The Belial Ring (The Belial Series 3) (12 page)

Laney wanted to deny it.
She wanted to disbelieve everything Victoria said. But the story rang true. And even her own uncle had wondered about the events swirling around her for the last year.

Laney pulled her jacket tighter around her, trying to hold off the cold seeping through her.
But she knew it wasn’t simply cold. It was the truth. The truth seeping its way into her brain, into her body, into her heart.

She
was Victoria’s daughter. That was why Victoria had sent Rocky to watch her. That was why Henry had seemed familiar when she first met him. And maybe that was also why all of this violence had surrounded her lately.

She wrapped her hands around herself.
Oh God
. Her parents. Her thoughts stumbled over each other, a jumbled mess in her brain, heartache mixing with them.

“
They were deceived, Jake. They were told that I was their child. But I wasn’t. I was never theirs. Not really.”

A dark thought crossed her mind.
Her eyes flew to Jake. Concern was etched across every inch of his face as he watched her. A bone-deep cold settled within her. “Their child. They never got to mourn her. She died . . . and no one mourned her.”

For some reason, the thought of that little body
, her parents’ child, entering the ground without anyone mourning her loss was the worst pain.
That poor innocent child.

“
Stop the car, Jake.”

“
Laney?”

“
Stop the car!”

Jake pulled onto the shoulder, jerking the car to a stop.

Laney fumbled for the handle.
Shoving the door open, she almost fell in her haste to escape. Stumbling to the edge of the trees, she crashed to her knees. Her stomach heaved.

Jake came up behind her, rubbing her back.
“It’ll be okay, Laney.”

Laney vomited until there was nothing left.
She felt weak, exhausted, shaky. “How could she do that to them? How could she do that to me?”

Jake pulled her into his arms, but Laney barely felt them around her, too lost in her own private hell.

Victoria is my mother. My whole life is a lie. And now I’m supposed to—what, embrace some unknown destiny? Save the world?

It was too much to ask of her.
It was too much to tell her. “I can’t do it, Jake. Whatever Victoria wants me to do, I can’t.”

CHAPTER 24

J
ake held Laney by the side of the road as she alternated between crying and shaking. He didn’t have a clue how to help her. So he just held her, murmuring into her ear that it would be okay.

After a time, she calmed, finally standing.
Jake kept an arm around her as they made their way back to the car.

“
I need to tell Uncle Patrick. He needs to—” Laney stopped short, and Jake felt her knees almost give out. He tightened his grip around her waist.

She stared up at Jake, looking so lost.
“He’s not my uncle. I’m not his niece. His niece is dead.”

Laney
looked as if her world had ended all over again.

“
Laney, that’s not—”

She stepped away from him, her voice edging
toward hysteria. “He nearly gave up the priesthood for someone who isn’t even related to him. He nearly got killed today for someone who’s not even related to him.” She stared off into space, but Jake knew she wasn’t seeing what was right in front of her. She was reliving the past.

Jake grabbed her by the arms and yelled.
“Laney!” It took three tries before her eyes met his.

“
Laney, your uncle loves you. Yes, this is going to be a blow. But do you really, down deep, think this will change anything between you two? I’ve seen how much he loves you. He loves you not just like an uncle—he loves you like a father.”

Tears streamed down her face.
Her breaths came out in shudders. “But he’s not, Jake. He’s not my father. He’s not my uncle. His niece is dead.” She dissolved into tears.

Jake pulled her into his chest.
God damn you, Victoria.

CHAPTER 25

L
aney and Jake drove for an hour. Jake let Laney have her silence and she appreciated it. She needed time to think. She struggled to find any holes in Victoria’s story, but she couldn’t find any. Her father hadn’t seen her until the day after her birth.

In utero, she, or rather her parents
’ daughter, had been diagnosed with a chromosomal disorder, Trisomy 13. Laney’s parents always told her that the doctors had warned them she wouldn’t survive a week. Yet she had survived—and the doctors had been astounded.

Laney leaned her head against the window, watching the scenery fly by but not really seeing it.
From what she knew of Victoria, the woman wasn’t a liar. She might omit, but when she spoke, it was the truth.

Laney wanted to bang her head against the window.
She was Victoria’s daughter. She turned to Jake. “How far are we from Baltimore?”

“
About four hours.”

Laney took a deep breath.
It was too long. “Can we call the helicopter? I need to speak with Uncle Patrick.”

Jake pulled onto the shoulder, pulled out his cell, and dialed.
“Henry? Your mom’s helicopter still around?” He paused and then rattled off their location.

Laney only half listened, trying to figure out what she was going to say to her uncle.
When Jake disconnected the call, she turned to him.

“
There’s a field about twenty minutes from here,” he said. “They’ll meet us there.”

Thirty minutes later, the helicopter landed.
Laney could see Henry in the copilot’s seat. Rocky stepped out of the back, her eyes searching Laney’s face.

Laney didn
’t have the strength to be mad at her. She gripped Rocky’s arm as she passed. “We’re okay.”

Relief poured over Rocky
’s face. She pulled Laney into a hug and whispered into her ear. “I swear I didn’t know what Victoria was going to tell you. If I had known . . .” Her voice drifted off.

