Chapter 24
As dawn broke, I watched the light play across Steph's hair and face. She looked peaceful as she slept and I was sure that she hadn't had any more nightmares, I'd have woken up if that had been the case. Fingering her hair from her face was when I noticed the subtle changes, her hair was lighter with highlights catching the sun and her skin wasn't as white as usual. Maybe she'd been hiding out further south where it was warmer, knowing how much Steph loved the beach and the warmth from the sun.
I was aware as she started to wake from knowing her so well, from all of the times when she would sleep in my bed. As her eyes started to open, I felt her tense, as though she was disorientated but it was the frown across her face that was unexpected.
"Sorry"
Was all that she said, as though she had realized exactly where she was.
"I'm not. I like having you wake up next to me"
Normally me saying that would have her looking up at me, smiling, but that didn't happen and that had me concerned. I used a finger under her chin to lift her head, needing to see her face and wanting to read her mood from her expression. When she failed to look at me directly with her eyes, I knew that something was wrong, something had broken that connection between us. I felt as though she was shutting me out and I didn't like it.
"Babe, what's wrong?"
I didn't get an answer, instead she was pushing herself to sit up, a small wince on her face probably as a result from the wound on her stomach.
"Nothing"
That reply just pissed me off, so I moved extremely quickly until I was sat between her outstretched legs with mine wrapped around her. No way was she going to just ignore me now.
"Explain to me how there's nothing wrong"
The defiance that had been in her eyes slowly dissipated and she was back to looking away from me.
"You've found Elaina, that was what you were supposed to do, wasn't it? You have stuff to do Ranger so just let me be"
I felt her squirm as though she thought that now she'd had her say that we were finished talking. Shit, is that what she really thought of me, that I was only concerned with finding Elaina?
"I wasn't looking for her. I've been looking for you for weeks though"
That had her attention and suddenly there she was, my beautiful Babe, her eyes fiery as she frowned as though I'd said something stupid to her.
"Me. But why?"
Her question threw me slightly as I realized that she didn't see herself as important to me, how the hell had I managed to convey that message to her? Simple I thought, you never told her.
"Because you are very important to me Babe. I was devastated with the news that I came back to, that you'd left without a word. But I couldn't stop thinking about you and just knew that I had to find you"
Her frown turned to confusion as I admitted that, and it was almost as though she was fighting to find the words to say back.
"I thought that you'd believe that I'd left with Joe"
"Maybe I did at first, but knowing you so well I knew you would have left a message or spoken to me. I wanted to hear it from you so started to look for you and quickly realized that your leaving town wasn't as it appeared"
I really hoped that Steph understood what I was trying to say to her but as she opened her mouth and closed it several times, I could tell that there was still something bothering her. Eventually she decided what she wanted to say but it was said almost as a whisper.
"I thought that you would hate me"
I leant forward and took her face in my hands seeing the tears start to fall down her cheeks.
"I could never hate you Babe"
I wiped her tears away before brushing my lips over hers, though it felt as though she was still worried about something. I was about to ask her what was bothering her when a knock on the door interrupted me. Moving away from Steph I grabbed a T-shirt and pulled it over my head before opening the door. CJ was stood there but was soon walking past me toward where Steph was now laid down. How was it he had such bad timing and had interrupted us once again.
"How's my patient this morning?"
Steph pulled up her top to reveal the bandage for CJ and then watched as he gently eased the bandage away from her skin.
"Looking good, Steph. It's not as red as it was. Definitely on the mend"
Replacing the bandage CJ nodded to me as he then left the room, Steph was sat on the side of the bed as though she was about to get up, but then turned and looked at me.
"Do I have any clothes to wear?"
I grabbed a clean T-shirt and a pair of joggers from my bag and walked around to where she was, squatting down in front of her.
"I need to sort some out today. Will these be okay for now?"
