Chapter Thirty-Three

Marlie clapped a hand over her mouth.

Elsa and Neil Wilson?

She shook her head, as if that would clear things up. It didn't. She blinked. Nope, still there. Seeing them up there, surrounded by children they'd essentially kidnapped, yet still, she had a difficult time harnessing her brain around all the heinous things they'd done. All this time, they'd been pretending to be such good friends with Evan's parents, while in fact, they'd done nothing but lie to them and to Evan.

More ugly truths washed over her.

When they'd been recruiting her to volunteer at the Foundation, she'd been so grateful for the opportunity to reintroduce herself back into the world of child psychology she'd been blind to their real motives.

They'd only been wooing her to get to Noah.

When they'd unexpectedly shown up at Evan's house to deliver the Foundation papers, they'd offered to take Noah out for cake, playing on his chocolate sweet tooth. What did they think they were going to do, kidnap him right out from under their noses? Apparently so. Of all the arrogance…all the evil, fu—

Marlie blew out a ragged breath saturated with anger at the older couple she'd once thought was so kind and nurturing to both her and Noah.

Nurturing my ass . Was there anyone they didn't use and abuse to achieve their goals?

"You're not getting out of here," Evan said in a low, deadly voice.

Neil made a dismissive gesture. "Of course, we are, and we're taking our children with us."

The gray bus. That had to be how they expected to leave.

"You can't be serious." Evan stepped closer to the dais. "Maybe in your sick, twisted minds you actually think these children are yours, but they're not."

In reality, they were hostages, and they didn't even know it. Neil and Elsa intended to keep them only long enough to make their getaway. They were counting on law enforcement not doing anything to jeopardize the kids' safety.

"They're minors." Evan and Blue continued inching closer. Keeping his focus on Neil and Elsa, Evan made a subtle gesture with his right hand, so small Marlie barely caught it. Deck and Brett, along with their dogs, also started moving toward the dais. "That makes it kidnapping."

"Don't be silly." Elsa laughed, then addressed the children. "Adama and I are leaving here. Forever. Does anyone want to stay here without us and be left behind?" Amid murmurs of "no," the children and young adults shook their heads. "You see? They all want to be with us."

Dear God. They really had brainwashed these kids. For the first time, she heard a slight accent in Elsa's voice she hadn't detected before.

"We're leaving here, Evan," Neil said. "There's nothing you can do to stop us."

Now that she was listening for it, she heard the same foreign accent in Neil's voice, as well. German? Swedish? Dutch .

"I wouldn't count on that," Evan snapped. "You're going to be charged with kidnapping, endangering children—multiple counts—attempted murder of a federal officer, shooting down a federal aircraft, and that's just a start off the top of my head. The state will charge you for operating a large-scale illegal pot farm."

"So many states have legalized marijuana now," Neil said, chuckling. "Did you know there's even a strong movement in Wyoming to legalize it here? We'll have our lawyers sort out that little mess."

"All those guns." Elsa gestured to the SWAT team members and uniformed officers standing at the ready. "You're frightening the children."

When the kids huddled tighter around her and Neil, Marlie saw right through Elsa's plan. By implying law enforcement would hurt them, she'd instilled a fear in the children of the very people who were there to rescue them. The woman was good. She'd known just what to say and do to make Evan's job harder.

Deck and Brett moved in closer, stopping when Evan held his hand up. "Even if, by some miracle, you managed to skate on all those charges," he continued, "there's that little outstanding matter in the Netherlands." Neil's jaw tightened. Elsa glanced worriedly at her husband. "Yeah, I know about that. You stole a lot of money from a lot of people. You were indicted in absentia. Bram and Nina Ackerman are facing hard time back in the homeland."

"Marlie," Noah whispered, pointing to the dais. "There's Caleb. I know he doesn't want to be here. Some of the other kids don't, either."

