Page 77 of The Saint (Gentlemen Rogues 3)
Gemma reached over and fingered the key as she glanced at the script on it and frowned. "I'm sorry, but this explains nothing. You've told us nothing. All you've done is give her a wooden key. You just reached into a safe she can't even access."
Magda smiled. "It's your house. You have access to everything. There's a file I can provide you with if you wish to stay with pass codes to the safes."
"Did you just say safes?"
"Yes, there are two more. One in the floorboard in your bedroom, and one in the main bedroom's closet."
"Safes? Why are there multiple safes in a single house?"
"I'm sorry. I really do wish I knew more.”
Magda turned to the stove where the kettle was whistling, and she continued to hum the song from the garden earlier. I recognized that I had heard it before.
"For the girl to shine, even she must be pruned. For even a diamond began as coal."
"That song you were singing, what is it?"
"I don't know it by heart, but it was something your mother always sang. She said it was a lullaby. Other than that, I don't know what it is. It just seems comforting, so I sing it."
It was melodic and achingly familiar, like I should know it, like I should understand it. So why didn't I?
For the girl to shine, even she must be pruned. For even a diamond began as a coal.
Over tea, I tried to ask Magda more questions, attempting to get more clarity about my mother. Who she was, or if there was anything she said.
"Are you planning on staying?” Magda asked. “Your room is ready. You and your friend, you can stay."
But I knew I couldn't. Not until I understood more.
"She's not coming back, is she?"
Magda gave me a soft smile. "The last time she saw me, she said that she wouldn't be here for a long time. And that if you came without her, I was to give you that key."
The tears that had been banked all this time started to burn the backs of my eyes, and I wanted to cry, but I wasn't going to. My mother was alive. She'd been here. And I was going to find her.
CHAPTER 24
SAINT
"You had one fucking job."
Rook glowered at me. "Listen, how the fuck was I supposed to know she was going to do a runner?"
"You. Lost. Her.Explain to me how the fuck you lost my fiancée!"
The muscle in his jaw worked. "We both know she’s not really your fiancée, but I’ll let it slide. I put a man on her outside Gemma’s apartment. How was I supposed to anticipate she was going to do a runner at the exact moment of shift change?"
"For fuck's sake, Rook, this isn’t your first day on the job."
A flush crept up his neck. He knew he’d fucked up. There was no point in me riding his arse any further because Gabe was going to rip him apart. But still, Kaya was gone and it was all his fucking fault.
She was out there alone and completely unsafe. She could be hurt. I wondered if this was what it felt like to care about people. Maybe it was the reason I felt like I was coming unglued right now. Maybe I hadn’t really bothered giving a shit about anyone before now.
Caring was too fucking hard. Life wasn't supposed to be this difficult. All we had to do was stash her, and we couldn’t even manage that. Gabe was going to kill us.
"Look,” Rook said, “we will get her back."
"How?” We were already on the airstrip, heading toward the hangar and waiting for a direction to go. “Explain to me how the fuck we're going to get her back?"
