Chapter 8

Tears burned Leah's eyes as she stormed through her house, she had flown back home, in Paris, in a few long hours, not thinking at all at what had happened, and slept. Now that she was home however, every bit of sadness and anger swept through her as she thought of absolutely everything that could possibly have happened. The young woman pushed open her patio doors while dialing her cell phone, planning to drop down in the grass while talking to one of her friends, however, a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Leah, what's wrong?" She whipped around to see Danny and Tess sitting in patio chairs behind her.

"She shot me!" She replied, dropping down into another chair.

"She what?"'

"Well...she shot at me?"

"Isabel?"

"Yeah, she bloody shot me."

"Did you do anything?"

"I uh...hit her...and attempted to shoot her..."

"Leah..." Tess gave her a stern look that you rarely saw from anyone but your mother.

"I know, I know, I shouldn't have, but I'd already lost my job, why not?"

"What're you going to do now?" Danny questioned, "You're jobless and wanted all over Rome and Amsterdam."

"Shit I don't know! I've got enough to live off for a while, then I could just steal for a life, I don't know." Leah dropped her head into her hands, crying, realizing that there was no way she could survive any longer without some form of support.

When the twenty-year-old began shaking from crying, Tess left her chair, kneeling beside her, rubbing her back softly. Leah relaxed at this point, leaning up against the woman and wiping her tears away.

"Whoa kid, you don't look so good." Rusty spoke from the doorway where he had stopped when he'd seen what was happening infront of him.

"Oh Jesus." Leah muttered, pulling herself up into her chair, Tess retreated back to her own chair once again.

"What happened?" Rusty asked as he took his own seat.

"Well..Isabel shot at me...and we got in this whole big fight...but..." She looked up at the man, "There's something very important that you don't know Rusty."

"What?"

"How many years ago were you with Isabel?"

"Fifteen, I think."

"No...the first time...before you came back to Amsterdam and stole the egg."

"Somewhere around twenty."

"See if you can make a connection." Silence overcame the patio as Rusty took a moment to think.

"I can't think of anything."

"Rusty..." Leah took a deep breath, "The first time you were with Isabel, unbeknownst to you, she was pregnant."

"What!"

"Just wait..." Leah stood up.

"Sorry."

"She had the child a few long months after you left. After about two years, she gave it up, to a friend for adoption. The friend took her every weekend to her grandfathers, where she learnt everything, this is why you never met the child when you came back to Amsterdam."

"What are you saying?"

"Rusty, the child is yours."

"Do you know them?"

"I'm the child."

"Holy shit." He muttered, standing up also.

"I didn't know until recently, when you were talking at the door with her, you mentioned Le Marc, she mentioned her father. That's where I learnt everything, Le Marc." She looked over at him, not expecting anything, she jumped slightly when Rusty wrapped her in a tight hug.

"If I had ever known..." He started, "You know I would have come and gotten you right?"

"Yeah, I know." She replied, hugging him back just as tightly.