The Syndicate (21 page)

Both of us let out huge breaths once we get in.

“I thought you’d never come out,” she sighs.

“Well, it’s done,” I reply, driving away, becoming painfully aware that Dorina is right. I may think I know Riley, but I really don’t. And that’s gotta change, right now.

I pull over a few miles down the road at a park with mini lakes and fountains. It seems like a good place to get to the bottom of things. Surely, having no idea what I’m thinking or what Dorina said to me has got to be eating away at Riley. By now, she’s sitting perfectly still and is oddly quiet. It reminds me of how she appeared when Gavril was talking to her. I have issues, but I’m not a time bomb, and certainly not someone she should be afraid of.

I offer her a reassuring smile and tell her I just want to talk to her. Still quiet, she nods and gets out of the car. Together we walk side by side to a bench overlooking little lakes whose green water is reminiscent of Easter egg dye.

She finally breaks her silence. “Are you going to tell me what happened back there?”

“It was her. She’s the Reader.” I tell her most of the visions, leaving out the part about her watching Henri die, and then I tell her why I brought her to the park. “Dorina agrees that my reservations are justified, but believes I don’t know enough about you.”

She lets out a nervous laugh and then shrugs. “I’ve told you everything about me.”

“No, I need to know
everything
.”

“Like?”

“Tell me about your family. Let’s start with your mother.”

“I’ve told you everything I know about her.”

“What about your grandmother or grandfather?”

“I don’t know. My mom was adopted. I told you that.” She shifts her weight and looks away.

It’s obvious she’s getting uncomfortable, but this is important. Scouts don’t do in-depth searches on the targets’ families. They do just enough to find out their location and ensure there won’t be any interference. That means it’s up to me to dig deep on this. Call it an in-person background check.

“I know, but it’s really important that I know every single detail about your life, because if I don’t, my family will continue to use it against me, insisting I don’t know you and therefore can’t trust you. Just tell me everything you can.”

“Fine.” She looks back. “My mom was adopted and then bounced around from foster home to foster home because she kept acting up. She never mentioned any of her foster parents. She only kept one picture of her birth mother, and the only thing she knew was that her name was Cosmina.”

My head jerks back. “Cosmina?”

“Yeah. Why, what’s wrong?”

“Cosmina is a Romanian name.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know, but it’s not something to overlook. Don’t you think that’s odd?”

She shrugs, but I’m focused on it. I don’t meet many people from my country hanging out in America, so this strikes me as an important detail.

I put in a call to Rosie and ask her to find me anything she can on a Cosmina in every genealogy and family history book we have at the house. Then, I sit and wait. I feel like I don’t know anything, like everything I’ve reconciled with is crumbling on top of me. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here, and, moreover, why
I’m
the one doing it. Andre and Petric are perfectly capable of handling something like this. Who am I kidding? I wouldn’t wish this confusion on my worst enemy.

“Vasi, you’re scaring me now. I don’t know that Cosmina person. I swear. If she did…”

I shake my head. “No. I’m not worried about that. I just think the connection means something and it’s frankly confusing the hell out of me.”

“Listen, I don’t want to be a burden on you. If it’s easier for you, you don’t have to stay with me. I can take care of myself.”

She starts to get up and walk off. “No you can’t,” I counter, taking hold of her elbow.

She turns around with a deep crease embedded between her brows.

“Well, maybe you’re right, but so what? It’s better than this rollercoaster I seem to be on. I just want my life back, and for you to have yours back. This is getting exhausting.” She’s still ranting, but I tune her out to the sound of my cell phone ringing.

It’s Rosie. “The only thing I see on a Cosmina is a record from the Syndicate’s Russian division. She was the daughter of a Reader named Madalina who left the Circle in the fifties. Madalina ran off with Cosmina when she was a baby and was never seen again. They said she turned her back on the family.” I’m completely stunned and it takes a few moments before I can respond.

This news is beyond important. “Can you find out the details?” I finally mutter.

“I’ll try. Why? What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you later. Thanks.”

