Page 55 of Letting Go

The wool blanket scratches.

"Tell me everything she said, Bryce. Everything."

As I brief him, he sits very still, processing. When I'm done I end with: "So that's why I went out there. Alone. I needed to burn this off. If I see this guy, I'm going to fucking kill him."

Finn doesn’t say anything. And then when he does, it surprises me.

"Don’t tell Claire."

"Why the fuck would I do that?"

"I don’t know. Just don't. This is getting complicated. Raymond Clifton knew his brother was here, hired us to get closer to him. Reed's after Chloe and Raymond's after Reed. This is really messy."

By the time I've showered, Chloe's in the kitchen quietly working on breakfast for the guests. As I trip down the steps to the second floor, Finn waves me into the office.

"I did what I didn't want to do. I ran a deep background check on Chloe."

My stomach drops and I lick my lips. "And?"

I can’t decipher his expression.

"Look," says Finn, scrolling again on his desktop. He opens a file labeled 5711. "Here's a timeline. Parents killed in car crash. Chloe's not yet twenty-one. Chloe leaves school with Reed. Then that's it for eight years. She doesn’t show up again until that story in the school newspaper. Now, look at this." He taps his screen. "I also ran everything I could on Everlast and I've got a buddy in Boston looking into human trafficking allegations.

"What?"

He shakes his head. "If you try to leave, they are known to execute 'repatriations.' Did Chloe tell you anything about this?"

"No. She just said she's afraid they'll try to intimidate and harass her."

Finn's face is hard, drawn. "It's not intimidation."

My heart skips a beat.

"You mean they really kidnap them and bring them back?"

"There's a reason Chloe hid in Portland for nearly two years before coming here, and it has more to do than just getting along with her family. I think she was in hiding."

"You are officially off Raymond Clifton's detail. Keep Chloe close until Nic and I have this thing figured out. Repatriation is—"

"Fucking kidnapping."

Finn sighs. "Yes. And it could be dangerous for people close to her. Not just for Chloe."

I know he means Claire.

There's literally nothing for me to do here. Chloe's working until two today, prepping stuff and I feel stuck. Like I'm Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility. I had to read that in high school, and he was the only character I could identify with. When he asks, as his love lies sick, "What can I do?" and is told nothing, his response "Give me an occupation Miss Dashwood, I shall run mad" is how I feel right now. Bottled up. I need to do something.

I grab Finn on his way out the door. When I tell him: "I'm going out. I'll be back at two when she's off," he starts to push back.

"I thought we agreed you're going to stick to her like—"

"She'll be right here. You'll be here. Everyone's here for Chrissakes. Like I said, I'll be back at two."

I can’t even go back to The Inn to say goodbye to Chloe. I feel like I need to deliver her something. Instead, I turn my back on all of them and climb into the Lexus. In five minutes I'm flooring it up the peninsula and hooking a left on to Route 1.

Now that I know what questions to ask, Raymond Clifton better have some better answers.

The seminar is about to begin I don't see any coals lying around on stage, so clearly Raymond's not going to pull that out quite yet. The whole rolling up the pants walking on hot coals is all a trick. He could fool some people with his smooth suits and easy drawl, but he isn't fooling me. Reed's a narcissistic asshole and I'm sure good old Raymond knows more than what he's told us. I can’t believe he's come here on a hunch his brother might "do something."