True Reflection of Love

by NickyM96

[JOR implied, JMPF/R] Jarod tells Miss Parker a story that changes her views of herself, her world, and her perception of love.

4. Sins of the Father

Title: Sins of the Father
Author: Nicky (NickyM96@yahoo.com)
Rating: PG
Category/Keywords: JMPR
Summary: Jarod and Miss Parker find the answers to their questions about the past and must make a move to protect their future. In the process, Jarod discovers he has more ties to the Centre than he ever realized.
Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM, TNT and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.

Book IV: Sins of the Father

Chapter 1

Jarod quietly puts his key into the lock of the front door, being careful not to make any noise. The whole house was dark and quiet. Something he'd expect at midnight. He had a few hours to think things over, and while he still couldn't entirely wrap his mind around the turn of events, he knows that he was wrong walking out on his family.

"It's late," a raspy voice says quietly from across the room.

"Tori? You're still up," he states.

"Yes, Jarod. I'm still up," she snaps. "And I've been here for hours now. Trying to figure out what to tell our daughter when she wakes up tomorrow and asks me where her daddy is."

"Don't be angry. Please," he begs her. "I'm sorry I just left. That wasn't right. It's just that I couldn't . . . "

"Talk to me? Trust me? Jarod, I'm your wife. Why couldn't you talk to me about this?"

"Because you are my wife," he yells. "Because of the way I came into this world. A man raped my mother and got her pregnant. And I was the result. What does that say about the kind of person I am?"

"Absolutely nothing," she says, starting to calm down and starting to understand the pain he was feeling. She walks towards him and tries to reach out to him, but he only jerks away. She doesn't give up so easily this time and doesn't let him get away. She keeps on towards him and he keeps backing away until he ends up against the wall. She reaches her hands up to hold both sides of his face and tilts his head down so that he's looking directly into her eyes.

"Don't," he begs. "I could hurt you. I don't want that to happen. But it's in me. The ability to do that kind of thing. I was born with it."

"That's not who you are, Jarod," she says slowly and deliberately, to make sure he heard her. "That man is a monster. He's not your father. Your father is the man who was by your mother's side everyday of her pregnancy. The man who was there when you were born and considered you a gift from God. The man who loved you no matter what circumstances brought you to him. Major Charles is your real father. Sydney is your father. Those two men have loved you your whole life. Those men made you the man that you are today. A kind and caring person. My husband. And Imani's father."

She wraps her arms around his chest and holds him close to her, supporting him when the weight of his tears almost breaks him down. He sobs in her arms for a while, but soon calms down. She reaches up to kiss him, but he starts to freak out again. She can see how truly afraid he is. Afraid of himself and his feelings. But mostly afraid of hurting her.

"Come with me," she orders gently. She takes his hand and leads him up the stairs and to the bedroom. "Don't be afraid to touch me because I'm not afraid of you."

She takes his hands and places them on her waist, just under the bottom edge of her shirt. She gently directs his hands under the shirt and up her chest until she's able to ease the shirt over her head. She drops it on the floor with one hand as she uses the other to pull his head towards hers and places a passionate kiss on his lips. Pretty soon, he starts to act on his own, finishing the job of undressing her while she reciprocates.

Naked, they lay together on the bed, their lips still joined in the kiss only separating momentarily for small gasps of air. He rolls her over until she's on her back under him. Her arms are stretched out above her head and pinned down with his hand. He suddenly gets a panicked look in his eyes and freezes for a minute before trying hastily to get off of her.

She catches his eyes with her own and smiles sweetly to show him that everything is alright.

"Jarod, I want this. I want you to make love to me," she says plainly so that there's no confusion in his mind. "It's okay. I trust you. You have to trust yourself. Don't be afraid that you'll hurt me. Because I know that you won't."

She takes one of his hands and kiss the inside palm of it before raising her own arms over her head again, allowing him to pin them down again like they were before. She closes her eyes and sends a silent invitation for him to kiss her. Which he eagerly accepts. Slowly and gently taking his wife in his arms and fulfilling her every need and desire.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Miss Parker wakes up the sound of keys clicking on a computer across the room. She blinks away the sleepiness and tries to focus on the source of the sound.

"Jarod," she mumbles, assuming he's across the room. "Why aren't you in bed, Honey?"

"Because it's the middle of the day," he says, putting down the computer and walking to the bedside to greet his wife with a kiss.

"Middle of the day?" she asks, suddenly sitting up in bed. "What time is it? Where's Imani?"

"Don't worry about what time it is. You needed the rest," he says, kissing her again. "And Imani's fine. She got up bright and early this morning. We had breakfast. Played for awhile. We had lunch and I put her down for her nap."

"I've been asleep that long?" she yawns and then smiles. "Thanks for giving me the extra time. You wore me out last night," she says with a laugh. "You look kind of tired yourself. Were you up all night?"

"I couldn't help it," he admits. "The video clip we saw yesterday opened a big can of worms. And I have to find out. The man who raped my mother. I need to know. And we have to find those medallions. Because your mother said they would be the key to our future."

"Where do we start? Did you find anything?" she's curious.

"No. Nothing. And I've been searching all night. We might have to go into the Centre to get what we're looking for," he sighs, not really liking that alternative.

"Jarod, you can't! Let me handle things in the Centre," she offers. "You can't go in there. It'll be too dangerous. What am I going to have to look for?"

"Anything you can find regarding your father around the time period of the rape," he instructs. "According to the video clip, it was sometime during the summer of 1964. Maybe he has a guest list from the party stored someplace. Or maybe there's a phone conversation on file with that 'business associate' who joined them that evening. He could be the one who's my . . . mother's rapist," he says, not able to call that man his father.

"What about the medallions?" she asks, quickly trying to change the subject, sensing his tension about the subject of his father.

"My guess is that they're also someplace in the Centre. I'm sure you father has seen the same video we've seen. So he knows about the trust. And he knows that it'll take both of us to get to it. Once we're of age and married."

"Which is why that marriage contract was drawn up," she realizes. "He must know what my mother planned to give to us. He has the medallions, I'm sure of it. Even if your mother put it away for safe keeping, he would have made a way to take it somehow. Probably when you were kidnapped. And I've never even seen the one meant for me. He probably has them both. There wouldn't have been any need for a contract if he didn't have them. That contract is still the key. We have to find it and the medallions."

"What about Lyle?" Jarod asks suddenly. "He's entitled to whatever your mother left you. Not me. I can't take his inheritance, no matter how much I think he doesn't deserve it."

"My brother is a mystery," she frowns. "I don't know what to think about him. I don't know what to believe. I want to hate him, but I can't. But I also can't trust him. Besides, my mother said that her gift was for the two of us. She didn't know about Lyle back then."

"Mommy! You're up," a voice screams from across the room before a blurred body races towards the bed. Imani jumps on the bed and scrambles over to Miss Parker's lap.

"I see you're up too, Baby Girl," Miss Parker says with a smile, hugging the little girl in her arms and giving her kisses all over her face. "Did you have a good nap?"

"For a little while. But then I woke up. Daddy said I needed to stay quiet so that you could rest, so I practiced my new trick so that I could show Daddy," she tells them in one long breath, reaching over to the night stand to grab a quarter. She crawls over to Jarod and waves her arms around crazily before holding out her hand and yelling a big 'Tahdah!!!', revealing the shiny quarter in her hand.

"That was . . . um . . great, Imani," Jarod says with a little chuckle, not quite sure what she had done, but he knows that she thinks she did something big. "Did Mommy teach you that trick?"

"No, I learned it the other day at her job when I met Mr. Lyle. He showed it to me," she tells him innocently, not seeing the horror marring her father's face.

"Mr. Lyle," he growls through clenched teeth. He stares at Miss Parker with a little confusion and a lot of anger.

"Imani, why don't you go in your room and practice that trick some more and then you can put a show on for us later," Miss Parker suggests, trying to get the little girl from the room. Her attempt works and Imani's little feet patter across the floor and down the hall to her room. Miss Parker waits until she hears Imani's door closed before she dares to look up at Jarod.

"You took her to that place?" he asks incredulously. "How could you? I trusted you with my daughter's life."

"Jarod, I know you're mad . . ."

"Mad? Oh, no. I'm not mad. Tori, I'm furious."

"Let me explain . . . "

"Explain what? How you had complete disregard for my daughter's safety and took her to the Centre? I didn't think I had to tell you to keep her away from that place."

"Jarod . . . "

"Did I make a mistake bringing her here? Did I make a mistake believing you would have her best interest at heart?" he accuses.

"Stop right there, Jarod. You know I love Imani. How could you say such a thing? You can't come in here and accuse me of not caring about her. Because I do. And you can't come in here and ask me to be her mother and then take that right from me when you don't agree with how I handle a situation."

"You're right," he admits. "I'm angry and I shouldn't have said those things."

"But you did, Jarod," she says, a little tear trickling down her cheek. "And it makes me feel that you don't completely trust my actions when it comes to that little girl. It makes me feel like you don't think I'm a good enough mother to her. What does that mean for when we have our own children? If I can't be trusted with them, then something must be wrong with me. What kind of mother will I be?"

"I didn't mean what I said, Tori. Don't do this. You're an amazing mother to Imani. She loves you and she knows that you love her. I couldn't ask for a better mother to her. Or to any kids we have someday."

"Yeah, someday," she says in a small voice with more tears falling. "But Jarod. What if 'someday' is only about nine months away?"


Chapter 2

"What are you saying?" he gasps. "Are you telling me that you're . . . Are we going to . . ."

"I was feeling really tired. Run down, even," she starts to explain, though not really answering the question burning in his mind at that moment. "I thought that I just needed to get more rest. Imani and I both have a hard time sleeping when you're gone. And you've been gone a lot. But while I was exhausted all day, every day, Imani seemed to have more energy than usual. I got some vitamins, thinking that would help me to keep up with her. But, I just got more and more tired as the days went on. After dinner, I'd end up asleep on the couch while she watched a movie or something until her bedtime. So, a couple of days ago, I finally decided to just make an appointment with my doctor. Imani had a visit with her pediatrician coming up, so I made an appointment for the same day. When I looked at the calendar to see when that day was, that's when I noticed how late I was. And I knew."

She puts her hands on her stomach, rubs it and smiles. He can't help but do the same, placing his hands on top of hers, suddenly realizing that there was a baby growing inside of her. Their baby. He just hugs her and kisses her, a few tears of joy coming to his eyes.

"Are you okay? Is everything alright with the baby?"

"We're fine," she smiles, raising a hand to stroke his cheek. "Let me finish, though. I need to explain. And there's something else I have to tell you."

She continues with her story.

"We were only there for a minute, Jarod. I swear. I never take Imani to the Centre. I wouldn't dream of it. But, on the way to the hospital, I realized that I'd forgotten my health insurance information at work. When I added Imani to my health plan, they sent the new cards to the office. It didn't take long at all to get the insurance cards. I just had to grab them and we could be on our way. Which is what happened. We were on our way out when Lyle came by. Unfortunately, his visit coincided with my first bout with morning sickness. I barely made it to my bathroom before I got really sick. Imani kept calling for me, asking if I was alright, but I couldn't let her see me like that. Lyle surprised me, though. By the time I had gotten out of the bathroom, he had calmed her down. And she was fine. She was sitting on his lap and he was entertaining her with that stupid magic trick she was just trying to show you. For a split second, he seemed almost human. Like he really cared about her. And she wasn't afraid of him, Jarod. Trust me on this. I would have known if she was afraid. I would have felt it."

"Felt it? What do you mean, Tori?"

"Do you remember that one gift you sent me last year? It was after you'd found me at Sydney's cabin. And after . . ."

"After you kissed me," he recalls with a smile. "That's the day I realized I couldn't live without you. I sent you all that stuff for the banana splits to remind you of the good time we were having at the ice cream parlor that day."

"And you also sent that picture Imani had drawn for me," she adds. "By the time I had gotten to the office, Broots told me that Lyle had already gone through the box. But he didn't find the picture. When I found it, I held it close to my heart and I could actually feel the love she put into it. I could feel how happy she was. But I could also feel a terrible fear. And I knew then that Lyle was on his way there. I dropped everything to get there. To get to her. Because I could feel that she was afraid."

He's shocked beyond words. He sits down on the bed and just listens to the rest of what she has to say.

"But that day in the office was different. It wasn't like that day when he went to your house in South Carolina. To be perfectly honest with you, she seemed comfortable with Lyle. Like she could see something in him that nobody else can. Or like she knew he wasn't going to hurt her."

She pauses for a minute and takes a deep breath, inwardly trying to decide whether or not to tell him this last part.

"Jarod, how much do you know about Imani's abilities?" she asks cautiously, figuring that it's best that he knows the whole story.

"She's not a pretender, if that's what you mean," he says quickly.

"What about Sharisse? Or Miss Dee? Did they have any gifts they could have passed down to her? She just seems to have this spooky kind of insight. Like an intense sense of women's intuition. I also noticed it in Miss Dee when we first met. Miss Dee seemed to almost know me the minute I walked through the door. She seemed to know my name before I even told her. I know you had to have told her that people were looking for you. But she so trustingly opened the door to me. It's like she knew I wasn't there to harm you, even before I knew it myself."

Jarod's really quiet. Thinking it all over. Wondering how he could have missed it. All the times when it seemed like Sharisse could read his mind. It was like she knew what he was thinking before he even knew. And the way that Miss Dee and Imani both formed an instant bond with Miss Parker that first day they met. But it all fit in with this theory of some special 'sense' or 'ability'. Which would make even more sense as to why the Centre chose Sharisse to be the mother of his child to begin with.

"There's more," she tells him when she sees that he finally absorbing what she just told him. "I think Imani can . . . I'm not really sure about this . . . but from what she told me once . . . when I first met Imani, she told me . . . she told me that Sharisse and my mother sent me there to help you take care of her."

"Imani talked to your mother? And her mother? Both of whom are deceased," he says disbelievingly.

"I know it sounds crazy, but she knew things, Jarod. Things that she could only know if she had actually seen my mother. Or spoken to her. I don't know what to think. Sydney says that sometimes kids can see things that no one else can. That sometimes kids can talk to angels."

"Miss Dee says that too. But I always thought it was just an old wife's tale. When Imani was just a few months old, Shari and I would peek in on her and stand where she couldn't see us. She would be in her crib just laughing and kicking and cooing like someone was tickling her or playing with her. Miss Dee would say that she was just entertaining the angels."

"So do you think it's possible?" she asks him. "Do you think it's possible Imani has all these hidden gifts and talents? And if she does, then what does that mean for us? What are we going to do to protect her?"

"You really do care about her," he says with a smile, realizing how wrong he was to accuse her of the complete opposite. "I'm sorry I implied otherwise."

"No, Jarod. I'm really sorry about the whole thing with Lyle. I shouldn't have taken her to the Centre," she apologizes.

"I overreacted. And said some awful things. I trust you with Imani. That's why I brought her here to you to begin with. I know you wouldn't put her in any danger. You're a good mother, Tori. And you're going to a good mother to this little guy, too. I trust you. You have to trust yourself, too. I'm sorry I almost destroyed that for you." He leans over and kisses her gently on the lips before pulling her into a hug.

"I love you, Jarod."

"I love you, too."

"Jarod," she says with a small voice.

"Hmm," he replies, still holding her in his arms.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Honey. But I think I'm going to be sick." She pulls out of his grasp and makes a beeline for the bathroom.

"Tori. Are you alright?" He knocks gently at the door when he hears the gagging noises stop.

"What's wrong with Mommy?" Imani asks from behind him, startling him a bit. Her little lip was quivering and her big eyes were starting to fill with water.

"It's nothing, Princess," Jarod assures her. "Mommy just has a little tummy ache."

"Like the other day in her office," Imani remembers. "She was really sick and I couldn't help her. I started to cry and cry, but that nice man came and told me she would be okay."

"Imani. Did that man scare you or hurt you in anyway?" Jarod asks the little girl delicately, trying not to alarm her.

"No, silly," she giggles. "He's my friend. That's Mommy's brother. Grammy Catie told me so."

"Grammy Catie?" Jarod is confused. But also a bit scared. Could this be what Miss Parker had been trying to tell him about earlier? "Imani, who's Grammy Catie?"

"That's what the nice lady said I could call her. She said that Mommy was her little girl. She's up in heaven with my real Mommy," Imani explains. But then she sees the anger and confusion on Jarod's face and her lip starts to quiver again, afraid of what her father will do now that he knows she talks to the 'angels'.

"It's alright, Princess. I'm not mad," he promises her when he sees that she's about to cry. "Daddy's just surprised, that's all. Because I can't talk to the angels like you can. Nobody can talk to the angels like you can. That means you're a special little girl. But because you're special, you can't let anyone know that you can do these things. Just me and Mommy. Do you understand?" Jarod watches the little girl nod her head, but he's not really sure she grasps what he's trying to say.

"Okay, Daddy," she agrees, though still not really sure to what she's agreeing to.