I hang up, letting go of Riley’s elbow. She’s been intently listening. Swallowing hard, I meet her gaze and tell her exactly what Rosie learned. The news is causing my pulse to race, but her forehead is still creased. “So my great-grandmother could’ve been a traitor?”

“No,” I counter, leaning down to her level. “It means those aren’t nightmares you’re having. If you’re related to this Cosmina, then
you
are a Reader and your mother is
not
crazy.”

W
e go straight to a local hotel, order room service again, and stare at each other while we wait. We’re both tense and quiet and I don’t like it, but finding the right words to say is beyond me.

Everything is passing through my mind at once. If she’s technically one of us, then how can anyone believe she’d bring us harm? What does it mean? What is the connection? Does it make her a threat or solidify that she’s not? I have to tell Henri this. Or maybe I don’t. Frustrated, I begin pacing. Maybe if I go back to Dorina’s, she’ll know what to do. No. I can’t risk going there twice. We’re going to have to figure this out ourselves.

A knock at the door pulls me from my thoughts. Riley makes a move toward it.

“No!” I shout, a little too quickly. She jumps, shocked, and I stand in front of her and sigh. “Sorry, but please don’t answer doors.” She’s been missing long enough to spark an all-out hunt by now, and thoughts of what happened the last time my mother answered the door cause me to shudder. “Let me get it,” I say.

A flash of understanding crosses her face as her gaze leaves mine, bounces off the door and meets mine again. She steps to the far corner of the room, more than willing to let me get the door. I pull my gun from the back of my belt, wishing I were more heavily armed.

Unfortunately my guns and knives of preference are still in the car I drove to the hit. Too preoccupied with making my trip look like a weekend getaway, I hadn’t armed myself properly. The only weapon I have is the handgun that stays in my glove box.

With it cocked and by my side, I ask who’s there.

“Room service.” A small sense of relief washes over me, but my guard is still up. I open the door and watch closely as the waiter rolls the cart just beyond the threshold, and then I tip him, sending him on his way.

Riley is still in the corner. “It’s good. You can relax,” I say.

“I’m famished,” she says, eagerly making her way over to the cart. It’s the most she’s said since the park.

“Yeah, me too.”

We transfer our American cuisine over to the tiny round table by the window. She digs into her burger while I’m deciding on which of my entrées I want to eat first: the burger or the chicken sandwich. Still undecided, I start on the fries.

“Vasi?”

“Yeah?” I say, finally deciding on the burger.

“I don’t think the Cosmina you found is related to me.”

“Oh she is,” I assure, not missing a beat in my sandwich.

“What makes you so sure? I don’t even know her last name. It could be anyone.”

“Riley, it’s not a coincidence. You have nightmares about Hybrids, and so does your mother. It’s the same Cosmina. I know it.”

“But don’t you think I’d know if I were some sort of psychic?”

I shake my head, savoring the taste of my sandwich and feeling much more relaxed as I talk through this. It feels right. Like she’s family. Which she is. Not by blood, but code. “You wouldn’t know, because you didn’t have anyone to tell you what your visions were. If you didn’t believe in monsters, then why would you believe in your visions? Being a Reader takes training, which neither you nor your mother had.”

She leans back and raises her brow, considering. “So I’m like one of your Readers?”

I nod.

“And my mom’s not crazy?”

I shake my head.

“All this time she thought she was. All of these years she’s been in an institution with no one to help her.”

It looks like she’s about to cry, and just as I’m tempted to reach out and touch her, she unexpectedly propels herself toward me. I drop my sandwich, unsure of what she’s about to do, and then she wraps her arms around my neck, kissing my cheek.

“Thank you,” she whispers, tears beginning to fall.

I place my hand on her forearm, which is nearly choking me. “For what?”

“For saving my mother. And for saving me. My mother’s not crazy. You have no idea how much it means to me.”

I swivel my legs away from the table and pull her to my lap. “Why are you crying?”

“I’m not,” she says, wiping her face.

I still don’t know what any of this has to do with our future or my family, but her gratitude reminds me of why I’ve done this. I hold her tighter, my face resting in the nook of her collar bone, her hair tickling my nose. The familiar scent of mangos and strawberries wraps itself around me, and I breathe her in, knowing that I
do
more than like her.

