we were both parents. And that love never went away.

  And maybe, I realized with a sense of uncertainty, the love that we had once had for each other would always linger under the surface as well. Even if we were no longer together, and even if we never would be again, there was a part of me that would always love Henry.

  He placed me back on my feet and then grabbed my hand and began to pull me toward the dining hall entryway.

  “Wait,” I said, surprised. I yanked my hand back away as Henry looked at me in confusion. “Where are you going?”

  “We’re leaving,” he said, but as he looked at me his smile began to fade. “Aren’t we?”

  Henry may have gotten older since I saw him last. His jaw may have been a little more defined. His eyes may have hardened slightly around the edges, showing the wear and tear of a hard life working in factories and driving trucks. But some things never changed. He was as impulsive and brash as he had ever been. I smiled gently and grabbed his shoulder.

  “We can’t just up and leave, Henry.” I meant to continue, but he cut me off and stepped away from me, leaving my hand to slide off his shoulder and fall back to my side.

  “Wh-Why not?” he stuttered.

  I sighed. I had forgotten how hard it was to reason with him when his mind was set on something.

  “We need a plan,” I said gently. “We need supplies. A mode of transportation. Probably even weapons.”

  Henry guffawed. “We have all that. It’s all here.” He gestured all around him.

  “Well, yeah,” I said, surprised. “But we can’t just take that stuff. We need to speak to Nathan. We need his blessing. And we have to be mindful that he may need us elsewhere before we can get started on this.”

  That possibility hurt to consider, but I had to try to focus on the bigger picture.

  Henry’s eyes, though, narrowed. Oh, no. I remembered that look from our spats when we were together. Henry had always been stubborn.

  “His blessing?” he spat out venomously.

  The back of my neck suddenly felt very hot, and I turned and saw Henry’s team looking at us. We were making a bit of a scene.

  “Henry, please,” I said, motioning with both of my hands for him to lower his voice. “Why don’t we take a walk this afternoon? I just need to talk to Nathan first.”

  “What has happened to you, Robin? Why would you need someone’s… someone’s blessing to go save your daughter?”

  His voice was definitely raised now, and I looked over my shoulder to see Jace and the rest of our team staring at us intently. Jace’s fists had begun to ball at his sides.

  I turned back to Henry. “Henry, please,” I said again. “I want to find her, too. We just need to take a little time… time to plan.”

  “How much time do you need, Robin? Would you rather be at Edgewood than out finding our daughter? It feels like you’ve replaced her or something! With your team, or Nathan, or Jace.”

  I couldn’t believe my ears. What was he insinuating? That I was choosing Edgewood over Hope? That I would choose Jace over Hope? I could feel my face flushing and wanted to scream out. Or slap him. Or both. Instead, I just stood frozen.

  “I’m going,” he finished. “Give me the address.” He held out his hand for the drive.

  But I held the drive tight, curling my fingers around it. Suddenly strength returned to me.

  “No, Henry,” I said definitively.

  His eyes widened in surprise, and then hurt. But they quickly narrowed again.

  “I’m not letting you mess this up by acting impulsively,” I said.

  A large portion of the dining hall was staring in our direction now. The noise in the hall had diminished to almost a whisper as people watched the spectacle. I felt embarrassed, hurt, and angry. But I also felt determined.

  Henry had every right to want to leave right then. So did I. But he didn’t have a right to accuse me of caring any less about Hope than he did. Did Henry really not recognize how reckless he was being? And if staying in Edgewood meant that much to him, why would he gamble against it now? There was a better way to go about this, and I intended to do it that way. With or without Henry.

  Henry opened his mouth like he was about to continue arguing. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jace striding toward us. But then Henry turned in a huff and stormed away instead. For a few long seconds, I could feel a hundred stares from all around the room. But then the dining hall began to return to normal, people turning back to their friends or their food.

  “Robin,” I heard Jace start from nearby.

  But I wasn’t going to wait. I wanted to get away—away from the accusations, away from the hurt, and away from the conflict that was beginning to overwhelm me, th
e conflict between what I wanted to do and what I knew was best for Little John.

  I turned and made quickly for the door. Nelson stared as I passed her. Gabby called my name. But as soon as I was outside, I broke into a jog.

  I was going to find Nathan.

  3

  It was a warm and sunny day in Edgewood, but I felt anything but warm and sunny as I walked briskly to Nathan’s office.