"That's my girl," he says, kissing her on the forehead. "Why don't you go downstairs and wait for me in the kitchen. I'll come and fix you a snack once I check on Mommy." He smiles as the little girl races off, displaying some of that endless energy she's so full of.

"You feeling any better?" he asks Miss Parker as she exits the bathroom.

"A little," she says. "Please tell me the whole pregnancy isn't going to be like this."

"Hopefully it won't be this bad always," he says with a reassuring smile. "You haven't eaten yet today. And then I picked that fight with you. You probably just got all worked up and that's why you were so sick. Try to eat lots of small meals throughout the day. And avoid stress."

"Thank you, Dr. Jarod," she teases. "Oh, and about that stress. Just tell my husband not to pick on his poor little pregnant wife anymore. And that should just about take care of the stress," she laughs.

"I think that can be arranged," Jarod says as he kisses her lightly. "I promise you he'll be on his best behavior for the next . . . how far along are you?"

"Almost five weeks," she smiles, rubbing her still flat stomach again. Her smile falls, though, when she realizes just how little time that leaves them. "That means we have a deadline now. We only have a few more months to figure this whole thing out before this baby's life is also in jeopardy. And we cannot let that happen, Jarod. We can't let anything happen to our children. We have to keep Imani and this baby safe." She falls into his arms and clings to him tightly, not wanting to let go.

"We'll figure it out, Tori," he promises. "We'll find those medallions and go claim what your mother left for us."


Chapter 3

Miss Parker chews unsatisfactorily on a baby carrot, steering the car with one hand and reaching for another carrot with the other. She was so hungry, but not sure what she wanted exactly. All she knew was that a baby carrot wasn't hitting the spot.

" . . Miami on Thursday and then onto Boise from there. I should be home by the weekend," Jarod says over the car phone. "Tori. Tori, are you even listening?"

"Yeah, Honey. Miami Tuesday. Boise this weekend," she says absent-mindedly, paying more attention to the road ahead of her than to her husband's itinerary. But, her mixed up answers seems to amuse Imani and she lets out a little giggle.

"No, I said . . . never mind. I can tell that your mind is elsewhere," he sighs.

"I'm sorry," she says when she realizes she offended him. "I was starving, Jarod. So Imani and I are making a quick trip to the store for some food. I'm craving something, but I'm not sure what."

"It's too soon for cravings," he says matter of factly, slipping slightly into doctor mode. "That doesn't usually start until a little later in the pregnancy."

"Whatever," she dismisses him. "This baby is hungry. And who am I to deny him or her?"

"Okay, okay. You win," he says with a laugh. "Just make sure you don't eat all the Chocolate Chunky Peanut Butter Binge ice cream."

"Too late," she giggles. "The little guy was craving that earlier and we ate it for breakfast this morning. I'll make sure to get you some more, though. You just have to get back soon. We miss you."

"I will," he promises. "As soon as I finish setting up these false leads, I'll head home. That should keep Lyle busy for a few weeks and give us a little time to find the information we need in the Centre's mainframe while he's away. You and Imani just be careful out there this late. I love you," he says before the phone clicks off.

Miss Parker looks down for a second to hit the end button on her phone. She looks back at the road just in time to swerve and barely miss a hitchhiker leaning into the road. In her rearview mirror, she sees the stranded man's stalled car.

"Mommy, someone needs help," Imani chirps from the back seat. She turns around in her car seat to look out the back window.

"We can't stop, Baby Girl. It's a big risk. We don't know how dangerous that man is. He might try to hurt us," she explains to the little girl.

They finally arrive to the grocery store and start roaming the aisles. Miss Parker's buggy is soon full after everything in the store begins to look enticing. When there's no more room left in the cart, she decides it's probably best she just check out before she ends up with another buggy full of food. She's unloading the groceries at the checkout when Imani catches a glimpse of someone familiar.

"Look who it is, Mommy," she screams, running towards the figure.

"Imani, no!" Miss Parker says just as her twin bends down to greet the little girl running towards him. His face was smudged with a black substance and his hair and clothes were disheveled. He looked a bit crazed to the casual observer, but Miss Parker caught a bit of helplessness in his eyes for a quick moment.

"What are you doing here, Lyle?" she asks, slightly annoyed at running into him outside of the Centre. But she also has a brief moment of maternal instinct nag at her and she feels the need to take care of him for some reason. "I'm just shocked to see you in here, that's all," she says in a nicer tone. "Are you okay?"

"My car broke down a little ways back," he explains. "And my cell phone battery was dead. So, I had to walk to the nearest place to try to call and get it towed."

"That's going to take hours, Lyle," she says, feeling a little sorry for him. She realizes that he was the stranded motorist she passed earlier and starts to feel kind of guilty. "I can't let you stay out here all night. Why don't you just come home with me tonight," she offers.

"The tow truck should be here soon," he starts.

"Not out here," she explains. "These back roads look so much alike in the daytime. That tow truck would probably get lost tonight in the dark. And then if they show up, you still live almost another hour away from here. It's already so late. You can just come home with me, and ride to work with me in the morning. Then you could get one of the cars from the Centre garage to use until your car gets fixed."

"Are you sure it won't be any trouble?" he asks, feeling a bit surprised that she's being nice to him. Maybe nice is too strong a word. She's probably just taking pity on him. And doing what any person would do for another person in need.

"No trouble," she says, flashing a genuine smile.

"Then alright," he agrees. "Let me get all this for you." He takes out his wallet and pulls out some bills to pay the cashier for the groceries.

"We'll meet you at the car," she tells him, grabbing Imani's hand to take her out the store. She gets to the car and pauses briefly, trying to push down the second and third thoughts she was having.

"What have I done? I really hope this is the right thing," they both wonder silently as they get into the car and head towards the house.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Bed time, young lady," Miss Parker tells Imani the minute they walk through the door.

"I'm not sleepy," she claims, but can barely keep her little eyes open.

"That's what you always say, Baby Girl. But then you're asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow."

"But I want to stay up and talk to Mr. Lyle," she whines.

"Listen, Imani. Please don't give Mommy a hard time tonight," Miss Parker begs. "How about I let you say goodnight to Mr. Lyle. Will that be good enough?"

"Okay," she relents, realizing that she better no push her luck. She runs over to where Lyle's standing and tugs at his pants leg until he bends down eye level with her. She surprises him with a kiss on the cheek before she whispers "Good night" in his ear.

"Good night, kid," he says after standing back upright and trying to get his edge back. But it was too late. She's already gotten to his heart.

Miss Parker and Lyle watch the little girl scurry up the stairs and into her room.

"It looks like you've made a big impression on her, Lyle," Miss Parker laughs, plopping down on the sofa. "I think she likes you. What kind of spell do you have her under?"

"I think it's actually the other way around, Parker," he confesses. "It's just something about her that's just so . . . . I don't know. I can't really explain it."

"I know what you mean," she tells him with a smile. "I fell in love with her the first minute I saw her. I don't know if it's her bright smile. Or those gorgeous eyes. Or just the fact that she was helpless and motherless and needed me about as much as I needed her."

An awkward silence ensues as the two don't really know what to talk about. For some reason, talking about work seemed out of place. It would only remind them of the rivalry between them.

"Imani gets up really early," she finally says, breaking the silence. "I should go to bed. I'll show you out to the guest house."

"Thanks," he whispers back, not really having any other words that seemed fitting for the moment. He wasn't used to having to deal with feelings other than bitterness and hate where his sister was concerned. But at that moment, he was feeling more for her than he'd ever felt about anything or anyone in his whole life.


Chapter 4

Miss Parker wakes up the next morning with a little arm draped across her face. She opens her eyes to see a still drowsy Imani yawning. Even though Lyle was out in the guesthouse, she didn't want to take any chances. Imani slept with her last night and the door to the bedroom was locked securely. She even considered putting a chair under the doorknob, but decided against it.

"Good morning, Mommy," Imani says excitedly, already starting to get her first spurt of energy.

"Hi Baby Girl," she says, giving Imani a kiss on the forehead. "Did you have sweet dreams?"

"Yep," she smiles. But then her smile turns into a little scowl and her face scrunches up as if she's deep in thought. "Can I ask you a question, Mommy?"

"Of course, Imani," Miss Parker replies, starting to worry over what's got the little girl so perplexed.

"If Mr. Lyle is your brother, that makes him my uncle, right?"

"How do you know about me and Lyle?" she gasps slightly, trying to keep her shock under control.

"I just know," Imani says nonchalantly, climbing over Miss Parker and jumping out the bed. "I'm going to get some juice," she says before running out the door.

Miss Parker sits in bed, wondering how the little girl could have figured out something like that. But, she finds that it's too early in the morning to try to think. She decides to go take a shower and get ready for work. The sooner she gets Lyle out of her house the better she'll feel.

Imani runs downstairs and barrels into the kitchen, almost running into a sleepy Lyle struggling with the coffee maker.

"Good morning, Uncle Lyle," she chirps at the surprised man.

"Um, hi," he mumbles back, just staring at the little girl quizzically before he can finally find some words to say to her. "Did you just call me 'Uncle'?" he asks in a confused, but kind of harsh tone.

"I'm sorry," she says, assuming from his tone that he was angry at her. She tries to fight back her tears, but a few manage to escape. "I thought that since you were Mommy's family, that you were my family too. But I won't call you Uncle anymore if it makes you mad." Her lip quivers as more tears storm down her face.

"Don't cry," he begs, bending down until he's eye level with her. He couldn't believe he made a little girl cry. It made him feel awful. But he was more surprised that it made him feel anything at all. He thought his heart had long been hardened. But this little girl was bringing feelings that he's never known before.

"Please don't cry," he pleads again, just as Miss Parker walks into the room.

"Lyle, what did you do to her?" Miss Parker storms across the room and scoops up the sobbing Imani into her arms.

"I'm sorry," he apologizes and sincerely means it. "She called me Uncle Lyle. It caught me off guard. I've never had anybody call me by a term of endearment. And her little voice almost sang it to me, like a sweet little love song. The thought of somebody caring about me was a bit unnerving. I was shocked and didn't know what to say, so I just kind of stared at her wondering if she had some kind of angle. Wondering if she was about to pull the rug out from under me. Then she started crying," he says quickly, trying to get his explanation out in a hurry as his sister looked like a ferocious mother lion protecting her young cub.

"You weren't mad?" Imani sniffs. "You weren't mad at me because I called you that name?"

"Imani, I'm not a very nice person. I've done so many bad things to so many people. And now nobody likes me very much because of all those bad things I did," he tries to explain. "Nobody is ever nice to me like you were because I don't deserve it. I wasn't mad at you. I was mad at myself because I know how bad I've been and that I don't deserve for you to care about me."

"I don't think you're bad," she smiles. She manages to wiggle out of Miss Parker's arms and runs over to Lyle. She hugs his leg and looks up at him adoringly. "You just misbehave sometimes. My teacher tells us that we can be good if we work harder at behaving ourselves. That's all you need to do. Work a little harder at being a good boy."

"Speaking of your teacher, I should probably be getting you to school," Miss Parker says, interrupting Imani's little lecture on the virtues of behaving oneself. She sees that Lyle was feeling uncomfortable and rescues the man from the inquisitive little girl. "I left your clothes on your bed. Go get dressed so that we can go."

"Thanks," Lyle whispers after the Imani disappears upstairs.

"For rescuing you from Imani? I know she can be kind of intense sometimes. She just has a way of seeing the good in people," Miss Parker explains.

"I didn't think there was any good in me," he sighs.

"I didn't see any good in me, either," she admits. "Not until Imani came into my life. And now, I don't know how I ever survived without her. She brightened my whole world. And I can't imagine going back to live in darkness."

She sees that she's given him plenty to think about and decides to lay off for a while. The phone rings, giving her an excuse to leave him for a minute. She goes to answer it while he turns his attentions back to the task of making coffee.

"Good morning, Sunshine," the deep voice on the phone greets her.

"Jarod," she whispers, looking over her shoulder to make sure Lyle was out of earshot.

"Why are you whispering?" he asks.

"We have company. Lyle," she reveals, not even giving him a chance to ask.

"He's there?" his voice raising a little, but he quickly gets a handle on the anger. The last thing he wanted to do was start a fight.

"It's a long story, Jarod. But he was stranded and needed a place to stay last night. I guess it was my hormones getting the best of me. But I invited him to stay with us. He slept out in the guesthouse, though. And I had Imani in the room with me with the door locked.

"How has he been? Are you guys alright?" he questions, not feeling quite at ease that the madman was in his house with his pregnant wife and daughter.

"We're fine. Lyle's been the perfect guest, believe it or not. But, he's acting kind of strange. Not like himself, really. I guess that's a good thing, though. I think Imani's affecting him. But in a good way. He just seems so different whenever she's around. We haven't even fought once. I don't think this is an act. But I'm still afraid of opening up to him. Even a little bit."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe it's time to give him a chance, Tori. You shouldn't let fear stop you from listening to your feelings. You have strong instincts that never lead you wrong. I trust them. You need to trust them too."

"You're right, Jarod," she sighs. "I can't believe you're saying this. You have so much reason to hate my brother. Why the sympathy now?"

"Because of what you just said. You called him your 'brother'. Tori, I know you better than you know yourself sometimes. If you can see even a glimmer of something in Lyle that makes you think he's worth saving, then I know you won't forgive yourself if you don't try. This may just be your chance to reach Lyle. He's never had that from anybody. He had an awful childhood. It's no wonder he's the way that he is."

"You know I love you, right?" she smiles. "Thank you. Thank you for understanding."

"I love you, too. Just be careful," he warns.

"I will. See you soon."

"You can count on it," he vows.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Miss Parker and Lyle walk into the Centre that morning together, much to the surprise of those all around them. The two never got along. So it was shocking to say the least to see them both together with smiles on their faces. And especially shocking to their father.

He watches them silently, going unnoticed by his distracted children. He waits until they're well past them before retreating into his office to make a phone call.

"I need to see you down here immediately," Mr. Parker barks into the phone, before slamming it down. He sits back in his chair and waits patiently for his guest. He's rewarded a few minutes later by a light knocking at the door.

"You wanted to see me, Sir?" Willie asks, poking his head into the door.

"Yes, Willie. Come in please," Mr. Parker demands. "I need you to do something for me. Of great importance. And of great discretion."

"Yes Sir," he agrees eagerly, aware that it's just luck he's still alive after almost killing the chairman's daughter at that airstrip.

"I need to know what my daughter and son are up to," Mr. Parker says. "They seem to be quite chummy all of a sudden. Keep your eye on them and let me know what they plan. Also, do a little research. See if you can find out what brought this on."

"I'll get right on it, Sir," Willie says, turning back towards the door and walking out.

Mr. Parker stares behind him and wonders to himself what the man will turn up. Whatever's going on between Lyle and Miss Parker had to stop. He couldn't afford for them to team up now.


Chapter 5

Willie spends the next few days following Miss Parker and Lyle, tracking their movements around the Centre. There hadn't been any word from Jarod, so there wasn't much to see them do. They had lunch together a couple of times and that's about it. Something any normal brother and sister might do on occasion. But Lyle and Miss Parker didn't have the usual sibling relationship. So Willie could see where Mr. Parker might be concerned.

He next searches the travel logs for details on their activity. Again, he realizes there's nothing out of the ordinary. A couple of trips to find Jarod that turned up empty. They've been all up and down the eastern seaboard over the past 6 months. But one stop in particular brought dread and anger to Willie's heart. He quickly logs out of the computer and runs out of the room.

A few minutes later, he arrives outside of Miss Parker's office where he finds her talking with Lyle yet again. Those two were becoming inseparable, he noticed. But that only distracts him for a moment from his true intentions. He bangs on the door two quick times before just walking in, without even waiting to be invited.

"Excuse you, Willie," Miss Parker growls. "I don't recall inviting you in."

"You didn't," he says back to her, staring down at her fearlessly. "But we need to talk. All three of us." He looks down at Lyle with the fearlessness.

"What's this about, Willie? You've got some nerve barging in here like this." Lyle stands to be face to face with the man, trying to intimidate him. He's shocked to see that Willie isn't frightened by him. The man seemed to be on a mission.

"I think you're the one with the nerve," Willie hisses, stepping closer to Lyle and Miss Parker. Lyle surprises them all when he moves to place his own body as a shield between his sister and Willie.

"I don't know what you're talking about. But you're already on thin ice around here, Willie. First you attempt to kill my father, but hit my sister instead. And now you barge in here acting like a lunatic . . . "

"I don't think running to tell Daddy is going to do you much good," Willie sneers. "He has me keeping tabs on you." Willie smiles slightly when he notices Lyle and Miss Parker's face fall at that little revelation. "I see I have your attention now."

"You have our undivided attention," Miss Parker says. "What is it you want to say?"

"A little trip the two of you took. To a small town in South Carolina. It turned out to be a false lead on Jarod, but you two decided it would be fun to stick around and trash a poor old woman's house," Willie accuses.