I wasn't sure what I would do if she said no, so was pleased when she took them from me and walked over to the bathroom. I watched her as she moved, thinking again that something was different about her. Her legs looked more toned, and I was sure that her waist seemed smaller. Shaking those thoughts from my head I decided that I needed to find some clothes for myself before sorting something out for breakfast.
As I entered into the kitchen, I noticed a note lent against the coffee pot so picked it up curious as to who had left it.
Elaina and I have gone out to source clothing and things! CJ
I wasn't sure that I like the idea of that happening, but it was too late to stop it. Besides Elaina looked totally different and I knew that CJ would keep her safe. Finding eggs in the fridge I started to make some scrambled eggs, surprised and pleased at just how many things had been left in the house.
"Smells good"
Came from behind so turning I saw Steph stood watching me.
"Would you find some plates, they should be around here somewhere"
I knew that sounded stupid when I owned the place and as she opened and closed cupboard doors I felt I needed to explain.
"When I bought this place, everything was included. I haven't really been here enough to decide what to do with the place"
The plates appeared next to me with Steph leant back on the counter, looking around. She followed me through to the dining room as I carried our plates to the table. We sat in silence while we ate, stupidly I was actually considering the current status of the house and whether or not with some TLC I could actually blend together some of the modern features that I liked with what was here. I was so lost in thought I missed that Steph had finished eating, in fact I suddenly realized that I'd missed the way that she usually enjoyed her food.
I followed her back into the kitchen seeing her looking out of the window.
"What happens now?"
Sha asked almost as if she was afraid of the answer that I would give her.
"We talk, Babe. I want to understand what's been happening to you"
"You might not like what you hear"
Her repeating that phrase to me surprised and worried me, making me wonder what it was that she thought could be so bad.
"Babe, I'm not telling anyone that you and Elaina are here, but if I'm going to keep you safe then I do need to know what's been happening"
I saw her shoulder's drop and was sure that she didn't want to tell me. I needed to reassure her, for her to understand that no matter what she had done or seen she would always be my priority and I would deal with whatever came with it.
"Babe, it doesn't matter what you tell me I won't think any less of you"
We both turned to see Elaina and CJ walk into the kitchen, each of them laden down with bags. Elaina put hers down on the floor and walked over to Steph wrapping her arms around her. They spoke, but not loud enough for me to hear and to be honest I didn't want to eavesdrop in what was a personal conversation. After a few minutes I watched as Steph stepped away from Elaina nodding her head before she walked past me and out of the room. Steph was crying and I wanted to console her but even as I thought of following her Elaina had a hand on my arm.
"Give her time to compose herself. We're willing to talk so we'll meet in the front lounge in an hour. Just promise me that you'll hear us out and not be judgmental until we finish"
Both CJ and I were staring after her as she picked up her bags and walked out of the door. Hell, that had been the second time that that woman had told me what to do and think, before she walked out on me.
"That woman is certainly something"
I couldn't believe that CJ had just said that but from the look on his face I had a feeling there was more to what he was saying than just a passing comment.
I don't know why I did it, maybe so that Ethan could feel part of the meeting while monitoring the systems, but I had him fit the lounge with a camera and mic. I wouldn't allow him to record anything because I felt guilty enough about doing it already. Both CJ and I were already in the room when Steph and Elaina walked in. They'd both changed into new clothes. Elaina was wearing leggings and a hoodie but beyond that I couldn't tell you anymore because I only had eyes for Steph. She was wearing what I knew she was comfortable in, jeans and a sweater, but as I watched her come into the room it was like seeing her for the first time. I really had taken her for granted, her long legs, slender waist and long curls falling down her back. Standing I took her hand and led her to the couch wanting to be there next to her, to show her that I was there to support her.
It didn't surprise me that Elaina was the one to speak first.
"I'm going to tell you my story first because I suppose it was me that it started with. This is going to be hard for both of us so please, don't interrupt. Any questions then wait until we've finished"
I nodded my head to Elaina and watched as CJ did the same. Doing as she'd asked would be hard to do, but I respected what she was asking of us.
