The Thief Redeemer (19 page)

THREE DAYS HAVE passed, and Claire
has hardly uttered a word. She sits at the dinner table with her mom and dad.
They are happy to have her back, but Claire can sense the tension in the room.
Tension caused by her. She notices her parents exchanging worried glances as
she moves her food around her plate. She hasn’t been the same since she left
the alleyway.

She wonders what’s wrong with her mind. She was kidnapped
and now she has been returned. She should be ecstatic and elated. So why does
she feel as if her heart has been ripped to shreds and broken into a million
small pieces? She has never felt this way before. Sure, she has broken up with
boyfriends whom she thought she was in love with, but Brandon was different.
She had been willing to give up her life of normality for Brandon. She wanted
to be with him that much.

She can’t feel anything. Her heart, mind and body are numb.
She is confused as well, because she never should have fallen for her
kidnapper. Her mind is waging a battle: part of her knows she’s gone crazy
while the other part is confident it was true love. She really is in love with
a criminal.

“Honey, are you going to finish your meal?” her mom asks her
nervously. Her father looks at her with concern in his eyes.

“No. I think I’m done.” She can’t tell them there is a patch
of cotton in her throat and the thought of eating makes her stomach turn. She
hasn’t eaten in three days. Three days since she last saw him.

Tears start to fall down her cheeks as she thinks of never
seeing him again. He is gone for good. His warehouse has been raided and she is
sure he will go into hiding. He is lost to her forever.

“Honey, were…you hurt in any way while you were there?” her
mom asks in a whispered voice. She has asked Claire this question at least a
hundred times.

Claire’s tears become heavier and her cries more fierce. As
her mom hands her a tissue, Claire knows her parents think she was brutally
raped or beaten.

Her mom has no idea that Claire is crying over a broken
heart. What would they think if I she told them the truth? They’d probably
commit her to a psych ward. Who falls in love with their kidnapper?

But it’s not what Brandon was that made her love him. It’s
what he
wasn’t
. He wasn’t your average monster. He was a good man with
huge potential. He had a good heart that had been led astray by the hard life
handed to him. Claire wanted to help him fix his life. She wanted to be there
for him and show him the right path to travel. They could have been something
and gone somewhere. Together they would have been strong. He could have been
redeemed.

Now they will never know. Now he is alone with no one to
watch him. Claire knows he needs her to take care of him. Through the tears,
she decides to set her mom straight. “It’s not what you think, Mom. I was
actually treated very nicely.”

Claire’s mom takes one hand and places it on Claire’s back.
“Would you like to see a counselor?”

She cringes at the thought. Do you see a counselor for a
broken heart? And what would the counselor say? That she is crazy and confused?

“Mom, I just need some time.” It is all Claire can mutter
without giving away her story of lost love.

“Brandon Wilson and I have history, Claire. He’s messed up.
Please let me know if he did anything to hurt you,” her dad begins, and at his
statement, Claire starts sobbing again. They are uncontrollable sobs that shake
her entire body. Did he hurt her? Yes. He hurt her worse than anyone has ever
hurt her before. He just let her go! He released her, telling her he was doing
it
because
he loved her. And now they are lost and separated forever.

“Dad,” Claire starts, and in between sobs, manages to
formulate words. “He…never hurt me, Dad. He’s not a monster. He’s…not what you
think.” She cries a little more before adding the last bit. “He’s a good guy,
Dad.”

Her dad grunts and shakes his head. “I’ll believe that when
I see it, Claire. You know nothing about this guy or how dangerous he is. He’s
not even allowed to see his own brothers because he’s a danger to them.”

His words cause anger to shoot through Claire. She wants to
defend Brandon, but knows she shouldn’t. She decides to remain silent. If she
pushes her dad more, he’ll start asking her personal questions, questions that
might involve the twins and her relationship with Brandon. She can’t reveal
Brandon’s secrets. Now she understands why he didn’t return her earlier. He was
correct; she would have been probed on his whereabouts.

“Honey, the police want to come by tonight for some more
questioning. I know you haven’t been able to answer anything yet, but I was
going to see if you felt up to it tonight?”

At her mom’s words, Claire breaks down into another sea of
tears. She can’t speak to the police. They will be like her dad and only
mention the terrible things about Brandon. The sweet Brandon she knew and loved
doesn’t exist in their eyes.

“I…can’t,” she manages to voice through the sniffling and
tears. These past three days have been an emotional rollercoaster. She knows
her family doesn’t understand how to handle the post-Brandon Claire.

Jonathan has even stopped by a couple of times in hopes of
bringing her out of this depression, but she doesn’t see him as she once did. She
doesn’t find him attractive anymore. She only wishes for Brandon to walk
through those doors and take her away.