It takes everything in Miss Parker not to smile. Because all of a sudden it made sense. She now understood what Willie was ranting and raving about. He was mad about that last trip to South Carolina. When she found Lyle at Miss Dee's house. She'd have to make a mental note to tell Jarod about this unexpected turn of events later. Willie still had feelings for the family who raised him. Perhaps there was hope for him after all.

"Oh, that?" Lyle laughs, missing the anger flare up in Willie's eyes. "The old woman was fine. We poked around her house looking for Jarod a little while. That's all. He wasn't there. So we left. But if you must be angry with someone about it, be angry with me. Miss Parker had nothing to do with it. In fact, she had pretty much the same reaction you're having now."

Both Willie and Miss Parker look at Lyle strangely, as if he'd just grown another head. Both were shocked at his continued protective streak of his sister. Miss Parker smiles at Lyle before turning her attentions to Willie.

"Willie, something like that will ever happen again. Contrary to popular belief, we're not monsters," she assures him. "Whoever that woman is, she's lucky to have someone like you looking out for her. And I'm sure she'd love to hear you tell her how much she means to you," Miss Parker hints, though not letting on that she knows his true relationship with Miss Dee. But a phone call from Willie would really make the older woman's day. If only Miss Parker could convince him.

"It's nothing," Willie says quietly, trying hard to keep his true feelings hidden. "I don't know that woman. I just didn't think it was right harassing an old woman like that. I'll be going now." He hurriedly leaves the office, closing the door behind him. And giving no indication he'd be contacting the woman who raised him.

"Well, that was strange," Lyle chuckles. "I wonder what got into him?"

"Willie's not the one we should be worried about," she sighs. "Daddy's having us followed. What do you think that means?"

"I'd say that means he's not pleased about our current arrangement. He seemed happier when we were always at each other's throats," Lyle concludes.

"Well, I for one am pleased with our current arrangement," she smiles, but the smile fades quickly when he doesn't share her sentiment. "But I see that I'm the only one who feels that way." She turns to get her stuff and gets ready to leave.

"Parker, wait," he calls. "It's not that. I'm just not sure what's going on here. I'm not sure how to feel . . . anything."

"I think you need to first decide if you WANT to feel anything. Then, you'll know what to do," she say sternly before walking to the door. "I'm tired. I'm going home early."

She opens the door and waits for him to leave her office before closing it behind both of them. He turns to walk back to his office and she practically runs the other way, not seeming to be able to get her legs to carry her away from that place fast enough.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Broots and Sydney sit around Broots' computer, laughing at the latest joke making it's way through the e-mails of the employees. They had a little more time to relax because things were a lot less hectic around the Centre the past week or so. Miss Parker wasn't around until mid-morning usually and she left in the early afternoon. Mr. Lyle didn't bother them too much anymore. He dealt only with Miss Parker. And strangely enough, the two seemed to be enjoying that arrangement.

"Where did you get this," Sydney laughs, finally reacting to the punch line.

"Morty from the pathology lab e-mailed it to me. He has a strange sense of humor," Broots says, joining in the laughter. Neither of the men noticed the door opening behind them.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Lyle growls. "Is this why nobody's finding Jarod?"

"I was just showing Sydney something funny until Miss Parker shows up," Broots stutters, almost spilling his coffee on his shirt. "We have a meeting with her this afternoon."

"She must have forgotten about it because she just left for the day," Lyle informs them. "She said she was tired. Come to think of it, she didn't look too hot." He tries to sound disinterested and a little annoyed, but Sydney was surprised to notice a slightly concerned look in the man's eyes.

"She wasn't feeling well this morning," Sydney explains. "Maybe she went home to rest."

"Again? This has been going on for a couple of weeks now," Lyle replies with a more concern lacing his words.

"She's fine," Sydney assures him, realizing that the young man was actually worried about Miss Parker.

"Well, since she isn't here, I guess your little meeting with her is cancelled. Sydney, meet me in my office as soon as you and Broots finish with all of your games. I need to speak with you," Lyle snaps before storming out.

"Scary," Broots finally says after the dust settles. "He's scary just like Miss Parker. Those two really are a lot alike."

"Maybe more so than we ever realized," Sydney mumbles to himself. "I'll see you later, Broots. I better go see what Mr. Lyle needs."

"Okay, good luck Syd," he says to the man as the door closes. "You're going to need it."

Sydney knocks gently on Lyle's door a few minutes after the encounter with the man. He couldn't even imagine what Lyle could want with him.

"You wanted to see me," he says, poking his head into the door.

"Yes. Come in," Lyle orders. "Close the door behind you."

Sydney does as he asks and goes to sit down in the chair across from his desk. Lyle scowls at him for a few long moments before he finally says anything.

"What's going on with my sister?" he finally asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Is she really alright? You said she was sick again this morning," he comments softly. But then clears his throat and tries hard to maintain his cold glare when inside he was truly worried about Miss Parker's well being. "I just need to make sure she'll be able to keep up with us when we're tracking Jarod."

Sydney stares at the young man and is startled to see the concern again on his face. In his own strange way, Lyle actually appeared to care about his sister.

"She's fine. Miss Parker has a tendency to run herself down. It's actually good she's taking a break on her own before her health dictates it. Is that all you wanted? It seems like you have something else on your mind," Sydney gently prods. "You know, it's my job to listen . . . if you need to talk about anything," he offers. "Both your mother and your sister have confided in me on several occasions. And I've proven myself trustworthy."

Lyle turns around and stares out the window and doesn't say anything. After a few moments, Sydney assumes that he's been dismissed. So he gets up and starts to walk out the door before Lyle's voice, barely over a whisper, stops him in his tracks.

"This would be confidential?" he asks quietly.

"Strictly confidential," Sydney assures. He returns to his seat and waits for Lyle to begin talking.

"How do you make someone trust you?"

"You can't make someone trust you, Lyle. You have to earn their trust. And if this person you're talking about is your sister, then I'm afraid you have a long road ahead of you. She doesn't trust many people. Sometimes that includes herself. But, you can start by trusting her first. And treating her with respect."

"I don't trust people either," Lyle admits. "Especially myself."

"You're here with me, aren't you?" Sydney points out. He smiles at the young man to reassure him, but wonders deep down what he's really up to. He would always be suspicious as far as Lyle was concerned. But he didn't say anything about it. Something was telling him Lyle was ready to change. And he wanted to do anything he could to help that process along. Even if that meant just sitting there and listening.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

She arrives home an hour later after fighting the afternoon traffic. That was one of the reasons why she always stayed at the office late in the past. She hated coming home to an empty house, but more than anything, she hated fighting the traffic. But with a family waiting on her, she happily sat in the midst of a sea of cars like every other normal working person, knowing her precious daughter would be waiting for her.

"I'm home," she yells when she walks in the door, expecting to see the babysitter coming down the stairs.

"Mommy!" Imani greets her, running into her open arms. "You're here."

"Yes I am, Baby Girl." She kisses the little girl all over and swings her around. "I missed you so much. How was your day?"

"It was great. After school, me and Daddy . . ."

"Daddy?" Miss Parker interrupts. "Your Daddy's here?"

"Yes he is," Jarod's deep voice says from behind her.

She turns around and comes face to face with his big smile and deep, gorgeous eyes. A pair of big strong arms wrap around both her and Imani and envelope them in an arc of love.

"You're home early," she sighs contently, kissing his waiting lips.

"I couldn't stay away another day," he says, returning the kisses. "I missed my two girls too much. And this little guy too." He places his hand on her stomach, sending his love to the baby. He had everything he could have ever asked for in his arms at that moment. Now, all he had to do was make sure things stayed that way.


Chapter 6

"Are we there yet?" Miss Parker whines, shifting uneasily in her seat.

"We're closer than we were when Imani asked me that exact same question ten minutes ago. But no. We're not there yet, Honey. Why don't you try to get some sleep," Jarod suggests, trying hard to keep his patience with his two passengers.

"I'm hot, Jarod. My back hurts. My ankles are swollen. I'm hungry and I have to go to the bathroom," she complains.

"We just stopped 45 minutes ago for lunch. Why didn't you use the bathroom there?"

"I did go," she snaps. "And I have to go again. Would it be too much trouble to stop the car? You act like I'm doing this on purpose or something." She crosses her arms across her chest and cuts her eyes at him.

"Sorry," he says calmly, trying to soothe his cranky wife. "I'll pull over at the next exit. I should probably get some gas anyway," he says, knowing good and well that they have almost a full tank.

"Oh, you're just too good to me," she mumbles sarcastically, starting to get a little irritated with him.

They get to the next exit and find a gas station. She goes around back to the bathroom and he starts to pump a little gas into the car that they didn't really need.

"Daddy, is Mommy okay?" Imani asks, poking her head through the window.

"She's fine, Princess. Just a little cranky. And I guess she thought I wasn't being very nice to her," he admits.

"Did you pologize? She always makes me say I'm sorry when I'm naughty."

"You mean 'apologize'? Yeah, I told her I was sorry. But she's still kind of mad at me," Jarod sighs. The gas meter slows down, signaling the tank is full. He returns the hose to the stand and then replaces the gas cap just as Miss Parker starts walking back towards the car.

"Well maybe you should get her a surprise. Surprises always make me happy," Imani smiles.

"That's a good idea," he admits, returning her smile.

"What's a good idea?" Miss Parker asks, overhearing the end of their conversation.

"Oh nothing," he says, winking at Imani. "I'm just going to go inside and pay for this gas. I'll be right back."

He jogs into the store and comes back a few minutes later with his hands behind his back, smiling like the cat who just swallowed the canary.

"What took you so long? We need to get moving again," she orders.

"Here," he says, giving her the package he was trying to conceal. "I got this for you."

She opens the bag and almost cries at his thoughtfulness. It was a pint of her favorite ice cream.

"I thought you could probably use a little snack. It should cool you off a bit. And keep your mouth busy so you can't yell at me anymore," he says lightly, trying to make her laugh.

"I'm sorry, Honey," she says getting some tears in her eyes. "I've been awful to you this trip."

"Hey, I understand you're uncomfortable. I'll try to get us there as quickly as possible," he promises, flashing her a smile before leaning over for a quick kiss.

She digs into the ice cream happily as he directs the car back to the highway. After a few quiet hours, they finally see their destination. They pull into the driveway and the person sitting on the porch rises from her seat, anxiously awaiting their arrival. Imani is the first one out the car and run towards her.

"Granny!" she squeals. "I missed you so much." She jumps up into Miss Dee's waiting arms and hugs her tightly. Jarod is right behind her.

"Hey, Miss Dee," he says, leaning over to kiss her cheek. He pulls Imani out of her arms so that he could give her a hug. "I hope you have plenty of room for us here. I sold the other house because it didn't seem to make much sense to keep it for occasional visits."

"Of course I have room. There's always room for family, Jarod," Miss Dee smiles. "Now where's Tori?" she asks, looking around for Miss Parker.

"I'm right here, Miss Dee," she says, coming from the car, trying to straighten out her messy clothes and hair. "I'm such a mess. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to travel with a child."

"That doesn't matter. Come give me a hug anyway," Miss Dee says, pulling Miss Parker into her embrace before she leads them all into the house to get settled.

Before they could even get everything into the house, Imani takes off for the backyard, remembering just where she had hidden all of her toys the last time she was there. The adults want to keep an eye on the little girl, so they all take their lemonade out to the back porch. Miss Parker is grateful that it's screened in and has it's own ceiling fan. The weather in South Carolina was unbearably hot that time of year.

"Are you alright, Tori? You look a little flushed," Miss Dee comments.

"That's actually part of the reason why we're here. We have something to tell you," Jarod smiles.

"Good news, I hope," Miss Dee smiles.

"Very good news," Miss Parker adds. "But first we need to ask you something. About Imani."

"What about her?"

"Imani is . . . special. She has the way of knowing things. And she can see things that no one else can see. Where does she get that gift from? From her mother? From you?" Miss Parker asks gently.

"That's a long story, Dear. And I don't even know where to start," Miss Dee sighs. "But maybe I can start at that day when your mother came here to tell me pretty much the same thing you've come to tell me," she says, placing a hand on Miss Parker's flat stomach.

"My mother? You knew my mother?" Miss Parker cries, in complete shock at this turn of events. She looks down at the hand still on her stomach and places her own on top of it.

"I knew your mother all her life, Victoria," Miss Dee explains. "How far along are you?"

"Almost three months. How did you know about the baby? I'm not even showing yet."

"I just knew," Miss Dee smiles.

"That's how Imani is. She just 'knows' things. Things that you don't see how a little girl can even understand. So I take it she gets it from you," Miss Parker guesses.

"We don't really know what 'it' is. But yes. I guess she gets it from me. Both Tracee and Sharisse had 'it' as well, but it seems to be more active in Imani."

"What does any of this have to do with my mother?" Miss Parker asks, her voice cracking with the threat of tears.

"It was a day much like today. I was sitting out on the porch, watching the children play in the street. Tracee and Hampton Jr. were old enough to be out on their own. Sharisse always wanted to play with them, but, she was just a baby. I would sit out on the porch with her and let her watch the older kids. That day when your mother came was the first time I'd seen her in over 15 years. My mother was her nanny. A live in nanny, so I grew up in that house with your mom. I was about 10 years older than her, so she would try to tag along behind me as best as she could. But as she got older, we got closer. I was someone she could talk to. Confide in. Share her deepest secrets with.

"One day her father took us for a ride. I might have been 12 and she was just a toddler. He didn't want my mother or your grandmother to know about the trip, so he took me along to watch out for her. We ended up at this huge place that looked like a castle. We never knew where he worked, so we would always make up stories about him being a mad scientist working for this secret organization. We didn't know how close to the truth we were.

"When we got to the place, he left us in this room with glass all around. There was plenty for Catherine to play with, so she wasn't scared. And I never really had a reason not to trust your grandfather. He scared me sometimes, but he was always nice enough. About an hour later, two sets of doctors come in and start examining us. Poking us and prodding us. Taking a little blood and giving us a couple of shots."

"Shots? What kind of shots?" Jarod wants to know.

"I don't know," Miss Dee tells him. "As far as I know, they didn't even do anything. When I went to visit my cousins a little later, they were all talking about getting innoculations and shots. So I just assumed that's what they did for Catherine and I. But sometimes I think it was a lot more than that. Afterwards, he paid a lot more attention to both of us. He played these 'games' with us. He said that he just wanted to see how vivid our imagination was."

"I can't believe this," Jarod whispers.

"What are you thinking, Jarod?" Miss Parker asks.

"It sounds like Miss Dee and your mother were the start of it all. Honey, I think your grandfather was attempting to use them as his first subjects in the Pretender project. But from what I can tell, Miss Dee ended up with a heightened sense of insight instead of the ability to pretend. That 'sense' was passed down to all the girls in the family. The same thing probably happened with your mother and you."

"Jarod, are you saying that I have this same ability as Imani and Miss Dee? I don't see dead people, Honey. I don't just 'know' things," Miss Parker insists.

"Neither did I at first. Or your mother for that matter. Or even Tracee or Sharisse. Not until we started having children," Miss Dee explains. She sees that Miss Parker is trying to absorb all what she's telling her and decides to tell her the rest of the story.

"That day your mother came to visit me, she had you with her, Victoria. You were about Imani's age. Maybe a little older," she continues. "She came here to introduce me to her little girl. She brought you here, that day."

"I don't remember you. Or ever being here," Miss Parker cries. "But then, there's a lot I don't remember about my past. So much that I never knew that I'm just now finding out. It doesn't surprise me."

"Well, you were so young. And your mother didn't stay long. She came to bring me two special gifts. A couple of things she needed guarding and didn't trust anyone else to do so. Like I said before, I'd known your mother all her life. And I knew that something was bothering her. But all she would tell me is that her husband was starting something that terrified her. And she had to do something before things went too far."

"Did she tell you what my father was planning?" Miss Parker asks, not sure she wants to know the answer.

"Something with children. Catherine didn't go into details, but she said that she knew of a little boy who needed a home. And she begged me to take him in. Otherwise, he'd have to go back to that place. I was a little hesitant at first, since Sharisse was still just a baby. But he was a little older. I guess the two of you were the same age, Victoria. Anyway, once I saw him, I couldn't resist. I didn't know what they were going to do to him, but your mother seemed adamant that he didn't go back there. So, I agreed to take him. And that's how Billy came to live with us."

"Willie was one of the first children your mother rescued," Jarod realizes. "He must be the last red file. I never would have guessed."

"Jarod, I don't even know what to think anymore. Everything that I know about the past is a lie," she sighs before turning her attention back to Miss Dee.

"You said my mother had two things for you that day," Miss Parker reminds her, trying to change the subject. It was just all too much to handle just then. She needed some time to think it all over.

"I'll have to get it. Stay right here." The woman goes in the house and rumbles around up in the attic for a few minutes. Just when Jarod and Miss Parker started to wonder where she'd gotten off to, she reappears.

"Your mother knew this day would come. And she gave this to me, making me promise that when the time was right, I'd make sure to give it to you. Something's telling me the time is right."