Laney buried her head in Rocky
’s shoulder, taking the comfort before getting into the chopper. She turned back when Rocky didn’t follow her in.

Rocky gestured to the car.
“I’ll take the SUV. I’ll meet you down in Baltimore.”

Laney nodded
, and a few minutes later, they were shooting through the air. Even by air, it took more time than Laney liked. She spent the trip trying to figure out what to say to her uncle. How did you even start a conversation like this?

Even though it seemed interminable, the ride also seemed to go too fast.
Before she knew it, Laney was looking down at the lush rolling hills of the Chandler Estate. The helicopter touched down on the helipad behind the main house of the headquarters.

Kevin Chang, the head of estate security, stood waiting next to a golf cart.
A dozen solar-powered golf carts were always available to help people move across the giant estate.

Kevin walked up as the helicopter shut down.
“Everybody okay?”

Laney knew
that he was asking about the incident at Hershey, not about what had been revealed in Pennsylvania.

“
We’re good,” Henry said. “Do you know where Patrick is?”

Laney looked up in surprise. She hadn’t even asked if everyone else was all right. Guilt added to all the other misery churning inside of her. The people she loved had been shot at, and she’d been too wrapped up in herself to even think of them.

“He’s at Laney’s cottage,” Kevin said. “He got back with Kati and the boys about an hour ago. He’s probably walking a hole in the floor waiting for you guys.”

More g
uilt ate at Laney. She’d caused him so much worry over the last year, over her life.

Henry looked over at
her and Jake. “Jake, why don’t you and Laney take the cart? We’ll walk.”

Jake took Laney
’s arm. “Come on, Lanes.”

Laney didn
’t say anything, just walked over to the cart and climbed in.

Jake drove the cart along the paths created for the estate.
Flowers and bushes lined the paths. Normally, Laney loved riding across the estate. It was always so peaceful. But today, her mind was too chaotic to take in the scene. A lump formed in her throat as they pulled up in front of her cottage.

“
You want me to come in?” Jake asked.

“
Yes.” She paused, looking at the stone cottage. “No. I think I need to do this alone.”

He nodded.
“I’ll be out here, then. Just in case you need me, okay?”

She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
“Thanks, Jake.”

Jake took her hand.
“He loves you. Remember that.”

She
nodded, climbing out the cart. She walked slowly up the steps. Her legs felt like they had each gained twenty pounds. She opened the door.

Patrick
was bounding down the hall before she even had the door completely opened. He pulled Laney through the doorway and into a fierce hug. “Thank God you’re all right.”

Laney hugged him back, trying to put all the love she felt for him into that one action.

Patrick pulled back, looking down at her. “Laney?"  He paused searching her face.  "What is it?"

She took a shuddering breath.
“I need to talk to you.”

Patrick gave her a long look.
“Okay,” he said, drawing out the word.

Laney took his arm and he winced.

“Your arm,” Laney said. “Is it okay?”

He patted her arm.
“It’s fine. It’s worrying about you that’s going to put me in an early grave.”

Laney couldn
’t laugh at his joke. But she managed to eke out a weak smile.

They walked into the living room and sat on the overstuffed
yellow couch. Laney normally loved this room, with its pale ivory walls and yellow and blue furniture. It was her favorite place to curl up. But the room offered her no comfort today.

Laney could see the concern on Patrick
’s face, the worry. He took her hand. “Laney, whatever it is, you can tell me. We’ll face it together, just like always.”

She swallowed down the tears that threatened to break.
I hope so.

“
It’s about—” She took a deep breath. “It’s about Mom.”

CHAPTER 26

P
atrick watched Laney struggle to find words. His dread grew, but also his confusion. After Hershey, he’d linked up with Kati and the boys and hustled them back to Baltimore with the help of a Chandler operative. But he hadn’t been able to reach Henry, Jake, or Laney since the parking lot.

His imagination had gone into overdrive thinking of all the horrible possibilities.

Now h
e watched Laney sitting next to him, struggling to speak, and all he felt was confusion and worry. Why would Laney want to talk about her mom? Especially now?

Patrick had been extremely close to his sister, Fiona.
When Laney had come into his sister’s and her husband’s life, Patrick had watched their joy increase exponentially.

And w
hen Fiona and Derek had died, Patrick had been inconsolable. He’d let Derek’s brother take custody of Laney, too lost in his own grief to notice what cruel people they were.

Later, w
hen he learned of the abuse, he was angrier, and guiltier, than he’d ever been before. Laney was the last link he had to his sister. He demanded that her custodians hand Laney over to him immediately and sign over custody—or he’d have them put away. They agreed.

Then he fought the church to allow him to raise her.
He even threatened to leave—and he meant it.

He loved being a priest, love
d the archaeological work he was able to do on their behalf. But Laney came before all of that.

From the moment he saw her swallowed up in that hospital bed, her arm in a cast, his sister
’s daughter had become his. At first, it was because Laney was all Patrick had left of Fiona. But then it was simply because she was Laney.

All that love he felt for his sister and all the grief he felt at her passing, though,
now returned with Laney’s words. Feeling shaky, he took Laney’s hand. “That can wait. Are you all right? Where did you three go after the park?”