Page 41 of Devil's Retribution
He lied to us all these years. I wondered what my sister would say if she knew.
But I already knew. She had been delicate. Fragile. She had trusted Uncle Charles more than I had, because she’d had to rely on him more. Lucia would have been absolutely crushed, just like she had been when Nick’s father had vanished without a trace.
“Is Uncle Charles ever coming back?” Nick sounded far more worried, than hopeful.
“I don’t know, honey.”
“Do you think he went to the moon?”
I laughed. “I think he would if he could. But he can’t. No, he’s hiding somewhere on Earth. Viktor wants to find him too.”
“What happens if Viktor finds him? Will he punish Uncle Charles?”
Definitely. “Uncle Charles did something very bad to his younger brother, so yes. He’s very angry at Uncle Charles.”
“Me too. He made you cry,” Nick said firmly, and I smiled.
But his follow-up wiped the smile off my face entirely.
“But why did Mr. Viktor make us stay in that room? And why do we have to stay here now? I want to go back to school. I miss my friends.”
“It was to help him find Uncle Charles,” I said as vaguely as I thought I could get away with. “And as for your going back to school, I’m going to ask him about it. He doesn’t need you here to help find things out about Uncle Charles, only me.”
“Okay,” he said cheerfully, perking up a bit, and I was reminded once more how resilient kids can be.
“Yeah, I understand. I want to go back to my job. Hopefully we can both go back soon.”
I had no idea what my clients or practice partners were thinking about me right now. I’d told them I needed to take some time off to deal with a family emergency, but they would still be asking questions once I returned.
I’ll have to find a way. I can’t exactly tell them that I was kidnapped.
“I’ll talk to Viktor after breakfast.”
***
I cooked breakfast this time, steak, eggs, and home fries. Heavy, but I was starving, and neither Nick nor Viktor complained one bit. Once that was done, Nick went to play with his Legos in his room while Viktor and I sat on the couch with more coffee.
“We need to talk about some things,” I said quietly.
He looked up at me sharply. “What is it?”
“Nick wants to go back to school. And I’ve got to at least let my coworkers and clients know I’m alive and well and will be coming back to work.” I tensed inside. I knew it was a big request—especially letting Nick go to school.
“What will the boy say to his friends about where he has been?”
“I was thinking maybe I had a family emergency,” I ventured, watching his face carefully. His eyes were intent on mine, his expression thoughtful. “It’s not a lie, it was something I had to take care of.”
“That’s an interesting idea. But will Nick stick to the story?”
I looked down the hall at the open doorway to Nick’s room. “It’s close enough to the truth, we say there was a problem with his Uncle Charles and his mommy had to deal with it. If I tell him it’s important to do so, he will.”
“Good.” He considered the matter for what felt like a long time, then sat back and took a sip of his coffee. “Come up with a story, run it by me. If it’s plausible enough, I’ll give my permission.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded distractedly. “I have one of my men looking through your uncle’s laptop and that thumb drive we found. The physical books and papers we’ll need to deal with ourselves.”
“Have they found anything?”