Miss Parker extends a shaky hand towards Miss Dee and waits expectantly for the mysterious gift. The cold object falling into her hand shocks her and she realizes that she had her eyes closed the whole time. She timidly opens her eyes, almost afraid of what she'll see in her hands.

"Jarod," she gasps, when she finally sees what the object. "Look. It's one of the medallions."

Chapter 7

"The medallion," she whispers, holding the silver object up in the air so that Jarod could see it. Her hand shakes a little at the enormity of the small object. It's amazing how such a little thing could be such a big piece of the puzzle.

"Did Catherine tell you what this was for?" Jarod asks, trying to find more pieces of the puzzle.

"She just told me to make sure I kept it safe. And to give it to you, Victoria, when the time was right. I don't know how I know this, but the time is right," Miss Dee explains.

They all stare in amazement at the medallion, still in shock that it just fell into their laps just like that. Only a small ringing sound coming from one of Miss Parker's bags brought them from their trance.

"That's my phone," Miss Parker says, carefully placing the medallion in Jarod's hand. "I'll get it."

The others watch as she disappears into the house before continuing on with the conversation.

"How's she really doing, Jarod?" Miss Dee asks with some concern. "This isn't really the time for her to be going through something like this. Pregnancy is hard enough without all of these extenuating circumstances."

"I keep an eye on her as best I can. But sometimes that's not enough. I still worry," Jarod admits. "And I know it's got to be extra hard having to take care of Imani on her own when I'm away."

"Jarod, it sounds like you two are onto something big. Why don't you let Imani stay with me for a little while. I'd love to have her," Miss Dee offers.

"I might take you up on that. Because it's time we figured this thing out once and for all. I'm going to go check on Tori," Jarod says as he rises from his seat. He makes his way into the house and up the stairs to the room they'll be staying in. He sees Miss Parker standing by the bed, repacking the clothes they just unpacked a little while earlier.

"That was Lyle. He was calling me to tell me they had a tip on your latest location. In Idaho," Miss Parker says, zipping up her bag after placing one final item in it. "I have to go."

"One of the false leads I set up last month," Jarod realizes. "And Lyle volunteered this information on his own? It sounds like he's trying to make an effort."

"I know. I just don't know what to think about him. For the longest time, I hated him. But now, I'm finding it harder and harder to do so. It's almost as if he's starting to respect me."

"Maybe he is, Tori. Maybe all the two of you needed to do was open up a little to each other."

"I think he's been talking to Sydney. You know, like professionally. I've seen them huddled together on a couple of occasions, but I wouldn't dare ask either one of them what was going on. So I know he's making an effort at something. I'm just so afraid of him hurting me. And Imani. She's getting attached to him."

"From what you tell me, he's getting attached to her too."

"And you're okay with that?" She looks at him, waiting on his answer. She puts the bag back on the bed and sits next to it, rubbing the small of her back that was starting to ache a little.

"Not really. But my daughter has her own ideas when it comes to who to make friends with. I wasn't exactly thrilled when she decided to make you her best friend, Tori. But look how all that turned out," he smiles at her and steals a quick kiss. "Imani has a way of getting to people. And if she makes Lyle treat you the way you deserve to be treated, then I don't mind the occasional supervised visit with him."

"Even after all he's done . . . "

"People can change," he interrupts. "You changed. Did you ever imagine we'd be here together? Married with a child and one on the way?" He smiles and places his hand on her stomach. "Besides, I trust your instinct where Imani is concerned. You do what you feel is right. Because I'd hate for you to lose out on this chance with your brother. Family is important."

"I love you," she whispers, pulling him into her arms and holding him close.

"I know. I love you too. Be careful, okay?"

"I will," she promises, planting a kiss on his lips that threatens to turn passionate before she cuts it off. "I have to go."

"I'll be right behind you," he tells her. "Miss Dee said Imani could stay here for a little while. And when you're off in Idaho with Lyle, I think this will be a good time for me to do a little snooping at the Centre."

"Are you sure you have to? I don't like the idea of you in that place again."

"This has to be done, Tori. And now's the perfect time. From what you tell me, your father is focused on you and Lyle, wondering what you two are up to. He'll be distracted and not expecting me to show up at the Centre. I'll be in and out before anyone even knows. And hopefully I'll have the answers we're looking for."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jarod and Miss Parker drive from Miss Dee's house to Charleston and separate there. Miss Parker takes the next flight to Chicago, where Lyle will be waiting for her at O'Hare International Airport with the Centre's jet. Jarod flies back to Blue Cove and make his plans to break into the Centre.

The trip to Idaho with Lyle was uneventful. They poked around Jarod's lair, searched the city, and asked lots of questions Miss Parker knew wouldn't be answered. Because she knew that her husband wasn't there. It took a little while longer, but Lyle started to realize it too.

"I think we must have missed him," she tells him, trying to get him to give up on the search. She was tired and ready to go back to the hotel. Her skirt was getting tight around the waist and she was anxious to get into something more comfortable. Fortunately, the jacket to her suit was long, or else she ran the risk of Lyle noticing her slightly expanding waistline.

"I think you're right," he relents. "How about we call it a night. You look kind of tired anyway. I'm sorry I had to tear you away from your vacation."

"I'm glad you called," she smiles. "This trip may have been a bust, but we can use the rest of this time away from the Centre to talk and stuff. Get to know each other. Are you up for that?" she challenges, flashing him another smile before getting into the passenger side of their rental car.

They pull up to the hotel and go to their rooms. Lyle gives her a couple of minutes to change and get comfortable before tapping lightly on the door separating their rooms.

"Can I come in now?" he asks shyly, more nervous about spending so much time alone with his sister. Afraid of what she may find out about him.

"Only if you brought snacks," she teases while opening the door for Lyle.

"I figured we could just raid the mini bar. I didn't know you'd be so hungry. You never had this much of an appetite before," he comments.

"We'll hit the snack machine later. Sit down. We have a whole life time to catch up on." She takes a seat in the recliner across the room, leaving the whole couch for Lyle.

"What do you want to know? I don't think either of us had childhoods we'd like to relive."

"It wasn't all bad, was it?" she asks innocently, but realizes that it probably was all bad for him when she sees his face fall slightly. True he didn't have to grow up with Mr. Parker, but he also didn't have the few happy years with their mother like she did. "I'm sorry, Lyle. I guess things weren't that great for you growing up."

"Tell me about her. Please," he begs. "Tell me about our mother."

"I don't remember much," she admits. "But I do know that she loved me. I remember that much. I used to be able to talk to her about anything. And I did," she laughs, remembering the hours she used to babble on about all sorts of childish things. But her mother would listen to every second, cherishing every word.

"When did you decide you wanted to follow in our father's footsteps and work at the Centre?"

"That wasn't my decision," she says kind of sharply. "I never used to dream about working at that place, especially after Momma died. I never really had the chance to think about what I wanted to be when I grew up. I just had to grow up.

"I remember there was a time when I could dream," she smiles again at the memory. "I used to pretend like I was princess. Trapped in a big castle by my father, the evil king. And my dreams would always end the same way. A handsome prince would come and rescue me. And we'd run off and live happily ever after. Jarod was always that prince.

"He was my best friend. Actually, him and Angelo were the only friends I ever remember having. But it was more than that with Jarod. It wasn't just two lonely kids with no one else to turn to. There was always something else there. A charge or energy or something I would feel whenever we were in the same room together. And even now. That's how I knew he wasn't here in Idaho. I didn't feel him. Whenever we get close to catching him, I can feel it. Feel that he's there. My stomach starts to flip flop. And my palms sweat. And I can actually feel the little hairs on my arm stand straight up. My heart starts pounding and I feel as though it's going to spring right from my chest if I don't see him. And when he finally reveals himself, all is suddenly still. And there's actually a second when our eyes meet and time seems to stop. Everything else ceases to exist for that one split second. It's nothing but me and Jarod." She stares off into space for a minute, suddenly longing to be in Jarod's arms.

"Sounds crazy, doesn't it?" she asks, shaking herself back to reality.

"Crazy? Yes," he agrees. "But love often is. Do you love him, Parker? Are you in love with your prey?"


Chapter 8

"Do you love him, Parker? Are you in love with your prey?"

'YES!' she wanted to yell. 'I'm in love with him! I've loved him my whole life.' But she can't tell him. She can't say that she's in love with the man they're chasing. She can't tell him how happily married she is to their hunted. And she can't tell him that man's about to make her a mother.

"I think we've spoken enough about me. It's your turn now," she says, trying to change the subject. "I think we've established that my being at the Centre wasn't exactly my choice. But how about you? What brought you to the Centre, Lyle?"

"Greed. Power. Wealth. At first I was just in it for the money," he admits. "I found out about who my parents were and decided I wanted the Centre. I figured it was my birthright. So I went to take it. But now . . . I don't know. Looking back, I can see that it was more than that. There are several places where I can have even greater wealth and power. I needed to be at the Centre because I wanted a father who would be proud of me. But Mr. Parker was never proud. No matter what I had done. Everything was all about you. Angel this and Angel that. I could never compare to you."

"You were jealous of me?" she's shocked. "I can't believe this. Daddy's been playing us against each other this whole time. He spouts off all kinds of nonsense about us sticking together because we're family. But then he'll make me feel so inferior and invisible. Once his precious son was back, he didn't have any more need for me. Everything has been about you, Lyle."

"So, he's been making me jealous of you and making you jealous of me," Lyle realizes. "Why? What's the point?"

"Because he's a sick and twisted man who won't be satisfied until I die miserably like our mother," she yells, starting to get upset. But a small twinge in her side causes her to settle back down quickly. Tears threaten to fall, but she refuses to let her father make her cry any more.

"The way I see it, we have two choices. We can either continue to play his game and keep on stabbing each other in the back to get into his good graces. Or, we can play a game of our own," Lyle says.

"Or, we can just get out of the game," she whispers, still on the verge of tears. Her hand unconsciously moves to her stomach and gently rests there while she vows silently to her unborn child that the days of the Centre were numbered. "Jarod used to always ask me why I stayed there. Why I stayed and did whatever Daddy asked me. I used to do it for his approval. I wanted nothing more than to be Daddy's Angel. But then you came into the picture. And no matter what I did, it wasn't good enough for him. Because I wasn't you. I wasn't his son. Now, the only reason I stay is because with Jarod's help, I've started to see some of the things that our mother wanted from the Centre. The good that she thought it would do. All the children she thought it would help, not hurt. I want to make the Centre that place, Lyle. But I can't do it by myself."

"Are you asking me to . . ."

"I'm not asking you anything, Lyle. I'm just letting you know what I have planned. I can't live the life I've been living anymore. I can't let that place hurt people anymore. I can't let that place take away another person I love. If you want to help, then I'll gladly accept. But if not, I'll find someone who will. I'll go to the ends of the earth to find Jarod if I have to. Because I know he'll help."

"You're going to betray the Centre?" he asks wide eyed.

"They betrayed my mother. Our mother. Think about that," she says, standing to her feet and walking towards the bedroom of the suite. "I've have a long day and I'm tired. I'm going to bed. Good night."

She closes the door to the bedroom behind her and leans wearily against the door. She hears another door closing out front and realizes that Lyle has gone to his own suite for the evening. She didn't intend on getting so personal with Lyle, but she can't take back all that's been said. She just has to hope that she didn't just sign her own death warrant.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jarod slowly counts to twenty in his head, trying to time perfectly the sequence of the cameras in the hall leading to Mr. Parker's office at the Centre. By his calculations, he had exactly 20 minutes to get into the office, search it, and be out before the cameras repeated their sequence. Hacking into the security system to program the surveillance cameras on this floor had been surprisingly simple. Now, it was down to simple timing. The timing was what it all hinged on. Every single second counted.

Seventeen . . . Eighteen . . . Nineteen . . . Twenty. He sprints down the hall to the door leading to Mr. Parker's office. He allowed himself 15 seconds to pick the lock, his fingers moving adeptly in the lock as if it were second nature to him. It only took 9 seconds before he heard the familiar click of the lock slipping. He was inside and had the door closed behind him with a few seconds to spare.

He glanced around the room, going to the place on the blueprints Angelo outlined. He ran his fingers under the bottom side of a portrait hanging on the wall behind the chairman's desk, gently easing it away from the wall and revealing a wall safe behind it.

He puts his bag on the floor and opens it, pulling out the tools necessary to crack the safe. Working quickly, his fingers nimbly put together the digital meter that would decode the combination to the safe.

Ninety seconds later and the safe opens, revealing all the dirty little secrets Mr. Parker was trying to keep hidden. Jarod had to work quickly, sorting through the collection of valuables Mr. Parker was keeping safe and mentally noting exactly where they came from the prevent suspicion the next time the safe was opened. He found folders of documents, containing mostly personnel records. Not what he'd expect to find in the safe, but they obviously must be important.

Jarod reaches into his bag of gadgets and pulls out his laptop computer with portable scanner attached. He quickly scans each of the documents and saves them to the hard drive to view later. The process is almost instantaneous, yet Jarod impatiently checks his watch between each document. Ten minutes had passed. His time was running out.

He finishes copying all of the documents to the laptop and then returns his attentions back inside the safe. It appears to be empty, so he starts to put everything back it's place when one of the folders hits up against the back of the safe, making a hollow sound. He realizes that there's another wall. A hidden compartment in the safe that must hold something very important.

He reaches his hand back there and gently pries off the wall. A tiny compartment opens, only large enough to fit his hand into. He reaches back, not sure what he'll find back there when his hand brushes up against a box. The box slides out easily and he's able to pull it out to get a better look at it. There's a lock on it that doesn't open easily, and after a few minutes of trying to jimmy the lock, the alarm on his watch beeps once as a reminder that his time is almost up. He can't get the lock open, so he makes the decision to just bring the box along. Whatever's in it must be important to be in a hidden compartment. He just had to hope that nobody noticed it missing.

After quickly, but accurately replacing all of the documents he removed and copied from the safe, Jarod closes the door to the safe and then replaces the portrait in front of it. He gives a careful glance around the office to make sure nothing else was disturbed before packing the computer back in the bag. Just before leaving he places a small listening device on an inconspicuous corner of the desk. Whatever's in the files and box might be better clarified with anything the bug picks up from Mr. Parker's conversations.

Nineteen and a half minutes later after entering, Jarod finds himself at the door of the office, counting slowly in his head to twenty, waiting on the next programmed sequence of the cameras to start.

Sixteen . . . seventeen . . . eighteen . . .


Chapter 9

Miss Parker tosses restlessly in her bed. She always had trouble sleeping without Jarod next to her. That night wasn't an exception. Even though she was exhausted. She flips over again, stretching her legs in the process. A small knot begins to form in the muscles in one of her calves and it soon turns into a full-fledged cramp.

"Ow," she moans, swinging her legs over the side of the bed to stretch them some more. That doesn't alleviate the cramp any, so she stands up and tries to walk it out. Slowly, the muscle begins to relax and she sits down to massage the sore area. Her growling stomach reminds her that she went to bed without eating anything. She pulls on a robe and slides into a pair of slippers and heads towards the door with a handful of change. The snack machine was just at the end of the hall. Maybe it had something that would ease her hunger.

The sound of her door closing alarms Lyle slightly. He sits up in bed, wondering where she could be going at that hour. Sleep hadn't come to him that night. He's spent most of the time tossing and turning as well, trying to push away the troubling thoughts plaguing his mind. It was unsettling for him to feel things for his sister. But he's gotten used to it. He's gotten used to the fact that he's grown kind of attached to her. He might even go so far as to say that he loves her one day. But he was far from that. All he knew was that he felt a need to protect her, even if she didn't want protecting.

But it wasn't fair that he'd have to protect her at all. She could be living a safe and secure life at the Centre. Working there alongside him and their father. But instead, she's allowed Jarod to plant little seeds of doubt in her mind. She's allowed Jarod to convince her somehow that betrayal was her only alternative. And he hated Jarod for that. Ideas like that would get her killed. And he wasn't going to let her die. He'd do whatever it took to prevent that. And the only thing that came to mind would be to find Jarod. Take him back to the Centre. And get him out of his sister's life for good.

A bump down the hall gets his attention again, interrupting his thoughts on getting rid of Jarod. And in less than two seconds, he's out the bed and to the door. He listens again, just to make sure she didn't just drop something in the hall. The last thing she'd want would be to know he was keeping his eye on her. The hall is quiet. He couldn't hear a sound. Not the soft padding of feet walking back to the room. Or the closing of a door, signaling that she'd made it back safely. Immediately panic grips his heart. He throws open the door and looks both ways down the hall until he sees a sight that paralyzes him in fear. He first sees the vending machine food was strewn about the floor, having fallen from Miss Parker's hands. He then sees the reason why she dropped the food in the first place. A large man with his face covered with a mask had grabbed her and had his arm around her neck. He was trying to drag her someplace, but she was putting up a struggle and making it difficult for him. He stops pulling her and tightens his grip around her throat, cutting off her air supply.

"Get your hands off my sister," Lyle hears himself yell, without really realizing that he'd said it. He lifts his hand and sees that he had the foresight enough to grab his gun before running out of the room.

