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He nodded. “Yeah. You were with your mates after field hockey practice. Your one mate, I don't know her name, she was on crutches, and you were walking behind a larger pack of friends with her.”
My stomach flipped. I remembered that day. Our captain had broken her bloody toe, and the fracture had gone all the way into her foot. So she’d been benched, and she was giving me pointers for my game. He was telling the truth.
“When I knew I couldn't get to you safely, I thought it was better to leave you be. I knew it would be safer for both you and for Mrs. Pembry. But I knew that if I didn't do the job he gave me, he would send someone else. So I had to take care of Lenora.”
I could practically feel the hint of truth in what he was saying. But I didn't want to. I wanted to hold it at bay. Because I was terrified of what I would find at the end of this story.
“I tracked her down with the information Julian had given me. She was living in Council housing and was afraid to come with me at first until I showed her a photo of you and me and the snow globe I gave you for your birthday. That was how I got her to trust me.”
Tears stung my eyes, but I tried to blink to keep them at bay. “Was she okay? Did she miss me?”
“Once she believed who I was and that I was there to help her, she had so many questions about you. I spent that first meeting with her just telling her every little Nissa story I could think of.”
“What was she like? Did she have friends?”
He hesitated before answering. “She said she was fine, but that nothing was holding her there.”
“Where is she now?”
He shook his head. “I haven't looked in a while. But when I helped her and taught her how to hide, we spent about two weeks together. I got her some fake documents. I showed her how to stay under the radar and made her vanish. I gave her a drop location and a burner phone so she could reach out to me whenever she needed money or anything.”
“You give her money?”
“I try. She never uses it though. Maybe she worries the money came from illegal means. I don't know. But through the years when she moves to a new location she sometimes lets me know. Last I heard from her she was in Barcelona.”
“Barcelona,” I breathed. “That was mum's favorite city. She probably feels at home there.”
His eyes searched mine. “You believe me?”
My nose was stinging now from the unshed tears. “I wasn't sure until you said she was in Barcelona. We always talked about going back, maybe living there together when we were grownups.”
He nodded slowly. “I knew you were looking for her, and I knew it hurt you not to have her in your life. But I couldn't tell you what I knew for fear that Julian would kill her.”
My brows furrowed as I thought of something else. “If you didn't kill her, why did Julian let you come back?”
His eyes shone with tears. “I came back for you. When Gabe called me into his office and told me about the assignment, I could have refused. I could have said no. I could have used any excuse not to go back under. Julian thought I’d returned under duress, but essentially, I let him capture me. He thought he was following clues about my whereabouts, because as it turned out, he'd been looking for me ever since I left. His own hubris brought me back. I was very relieved to see Mrs. Pembry intact.”
“So Lenora is alive, just living her life somewhere and she's okay?”
“She's fine. I taught her well. Turns out she's not half bad with computers. Every time she moves, she gets a job. Finds a life. Makes friends.”
The tears were falling freely now, and I wiped them away with the back of my hand. “Thank you for not killing my sister.”
“I was never capable of something like that. I could never do something that would hurt you that profoundly. Believe me or not, I have loved you ever since I met you by that brook. And I'm sorry that my leaving hurt you, but the alternative was something I just couldn't do.”
I lifted my gaze to his. “I shot you.”
His response was a low chuckle. “You did. Still hurts to breathe, but I'm okay.” He pulled out a phone that was different from the one he normally used. “I wasn't allowed to have this one on the mission. But this is a photo she sent me from outside an Adele concert last year.”
Lenora was grinning at the camera. A peppy looking brunette was leaning on her shoulder grinning like a loon as well. Behind them was the Adele marquis. And off to the right, was a sign announcing vendors for Oktoberfest last year.
“She sends you pictures?” my voice broke as I asked.
“Sometimes. She calls them her proof-of-life pics. I got worried two years ago when she vanished for three months and I couldn't find her. She didn't pick up her drops or anything. As it turned out, some boyfriend had dumped her and she'd gotten depressed.” He put his phone away. “We’ll get past this Julian thing, Interpol will arrest him, and I'll bring her to you. I swear it on my life.”
He was telling the truth. He hadn't killed her.
“That's it. That's the story. I know I lied to you. I know that this whole time I haven't been honest about who I was. And truth is I would do it again. The truth would have been dangerous for you. And I would do anything to keep you safe.”