She cries harder at the thought. She will never see him
again. He knew what the outcome would be, so why did he let her go?

TODAY IS DAY four and the tears have
diminished; she has no tears left to cry. She feels numb as she sits on the
sofa and stares at the wall. She wonders how long it will take her to get over
him? How long does it take to forget someone you’re in love with? Years? She
hears her dad speaking with the officer in the kitchen. He has stayed home from
work the past four days, terrified that Claire will do something stupid. Claire
knows both parents think she is seconds away from slitting her wrists, but she
isn’t. She is just too sad to move.

The officer has stopped by today since her mom told him no
visits last night. He is briefing her dad first before interrogating her. She
has nothing to say. She refuses to speak and put Brandon down, but she can’t
necessarily defend his actions, either. He did kidnap her after all, and how
far would “he has a good heart and amazing potential” go with the police?

“Who are the people who died that night?” She hears her dad
ask, and her ears perked up.

“There were only two causalities, sir. Juan Carlos Martino
and Marcus Patrick Evans.”

Claire stands to her feet before she realizes her actions,
and heads into the kitchen. She sees her father and the officer sitting at the
table. Both look up when she walks in. “Marcus has died?” she asks in a
whisper. She receives a nod of confirmation from the officer. His face shows no
sympathy. Of course, the officer doesn’t realize how sweet Marcus was. To him
Marcus was a common criminal, not the big teddy bear she had known, or that
Brandon knew.

She feels the all-too-familiar pain in her heart of Brandon
losing his right hand man. She wonders if he is even aware of Marcus’ death.
“Where will he be buried?” she asks, because maybe if she can find the
gravesite, she will see Brandon again. Maybe he will visit.

“He’s going to be cremated,” the officer informs her grimly.
“Soon. He has no family, and that’s how the state handles bodies.”

“What?” Her heart drops. She can’t believe what she’s
hearing. Claire can’t let this happen to Marcus. If it is the last thing she
does for Brandon, she will take care of his best friend.

“Yes, ma’am.” The officer nods again, looking at Claire like
she has lost her mind.

“No.” At this, both men eye her, their brows raised. “No,”
she repeats, because she is not going to allow this to happen. “I want Marcus
to have a proper burial. I’ll pay for it myself,” she says to her dad. “It
doesn’t have to be a grand event, but I want the body to have a resting place.”

“Claire…” her dad starts, his expression relaying that he
believes she has totally lost her mind. Well, maybe she has gone crazy, but she
has money saved, and she will do this for Brandon. If he knew Marcus wasn’t
going to have a proper burial, he would be throwing things and punching walls.

She looks at the officer and makes her voice firm. “I want
him to be buried. I’ll call the funeral home right this minute and make the
arrangements.” She walks from the kitchen without looking back.

The expression on her father’s face says it all. She knows
her dad will try his best to talk her out of this idea, so she hurries to make
the arrangements. After a few minutes, she has an appointment in the afternoon
to pick out the casket and review other details. There will be no funeral, only
a burial.

She will probably be the only one in attendance, but at
least this will give her time to process her thoughts. Maybe being around
Marcus will somehow bring her back to life.

Thirty minutes later, her dad knocks on the door. He informs
her Officer Spenser is standing by to do the interview. She tells him she still
isn’t ready. Claire isn’t sure how much more time they will give her, but she
knows she will avoid this confrontation as long as possible.

CLAIRE RETURNS HOME from the funeral
home ready to crawl into bed. She has picked out Marcus’s casket and had made
other arrangements for his burial. The plan is to meet in the graveyard at noon
the following day and watch the body be lowered. She arranged for a minister to
attend to make it somewhat a funeral. She wants to cry for Marcus but she has
no tears. She is all dried up.

Not wanting to be alone for the burial, she knows the exact
people to call. She opens her laptop, the one that they had tried
unsuccessfully to steal, and Googles the number for the Peoples’ residence.
After two rings, a male voice answers. She recognizes it as either Mark or
Luke’s.

“Hi. This is Claire.”

The other end is silent for a few seconds. Then she hears
movement. Whoever answered the call is apparently changing rooms. She hears a
door close, and when he speaks, his voice is a whisper.

“Claire. It’s Luke. I’m so glad you called. I’ve watched
everything on the news. What happened? Is Brandon okay? Are you okay?”

For the first time in the past four days a smile crosses her
face. She didn’t realize how good it would feel to hear Luke’s voice. He sounds
like Brandon, and she longs to continue this friendship.

“I’m okay and Brandon’s okay…at least I hope so.” She
proceeds to tell him the entire story. She hasn’t spoken to anyone about what
happened that terrible night, and letting it off her chest is therapeutic.

“Wow.”

Claire blows a deep exhale through her mouth. The word “wow”
only begins to describe her feelings.