Miss Parker's attacker lets her go and she falls to the ground, gasping desperately for air. He takes off running down the hall, away from Lyle and towards the stairs. Lyle takes off after him, making it as far as the stairwell before realizing the guy was too far ahead of him. He slowly turns back to Miss Parker and sees that she's curled herself up in a tight little ball on the floor in the middle of all the food. Her body shakes and from where he's standing, she appears to be crying. As he gets closer, the sounds of her sobs verifies that theory.

"Let's get you inside," he says softly, gently helping her from the ground. They slowly make it into her hotel room and he takes her back to the bed, pulling back the covers while he tucks her in. She's still crying, so he just sits next to her, not really sure of what to do, but also knowing that he shouldn't leave. Eventually, she calms down and sits up in the bed. He notices a small gash just above her left eyebrow.

"Can you get me a glass of water?" she whispers, holding her hand up to where the cut was bleeding a little. "And a bandage for this."

"Sure," he says, walking to the sink and filling a cup. He holds the cup out for her and he sees that her hands are still shaking when she reaches for it. While she's sipping the water, he gently dabs at the wound and covers it with a bandage. "You want to talk about it?"

"I don't know what happened out there, Lyle," she sighs. "I just don't understand it. Where did that guy come from? Why couldn't I do anything about it? You know, there used to be a time when I could have ripped out his throat with my bare hands. But tonight I just froze. And I was terrified."

"It's okay to be afraid," Lyle assures her.

"But it's not okay to stand there and let that guy attack me," she cries. "I just stood there. I couldn't move. Before, I didn't really care much whether I lived or died. I lived life on the edge. Pushing back when someone pushed me. Sometimes I was the one who pushed first. But, there's so much more at stake now. I have to think about more than myself. Because another life is dependent on me now." She gently rubs her stomach, sending a silent prayer of thanks that nothing happened to her baby.

"You mean Imani?"

"Yeah, Imani," she says quickly realizing what she almost revealed to Lyle. He couldn't find out about the baby. Not now, at least. "I have Imani to think about now. I couldn't imagine what would happen to her if anything happened to me. I couldn't leave her motherless. I guess all of that was going on in my mind when the guy grabbed me."

"You know what it's like to grow up without a mother. We both do. It makes sense you wouldn't want that for Imani."

"But it was more than that. He said some awful things, Lyle. He was telling me what he was going to do to me. How he planned on . . . raping me." Her tears begin to fall again.

Lyle gets a sick feeling in his stomach. Because any other day of the week, that attacker could have been him. Lyle could have been the guy preying on an unsuspecting woman. He could have been the man attacking an innocent victim, violating her in the worst way possible, and enjoying watching her struggle. He knows because that has been him. He's no better than the man he just saved his sister from. The only difference is that his victims didn't have someone to rescue them.

"I should go," he mumbles, trying desperately to get away from Miss Parker. "I don't need to be here. You don't need me here."

She looks and can see the torment on his face. And that instant she knows what Lyle's thinking.

"How many times have you done the same thing, Lyle? How many women like me who weren't lucky enough to have their brother standing by to save them?" she asks him. Not in a scolding or disappointed way, but with sincere, almost sad curiosity.

"I've never seen it the way I saw it tonight," he confesses. "They were just nameless victims to me. Not someone's daughter, sister." He looks at her and has to fight back a tear. "Or mother," he whispers. He looks one last time at her and walks out her door into the living room of the suite. He doesn't feel right staying in there with her, but he also doesn't want to leave her alone. He lays on the couch instead, and spends the rest of the night watching over her door.

A minute later, he hears the shower running. And he can only imagine she's in there trying to wash that creeps hands off of her. He feels the anger rise again the more he thinks about what went on that night. And the angrier he gets, the more he needs to blame someone for it all. And the only person who comes to mind is Jarod. He was the one who lured them to that town on a false lead. He was the one planting all the ideas of betrayal in his sister's mind. He was the one telling her all kinds of lies to trick her into feeling things she shouldn't. Feelings that made her weak and helpless. And unable to defend herself. By the time he hears the shower stop, Lyle's convinced himself that all of their problems were Jarod's fault. Someone was going to pay. And that someone was going to be Jarod. Lyle closes his eyes as thoughts of sweet revenge danced in his mind and lulled him into a deep sleep.


Chapter 10

Miss Parker arrives home early that next morning, just after daybreak. The house was quiet and she tiptoes around so she won't make too much noise. She's barely two feet into the house before she hears a gentle snoring coming from the sofa. She looks over and sees that Jarod's fallen asleep in a sea of papers and files.

She walks over to him and smiles at the sweet sight. She loved him so much. And she knows now that she's loved him her entire life. Even when she barely knew her own name, she loved him. When they were apart, she missed him unbearably. And when she was in trouble, she didn't realize this, but she expected him to come to her rescue. So it was most shocking to her that it would be Lyle, and not her husband, to protect her that previous night.

She feels a little guilty leaving Lyle stranded at the hotel in Idaho. She just couldn't stay at that place another minute. She snuck out early that morning, leaving him on the couch of her hotel suite asleep, much like Jarod's doing now. Those two were a lot alike, she notices with a smile. But both would die first before admitting it.

Jarod's eyes begin to flutter, suddenly getting the feeling that someone was watching him. He blinks a couple of times, focusing through the darkness until his eyes meet hers. His face lights up with a smile when he realizes he's not dreaming.

"I didn't mean to wake you," she frowns. "Go back to sleep."

"You're early," he whispers through a scratchy throat not yet ready to talk.

"I couldn't stay away." She leans down to kiss him, gently running her hands up and down his chest.

He sits up and grabs both sides of her face with his hands, pulling her closer to him. He eases her hair back out of her face and notices the bandage on her forehead.

"What happened?" he asks, suddenly alarmed. She looks away and won't answer him. That only gets him even more worried. "Tori, what happened? Did Lyle do something to you?"

"No, it wasn't Lyle," she quickly interjects. "He didn't do anything but save my life. Last night at the hotel, I got hungry. So I went to the snack machine at the end of the hall. Then all of a sudden this guy had this knife on me. I guess he must have nicked me with it." She holds her hand up to her injury and lightly touches it.

"Are you okay?" he asks her, realizing she doesn't really want to talk about it. He just needed to make sure she was alright. He pulls her into his arms and holds her tight as her sobs tell him his answer.

"I was so scared," she cries. "Normally, I probably would have killed him. But I was afraid of what would happen to the baby. I didn't know what that guy would do to me, so I just stood there. I couldn't move. The next thing I knew, Lyle was storming out of the room and he chased the guy away."

"Shh. It's okay," he calms her when her sobs get stronger. "You're home. And you're safe. I won't let anything else happen to you."

"Jarod, this isn't your fault," she murmurs.

"If I hadn't sent you and Lyle to Boise . . ."

"But I was the one who went, Jarod. Lyle called me, but I could have said no. I could have ordered room service or I could have raided the mini bar if I was hungry. But I just happened to go out in the hall at the same time some crazed lunatic decided he wanted to attack someone. It was nobody's fault."

"But still. I should have been there for you. You were afraid. I don't ever want you to be afraid."

"That's not going to happen until we take care of the Centre," she whispers, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head in his chest. They lay down on the couch and she just enjoys the feeling of him holding her. Making her feel safe and secure. And they both silently vow to that it was time to take down the Centre . . . before it was too late.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Miss Parker awakens hours later, alone and in the bed. The smell of bacon wafts through the air making her stomach growl.

"Okay, Junior," she smiles, patting her stomach. "Let's go see what Daddy's cooking up."

She slides into her slippers and makes her way down the stairs, suddenly feeling very pregnant and awkward. Although it wasn't entirely evident to the world that she was expecting, she certainly could tell the difference in her body. She felt kind of swollen and puffy all over. All her bras were too small and her clothes and shoes were getting tighter. It was only a matter of time before she won't be able to hide the pregnancy anymore.

"Something smells great," she smiles.

"All for you, my dear." He walks to the table and holds a chair out for her, kissing her lightly before she sits down. "It's time to start putting some weight on you."

"I've already gained 4 pounds, Jarod. You're going to put too much weight on me if you're not careful," she laughs.

"Oh, so you don't want any of this?" he teases, piling a plate high with french toast and waving it under her nose.

"Give me that." She grabs the plate from him. "You're lucky I haven't eaten your hand yet. I'm that hungry."

"Let me go get the syrup," he says after placing a couple of slices of bacon on the plate for her. "Or would you rather the warm apple topping?"

"The apples. And some ketchup," she adds. "Don't say a word," she warns when she sees the strange look he gives her.

He returns with the condiments and they begin to eat.

"Your morning sickness must be better," he comments with a disgusted look on his face. "Because if that doesn't turn your stomach, then I don't think anything will."

She just laughs as she continues to layer the bacon and fruit between two slices of french toast and slather it all with the ketchup.

"I never really liked ketchup much before this. But now, it's like a required food group or something. Bite?" she teases with a little giggle when she sees that he's practically turned green.

"No thanks. I don't want to deprive you," he says before taking a bite of his own, normal meal. "Oh, I almost forgot. I broke into your father's office last night," he mentions. "I haven't really had a chance to look at the stuff yet. I just glanced at a couple of the files."

"What did you find?"

"Mostly files. I scanned them and saved them to the computer. We can look at them later. They appear to be personnel records of some sort, but I don't know who they belong to. The only thing remotely identifying in them is some kind of ID number. We'll have to try and decode that to find out who's records they are. I also found this." He leans over and grabs the box from the counter and slides it across the table to her. "It was hidden behind a secret wall of the safe. Whatever's in it, you father was trying to be extra careful with it."

"Do you think it's the other medallion?" she whispers, her hands starting to shake a little as she fingers the lock of the box. "You haven't opened it yet?"

"I wanted to wait on you. This seems like something we needed to do together."

"Open it," she says, trying to make her voice sound strong while inside she was really terrified. Her mind was spinning, wondering what could be in the box.

Jarod takes it back and pries open the lock. He flips up the lid to the box and just stares inside for a few moments. He pulls out just what they were hoping for - the second medallion, still on the silver chain that it came on. He reaches across the table and places it in her hands. She too just stares in shock for a few minutes. She's so entranced with the medallion that she doesn't even notice that he's still staring in the box.

"This is it," she exclaims. "We have both of the medallions now. Jarod? Are you listening to me?" She finally sees that something else in the box has his full attention. "What else is in there?"

She has to gently nudge him before he finally lifts his horror stricken face to look at her.

"Jarod, you're starting to scare me. What else is in the box?" She grabs his hand and feels that it's cold as ice. Something in that box has him in shock.

"He was right," Jarod finally says distractedly. Almost as if he wasn't even aware of her presence. "Fenigor was right about my father killing your mother."

"Jarod. Does something in that box say something about the Major? We know he didn't kill my mother. It was . . ." Her mouth falls open at the realization of what she was about to say and what it all means to Jarod.

"You're right. My father, Major Charles didn't kill your mother. But as it turns out . . . the man who killed your mother . . . is also the man who raped mine," he cries.

"Raines?"


Chapter 11


After slowly washing and drying each breakfast dish, Miss Parker begins putting them away. She was stalling for time. Not sure what to say to Jarod. Not sure what she should do. He must be misinterpreting something. Because she couldn't believe a monster like Raines could be . . . She stops that thought. She doesn't even want to entertain an idea like that. Instead, she puts the last plate in the cupboard and goes to the phone. Dialing a number she's dialed on several occasions, but never with her hands shaking so much.

"This is Sydney," the deep voice answers.

"I need you, Syd," she manages to say when he answers.

"What is it Parker?"

"I need you to come here," she starts. But then wonders how secure his line is. Calling him at the Centre had probably been a mistake. She thinks quickly to make up an excuse. "My car just died on me. Do you think you can come pick me up?"

"Parker, why don't you just call a cab to . . ."

"Please, Syd," she interrupts forcefully. "I need YOU to come get me," her tone turning desperate.

"I'll be right there," he says, finally understanding that this was all about more than just needing a ride.

"Thank you, Sydney," she sighs. "Please hurry."

She hangs up the phone and peeks into the living room at Jarod. He was sitting in the middle of a pile of papers, slowly sifting through them with tears pouring down his face. The more papers he looks at, the more upset he seems to be getting. She knows she has to go to him. She just hopes she'll be of some comfort.

"Can you tell me what's going on?" she asks gently. Her heart breaks at the look of torment and anguish on his face.

"I don't even know where to begin."

"How did you come to this conclusion about Raines? Is it possible that you're wrong?"

"All these files from your father's safe. They all have some kind of identification number attached to them, instead of a name. The files were pretty much detailing the events leading up to my birth. The RSVP to the party that night. A transcript of the conversation that occurred after the . . . rape. Even paternity test results. It's all here." He spouted these facts to her but didn't feel anything. No anger. No rage. No despair. He was just numb.

"Jarod . . . Jarod . . . Jarod . . ." she calls to him a couple of times before he responds. He seemed to be in some sort of daze. She realized now that she just had to keep him talking until Sydney got there. Because he might be the only one who could help. "Jarod can you hear me?"

"I'm here," he says distractedly.

"How did you come to this conclusion that the man in these files was Raines?"

"Because of this." He opens the box from her father's safe and shows her the rest of what's in there. She reaches in and pulls out what looks like some sort of ID card or badge.

"It's Raines' ID card from medical school," he tells her. "The ID number matches all the numbers referenced on these files."

She goes to sit next to him and puts her arm around him. There wasn't anything for her to say. All she could do now was support him in whatever way she could. He pulls her closer to him and begins to sob into her neck.

"It's okay, Baby. I'm here for you," she whispers into his ear. She strokes his back gently and lets him cry until he's exhausted.

"There's more," he whimpers. "I wasn't the only one. Apparently, this was a 'project'. Your father and my fa. . . Raines," he cringes as the name passes his lips.

"It's okay," she assures, holding him tighter. "Go ahead."

"They went to college together. Your grandfather was a professor there. Somehow they became subjects of his own little project."

"They got the injection like Miss Dee and my mother," she gasps.

He nods and continues.

"Since they were older than your mother and Miss Dee were when they were injected, it didn't have the same effects on them. They didn't really experience any changes. But your grandfather theorized that any children they had would be affected. He arranged for your parents to meet and marry. But, he didn't live long enough to see his grandchildren. He didn't live long enough to complete his experiment. So, your father and Raines decided to finish it.

"With your father finding a wife, it would be only a matter of time before the children followed. But they also had to find someone for Raines. Your father held those little summer parties, hoping to introduce Raines to bright, intelligent women who could be a possible mother for his children. But, none of the women were ever interested in him. So, he started to attack the ones who rejected him. My mother was the first to get pregnant. But she wasn't the last."

"You have another sibling out there, Jarod? A brother or sister? Who?"

"I don't know. There aren't any names in these files. Just identification numbers. I recognized my ID number from when I was at the Centre. That's how I knew which records referenced me. But I don't know what this number is." He picks up one of the files to show her the number. "It could come from the Centre, too. But I can't be sure until I hack into the mainframe."

"I think it does come from the Centre," she says, looking at the file. "But you wouldn't have had a number like this. It appears to be an employee identification number. It's structured similarly to mine. I think these first four numbers represent the department. Because that part of my ID number changed when I transferred from Corporate."

"So, my brother or sister works at the Centre. Or has worked there in the past. That's a place to start," he comments, starting to feel a little more hope that this mystery was about to be solved.

"Or maybe we know someone who could help us," she hints. Just then, the doorbell rings. "And I think that's him right now. Don't be mad, Honey, but I asked Sydney to come by. I didn't know if I'd be able to help you through this and . . ."

"It's fine. I think it'll be good to have an outside opinion on the matter," he agrees kind of reluctantly. "I'll go let him in."

He walks nervously to the door and takes a deep breathe before finally opening it to his former teacher.

"Jarod," Sydney says with some surprise. He wasn't really expecting to see the young man at Miss Parker's. Now he understood the sense of urgency he picked up from her earlier.

"Come in, Sydney," Jarod invites, moving out of the way for Sydney to enter the house. He quickly scans outside, just to make sure Sydney wasn't followed.

"What are you doing here?" Sydney asks. "I wasn't aware that you and Miss Parker were in touch. I guess I should have assumed, since she's taking care of your daughter, but . . ."

"We got married Sydney," he blurts out. "About nine months ago. We've been together since then."

"Married?" the older man gasps. He's completely in shock and doesn't know what else to say. But he remembers why Miss Parker called him over. She needed help with something. And he looks around at Jarod and Miss Parker's faces and sees that something was going on. Something that suddenly put a knot in his stomach. "Why do I get the feeling that there's more going on here than that?"

"I'm going to let you two talk," Miss Parker says, excusing herself. "I'm going to get ready for work."

"You're going to go to work today?" Jarod asks, turning his attention to her. "You should probably take it easy after what happened."

"I'm fine," she smiles, touched by his concern. She lightly strokes his cheek with her hand before turning to go upstairs.

