“But when you were found,” Ryan said, “you were wearing your clothes.”

“That’s one of the things I can’t figure out,” I said. “I remember walking up the stairs, opening the door that had been left open a crack, running outside, and then scampering across the vast wilderness. And the next thing I remember I had clothes on and I was walking around the outskirts of Snow Creek.”

“Maybe you blacked out,” Jonah said.

“Maybe,” I said, “but I was ten years old. Where would I have found clothes?”

Jonah rubbed his jawline. “Maybe you found a house and went to it and asked for clothes.”

I shook my head. “No, that doesn’t make any sense. Anyone who found me and gave me clothes would have alerted Dad. Or at least the police.”

“True,” Ryan said.

“Is there anything else you want to tell us about this?” Jonah asked.

“No. You can certainly infer the rest. It happened many times. I stopped counting. Why would I want to remember that number? Some things are a blur, but what isn’t a blur is what they did to me. I remember every horrific detail of the pain and of the humiliation. And unfortunately, it has made me who I am today.”

“You’re wrong, Tal,” Ryan said. “Those couple of months don’t define you. You’re a good person. You were a hero overseas, and you’re a hero to me.”

“Only because I saved you that day. And let me tell you, I’m fucking glad you got away.”

Of course, my younger brother didn’t respond. Neither of my brothers could ever admit that they were glad that this hadn’t happened to them. I didn’t understand, but maybe I wasn’t meant to. They had their own issues that they needed to work through. Jonah especially. He shouldered a lot of guilt because of what happened to me that day. I’d tried to relieve him of it, but I had not been successful.

“How much of this are we telling Marj?” Joe asked.

I sighed. “Only the bare minimum. And definitely not the part about them butchering Luke. I don’t want our baby sister burdened with any more than necessary. I’m sorry I had to burden you guys.”

Joe shook his head. “No, Tal, we needed to know.”

True. They did. In their own ways, they had gone through it with me. “Do you guys want to come to therapy sometime? Or go by yourself? I’m sure Dr. Carmichael would be happy to see you.”

“Whatever you want us to do,” Ryan said.

“Ryan,” I said, “you have to quit leaving this all to me. I have finally decided it’s time to work through this, and I’m going to do it—not just for you guys and not just for Jade but for myself. And you have to do the same. Maybe you didn’t go through what I went through, but you’re dealing with it in your own way. Whether you seek help has to be your decision, not mine.”

Jonah cracked a bit of a smile. “You’re a wise man, Tal.”

Wise? Was he kidding? I was about as far from a wise man as any man on the planet. I shook my head.

“No, hear me out. It may have taken you a while, but you finally came to the conclusion that you need help. There’s no shame in that, and now you know that. There’s no shame in what happened to you. The shame belongs to the people who did it to you.”

As I listened to Joe’s words, I thought about Dr. Carmichael’s words a few days before. She’d said that I understood objectively that none of this was my fault, and she was right. I did. The problem was not my conscious mind but my subconscious, and I would work through it.

“Hey, guys!” Marj called. She stepped onto the patio.

“Hey.” I stood. “How’s Jade’s mom doing?”

Marj blew out a breath. “She’s the same. Jade’s going to be coming back later tonight because she has to go to work in the morning. She’s a little miffed at you, though.”

“I know. But she’s with her dad, and there were a few things I needed to take care of here. She’ll understand one day.”

“Yeah? When?” My sister whipped her hands to her hips.

She was a spitfire, that one.

I sighed. “Well, sit down, and I’ll tell you.”

Marj eyed the empty glass of whiskey sitting in front of me. “Drinking at noon?”

“Yeah. But I’m done. I’m only having one.”

She pulled up a chaise and sat. “What did you guys want to talk to me about?”

None of us spoke for a moment, but when Joe opened his mouth, I held up a hand.

“No, Joe. I need to say it.” I turned to Marj. “You were right to be suspicious. We have been keeping something from you. And it’s been my decision. Because what we’ve been keeping from you is something that happened to me.”

“Oh my God. Are you okay?”

I cleared my throat. “I’m fine. Or at least, I’m getting there.”

She went pale. “What do you mean? Talon, you’re scaring me.”

“You know those news articles you found in Joe’s house? About the child abductions around the area twenty-five years ago?”

Her eyes got as big as dinner plates.

“One other child was taken, one that never made the news.” I closed my eyes, willing myself to calm. “That child was me.”

Chapter Seven

Jade

I had left my dad for a bit to go down to the cafeteria and get us some food. As I was walking back with some sandwiches, my cell phone buzzed with a number I didn’t recognize. I was so tired and worn out, I considered not answering it, but my curiosity eventually got the best of me.

“Hello?”

“Jade?”

“Yes. Who is this, please?”

“It’s Ted Morse again.”

“How did you get this number?”

“I found it among my son’s things.”

My body went cold. “Has Colin shown up yet?”

“No,” Ted said, his tone accusatory, “and it seems that you are the last to have seen him.”

“I assure you I have no idea where he is, Ted.” Worry tugged at me. I no longer loved Colin. Hell, I no longer liked him very much. But I didn’t want anything to happen to him.

“I’ve contacted the police. They’ll be in touch to question you since you were the last person to see him alive.”