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A crease formed between his brows. “Who?” He wiped the moisture from my cheeks. “Who did that to you?” He snarled, frustration thick in his throat.
“Baby,” I whispered. “I don’t want to tell you.”
“You have to. Whatever, whoever it was, we’ll deal with it. You and me. Together. Nothing can stop us, River.”
I tore my attention away and gathered up some courage. He didn’t know what he was saying. Something—someone had the power to stop us.
Chapter Seventeen
I nodded, dread consuming me. My tongue felt thick and dry, but I forced the next words out of my mouth.
Before I could speak, Holden placed his fingers against my lips. “Babe, you don’t have to say it. I know who is behind it all.”
My brows knitted together while I looked at him. “You do? How?”
“Hypnosis. While you were gone, Jace and I revisited an experimental technique. I was desperate to find you, and we’d messed around with it in high school, so I figured it would work. Almost immediately after you were taken, I’d started having nightmares again where everyone was faceless, and a little kid kept begging me not to let them take him.”
“Reid?” I whispered.
Pain and desperation flashed across Holden’s features. “I didn’t know it was a young boy until Jace took me under a few times. When I did see him …” Holden hung his head, then his gaze met mine again. “It was me. My face. The second I saw Reid, I knew in my gut it was him. I’d lost a block of memories from three to five years old, but I didn’t realize it was all connected until you were gone.”
I frowned, shaking my head. “You never told me that.”
“I know. A part of me was so relieved the dreams had stopped … I was afraid that if I ever talked about them, they would come back. They did, worse than before. I kept telling Jace that my subconscious was trying to tell me where you were. I could feel it deep in my bones.”
“Was it telling you where I was?”
Holden threaded his fingers through his hair, his shoulders slumping. “Yeah, but I wasn’t connecting all the pieces until after Tim described the property to me, and Jace hypnotized me again. I saw an open field with a big white house. I don’t know if it was one of the compounds or not, but it was familiar to me. At the end of the last session, a lady grabbed little me, then she turned and stared right at me. For a second, she was faceless like everyone else, but then it cleared up. That’s when I finally saw who she was.”
I tipped his chin up, forcing him to look me in the eyes. “Who did you see?”
Holden swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as the color drained from his cheeks. His tongue darted over his lower lip, and he looked away from me, then back again. “It was Mom.”
Fuck. I shook my head. “I can’t imagine how horrible all of that was, but baby … it’s not your mom.”
Holden held his hand up, his palm facing me. “I understand that a lot of people don’t believe in hypnosis, but this isn’t your normal kind. I knew the second I saw her face that it was her.”
I cupped his chin, forcing him to look at me. “Holden Alastair, I love you, but you need to listen to me. I suspect that you really did see who took Reid, but it’s not your mom.”
Confusion clouded his expression. “I don’t understand.”
“I thought it was Catherine, too. I was face to face with both women, but it wasn’t Catherine.” I nervously tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Holden, it was your grandmother and aunt.”
Holden’s forehead creased. “Babe, my grandma passed away years ago, and Mom doesn’t have a sister. Not once has she ever mentioned a sibling.”
Hell, if I had a sister that insane, I wouldn’t mention her either, but I couldn’t say that to Holden. Dryness seized my throat and I attempted to swallow, then I continued.
“Your mom has a twin named Kassandra, and your grandmother is very much alive. She faked her death, and now they run the sex ring together. Michelle is FBI, but she also works for them. She’s a dirty agent and I’m sure she’s not the only one. Her job is to befriend young boys and girls, then take them to the training compound drugged and unconscious. They’re stripped, raped, beaten, and starved into submission. I personally saw all of that.” I choked on my last words, shoving the agony down again so I could explain more. “I was in the middle of being sold to some wealthy monster overseas so you could never find me. The people who took me know who you are. They know Tim, too,” I blurted before I could stop myself.
He blinked excessively, staring at me in shock. I could see the ache and betrayal in his stunned gaze. It saturated him.
“Say something,” I whispered.
He rubbed his chin, his frown deepening. “I … I. Kassandra?”
“Yeah.” I touched the area near my eye. “She has a small beauty mark here. Kassandra walks a little bit differently, too. It took me a minute to realize the differences myself. Also, she has a very soft lilt in her accent. Catherine doesn’t.”
Holden scrubbed his face with his hands. “Does Mom know? Or has she lied to me all of these years?” His voice was strained, tight.