Sydney watches the entire scene unfold before him and gets a huge smile on his face. At first based on the looks on their faces when he first came in, he thought neither of them was happy with the current situation. But what he just saw was an exchange between two people very much in love.

"You make her happy," Sydney comments. "I've never seen her look that way before. But when I came in, the two of you looked as if the world was ending. What's going on?"

"The world as I know just might be coming to an end, Syd," Jarod sighs. "And I don't know what to do to stop it."


Chapter 12

"And you think Raines is your real father?" Sydney asks, totally amazed by the tale Jarod had to tell.

"I'm fairly certain of it," Jarod frowns. "And I have a brother or sister out there, Syd. I have to find them. And then Tori and I will be able to take care of the Centre. Once and for all, it's time for the cruelty to stop. Too much is at stake now."

"I can have Broots do some research on this number," Sydney offers.

"No. We don't want to involve him. He has too much to lose. He doesn't know anything about whatever's going on and we want it to stay that way," Jarod demands.

"So, what's your next move?"

"I guess I'll sit tight for a day or so while I come up with a plan. Because I really don't know. In the mean time, I'll have plenty to keep me busy." Jarod smiles and walks over to a pair of headphones attached to an antenna. "I left a little listening device in Mr. Parker's office when I was there last night. Something tells me he's up to something."

"Who's up to something?" Miss Parker asks curiously. She comes down the stairs fully dressed, minus the stilettos of course. Her swollen feet were rebelling from normal shoes. She wasn't about to attempt to wear the heels.

"Your father. I was just telling Sydney about the bug I planted in his office," Jarod explains.

"Oh, turn it up. Let's see what Daddy's thinking this morning." She places her hand on her stomach when it starts to rumble a little. "Go ahead and start it. I'm going to go get a little snack."

"Snack? We ate breakfast an hour ago." Jarod shakes his head and chuckles, marveling at the incredible appetite Miss Parker has developed.

"Well, I'm hungry again. So drop it," she warns playfully.

She goes into the kitchen while Jarod sets up the speakers so they all could listen. A couple of minutes later, he hears the microwave buzzer go off and he knows she on the way. She emerges from the kitchen moments later with a plate of steaming food.

"Buffalo wings?" Sydney asks incredulously when he sees what's on the plate. "Aren't those kind of spicy for someone with an ulcer?" Not to mention an odd choice of a mid-morning snack, he thinks to himself.

"They're not the hot ones," she explains. "Besides, this really cools things down." She smiles adoringly at a bottle of ketchup as she pours its contents generously over her plate of wings. "Okay, turn it on. Let's see what kinds of evil plots my father has planned for today."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mr. Parker sits at his desk, shuffling papers around and trying to figure out why he feels out of sorts that morning. It was as if something had been moved or displaced, but he couldn't really see what. He eventually shakes the feeling off and gets down to business. There was a lot to be done that day. The phone rings, interrupting his paper shuffling. He almost didn't answer it, but then he remembers the plan he set in motion the previous day. This was probably someone calling with the results of that plan.

"What is it?" he asks gruffly.

"It's me," the caller replies. "We have a problem."

"What kind of problem? You had a simple job to do. Even my idiot of a son could have pulled it off. Now did you or did you not accomplish what I asked?"

"I couldn't, sir. Something happened and . . ." the caller tries to explain.

"But not the something I paid you for," Mr. Parker yells. "I told you where to be and when to be there. All you had to do was execute the plan. How hard could that have been? What happened to prevent you from following through?" He was very upset that things hadn't turned out how he had expected.

"I got close. Real close. I had her in my hands. But then that son of yours came barrelling towards me. I had to run."

"Lyle stopped you?" Mr. Parker asks, slightly taken aback.

"I don't know how he knew we were out there. She wasn't screaming or making any noise. In fact, she was just standing there, looking kind of shocked. And that's when he came out and stopped me before I could do it."

"So you didn't kill her like I wanted you to. And all because Lyle felt the need to protect her somehow. That's interesting." Very interesting indeed, he thinks to himself.

"Should I try again?" the assassin asks. "This time, I'll make sure your daughter's alone before I try to kill her. No more Lyle to the rescue."

"No. Consider your assignment cancelled," Mr. Parker says. "I'll find another way to get what I want."

He hangs the phone up and taps his fingers on the desk, thinking at the unusual turn of events. Lyle saved Miss Parker from the attacker. That's a scenario he didn't figure. But it was something he had to ensure wouldn't happen again.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"It wasn't a random attacker," Miss Parker gasps, her face turning white as a ghost. "He planned it all. He was planning on having me killed. My own father."

"You have to calm down," Jarod says, moving quickly to her side to console her. Her body was trembling and he knew she shouldn't be getting this upset.

"I can't believe this," Sydney remarks. "How could he? Why did he? I don't understand it."

"Honey, you've got to calm down," Jarod tells his inconsolable wife, noticing that she was shaking even more.

She tried to calm down. She tried to get a handle on things, but she just didn't understand why she was so upset. She didn't know why she was so surprised. Based on all she's heard about her father in the past few months alone should have clued her in that he really didn't care anything about her. But to have someone kill her? That was unthinkable. Unbelievable. And she couldn't handle it. A small, aching throb forms at the base of her neck. It travels quickly down to her back, leaving behind tiny, pulsing pains that begin to spread around to her sides.

"Ahhh!!" she screams, pulling away from Jarod and grabbing onto her stomach.

"Tori, what is it?" Jarod asks, beginning to panic, but forcing himself to remain calm for her sake.

"Something hurts," she manages to grunt as another pain strikes.

"What's going on, Jarod?" Sydney asks, concerned by Miss Parker's sudden outburst. "Is it the ulcer?"

"Talk to me Tori. Tell me where this pain is," he begs her, not even noticing Sydney's question. He slips into doctor mode and begins a quick assessment of her current condition.

"It hurts," she whimpers.

"Okay, lay down," he orders. "I'm going to check you out. Is it a sharp pain or more like a dull, stretching kind of pain?" He pokes around her stomach and also checks to make sure there was no bleeding.

"It just hurts. Right here," she cries, holding onto her stomach.

"Sydney, call the hospital. Explain to them that you're a doctor and you're bringing in a victim of an attack. Tell them she's approximately 11 weeks pregnant and is experiencing abdominal cramping and light spotting," he barks out quickly. "I'm getting her into the car."

"Pregnant," Sydney whispers before grabbing his cell phone and meeting Jarod at the car. He places the call and tells the hospital they're minutes away.

"She's pregnant," he repeats while supporting Miss Parker in the back of the speeding vehicle. "I can't believe it. You two are going to have a baby."

"Let's just hope so, Syd," Jarod says, peeking quickly into the rear view mirror at his wife. "Let's just hope so."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The phone continues to just ring and ring and Miss Dee starts to get nervous. It was unusual for her not to be able to reach either Jarod or Miss Parker. If she couldn't reach them at home, then she could usual find one of them on their cell phones.

"Imani, nobody's answering," she tells her granddaughter. "I guess they're not home."

"Something's wrong. I have to get to Mommy," the little girl wails.

"We can try again later," Miss Dee suggests. "They probably just went to the store or something."

"I have to get to her, Granny. Mommy's scared. She needs me," Imani continues to cry. She climbs into Miss Dee's lap and buries her head in the woman's chest, still sobbing quietly.

Miss Dee thinks about things for awhile. Imani and Miss Parker always had a special connection that even she didn't understand sometimes. And Imani was getting so worked up about something. She knew the little girl wouldn't rest until she could see for herself that Miss Parker was fine. She decided that there was only one thing to do.

"Go get your things, Imani," she tells the little girl. "I'm taking you home."


Chapter 13

"You're sure she's fine, Doctor?" Jarod asks one last time. A tall woman with short blond hair and a long white coat stands across Miss Parker's bed at the hospital and gives him a reassuring look.

"She's fine," the doctor promises. "The baby has a strong and steady heart beat. You heard it yourself. They're both fine. The cramping was probably the cause of several factors. A very common one is what's called round ligament pain."

"What's that?" Miss Parker asks curiously.

"Kind of like growing pains," Jarod explains. "As your uterus expands, so do your muscles. And you might feel a stretching or dull cramping in your sides."

"Very good, Jarod," the doctor praises. "I see you know your stuff. Are you a doctor?"

"Not today," he smiles. "I've been through this before with my late wife. But the pains seemed to be kind of intense. That doesn't sound like the round ligaments to me."

"She's fine, but not entirely out of the woods," the doctor admits. "Her blood pressure was a little high and she was a bit dehydrated. And from the labs we ran, she appears to be lacking an adequate supply of potassium in her diet. Those factors could have also contributed to the cramping. Right now, I'm mostly concerned with her blood pressure. I want her to stay here for observation for a couple of hours to see if it goes down on it's own. Otherwise, we'll have to medicate her and she'll have to stay the night." A little beep sounds and the doctor looks down at her pager. "I'm sorry I have to go. If you need anything, just have the nurse's page me." She smiles one last time at the couple before walking out the door.

"That's a relief," Miss Parker sighs. She places her hand on her stomach and gently rubs it. "I was really afraid something was wrong."

"Me too," Jarod admits. "I can't let that happen. I'm NOT going to let that happen." He places his hand on top of hers and they both hold on to her stomach. The door slowly begins to open and Sydney sticks his head in.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" he asks kind of shyly, suddenly feeling like he's intruding on the private, family moment.

"Come in, Sydney," she smiles.

"In a minute," he smiles back. "Jarod, can I speak to you out here?"

"Sure," he tells the man before turning back to his wife and stealing a quick kiss. "I'll be right back," he whispers.

"I just heard from Broots," Sydney starts once they get outside the room. "A little birdie told him that Mr. Parker knows his daughter is here. By now, I'm sure a sweeper team is on the way. You should probably . . . "

"I can't leave her, Syd," Jarod insists.

"I'll stay with her," Sydney offers. "You get out of here."

Jarod thinks long and hard about leaving when he sees a flash of something from the corner of his eye. A man in a dark suit and sunglasses getting off the elevator and turning down the other hall. He's followed by a group of others, and they try to inconspicuously search the floor. He ducks quickly behind the nurse's station before any of the men can see him.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer, Sydney. Tell her I'll be back for her," he whispers before quickly moving towards the stairs. He opens the door and runs down the eight flight of stairs to the parking level without running into any more sweepers. He gets into the car and drive home, constantly searching his rear view mirror for signs he's been followed. It's not until he gets home that he lets out a deep sigh of relief.

* * * * *

Sydney peeks inside the hospital room at the blissful Miss Parker. He smiles at the sight, not knowing when was the last time he's seen her that happy. And he knew Jarod was the cause of that. He always suspected that only they could make each other happy. Even when they were children he could see it. Jarod's face would light up every time she would enter the room. And she seemed to leave behind that shell of a sad little girl when she came to visit him. It was like they both found a home in each other.

He knocks lightly before entering the room, trying to keep an easy smile on his face as hers fell slightly when she noticed Jarod wasn't there anymore.

"Where is he?" she asks, her eyes searching almost frantically for her husband. Seeing that he's not with Sydney, she realizes that something happened. "They're here, aren't they? The Centre."

"Yes," Sydney replies simply. "Broots alerted me that your father sent a sweeper team here. I managed to convince Jarod to leave before they saw him. It was a close call, though. He refused to go anywhere until the sweepers showed up. They just barely missed seeing him."

"So he's home safely? Did he make it out of here alright?" She starts to become a little agitated.

"Calm down, Parker," Sydney advises. "This isn't good for you or the baby. Jarod's managed to escape us for years. I'm sure he's fine."

"He has to be, Syd," she whispers, wiping a stray tear that managed to escape. Her emotions were all over the place these days anyway. She really didn't need a near disaster like this setting her off.

"Well, well, well. Fancy meeting you here," a voice calls from across the room. They look up in time to see Lyle walking into the door. Sydney moves around to the other side of the bed to stand in front of the fetal monitor so Lyle won't see it.

"What are you doing here, Lyle?" Sydney asks, although he knows the answer. Very little stayed a secret at the Centre. And if Mr. Parker knew about his daughter's whereabouts, then it was only a matter of time before Lyle knew as well.

"Sydney, can you excuse us? I'd like to have a few words with my sister."

"I'll be right outside," he says, getting an approving nod from Miss Parker and letting him know it was alright with her for him to go. He walks out the door, glancing behind him one last time, giving Lyle a warning glare, before finally closing the door to give them some privacy.

"Imagine my surprise. Waking up and finding I'm guarding an empty hotel room. And that I no longer have a ride home," Lyle says.

"I'm really sorry, Lyle," she apologizes. "I couldn't stay there another minute. I really just wanted to get home."

"Without me?" he asks, confused at her actions. "I thought we were . . . you know . . . we kind of connected, I thought."

"I'm sorry," she says again, her eyes beginning to water.

"Oh, don't cry," he says, suddenly feeling guilty over the big scene he was making. "You're not used to me being there for you. But I want that to change. I want you to know that you can count on me. I mean that. Starting right now." He pulls a chair close to her bed and sits down next to her. I'm not leaving until the doctor says you're okay. Then, I'll take you home. Because you need rest."

"That's sweet, Lyle. But not necessary," she tells him, knowing that Jarod will be home waiting for her. "Sydney's here."

"No. You're my sister. And I've never been supportive of you. Let me take this chance to prove I can do this for you."

She looks at him and sees a sincerity in his eyes that's never been there before. And she couldn't say no to him. He was really making an effort and she didn't want to ruin that.

"Okay," she relents. "If it'll make you feel better, you can stay. Actually, I think I would enjoy that." She smiles at him and her heart flutters when he smiles a genuine smile back at her. There really was a heart lurking under all the hate. And she was finally getting a glimpse at it.


Chapter 14


Sydney uses the time away from the hospital room to give Jarod a call and make sure he's alright. He worries a little when the phone continues to ring with no one answering. 'They caught him' echoes through his mind as fear grips his heart. But, his fears are put to rest when Jarod finally picks up.

"Jarod," he whispers loudly, trying to keep his voice low in case of sweepers lurking. "You made it. Parker was starting to worry."

"Tell her I'm fine. And that she doesn't need to worry about me."

"I already tried, but I don't think she'll believe it until she's in your arms," Sydney says with a laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, just this. The whole situation with you and Miss Parker," Sydney chuckles. "It just sounds ridiculous based on how the two of you spent the past 4 years. In your arms was the last place I expected to find her."

"There's no place I'd rather her be," Jarod smiles as sweet thoughts about the woman he loves dances around his head. "Any word from the doctor on when I can bring her home?"

"Nothing yet," Sydney tells him. "Right now, Lyle's in there with her."

"Lyle? He's there? It would be interesting to know how he found out she was in the hospital," Jarod wonders.

"Well, I'm sure his father told him. Because he's the one who knew, according to Broots anyway."

"It's a good thing I had the office bugged. I can just listen to the recording from earlier to find out what's going on at the Centre. Sydney, keep an eye on Lyle. And keep me posted on any changes."

"No problem, Jarod. I've got it all under control here." He hangs up the phone and chuckles again. He still couldn't believe that the two children he raised as his own had finally figured out they couldn't live without each other. He just prayed that the Centre wouldn't do something to split them apart again.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After Jarod hangs up with Sydney, he goes back to his pile of research. There were so many leads to follow, he didn't know where to begin. He needed to listen to the tapes from Mr. Parker's conversation with Lyle because he needed to know how much about Miss Parker's life they knew about. He also was close to figuring out the identity of the other woman raped by Raines. If he could find her, maybe he'd be able to find his brother or sister.

The computer search he left running beeps to let him know that it found something. Just a name and few details of the woman's life. Lillie Mae Simmons. Fifteen years old. Rape victim. Died during childbirth. It wasn't much to go on, but it was a start. He opens the file on the woman that came from Mr. Parker's office and jots these notes down on a piece of paper inside of it. He would look at it later and try to find out more about the woman. Right now it was more important to find out what Mr. Parker and Lyle talked about that morning.

He rewinds the tape to the beginning and starts to listen. About two hours into the tape, he reaches the point with the conversation with the mystery attacker. The conversation that upset Miss Parker so much it sent her to the hospital. Jarod's barely able to listen without the anger boiling up. These people have taken to much from him already. And this morning they came close to taking all he had left. He's more determined now to stop them for good.

Eventually Jarod got through a few more hours and then finally, Lyle's voice sounds over the recording.

'You wanted to see me, Dad.'

'Where have you been? Your sister's been back for hours.'

'I know. She left when I was asleep. Have you spoken to her? Did she say anything to you? Is she okay?'

'Why? What happened? You sound awfully concerned all of a sudden.'

'Nothing,' Lyle lies, deciding to keep the attack to himself. 'But I am concerned. About the Jarod chase. I think Miss Parker is just a stumbling block for us. I'd be better off searching for him on my own. Is it possible to transfer her somewhere else?'

'Another department? Back to Corporate maybe?' Mr. Parker asks.