"Let me try to help." She slipped past Evan. Reversing whatever mind games Neil and Elsa had done to these kids would take time—time they didn't have—but she had to try. Rationalizing was the only thing that might put enough doubt in their minds. "My name is Marlie," she said, trying to make eye contact with as many of the children as possible. "I think I know what made you come here. Some of you had parents who didn't treat you nicely. Some of you were living on the street. You thought this would give you a better life. Right?"

The boy Noah had identified as Caleb nodded emphatically. A few others nodded, somewhat less enthusiastically. Maybe these were the other kids Noah had been referring to. At least they were listening, but she had to talk fast.

"Don't listen to her," Elsa crooned in a gentle tone, while at the same time, shooting Marlie a frosty glare.

"No, do listen to me." She returned that glare with one of her own. "These people have been using you. They lied to you, told you they could fill a hole in your life and take you to a better place, but what have you really been doing since you got here? Maybe it was fun at first, before you were sent to work in the field every day or in the warehouse. They isolated you from everything you knew—no phones, no internet. They did this to cut you off from all outside contacts and destroy who you are. Your real identity."

Elsa opened her mouth again, but Marlie cut her off. "Did they tell you your old life was a joke? Or that they would transform your life into something better?" She searched their faces, seeing nothing to indicate she was making any more headway. "Did they give you gifts at first?" she asked, trying a different approach. One of the older girls nodded, just a little, but it was there. Then another kid nodded, this time one of the boys. Most of the other kids still stared back at her with blank expressions.

Think, think! There had to be a way to get through to them.

"The truth is they don't care about you," she continued, racking her brain and calling on the training she hadn't put to any use in years. "They preyed on the fact someone else hurt you. They chose you because you didn't feel good about yourselves or your life. I know." She jabbed at her own chest. "I know what that's like, because I've been there. I know what it's like to not feel you should live or be loved, but we all deserve that. They," she added, pointing to Elsa and Neil, "promised you a new identity, a new home, and a better life, but in reality, they're only helping themselves. They don't care about your feelings. They only care about what you can do for them, not what they can do for you. Think about it. What have they really done for you since you got here?"

"Shut up," Neil growled.

A few of the kids glanced fearfully at Neil. Others tucked in tighter, as if trying to protect Elsa and Neil.

"No, I won't shut up." These two had taken advantage of children who'd already had enough sadness and abuse in their lives. "I'm on your side," she said more gently, readdressing the kids. "It's not your fault, and I'm not judging you. I realize you don't know me, but just think about what I've said. Please . Think about it."

Blasting more holes in their current belief system would only make them defensive and worsen the situation. She'd never convert them right out of the gate. There was no time for that here. The goal was to plant the seed of doubt, poke just enough holes in their convictions to help separate them from Neil and Elsa and get them to safety.

Aside from Caleb, she wasn't getting through to them. While she hadn't meant to interject her life into this, if it did anything to help, she'd bare her entire soul to help these kids. She turned to find Evan watching her with an expression she couldn't decipher.

"She's right about one thing," Neil said to the children, "you don't know her, so you shouldn't believe anything she says."

"But you do know me !" Noah ran to the edge of the dais, resting his hand on Blue's head. "Did any of you ever complain about anything here? Did you ever ask to leave here?" All the kids shook their heads. "I did. Caleb did." He pointed to his friend. "Didn't you even wonder where I was for the last two weeks? Having fun, using computers and the internet, and learning how to shoot pool and play the piano."

A few of the kids perked up their heads.

"Caleb and I complained about being stuck here." Noah held out his arms. "We said we wanted to leave, but they wouldn't let us. I tried running away, but Frank drugged me and locked me up in his basement. If Evan and Blue"—he pointed to them—"hadn't found me, I'd be dead. Frank was going to kill me."

"That's ridiculous," Elsa said. "Anyone who wants to leave only has to ask."

"Stop lying!" Noah shouted, his face reddening as he pointed to his friend again. "Some of you were thinking about coming with us. Tell them, Caleb."

"Yeah, it's true." Caleb nodded. "I was gonna run away, but John caught me and forced me to work in the warehouse."

