“I’ll have more answers tomorrow. Watch yourself with that woman-she’s lied to you for thirteen years, there’s no reason she isn’t keeping something else from you now.”
“I asked Jaye to run a deep background.”
“I know.” Kane hung up.
Sean sat down and put his head in his hands. He felt a deep loss inside that he couldn’t explain. He’d missed the first twelve years of his son’s life. He hadn’t raised him. He wasn’t there for his birth. He wasn’t there to teach him to ride a bike or skateboard or play baseball or video games. He didn’t even know if Jesse liked any of those things. What was the kid going to think when Sean showed up? How was he going to tell him? Because Jesse had to know the truth-that if Sean had known about him, Jesse would have been a part of his life.
How was Lucy going to take this news? She was a rock… but she’d gone through so much in her life. Sean would make sure that she knew there was nothing between him and Madison-Lucy trusted him, but more than that, Sean trusted Lucy. She would understand; she would support him. They’d get through this-together. Because with Lucy, he could get through anything. Do anything. Face his son, tell him the truth.
I’m your father, Jesse. If I had known about you, I would have been there.
Would he have? He hoped so. He’d been young and wild, he’d partied hard and dated lots of women and never wanted to settled down, until Lucy. Yet… he would have taken responsibility. He would have been there for the important events. Talked to him. Traveled with him. Insisted on joint custody. Jesse had a right to know who the Rogans were, what his grandparents had accomplished in their short lives, what RCK did and what his legacy was. Sean would never have forced any one path on his kid-he might have even discouraged it-but Jesse needed to know that he had options, that he had heroes for uncles and a noble background of family who always fought for the right thing, even when it wasn’t easy. Even when it was dangerous.
Sean’s son was being raised by a criminal. Money laundering meant one of three things: drugs, human trafficking, or organized crime. Southern California? Sean was betting drugs, but he couldn’t count on it. Any of the big three would put Jesse in danger.
It put Madison in danger as well… but Sean couldn’t concern himself with Madison right now. Once he found Jesse, brought him back along with Carson Spade-whom he would turn over to law enforcement-he would think about Madison and Jesse’s future security.
And Madison had better damn well listen to him.
A beep told him that someone was on the front porch accessing the keypad. It must be Lucy. Sean went to meet Lucy at the door as she opened it. Noah wasn’t with them, and Sean was relieved. He didn’t know why.
Both Siobhan and Lucy looked exhausted.
Sean kissed his fiancée, then gave Siobhan a hug. “I’m glad you came back with Lucy.”
“I didn’t want to,” Siobhan said. “I wanted to stay.”
“It’s not safe for you right now,” Lucy said. “We’ll go back tomorrow.” She turned to Sean. “I may be gone for a day or two.”
“That’s okay-I have a case.” Suddenly he didn’t want to go. “I’ll be busy. Are you hungry?”
Siobhan shook her head, but Lucy said, “Siobhan only picked at her food.”
“I’m so angry. They took everything. I mean, I have my photos, but they took everything else. My camera. My computer. We tracked them down-destroyed! And they went through my stuff.”
Sean exchanged glances with Lucy, then put his arm around Siobhan’s shoulders and led her down the hall. “You can shower, change, I’ll whip up an omelet. Breakfast food is about all we have in the house right now.”
“You don’t have to do anything for me,” Siobhan said.
“Nonsense.” Sean stopped in front of the main guest room. “I’m serious.”
Siobhan smiled at him, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “How’s Kane? Better?”
“You haven’t talked to him?”
She shook her head. “Not since the hospital.”
“He’s good.” Sean frowned. “Better than you, it seems.”
“I’ve been looking for Mari and Ana for over two years-I should have been looking harder.”
“Don’t do that to yourself. There is no one who’s looked for those girls harder than you.” He tilted her chin up. “Take a shower, then come and eat.”
“Okay.” She gave him another hug. “By the way, Sean, I absolutely adore Lucy. I see why you love her.”
Sean waited a minute until he heard the shower running, then walked back to the living room.
Lucy wasn’t there. He went upstairs and found her ready to get into the shower. “Join me,” she said. “I missed you today.”
Sean hesitated, just a second. He should tell her about Madison and Jesse right now-but she was so tired, so forlorn. Later, after she relaxed, ate, had some peace. Then he could tell her. He touched her face, kissed her warmly.
“Ten minutes, Sean. Of you, me, and water. I need to clear my mind, regain my footing so I can look at this case objectively.”
“Anything, princess.”
Thirty minutes later Siobhan entered the kitchen, her curly red hair wet and hanging down her back. She looked a million times better than when she’d first walked in. So did Lucy. Sean finished the omelets and dished up three plates.
“You didn’t have to do this,” Siobhan said.
“Nonsense. I know Lucy doesn’t eat right when she’s working, and you had a difficult couple of days.”
“Jail certainly wasn’t fun.”
Sean stared, mouth tight. “No one told me you were in jail.”
“I didn’t know the details until we got down there,” Lucy said. “Trespassing, breaking and entering, assault-”
“He pinched my nipple,” Siobhan said bluntly. “On purpose. My elbow in his nose was a knee-jerk reaction. I didn’t mean to break it.” She paused. “Not that I feel guilty about it.”
“You shouldn’t,” Lucy said before Sean could speak. “Charges were dropped, but Siobhan uncovered something potentially big. We’re going back tomorrow-we have several leads.”
“And I’m worried about Elizabeth.”
“Elizabeth?” Sean questioned.
“The baby,” Lucy said. She had a faraway look on her face for a second, then shook her head. “We believe that Marisol or Ana gave birth and left her infant at a church.”
“The baby was wearing a locket I gave to each girl,” Siobhan said. She pulled her necklace out and showed Sean. “The locket was Marisol’s because of the photo and what she wrote on the back, so I’m inclined to think Elizabeth is her daughter, but we don’t know for certain.”
“A baby?” he said. Sean was watching Lucy. She stared at her plate, not looking at anyone.
“She’s beautiful,” Siobhan said. “You know what happened to Marisol and Ana de la Rosa, right?”
Sean nodded. “They’ve been on the RCK hot sheet since they disappeared.”
“Hot sheet?” Lucy asked.
“Individuals, regardless of nationality, who disappear in Mexico or the US under certain circumstances, such as sex trafficking. It’s a long list, but it helps in case Kane and his team comes across a group or individual.”
“I helped them get the job in Monterrey,” Siobhan said. “They were saving money to rebuild their village. They wrote and called several times… wrote their grandmother-and then it stopped. Kane and his team helped initially, but there were no leads. Nothing. It was like they vanished into thin air.” She took a bite, washed it down with water. “When Eric-a friend of mine who’s a reporter-heard a rumor that Mari was in a brothel in Del Rio, I sent out flyers to every church in the area, then branched out to border towns in both Mexico and the States, thinking maybe they’d been grabbed for sex trafficking, or maybe took illegal jobs in the US. I don’t really know what I was thinking, except they had to be somewhere.” She took a big breath.