  I would’ve run there, except it would have made me conspicuous, and I didn’t want people to know how unstable I felt just then. But I felt like running. I was embarrassed about the altercation. Hurt by Henry’s sudden temper and serious accusations, confused at being forced to choose between what was right for Little John and what was right for me. And although all of my friends were back in that dining hall, I really wasn’t in the mood to rehash what had just happened with them. I needed the time alone.

  Nathan’s office was attached to the room where we normally had our mission meetings. I entered the building, turned to the left, and was relieved to see his door wide open. I quickly made my way to the doorway and was just about to enter when a tall form blocked my way.

  “Oh,” I said in surprise.

  Towering over me was a lanky man in a fitted three-piece suit, his long black hair tucked neatly behind his ears. As our eyes met, he flashed me a dazzling smile. His face was, as ever, a stunning amalgamation of handsome features, almost as if it had been carefully manufactured to appear that way.

  “Piper,” I said.

  His smile didn’t change. “Have we met?” he asked, cocking his head to the side. He didn’t move out of the doorway.

  The question was strange to me. Our first tour of Edgewood’s school/orphanage hadn’t been that long ago. Had he already forgotten my face?

  “You gave us our tour of the school,” I said, staring up at him. “Just a couple of days ago.”

  “Ah, I remember now,” he said.

  His smile continued, but I didn’t return it. I wasn’t in the mood for niceties. Not right now.

  I moved to push past him, finished with the conversation, but Piper’s hand reached backward and shut Nathan’s office door behind him.

  “Wait,” I started.

  “I’m sorry,” Piper replied. “But Nathan has requested that we give him some personal time to prepare.”

  “Prepare for what?” I ventured.

  “I’m sure he’ll be letting you know soon,” came Piper’s response. He nodded curtly, his too-perfect smile never leaving his face, and then went strolling effortlessly down the hallway and out of sight.

  I stared after him for a while, wondering what he had been speaking with Nathan about. As far as I knew, Piper was only in charge of the school and orphanage at Edgewood. It seemed like a strange time, in the immediate aftermath of a mission, to discuss something that for all intents and purposes seemed to be running smoothly.

  Unless they hadn’t been discussing the school.

  Once I was sure he was gone, I grabbed Nathan’s door handle. I hadn’t come this far to be stopped now.

  But to my surprise, the doorknob had already begun to turn under my grasp.

  Nathan pulled the door open, and his eyes widened as he registered my presence on the other side of the door. He smiled.

  “Robin,” he said. “Good to see you. But whatever this is about, it will have to wait. I have something scheduled already.”

  I was mentally forming my rebuttal when he looked over my head and called out.

  “Rio!”

  Rio? But Rio wasn’t even—

  Rio suddenly came into view. He had been standing so quietly in the hallway, and so perfectly still, that I hadn’t even seen him. He excused himself as he brushed past me into Nathan’s office.

  I stood frozen as he walked by. The anger and sense of injustice I had felt started to quietly dissipate. What right did I have to demand to be seen before Rio? I had gained three new family members, while Rio had lost two of his makeshift family.

  As the gravity of his situation settled in, my rationale started to fall apart around me. What was I doing here? I had run away from my team and been so ready to barge into Nathan’s office and demand an audience, and for what? To prove to Henry that we couldn’t be brash and impulsive. I was acting just like he had. An uncomfortable guilt washed over me.

  Nathan nodded at me before shutting his door, and I understood instinctively what that nod had meant. He’d called Rio to his office to talk about Savannah and Ajax, and maybe even Lux. No matter how busy Nathan was, he’d made the time to address that topic, and Rio’s reactions. I should’ve known he would. Whatever I wanted to discuss, now just wasn’t the time. I was disappointed, but I understood. Rio needed time now.

  The image of Savannah and Ajax rolling silently by in the hangar came roaring back into my head, and I realized I hadn’t seen Rio at breakfast. He might have had ample time before his meeting with Nathan, but he probably hadn’t been in the mood for food and company—and I doubted he would be, for the foreseeable future. I wouldn’t have been either. Rio probably really needed someone now.

  I stared longingly at Nathan’s door. I wanted so badly to speak with him, even if it was just to hear what I already feared: that Hope, Rylo, and all the others would have to wait.