'How about another state? Or country even. She's been distracted with that little girl. It would be better for them both to be away from the Jarod chase. We'd all be better off. You know what happened to my mother when she started a family. Miss Parker may start to develop noble intentions where Jarod's concerned.' Lyle suggests.

'You're right, son. Your sister has been a hindrance to finding Jarod. I always knew they were attached as children. I just thought she'd grow out of him. But not even the brainwashing seemed to help. She still has this connection that's getting in the way. So, we need to break the connection.

'Just what I was thinking,' Lyle smiles. This was easier than he had expected it to be. 'Where are you going to send her? The office in Chicago? Philadelphia? Rome?'

'I was thinking a little further away than that,' Mr. Parker says with an evil grin. He was about to see just where his son's loyalties lied. He had one last chance to prove himself. Otherwise, he'd face the same fate as his sister.

The constant ringing of the doorbell distracts him from the tape. He stops the tape and walks towards the door. But the doorbell keeps on ringing, over and over. Only one person he knew did that. She just couldn't resist the shiny button.

"Imani!" he exclaims opening the door to his impatient daughter. He scoops her up in his arms and plants little kisses all over her face. "What are you doing here? I thought you wanted to stay with your Granny for a little while."

"I wanted to see Mommy," she says.

"We tried calling this morning," Miss Dee explains. But the phone just rang and rang. Imani was insistent on seeing Victoria. I don't know what got into her. She kept on saying that something wrong and that she had to get here. I thought it might just be a tantrum, but the poor little thing was truly terrified about something."

"Tori said before that she could feel whenever Imani's in pain or afraid of something. Maybe it works the other way, too," Jarod hypothesizes. "Why don't you go put your bag in your room, Squirt. I want to talk to Granny for a minute."

"Okay, Daddy." She kisses him one last time on his cheek before he puts her down. She grabs her backpack from the floor and races to the room.

"I didn't want Imani to hear this, but there were complications with the baby," Jarod says lowly to make sure Imani didn't find out. "Tori's at the hospital."

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine now. They both are," Jarod assures her. "She just had a stressful and traumatic few days. Her blood pressure's a little high, but if that goes down, she can come home tonight."

"Daddy!" a voice yells from the top of the stairs. "Can you help me? I can't find my other red cowboy boot."

"I'll be right back," he smiles, just now realizing how much he missed his little girl. "Sorry the place is a mess. We kind of rushed out of here this morning." He turns and goes up the stairs to see what Imani needed.

"Imani? Where are you Princess?" He looks around the room until he spots her little legs from under the bed.

"I'm looking for my boot," her muffled voice says from under the bed.

"Come on out for a minute. I want to talk to you." He grabs her ankles and pulls her from under the bed.

"Daddy," she giggles. "I was coming. You should stop being so impatient."

"Impatient? That's a big word for a little girl. Did Mommy teach you it?" He watches as she nods her head yes. But then tears start to form in the little girls eyes at the mention of Miss Parker. "You're worried about her, aren't you? She's fine, Imani. She really is. Do you remember how we said that there was a baby in her stomach? Well, the baby wasn't feeling very good, so we went to the hospital. But now, your mom and the baby are feeling much better. The doctors just want to make sure she gets lots and lots of rest. So, they made her stay at the hospital to make sure she gets that rest."

"They put her on the time out mat for a little nap?" she asks.

"Something like that," he says with a laugh. "And speaking of naps, I think you should take one too, young lady."

"Do I have to, Daddy?" she complains.

"Yes," he insists. "You and Granny had a long trip. You need some rest, too."

"Okay," she yawns and lays down on the bed. "Will you stay with me?"

"For as long as you want," he whispers, placing a kiss on her cheek. But already, her eyes are closed. And a few minutes later, he hears a gentle snore that she only could have inherited from him. He gives her one more kiss before quietly tipping out of the room.

"She's asleep," he tells Miss Dee when he gets back downstairs.

"I knew she was tired. She wouldn't go to sleep the whole way here, though. I'm sure she just wanted to see for herself that Victoria was fine." Miss Dee walks around and starts stacking all of the files spread across the floor.

"You don't have to do that, Miss Dee," Jarod playfully scolds her, holding out his hands to grab the stack of files she was trying to put away. "You're a guest. Just relax. Can I get you something?"

"Stop that, Jarod," she smacks his hand. "I'm here now. I may as well help. Victoria would probably have a stroke if she came in and saw this living room torn up like this. But, you can help me if that would make you feel better."

Jarod smiles at her and they continue to pick up all the folders and papers, attempting to make the living room presentable again. The sheet of paper with the name Jarod scribbled falls out of one of the folders. Miss Dee bends down to pick it up.

"I know this name. Lillie Mae Simmons. Lillie Mae Simmons," she repeats, trying to jumpstart her memory. She stares at the piece of paper in her hand, wondering where she's heard that name before.

"Maybe the name's similar to someone you know from back home," Jarod suggests.

"No. It's not that. Oh, I remember now. About 20 years ago, my husband and I decided to do some research and find Billy's family. He was starting to ask questions."

"And this woman, Lillie Mae, was who to Billy?" Jarod asks, his stomach suddenly dropping. His knees start to wobble, knowing what Miss Dee was about to say.

"She was his birth mother," Miss Dee says, putting the paper back in the folder and continuing with the cleaning chore.

"What did you find out about her?" Jarod questions. Maybe it was just a big coincidence. Maybe this woman in the file and Willie's birth mother just happened to have the same name. They weren't necessarily the same person. But something told Jarod that they were.

"Not much. Just that she was very young when she had Billy. She may have been raped. The doctors seemed to have thought she was making that story up because she was pregnant and unmarried, but I don't think so. I don't think a woman would make up something like that. We found a statement she made to the police, but back then, they didn't do much when a black woman was raped. Especially when she was accusing a white man of doing it. The only other thing we could find about her was that she died mysteriously in childbirth. There was nothing about her or Billy documented after that point. So from birth to about age four when Catherine Parker brought him to us, it was like Billy didn't exist."

And at that moment, Jarod knew. He only knew of one place that could pull something like that off. One place that could make people disappear. The Centre. The Lillie Mae Simmons in his file was the same Lillie Mae Simmons Miss Dee was talking about. And that only meant one thing.

"He's my brother," Jarod gasps in shock. "Willie's my brother."


Chapter 15

"It's time to check the little mother one last time." Miss Parker's doctor enters the room, interrupting a quiet exchange between Lyle and his sister. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had company."

"That's okay," Miss Parker says, looking at Lyle as his mind begins to register what the doctor just said. "Let me introduce you. Dr. Phillips, this is my brother."

"Lyle," he says, holding his hand out to shake the woman's hand. "Pleased to meet you, Dr. Phillips. Little mother?" he asks confused. "Sis, are you . . . pregnant?"

"Congratulate me, Little Brother," she smiles tentatively. He was shocked, she could tell by the expression on his face. And maybe a little betrayed that she didn't tell him about it.

"I . . . um . . . I'm going to wait outside while you do . . . whatever . . . Congratulations," he manages to say through his cluttered thoughts. He runs out the door and jumps as it closes behind him. His legs don't stop once he's out the room. He keeps on running and running until he finds that he's somehow made it up to the roof.

"What am I going to do now?" he asks himself out loud. "What am I going to do?"

A tear begins to fall down his face, but he doesn't bother to wipe it away. Tears were the least he owed his sister, after what his father sent him to do. He thinks back to the conversation he just had with the man a few hours earlier.

The trip back from Idaho gave him plenty of time to think. After the attack, he made the conscious decision to do something about his sister's attachment to Jarod. It was making her weak. And making her make bad decisions. Something had to be done about Jarod. It didn't take long for him to come up with a plan. Miss Parker never did what she was told to do. Even if their father ordered her to steer clear of Jarod, she wouldn't. The Centre was the only entity that garnered her utter obedience. An order would have to come from them.

His plan was simple. Convince his father that for the sake of the Jarod chase, Miss Parker needed to be away from it. And the only way to ensure she'd stay away would be to send her away. A field office in Kansas or Austin or something. It didn't really matter. Just as long as she was away from it all. And she'd be able to take Imani and lead a normal life. All he had to do now was convince his father to request the transfer.

'You wanted to see me, Dad.' He walks into his father's office, trying to keep his nerve. She's be angry at him if she ever found out what he'd done. But this was for her own good.

'Where have you been? Your sister's been back for hours.'

'I know. She left when I was asleep. Have you spoken to her? Did she say anything to you? Is she okay?'

'Why? What happened? You sound awfully concerned all of a sudden.'

He was concerned. His sister was attacked by a madman who would have done God only knows what to her had he not intervened.

'Nothing,' Lyle lies, deciding to keep the attack to himself. 'But I am concerned. About the Jarod chase. I think Miss Parker is just a stumbling block for us. I'd be better off searching for him on my own. Is it possible to transfer her somewhere else?' He laid his cards out on the table. There was no turning back now.

'Another department? Back to Corporate maybe?' Mr. Parker asks.

'How about another state? Or country even. She's been distracted with that little girl. It would be better for them both to be away from the Jarod chase. We'd all be better off. You know what happened to my mother when she started a family. Miss Parker may be like her and start to develop noble intentions where Jarod's concerned.' Lyle suggests.

'You're right, son. Your sister has been a hindrance to finding Jarod. I always knew they were attached as children. I just thought she'd grow out of it. But not even the brainwashing seemed to help. She still has this connection that's getting in the way. So, we need to break the connection.

'Just what I was thinking,' Lyle smiles. This was easier than he had expected it to be. His father was agreeing to the transfer. He was relieved that Miss Parker would finally be getting away from Jarod and all the danger her feelings for him were putting her in. 'Where are you going to send her? The office in Chicago? Philadelphia? Rome?'

'I was thinking a little further away than that,' Mr. Parker says with an evil grin.

The look scared Lyle. He didn't know what his father meant by that, but he could see that it wasn't the same thing that Lyle was thinking.

'What are you saying, Dad?'

'Simply transferring your sister won't help any. She's become too much of a liability. She needs to be removed . . . permanently. And I want you to do it.'

'You want me to kill her?' Lyle asks with a shaky voice. He couldn't believe what his father was ordering.

'Is that a problem?' Mr. Parker challenges. 'I figured it was the least you could do. Seeing as how you ruined the last attempt to take care of her.'

'You set up that attack,' Lyle realizes. 'That guy in Boise was supposed to kill her.'

'And now, you're going to do it.' He looks at Lyle with a look saying that he didn't have a choice about it. That if he didn't do it, someone else would kill them both.

'She was rushed to the hospital this morning. Sydney called it in. He's there with her now. Send him back here and then you offer to take her home. Once you're there, take care of her. Is that clear?'

"What am I going to do now?" he repeats to himself. His father is expecting him to deliver her dead body. But he couldn't kill her. Especially now. With the baby. He sighs, wondering what he was going to do. Wishing now that Jarod had been able to convince her to leave before this. He realized that Jarod was only trying to do the same thing he's doing now - get her away from that place before it kills her. But now, it just might be too late.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jarod continues to sit in shock over the last bit of news he discovered. He and Willie shared a father. He didn't know how to handle that. He didn't know what to think about it all. How do you let go of years of hate and anger just because you found out that someone's your brother? How can he just forget about all the beatings he received by the hands of Willie? How can he just ignore the way he betrayed Miss Dee and her family over the years? How can he forget about the way his heart literally shattered the very second Willie's bullet almost killed the love of his life? It was too much.

"Jarod, I know you have some issues with him," Miss Dee starts.

"Issues? Miss Dee, you don't even know the half of the things he's done," he interrupts her. "I won't even tell you about them because it would kill you to know the kind of person he's become."

"He's my baby boy, Jarod," Miss Dee cries. "For almost 15 years, I loved and raised him."

"Well, for almost 6 years, he's tormented me. Imprisoned me. And attempted to recapture me. Not to mention how he almost killed the woman that I love more than my own life."

"I understand," she whispers. "But please understand where I'm coming from. You encouraged Victoria to try to make amends with her brother. I want to implore you to do the same. You two are so much alike. Those eyes. That smile. And the caring sensitive way he used to be. I know there's good inside of him, Jarod. I know that it's still there."

"There has to be good in him," he smiles. "With you as a mother, I don't see how there couldn't." He leans over and hugs her, enjoying the feeling of being in a mother's arms. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Jarod. Just do me a favor and please bring my boy back to me. For all of our sakes."

"I'll do my best," he says, kissing her on the cheek. "Why don't you go up and get some rest. You've got to be tired too. Imani will be up soon and hopefully Tori will be home too."

Jarod takes her up to the guest room next to Imani's room. He makes sure she's settled before going back down. He had almost forgotten about his earlier task of listening to the tapes from Mr. Parker's office. As he recalls, he'd left off at an interesting point.

'Simply transferring your sister won't help any. She's become too much of a liability. She needs to be removed . . . permanently. And I want you to do it.'

'You want me to kill her?' Lyle asks with a shaky voice.

'Is that a problem?' Mr. Parker challenges. 'I figured it was the least you could do. Seeing as how you ruined the last attempt to take care of her.'

'You set up that attack,' Lyle realizes. 'That guy in Boise was supposed to kill her.'

'And now, you're going to do it. She was rushed to the hospital this morning. Sydney called it in. He's there with her now. Send him back here and then you offer to take her home. Once you're there, take care of her. Is that clear?'

The tape is silent for awhile and Jarod sits, listening to the silence and trying to grasp what's about to happen. Several emotions rush through Jarod, but none more than hate. Even after all Mr. Parker's done to him, he's never hated the man more than he did that very second. Not only did he authorize an attack on his daughter, but now he's sending her brother to finish the job.

Mr. Parker's voice comes back over the tape one last time, startling Jarod out of his stupor. It sounded as if he was talking to someone on the phone, because the conversation was one sided.

'I need you to do one more thing . . . He's leaving for the hospital now . . .Wait for him at her house and make sure he follows through. If not, kill them both.'

The phone slams on the tape, making Jarod jump. Mr. Parker was serious. If Lyle didn't kill Miss Parker then he was sending someone who would. He had to come up with a way to save them all.

Jarod stops the tape and grabs his phone, hastily dialing Sydney's cell phone number.

"This is Sydney," the voice answers.

"Syd! This is Jarod. Where are you?"

"Back at the office. I was politely ordered by Lyle come back here. He's bringing Parker home now."

"They've left already?" Jarod asks, practically in tears.

"What's going on, Jarod?" Sydney's voice is marred with concern. Something was going on to get the pretender all worked up.

"I'll have to explain it to you later," he tells Sydney before abruptly hanging up the phone. 'If there is a later,' he thinks to himself.

He doesn't have much time to come up with a plan. As soon as he hangs up the phone, he hears a car pull into the driveway. He quickly tries to SIM a plan, but his mind is too clouded with raw emotions. The door starts to open and he has barely enough time to find his gun and tuck it into the waistband of his jeans.

"Thanks for bringing me home," Miss Parker says to Lyle. She's standing in the doorway, keeping him out on the porch.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" Lyle asks, looking around nervously. He knew his father was serious about wanting Miss Parker dead. He wasn't taking any more chances. Lyle knew that someone else would be there to handle the job if he failed.

"The place is a mess," she tries to explain.

"I'll clean it for you. You need your rest anyway." He pushes his way into the house and leads her to the sofa.

Miss Parker looks around, trying to spot Jarod, or any evidence of him. She doesn't see him and almost breathes a sigh of relief that all's clear.

"How's Imani?" Lyle asks, trying to stall to give himself time to gather the courage to confess to her what their father was making him do.

"Good. I miss her, though. Why do you ask?" Miss Parker looks at him quizzically, wondering why he's asking about Imani out of the blue like that.

"No reason. She's so little. I bet you worry about what would happen to her if you weren't around. I mean, who would take care of her?"

Miss Parker's innocent wonderment turns to shock and fear. Why is Lyle asking her these questions?

"Her father would take care of her," Jarod says from the darkness.

Lyle and Miss Parker look over to the source of the voice, but all they see is the silver glint from the gun.

"Now if you don't mind stepping away from my wife and putting your hands where I can see them," Jarod orders.

"Jarod, what are you doing?" Miss Parker asks him. She's grateful that he's there, but also a little confused as to why he's holding a gun on her brother.

"I don't think I'm the one who needs to be explaining his actions. Am I Lyle?" They both look over to Lyle and a guilty look instantly graces his face. "Do you want to tell her what's going on here? Or shall I?"


Chapter 16

"Do you want to tell her, or shall I?" Jarod growls.

"Married? You two are married? He's the father of your baby?" Lyle questions Miss Parker unbelievingly. He's even more shocked to see her smile and nod her head to confirm Jarod's story.

Jarod steps closer and shoves the gun in Lyle's chest. Lyle takes a step back and holds his hands up in the air.

"That sounded more like questions to me. Not an explanation. Now start talking," Jarod threatens.

"What is he talking about, Lyle?" Miss Parker asks, wondering what Jarod was so serious about.

"Dad arranged for your attack in Boise," he starts slowly, not wanting to give her too much of a shock.

