“As expected. If it is okay with you, I’d like to check the wounds before we leave.”
Before she had a chance to answer, Alexis felt Cliff’s hold on her good shoulder tighten in a supportive squeeze.
“Yeah, um. . .that would be fine.”
Logan nodded and moved back beside his wife then wrapped a protective arm around her waist. Alexis’ heart squeezed in her chest as she watched their exchange. It was not something she ever saw for herself, always thinking that she wasn’t good enough for that kind of love and affection. If her parents were so willing to toss her aside, how could she imagine that a man wouldn’t do the same? Though she had known Cliff for two years, it was always at a distance. Now that they seem to share a mutual attraction, she was afraid that he was still too closed off to pursue a relationship.
Not that she was in the right frame of mind to begin anything with anyone. Despite the cartel coming after her, she hadn’t been intimate with anyone since college. The FBI made sure that her life revolved around them and them alone.
Joseph, the patriarch of the Connelly family, leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. His knowing eyes pinned to her, but regardless of the sense of authority permeating from him, his gaze reflected a sheer kindness in them.
To her, Joseph was the perfect father figure. She knew that he had fathered Avery while he and Amy had been separated, but that didn’t change her opinion of him. If anything, it strengthened it. Not many men were willing to acknowledge and accept their mistake.
“Can you tell us why this locket seems so important to you?” he asked. Anyone else that would have asked that question would have had Alexis on defense, but not Joseph. He was inquisitive about why she’s white-knuckling the jewelry.
“Oh, it was the last thing I have from my parents before they sent me away. It’s the only piece left of them.” Joseph and the rest of the group nodded in understanding, but their eyes widened as she further explained, “It is also how I know that the man I saw was my father.”
Using her chipped thumbnail, Alexis opened the locket in half, a smile immediately spreading across her lips as she stared down at a miniature picture of her mother and father. Regardless of them giving her up, she still loved them. Which made the knowledge of her father’s hobby difficult to fathom.
Alexis held up the locket for the room to see, pointing out the image of her father. Besides gray patches around his temples, he looked exactly the same as he had in the portrait.
She extended her hand, letting the chain and locket dangle from her fingers.
“The man I saw in the bunker is the same man in this picture.”
Dylan was the first to move closer, narrowing his gaze as he took in the man’s image.
“Shit,” he bellowed as he quickly moved out of the room and down the hall with his phone pressed to his ear. The others in the room all leaned in and looked at the tiny picture.
“If it is okay with you, Alexis, I’d like to make a copy of the picture and share it with the residents in town so that we can have everyone on alert,” Joseph said.
“Okay, that seems like a good idea.”
“We need to get Preston involved too. The police need to be notified so they can monitor the town and surrounding counties.”
Collectively the group agreed and for the first time, Alexis breathed a sigh of relief. These people really were going to help her. She had thought it was a silly notion at first, but now she could see that they would do anything to keep her safe.
From behind her, a voice bellowed, the sound dark and deep in its command. “Hand me the locket.” Alexis wanted to object, never one to be told what to do. She and authority never meshed well together. How she had been able to last so long in the FBI, she would never know.
As she turned in her seat, her gaze met the angry stare of Cliff’s. But as her eyes flicked back and forth, she could see that he was looking at the necklace, not at her.
She placed the heart in his hand and dropped the thin chain from her fingers. Around her, the group quieted as Cliff inspected the piece. His shrewd eyes took in every detail.
“You’ve had this a while?” he asked as he brought the small trinket closer to his eyes.
“Yes.”
“And it has always been with you?”
“Well, yes. I never take it off, and it must have fallen off outside your shop considering the circumstances.”
Cliff nodded and turned to step out of the room, his heavy stomps leading toward his kitchen. Confusion blossomed as she stared at his retreating back, even through his tight T-shirt she could see his muscles hunched around his shoulders.
Something nagged at the back of her mind, some other occasion that she went without the necklace. As a child in a group home, she learned quickly that if you wanted to keep any of your personal belongings, you kept them on your person at all times. Then you reduced the risk of another child stealing or breaking them. Or worse, the adult taking it and sometimes selling the item. Alexis saw so many beautiful heirlooms taken from the younger ones and pawned for a quick buck.
Finally, a memory popped into her mind and Alexis found herself jumping from her seat, as fast as someone injured could.
“Cliff!” she called out as she hobbled back toward the hallway, only to collide with a broad chest as she made it around the couch without her crutches. She had been using every available surface to keep herself balanced.