Devin-2 (21 page)

“Veronica? Where is she?” He was glad that he had taken a drink, but now his belly felt like it was going to toss it back up. He had to take several deep breaths before he thought he could breathe normal again. He looked up at Byron and saw him glance at something, or someone, on the other side of them. Devin would have turned to look too, but it was too painful.

“She’s gone. They’ve been trying to find her since the shooting. The police said she was in the house when they went in to get you both and after making sure the house was secured, she disappeared.” His mother. She was who Byron had looked at.

“Hurt? Is she hurt?” He licked his lips and had to try again. “Was she hurt that they saw?”

“There was evidence that shows that she may have been stabbed several times. There was blood in the room where her sister was and more on the stairs and porch. The snow coming so soon after they discovered she was missing has hampered their efforts to find her. Dogs couldn’t find her in the deep snow.” Devin looked at his brother and noticed that he wouldn’t look him in the face.

Something else had happened.

“Tell me. Tell me what you’re not. Please, Byron, I need her.”

“I’ve talked to Austin and Ben. I think they know where she is, but they won’t say. A signed confession came to the police station yesterday telling them what had happened and how she had killed the two men the police found and what she did to her sister. There is also an accounting of what her sister Margo said to her about her father and the other sister, Holly. She...Veronica isn’t her first name. Her last...it’s not even Frey, not really. Her first name is Catalina and according to the DNA records, she isn’t Frey’s daughter either, but a man named Albert Parkway’s. The Parkways had filed a missing person’s report twenty-nine years ago. He’s Ronnie’s real father.”

“Why won’t they tell you where she is, Byron? What else aren’t you telling me? You have to tell me.”

Byron looked over at his mother again and nodded. He leaned down and kissed Devin’s forehead and left the room. His mother walked around to the other side of the bed where Byron had been standing. She laid something on the bed and looked at it instead of him.

“You told the police she raped you. Devin, you wouldn’t let her near you when they found you. You were out of your mind with pain, Damon said. Nicky said that he wanted to talk to her, but you needed medical treatment right away and when he went to find her, she had already disappeared. She sent this to me with a check two days ago, along with a copy of the report she sent to the police.

The note is from Ben. In it he said he nearly had it cleaned for you, but thought you should see what she gave up to get you out of that house.” Margaret reached down and picked up the jewelry box and opened it for him.

The ring was there nestled inside. And it was covered in blood. Ronnie’s blood, he was sure. Devin looked up at his mother who was crying openly now.

“They used this blood to compare her DNA; there was so much of it then.

She killed that man because I told her to. I told her to kill him and to make sure you were safe. Nicky told her the same thing and now look. Austin won’t tell me where she is or if she’s hurting or needs me. Every time I look at this ring, I think about her face when you slipped it...Oh Devin, that poor girl. What have I done to her?”

Things were coming back to him in snatches now. He remembered Margo coming to him and touching him. Devin remembered her voice; Veronica’s, when she came into the room where he was being held. He didn’t remember much after that or just before, but he must have said those things. He could remember being frightened and in so much pain. His brothers pulling him up then lying him down on the cold floor, the way his arms hurt first from being over his head so long, then the pain of them being hurt. He looked down at himself then and had to close his eyes at what he saw.

Both arms were in casts. His left leg was in some sort of pulley system that held it up, immobile. His right ankle was resting on a pillow also in a cast and he could feel his ribs pull every time he took even a shallow breath. His vision was slightly blurry and his jaw hurt, but not like it had. He wondered what other injuries he had and then decided that he might be better off not knowing—at least for right now.

“I need to find her. I need to talk to her. Can you call Austin for me? Tell him I want to talk to her, that I need to talk to her? Beg him for me, please, Mom. I love her so much and I can’t be without her. Tell him I love her for me.”

“It’s late, love. I’ll call him first thing in the morning, I swear. And if he won’t talk to you, then I’ll have to resort to other means. I don’t know what I’ll do, but if you want to talk to her, then you will. Rest now. We’ll work this out in the morning.”