“I love you,” I admit, shocking myself as the words slip out unexpectedly.

“What did you say?” she asks, pulling away.

“You heard me,” I whisper.

Choosing not to press the issue, she takes my face in her tiny palm and pulls me to her. She kisses me hungrily, and her free hand finds its way to the back of my hair. I’m at her mercy as she holds my head in a tight grip. Reluctantly, I finally turn my face away.

“You’d better stop,” I warn.

“But I don’t
want
to.”

“Me neither, but there may not be a church nearby for you to redeem yourself again.”

She sighs, nearly whining and stares at me for a long minute. “You’re right.” Then she kisses me again and whispers, “I love you too, by the way.”

“I know.” I smile confidently. Then I kiss her nose and pat her thigh, prompting her to get up. Once she’s standing, I take a deep breath and slip past her.

“Where are you going?” she asks.

“To take a cold shower,” I answer without looking back.

After the shower, I feel good and refreshed, but didn’t think to pack anything to sleep in other than my boxers. That means it’s me, her, and my underwear. Hopefully she’ll be able to handle herself, because if she comes on to me like that
again
…I’m pretty sure she’ll be looking for forgiveness tomorrow.

I come out of the bathroom and notice she’s cleaned off the table and tidied up. “Sorry, I was bored,” she says. Her gaze travels down my frame and quickly settles on my face. “Mind if I shower too?”

“Not at all.” I move away from the bathroom door and open my hand to guide the way. She scoops up a small pile of clothes from the bed and heads over. Both of us hold back smiles as she passes and closes the door. A moment later, I hear the lock click. I smile again.

While she’s in the shower, I think things over some more and call Dani. He’s flipping.

“Are you insane, Vasi?”

Did he actually think I was going four-wheeling without him? He doesn’t know me very well. “No I’m not. I’m perfectly sane. Can’t say that about Henri, though. No offense.”

“My dad’s worried about you.”

I snort. “Right. He was real concerned last night when I almost died.”

“That’s just his way of maintaining order. He was stunned. He’s been asking about you since you left.”

“I bet.”

“He has. He’s worried, man. He thinks you need help.”

“Help?” I roll my eyes.

“Yeah, he thinks you need to see someone. Like maybe you’re having post-traumatic stress from your parents’ deaths.”

I laugh bitterly. “Yeah, I’m having post-traumatic stress. But it isn’t from my parents. It’s from
him
ordering a hit on an innocent girl. And from Hybrids attacking her
and
me left and right. If you don’t see something wrong with this picture, then maybe I don’t know you that well.”

“You know me, Vasi. I’m with you, but you can’t run away from the Syndicate. It doesn’t look good that you’ve run off with this girl. You need to come back on your own.”

On my own?
“What the hell does that mean?”

“He sent Alexandru to find you and bring you back.”

I jerk upright. “What?!”

“Yeah, he’s called a meeting with the Circle and wants everyone there to talk about what’s going on.”

Unbelievable
. What a crock. “Wake up, Dani! He didn’t send Alexandru to bring me back. Alexandru got Riley’s name this time. I wouldn’t do it, so Henri gave it to him!”

Dani is silent. Too silent. “Vasi, just come back. I’m on your side, but it doesn’t help that you’ve gone AWOL.”

I think about my options for a few minutes.

“Vasi?” he says, breaking the silence.

I sigh. “Just tell Henri I’ll be home tomorrow night.”

I hang up the phone, pissed. “What’s tomorrow night?” Riley says, emerging from the bathroom, clenching her wet curls in a towel that covers most of her body.

“I’ve got to go home. Tomorrow.”

Her lips part. “Okay…”

She knows it’s strange, but doesn’t question me on it. I appreciate the space, but want her to understand. “Henri has sent Alexandru ‘looking for me’ to get me to return for a meeting.”

“Okay?”

“Alexandru is not looking for me. He’s looking for
us
, and I don’t like the sound of it. It’s better if I show up, because everyone needs to know what I know. I can’t just let Henri feed them half of the story.”

“Okay.”

“Would you stop saying that?”