  Lux deserved some time, too. I thought about her, lying in her hospital bed all alone. Rio had probably been spending most of his time with her since she had been admitted, but with Rio in Nathan’s office, she probably didn’t have any company. I wasn’t ready to face Team Hood yet after the dramatic breakfast scene. And, it occurred to me suddenly, Jackie might not even know that we had information on her sibling yet. Maybe the walk to the hospital and the chance to speak to Lux and Jackie would help me move past the whole ugly morning so far.

  I had told myself that I wouldn’t act irrationally or go about this the wrong way. Now I needed to hold myself accountable to that. So I turned back down the hall and headed to the hospital. If I couldn’t work on finding my biological family members yet, then I wanted to focus on my adopted Team Hood family in the meantime.

  The hospital was bright and clean inside. It was a far cry from the gray and dingy hospitals that I had seen in Trenton and other factory towns. I entered a small waiting room and saw a nurse filling out paperwork behind a glass divider. There was a bright bouquet of flowers beside her. I strode up to the nurse’s station and inquired about Lux.

  “I’m sorry,” the nurse told me softly. “She’s sleeping. You’ll have to come back.”

  It was beginning to seem like a bit of a trend. Nothing was going right for me today—though I was glad to hear that Lux was recovering and resting well.

  “I understand,” I replied.

  Then, as I was about to ask about Jackie, I thought I saw someone familiar out of the corner of my eye. And then I saw that same familiar face in double.

  “Don’t you think Jackie could use a break from you two?” I asked Ant and Abe jokingly.

  Abe smiled and then jerked a thumb toward his brother. “The hospital staff just called Ant. I’m here to help him pick up his delivery.”

  “Delivery…”

  Just then, a radiant Jackie came rolling out of a patient room.

  “Jackie!” I yelled and ran toward the trio.

  Jackie was still in a wheelchair, but her smile was lighting up her whole face and she was wearing her plain clothes again. She looked much more like herself than the battered, wounded person she had been for the past few days.

  I threw my arms around her neck, trying my hardest to express my excitement gently.

  “The wheelchair is just to get to the front door,” the nurse pushing Jackie told me. “Hospital policy.”

  “Which means we’re going to have to deal with her running amok again,” Ant joked, glancing at Jackie with adoration.

  The nurse smiled a bit and then pushed Jackie dutifully toward the hospital entrance, Jackie scowling stubbornly throughout the process, obviously wanting to
walk on her own. We passed a few open patient rooms, seeing cheerful doctors making their rounds and visitors sitting with their loved ones. When the wheelchair stopped at the front door, she grabbed Ant’s hand and pulled herself to her feet, with Abe steadying her by her elbow.

  She wobbled slightly, and we all rushed to catch her if she fell.

  “I’m fine!” she snapped.

  “Back to your old self entirely,” Abe said with a smirk.

  Jackie lobbed a playful punch at him, but Abe sidestepped it.

  “You’ll need a little more practice before you’re back to fighting form, though,” he continued.

  Jackie chuckled, and the sound was music to my ears.

  Then a realization hit me like a freight train. I had forgotten my whole reason for going to see her in the first place!

  “Jackie,” I said, almost breathlessly. “We need to go see Nelson.”

  Only a second after my key entered the lock, the door to my dorm sprang open.

  “Robin!” Nelson said exasperatedly. “We’ve been looking all over for you! Where did you go? What have you been doing?”

  I stared back in response, a grin burgeoning on my lips, and waited for her to catch on. Finally, she took stock of the person standing beside me.

  “Jackie!” she yelled. She threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around Jackie’s neck.

  Jackie made a guttural oof and winced slightly, but she kept her footing and hugged Nelson back just as tightly.

  Once she was finished, Nelson stepped back and looked at me. “Robin, who else knows that Jackie is out of the hospital?”

  “Just Ant and Abe, I guess,” I said, turning back to look at Ant and Abe for confirmation.

  “Not for long,” Ant said with a grin. Then he cupped his hands over his mouth and took in a deep breath. “JACKIE’S BACK!” he bellowed.

  I jumped at the sound. I wasn’t expecting to inform all of Team Hood in quite that way.

  But soon doors were flying open. Jace, Kory, and Gabby appeared and sprinted toward Jackie all at once.

  “Easy!” Jackie managed to eke out before she was overcome with hugs.