Devin was wide awake and waiting for his mother when she came back in at seven o’clock in the morning. He had refused pain medication so that he would not drift off and be put off, and now he was hurting in every part of his body. He needed Veronica and he needed her now.

Listening to his mom, he didn’t think she was having much luck with Austin either. She was in near tears when she hung up the phone. When she had to go to the bathroom before speaking, he wanted to howl out his frustrations. When she came out, her eyes were red and swollen and her nose looked like it was slightly runny.

“They won’t tell me. Austin said that she promised them if any of us showed up, they were never see her again either. They don’t want to risk that for anyone, especially you. They said to tell you to let it go, that she is going to be okay and that she feels no ill will toward you or the rest of the family. Devin, I’m so sorry.

I’ve tried everything.”

“I know, Mom, but I’m not giving up. There has to be someone who knows where she is. And I damned well am going to find her.” Devin had to find her. He was in love with her and he was sure that love like he had for her would never come around again. Devin pulled on the cord to call the nurse shortly after his mother left. He was in too much pain to think, but as soon as he could, he would think of something to get her back.

~CHAPTER 19~

Byron knew he was taking a big chance, but he needed to see for himself that she was all right—and if he could talk her into coming back with him, then that would be all the better for all of them. He hated that his mother was crying over this and that Devin was hurting so bad that he was nearly inconsolable.

The nursing home was in the middle of Virginia. He had been driving most of the night and he was exhausted. Austin told him that if he screwed this up for him that he would have a contract put out on his life so fast he would never know what hit him. Byron believed him too. There was something about the glint in the older man’s eye that had scared him not just a little. He pushed open the door to her room and was temporarily shocked at what he saw.

She was pale, but what got him the most was how much weight she had lost in such a short time. Her face was bandaged up near her jaw and there was a cast of sorts on her right arm. He couldn’t see the rest of her body, but he could make out the cast on her leg as well. An IV pole held up several bags of liquid, two clear and one yellow. He could also smell the acidy smell of vomit along with the septic smell of disinfectant. Her eyes were closed, but he could tell that she was not sleeping.

“Ben called me ten minutes ago and told me you were coming. I promised him that I would listen, but I never promised him that I would speak to you. Tell me what you have to say then get out. I have an appointment at four o’clock and I don’t like to miss it.”

Byron walked into the room and let go of the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He laid the box of chocolates on the table that Austin had given him to bring her and sat in the chair closest to the bed. He reached up to take her hand and after a second of letting him hold it, she pulled away and opened her eyes.

They stared at one another for a long time, not saying anything.

“You look like hell. I guess you look better than the other guy since he’s dead, but you would run a close second. How are you, Ronnie, really?”

“You Grant men have such a way with women, it’s small wonder you all aren’t married. Tell me whatever it is and leave me alone, Byron. I don’t know what you told Austin, but he must have thought it was something to tell you where I am.”

“Devin doesn’t know I’m here. No one does but Austin and Ben. I told them—no, I promised them that I would keep your secret even if you wouldn’t come home with me. Devin is in pain. His wounds are healing, but his heart it broken. My mom cries daily wondering if you need her. Nicky feels guilty for telling you to bring Devin back with no more help than that. I miss you. I like you very much and love the way you put Devin in a twist.”

“He told those men that I...it doesn’t matter. He’ll soon forget about me, I’m sure. He’s rich and good-looking; there will be women flocking around him in no time. If you’re finished, I’d really like for you to...open the curtain for me.

Quickly, before it’s too late.”

Byron didn’t hesitate, but jumped to the window and pulled open the curtain for her. He could hear them now, and seeing them put a smile on his face.

Looking back at Ronnie, he saw her straining to see them too. He walked over to the bed and picked her up in his arms slightly so that she wouldn’t have to stretch so much.

Three little kids, a girl and two boys were playing in the snow. They all looked to be under the age of six or seven. There was a blond cocker spaniel running around them leaping and yapping at them while they played.