"I already knew that," she says quietly, still disgusted at her father's actions.

"What you may not know is that he wants me to finish the job," Lyle continues. "He sent me to kill you." He lowers his head so that he won't see the disappointment in her eyes as he continued. "When we were at the hotel, we were able to talk and be honest with each other. And I was finally able to connect with you. I could see things through your eyes. Feel the things you felt. I knew you loved Jarod, even when you didn't admit it. I was jealous that you could love him, but not me even though I was your own flesh and blood. And it made me angry to see what those feeling were doing to you. I had myself convinced that Jarod was to blame for anything bad that happened to you."

"Lyle, I made that mistake myself," she admits. "But Jarod's good for me. I love him and he loves me. And it's always been that way for longer than either of us can remember. All these years, he's been trying to get me to see that."

"I saw you heading down a road to disaster. And I wanted to protect you. I knew that loving Jarod would get you nowhere. Look at what happened to our mother. Feelings get you killed. And I didn't want that to happen. To protect you, I only saw one thing I could do - sever your ties to Jarod."

"You went to Dad, didn't you? What did you tell him? Did you tell him about how I was going to betray the Centre? Did you tell him about what I confided in you about?" she yells angrily.

"Do you see now why I was getting worried?" he yells back. "People don't even think about betraying the Centre without meeting with an unfortunate and usually painful accident. I didn't tell Dad about your plans. But I did go to him. I told him that you were hindering the hunt for Jarod. And I tried to convince him that it would be in the Centre's best interest to transfer you. To another office, another city, another country. It didn't matter. As long as you were away from Jarod. Before he got you killed. I thought it would be best if you and Imani were away from it all."

"So, how did you get from supposedly trying to protect her from being here to kill her?" Jarod asks sarcastically.

"I guess my father had his own ideas for getting her away from the chase. That's when he ordered me to kill her."

"He told you I was at the hospital," she realizes. She was wondering how Lyle and the sweepers tracked her down at the hospital. It was information her father could have easily gotten. He probably had spies at the hospital.

"But he didn't tell me about the baby," Lyle tells her. "I didn't go to the hospital to kill you. And finding out about the baby pretty much sealed it. I knew that like it or not, I was going to have to get you away from that place. Even if that meant getting help from Jarod. I knew he'd be able to protect you."

Miss Parker seems like she believes Lyle's story. Jarod's not so sure. To be on the safe side, he checks Lyle for a weapon, but realizes he doesn't have one.

"No gun?" Jarod asks him.

"I told you. I didn't intend on killing my sister. Please believe me, Parker. I didn't come here to hurt you," he swears.

"Maybe you should wait until later to try to convince us. Because right now that's the least of our worries. We got bigger things to think about. Like what we're going to do when whoever your father sent to make sure you did 'your job' shows up and does 'his job'." Jarod tells them, looking out the front window for any sign of company.

"He sent someone?"

"Right after you left. He called for someone to make sure you did what you were supposed to do. If not, he'd take care of the both of you."

"I'm not surprised," Lyle remarks.

"That makes one of us," a voice from the front doorway says suddenly, startling the whole group. "Look at what we have here. The chairman's son with a very alive chairman's daughter. And they're both conspiring with the escaped pretender. Jarod, fancy meeting you here."

"Willie," Lyle growls. "It figures he'd send you."

"Shut up," Willie yells. "Get over there. All of you."

"I don't think so," Jarod says to him. He stands in front of Miss Parker as a shield and directs his gun away from Lyle and puts it on Willie. "As you see, we both have guns. And believe me when I say if you use yours, I won't hesitate to use mine. You'll be dead before I let you hurt her."

"Is that so?" Willie sneers, taking the safety off the gun and pointing it directly towards Jarod.

Both men stand gun to gun and stare at each other for a seemingly endless moment. Yet, neither of them seem able to pull the trigger, but only Jarod knows the reason why. No matter what this man has done, he can't bring himself to kill his brother. He can't go back on his promise to Miss Dee not to hurt him.

Willie tries to shoot him, but something won't let him pull the trigger. Something he sees in Jarod's eyes. He's shaken to his core when he realizes that he sees himself. He gets the feeling that shooting Jarod would be like shooting himself.

"That's more than enough," a voice sounds sternly from the stairway. "Put the guns away."

"Mama?" Willie gasps when he sees Miss Dee. He's distracted just long enough for Lyle to take his gun away.

"I said to put the guns away," Miss Dee says again, staring at Jarod and Lyle and visually scolding them for their disobedience.

"Yes ma'am," they both say in unison, knowing better than to cross the older woman. Jarod takes both the guns and removes the clips before putting them on the coffee table.

"How are you doing, Victoria?" she asks, focusing her attention on Miss Parker.

"Better," she says. "Is Imani . . . "

"She's upstairs, worried sick about you. Why don't you go on up there with her. I need to speak with your brother and my two boys," she smiles as Miss Parker climbs the stairs to Imani's room before turning a serious face back to the men.

"You don't have anything to say to your mother?" she asks Willie. Half in anger and half in sadness. But she also felt incredibly relieved to see that he was alive and well. She holds her arm out and he goes willingly into them.

"I'm sorry, Mama," he whispers.

"I don't want to hear that right now," she cries. "I'm just glad you're alright." She continues to hold hug him, making up for years of lost time with her foster son.

"Does someone want to explain to me what's going on here?" Lyle asks. "Aren't you . . ."

"Deidre Nelson. I met you about a year ago when you decided to invade my house," she reminds him. "Lucky for me your sister and that nice older man showed up to reign you in."

"She raised Willie. And she's Imani's grandmother," Jarod explains.

"Who's Imani?" Willie wants to know.

"That's me," a little voice chimes. Everyone looks up and sees Imani bouncing down the stairs. "Uncle Lyle!" She runs to the man and he opens his arms in time to catch her.

"Hey there, Munchkin. How's my favorite niece?" he asks, giving her a little hug before setting her down quickly. A warning glare from Jarod chills him from across the room.

"Yeah, right. I'm your only niece," she giggles. She runs over to Jarod and he picks her up. "Daddy, who's that?" she says quietly, pointing to Willie.

"Daddy?" Lyle and Willie say in unison.

"It's a long story," Jarod simply says. "Where's your mom, Princess?"

"She's in the kitchen fixing us a snack."

"Why don't you go get that snack with Granny and tell your mom we need to talk to her," Jarod tells the girl. Imani jumps down from his arms and runs into the kitchen, with Miss Dee a few steps behind her.

Jarod gets the guns from the table and loads them again. When Miss Parker joins them, he gives her one of the guns and he keeps the other.

"This is to make sure I have everyone's complete cooperation," he starts. Miss Parker has changed into some more comfortable clothes. The clingy tank top molds to her stomach and he can see a small bulge that all her other clothes normally concealed. The bulge just reminded him that their time was running out with each passing day. He would not let another child of his have anything to do with the Centre.

"And if you don't have our cooperation?" Willie asks. "What then? You kill us."

"Don't push me, Willie," Jarod warns. "Whatever goes on between Lyle and Miss Parker is going to stay between them. But, your life is in my hands."

"So you are going to kill me," Willie challenges. He backs off when Jarod storms across the room, stands eye to eye with him and menacingly waves the gun in his face. For a few moments, Willie sees a look in Jarod's eye and just knew he was a goner. But the look is replaced with something else. Something he can't put a finger on or decipher.

"I've seen that woman cry for you every day for the past five years," Jarod says, pointing towards the kitchen where Miss Dee was with Imani. "She knows all about what you have done. The kind of person you have become. And she blames herself for not being good mother to you. I refuse to let you out of that guilt the easy way by killing you. And I won't put her through the hurt of losing you again. You won't die by my hands. Circumstances beyond either of our controls have bound us together forever, Willie."

"What kinds of circumstances?" Willie wants to know, suddenly very curious.

"You're asking too many questions. Now's the time for you to listen," Jarod orders before turning his attention back to the rest of the group. "The two of you have a decision to make. We all are alike in one simple way: the Centre holds the keys to our past. And possibly our future. Either you help us find those secrets once and for all. Or you go down with everyone else there. It's your choice."

Chapter 17

Jarod sits out on the back porch, swaying silently along with the gentle rocking of the swing. The night was still and quiet. Only the seldom hoot of an owl reminded him that he wasn't the only person on the earth. He left the others in the house, thinking about his proposal. A cool breeze blows and disturbs his solitude, bringing with it the sweet scent of Miss Parker's perfume.

"Is this seat taken?" she asks softly.

"It is now," he smiles, moving over a little and inviting her to sit next to him. He puts his arms around her and pulls her so close to him he can feel her heart beat.

"Are you okay? You seem kind of out of it," she remarks.

"I'm just tired. Tired of the secrets and lies that we've based our lives on," he sighs. "I'm sick of things being the way they are. Everything is so bittersweet. I have a wonderful family, but I'm sick with fear every night that they'll be taken away. I searched for years to discover the truth about my past, only to find out it's nothing like I expected. I have a father who's caused me more physical and emotional abuse than I care to remember and a brother who's done the same."

"Brother? You found out some more information?" she's curious.

Jarod looks back inside the house and sees that everyone is where he left them before. Lyle's pacing around the living room and Willie's at the kitchen table catching up with Miss Dee. He returns his attention back to Miss Parker and lowers his voice so that no one will hear him.

"Today. When you were still at the hospital," he whispers. "It's Willie."

Her eyes open wide in shock, although she shouldn't be surprised at anything anymore. Since this whole thing has started, it's been nothing but strange. From that first day she ran into Jarod and Imani to that day she decided to marry him. Nothing in her life could be even close to what she'd call normal.

"I . . . I . . . I don't know what to say," she stutters.

"I had pretty much the same reaction," he laughs uneasily. "I still don't know what to think about it. Or what to do. Right now, we have to figure out a way to get you out of this current mess that you're in. Because like it or not, your father will be expecting your dead body soon."

"You'll come up with a way. I trust you," she smiles. "Do you remember the time when we were kids? Me, you and Angelo broke into one of the labs on SL-8 and messed with the short wave radio Sydney would keep down there."

"You were convinced we could contact aliens," Jarod laughs, remembering the day she's talking about. "When you'd get those ideas in your head, there was no stopping you. You ended up knocking the radio off the table and breaking it into thousands of tiny little pieces. We barely had enough time to hide before Sydney came rushing in."

"I just knew we were going to get caught and get in big trouble. But, you were my knight in shining armor as usual. You figured out a way to rescue me. Sydney never even knew." She looks up at him and kisses him gently. "We'll figure out a way out of this now. We can do anything as long as we're together." She snuggles deeper into his arms and they continue to sit in silence, gently swinging back on forth in the darkness.

The door opens a little while later and Willie appears on the back porch.

"Sorry," he mumbles. "I didn't realize you were out here."

"That's okay," Miss Parker says, standing up from the swing. "You guys should probably talk anyway. I think I'll head off to bed." She leans over and gives Jarod one last kiss before whispering into his ear. "Trust your heart to do what's right. Everything will be fine." She flashes Willie a tentative smile before going into the house.

"You and Miss Parker. Who knew? I never would have guessed you two would end up like this," Willie says, sitting down in a chair across the porch from the Jarod. He was trying to make small talk to avoid the inevitable conversation the two of them would have to have.

"Why Sharisse?" Jarod asks after ignoring Willie for a few minutes. "How could you let them do that to her?"

"I never imagined it would go that far," he admits. "He told me she'd have the baby and then forget that any of it ever happened. But you found out about her. And helped her escape. Ruined my whole plan."

"Are you trying to blame me for something, Willie?" Jarod asks defensively. "You're the one who lured her in that place, knowing good and well what those people stood for. You're the one who handed her over to Raines. Do you even know what they did to her in that place?"

"She was just going to have the baby. Then, her memory would have been wiped and she wouldn't have remembered ever being there," Willie explains. "But you took her before we could . . . "

"Before you could what? Take her child? My child?" Jarod asks angrily.

"Before we could get rid of the memories," Willie yells. "If she didn't remember, she wouldn't have known how I betrayed her."

"Well, she's not remembering anything right now. Your mentor, Raines, made sure of that." Jarod cringes at the very idea of that man's blood running through his veins.

"What do you mean? Mama said Sharisse got sick shortly after Imani was born and died. Raines didn't even know where she was. How could he have been responsible?"

"Ever hear of a little something called PQ9486?" Jarod watches as Willie's face contorts in anguish as he realizes what Raines had done. The very mentioning of that drug makes even the hardest of hearts break for whoever suffered the tragic fate.

"He didn't . . . he couldn't have . . " Willie stutters.

"Why are you so loyal to that man?" Jarod wonders. "After what he made you? All the things he made you do? What he did to Sharisse? She loved you, Willie. And any loyalty you give that man is a betrayal to her memory. What did he promise you that was worth giving up the love of your life?"

"I didn't feel like I had a life, Jarod. I didn't know who I was. Miss Dee was the best mother I could have dreamed for, but I knew my real mother was out there. I had to find her. My research led me to the Centre. And Raines promised me information. But pretty soon, it was like I had sold my soul to the devil or something. I kept getting deeper and deeper involved until I had turned into someone I was ashamed of."

"What are you going to do now?" Jarod asks. "I can help you get the answers you're looking for. Are you going to help us? Or try to stop us? I have a family now. A wife and child. And one on the way. I already lost Sharisse. I'm not losing someone else I love to the Centre. Enough is enough."

Jarod ends his little sermon and lets Willie think. He could tell him about Raines being a crazed serial rapist. He could tell Willie that Raines was their father. And he could tell Willie that Raines quite possibly arranged for his mother's mysterious death. But he didn't. Willie's decision would have to be based on the need to want to do what's right, not revenge.

"Enough is enough," Willie whispers, bringing a little smile to Jarod's face. "It's time I set things right. It's time I found myself again."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A few hours later, Jarod, Miss Parker, Lyle and Willie gather around the living room and begin making their final plans to infiltrate the Centre. A friend of Jarod's came an hour earlier to pick up Miss Dee and Imani to take them to a safe place until after everything was settled.

"How long until they get there?" Miss Parker asks nervously, glancing at her watch every ten minutes wondering how Imani was.

"Probably not until closer to daybreak," Jarod tells her. He looks and sees that she's worried about Imani. "Imani's going to be fine. She may be a little scared and wonder where she is, but Miss Dee will be with her."

"Mama's good at that," Willie adds. "She had a way of making us feel at home no matter where we were. I remember one year this hurricane blew through town. We had to evacuate our house and go to a shelter. We were terrified of the storm. And it didn't make us feel any better being at a strange place. But after awhile, we forgot about being scared. With Mama there, it almost felt like home."

"I'm sure you two are right," she sighs, rubbing her belly in small circles. She stands up and walks over to the back door and stares out the window.

"Is she going to be alright?" Willie asks with some concern.

"I really don't know," Jarod confesses. "That was nice of you to say what you said, though. I'm sure it brought her some comfort. She's become so attached to Imani. Plus, we had a little scare this morning with the baby. I think that right now, her emotions are on overdrive where her children are concerned."

"I think this is it," Lyle says. He was monitoring a police scanner for news of phase one of their plan. "An accident off of highway 79 has just been reported. It's only a matter of time now before my father hears about this."

"That means it's only a matter of time before he sends the cleaners here," Miss Parker realizes.

"She's right," Willie says. "It's time we got out of here before they show up."

They all quickly move to their assigned tasks. Jarod makes sure the cars have been loaded up with the things they'll need when they get to the Centre. Willie makes sure all the weapons are fully loaded. Lyle and Miss Parker busy themselves with making the house look as if a struggle had taken place.

Phase one of the plan called for giving Mr. Parker what he was looking for - proof of Miss Parker's death. They would mess the house up a little and then make it seem like Lyle and Miss Parker went on a high speed game of chase ending in a tragic accident. Enough of Miss Parker's DNA would be found at the scene of the crash to initially convince her father she was dead. It should buy them enough time to move on with phase two.

"I think that's everything," Lyle says, giving one last glance around the house.

"One last thing." Jarod pulls a couple of bulletproof vests from the closet. He gives one to Miss Parker and tosses the other one to Willie. "Put these on, you two."

"What about you and Lyle?" Willie asks.

"I only had two," Jarod says quickly, trying to avoid eye contact with Miss Parker. He knew she'd be worried about him. But she catches his glance anyway and sends him a knowing look. She understood what he was doing. He was doing all he could to make sure his little brother came out of this thing alive.

"Then you should . . . " Willie starts.

"Just put the thing on, Willie," Jarod snaps. "I won't need one. They won't be expecting to see me. Besides, I promised Miss Dee I'd bring her baby boy back to her. And I don't intend on breaking that promise."

'They took away Kyle before I even had a chance to get to know him. I'm not losing another brother to them,' Jarod swears silently.

"Let's do this," Miss Parker says, touching Jarod lightly on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you're ready for this, Baby?" he asks her.

"I'm ready for this to be over," she growls menacingly. "I'm ready to make my father wish he'd never been born.

To be concluded in Final Countdown