"When I was 18, I found out that I'd been adopted. I think I always knew. There were little things like my parents never had any photos of me as a baby and to be honest I didn't look like them. I still loved them because they'd been wonderful parents.
I didn't want my parents to know how it affected me because I didn't want them to think that I loved them any less. I did as much research as I could but didn't find anything that was useful, and I was working hard at school to get into university. Once there, I suppose I thought I didn't need to know or maybe I was a bit frightened of what I would find out. But I was curious, I wanted to know why my proper mother and father would abandon me. I wanted answers so I eventually got in touch with the adoption agency and asked for my birth certificate. It seemed to take an age for it to arrive so imagine my shock when I read that I'd been born in another country. After I finished my course, I had time before starting to look for a job so I told everyone that I was going to see something of the world while I could and instead went to Belgrade, Serbia, where I'd been born"
Listening to what Elaina was saying agreed with what Gregson had told me and hearing it from her now I could understand her need to discover who her birth parents were.
"The birth certificate gave the area where my mother had lived and some of her history. She was so young, so in some ways I began to understand why she had let me go. She'd never married so she would have experienced a lot of discrimination and unfairness being an unmarried mother. What did surprise me was that there was nothing about my father, other than a name. I found her, living in the same place barely making ends meet. I spent a month with her, learning the language and about where I had come from. I was so angry when she told me that my father had just abandoned her, that he didn't even know that I existed. An old friend of his filled me in on what he was like and where he had gone after leaving my mother but also told me that he'd moved to America. My mother was a very astute woman, she understood my need to find him and gave me a name that he had always aspired to"
I wondered who the old friend of Markovic was and if it was a coincidence that he was there when Elaina turned up. Had he kept in touch with the mother for all these years or just recently reacquainted himself in the hope of finding out more about Elaina or even Markovic.
"I intended to try and find him, though I wasn't sure how, so imagine my surprise when I was met at the airport by two men who said that they were from my father. Their story was that he'd just found out about me and wanted to meet with me and that they were to take me to him. I didn't like them or how they treated me and became very suspicious that they were telling me the truth. I mean why now, why would my father be looking for me? We travelled north up to Trenton and I ended up in this house. They tried to keep me inside, with the excuse that he was on his way. He may have been on his way but there was no way that I was staying there. Something felt off about the whole thing, I mean why wasn't my father there if he was so keen to meet me? So I, err, left. I had no money, passport or phone so with no other choice I ended up on the streets"
Maybe Markovic still kept in touch with people in Belgrade, maybe even the old friend that had turned up at Elaina's mother's. The problem that I was having was that he knew that she was there and when she was due to arrive back in the States. Why would he send someone else to pick her up and not go himself? Why have her kept in some house? I was pleased that she had escaped and in some ways she reminded me that doing that was exactly what Steph would have tried to do.
"A really lovely woman called Eula took me under her wings because I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want to go to the police in case my father really had sent those men, the last thing I wanted to do was to upset him. Then I thought that my parents would be really annoyed with me because I'd betrayed them so couldn't find the courage to ask them for help. I really wasn't sure what to do other than maybe find my father myself, but then I got a feeling of being watched and started to feel scared, so I disappeared. I was absorbed into a group of homeless folks and thought that I was safe. I'd actually decided to reach out to my parents to ask for help. Then one night some men, the same ones who picked me up at the airport, came into the camp and took me and two other girls. I found myself locked in this clean white room not knowing what was happening"
Elaina stopped there and looked at Steph. I recognized her description of the room that she'd been held in, thinking how lucky she was that she hadn't been killed for her organs. I wondered if she knew that was what was happening there. That it had been the same men who had met her at the airport surprised me. Were they working for her father as they'd said, or had they been there to bring Elaina to that warehouse? Were they the ones who had sent the ransom?
"Steph it's time for you to tell your story and what happened afterwards"