“They come out every day at four. The first time I saw them was my first day here when I had opened my eyes. Do you have kids?” she asked him softly.

“No, but I have a niece, Meggie, and then there are Nicky’s boys, and my stepfather had two boys that we all consider our nephews.” She squirmed slightly and he adjusted her and put her back on the bed more comfortably.

“I held one of Mr. Grant’s boys. I don’t know which one. It was the first time I’d ever even touched a kid before. Morgan got huffy with me when I called him an ‘it.’ He didn’t cry or anything. I think it would be better to have a dog, like that one. I’ve never had one of those either, a pet, I mean, but I bet it would be considerably more loyal. You can put me down now; they’ll be going in soon.” He settled her back in the bed and repositioned her pillow under her arm.

Up close like this, he could see the bruises on her face, faint but still swollen.

There was also a tinge of blood on her arm where the bandage was. He was concerned, but said nothing. He could tell she was still hurting. Both of them were, and he wanted, no, he needed to set things right.

“Ronnie, would you please come back with me to Ohio? I’m not asking for Devin, not even my mother, though I’ll deny that I said that if anyone asked. I want you to come back for Austin. When I saw him yesterday, he looked aged.

Ben said he was worried about him. They love you very much. Hell, I love you too. I know they’d do anything for you, baby. But they told me that you should talk to Devin too. Talk to Devin for me, please?”

“I don’t know. I love...I loved him so much, Byron, and he told them to keep me away from him. I never touched him that way. We had sex, but it was never...I never took anything from him.” Tears streamed down her face and she turned away from him.

Byron hurt for her—for them both, her and Devin. She had endured so much and had done so much for his family that he wanted to take her into his arms and hold her. He wanted to put her in a safe place and keep her protected for all time.

“She raped him, you know? Your sister, the one...Margo, she raped him.

While he was tied to that beam in the bathroom, she came in and performed fellatio on him. He doesn’t remember talking to you at the end. He was in a great deal of pain, Damon said, and when he heard your voice, it must have scared him a little. Devin is seeing a psychiatrist for it. He has nightmares nearly every night.”

He could see her pale even more and nearly felt bad for the extra pain he caused her, but he knew that if she came back with him, she would never regret it. He would make sure of it. And he was certain that Devin loved this woman.

And as he loved Devin, he would do nearly anything to make him happy too.

“Margo said that he wasn’t my father, that Albert Frey kidnapped my mother when she was pregnant with me. His sole purpose was to have her

‘breed’ little girls for him. What kind of person does that to a family?”

“He wasn’t. Your father, I mean. DNA proved it. Your mother is dead; I don’t know if Austin told you or not. There are other things, as well, things I think you should know. The FBI has been called in and they are using dogs to search the grounds around the house where you grew up. When they brought the dogs...when you came up missing, they used something in the house to have them search for you. They couldn’t, of course, because the stench of death was too much for them. There were bodies, Ronnie. So far, they’ve uncovered about twenty-six, all children. There were also a few young women. Identification has been difficult, but they are working through them. They are looking for your other sister, Holly Frey. They’ve tried to ask Margo, but she has gone over the deep end—they have her locked up and on suicide watch.” Byron watched her shift again, trying to hide the tears. This time, he sat on the bed with her and held her hand. She didn’t pull away. They both looked out the window, either seeing anything beyond their thoughts.

“Holly is dead. Margo killed her then fed her to the pigs she said she kept hungry for that purpose. There might be a mailman and a shop clerk there as well. I don’t know how you would go about confirming that. There was a baby, an infant, I’m assuming. She was buried in a casket, though I don’t know if that’s true or not. Holly had given birth to her and Margo didn’t want her to give our fa...her father a girl when she couldn’t.”

The nurse came in and set a tray on the table behind him. Byron could smell the food on it and even though he wasn’t hungry, he thought even the smell alone would turn his stomach. He turned when the nurse lifted the lids. “Gross” was all he could think of. He looked back at Ronnie and she hadn’t moved.