Several other kids started looking around at each other. Maybe the ones Noah and Caleb had been working on. Their words were having an impact.

"Don't you want to know what happens to kids who want to leave here?" Noah asked. "Did you ever wonder who's buried in those graves that don't have any names on them?"

For a long moment, no one said anything.

"I just thought she went back home," one of the older boys in the back of the group piped in.

She? Oh no .

Evan's head jerked to stare at the boy. His jaw went hard, and she knew instantly where his mind had gone. Could his sister be lying in one of those unmarked graves?

"Maybe you thought wrong." Noah pounded his fist on the stage. "Maybe she asked to leave, and they wouldn't let her. Maybe when she tried to escape…they killed her."

A girl with blond hair and who looked to be about fifteen, backed away from Neil. "Did you?" she whispered. "Did you really kill Angie?"

"That's ridiculous." Neil flicked his fingers in Noah's direction. "Noah always did have quite the imagination."

"Oh, sweetheart," Elsa crooned, trying to drape her arm around the girl, but she skirted away. "We would never hurt any of you."

Two of the smaller girls inched closer to Elsa, as if seeking her protection. A bad sign. Noah might be getting through to some of the older kids, but his impassioned speech was scaring the little ones.

"Now," Neil said, glaring down at Evan, "I suggest you let us leave with our children. We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt. Now would we."

Bastard . He was actually threatening the children, and they didn't even realize it.

Things were spiraling downhill fast. If they didn't do something, they might have no choice but to let Neil and Elsa leave with the kids. Who knew what would happen to them if that happened.

"Evan?" she whispered.

"Don't worry. I've got this." Using the same motion he'd used before, Evan flicked his wrist. Deck and Brett unhooked the leashes from their dogs. "Blue," Evan said, pointing to the dais.

Like sheepdogs herding sheep, all three dogs leaped onto the stage, nudging their way through the children and forcing them to break from the tight circle around Elsa and Neil. Evan, Brett, and Deck, vaulted onto the dais, then gently but firmly, took the nearest children by their arms and urged them toward the other officers.

"Children, no!" Elsa shouted, latching on to the nearest and smallest little girl. "Don't leave us!"

"Blue!" Evan pointed to Elsa.

With a low growl, Blue insinuated himself between Elsa and the girl, advancing and forcing Elsa to release the girl's hand.

A few of the younger kids started resisting the officers, trying to turn back.

" We're not lying to you." Noah hopped up on the stage, pointing at Elsa and Neil. " They are. C'mon, let's go! We're all getting out of here. Together."

Caleb joined Noah at the edge of the dais, waving his arm to the other kids. "Listen to him! Let's go!"

Gradually, and with a mixture of fear and shock on their faces, the remaining kids began inching farther away from Elsa and Neil. Some of the teenage girls grabbed onto the younger kids' hands, tugging them along. Thank God. The protective circle Elsa and Neil had been counting on was dispersing.

A minute later, Elsa and Neil stood in the center of the dais, watching their flock being led out the door. Noah and Caleb went with the other kids, helping to keep them calm.

Evan advanced on Elsa and Neil, clenching and unclenching his hands. Just when she thought he was about to plow his fist into Neil's face, he reached behind him and tugged a set of handcuffs from a black leather pouch on his belt.

He yanked Neil's arms behind his back, slapping on the cuffs. Brett pulled out another set of handcuffs and did the same with Elsa. "You have the right to remain silent," Evan ground out, reading them the rest of their constitutional rights. When he was done, he got into Neil's face. "Where's Gracie?"

"We'll be invoking our right to an attorney," Neil said in a bland voice.

Evan's nostrils flared. Again, he fisted his hands. "Get this trash out of here."

While Neil and Elsa were escorted out, Evan took a deep breath, then hung his head. Blue sat beside him, leaning against his thigh.

Marlie took the dais stairs and rested a hand on Evan's back, feeling the thick, rigid muscles. No matter what had passed between them, she couldn't leave him alone, not like this. "Evan?"

"I need to look at those graves." He spun, leaving her standing alone on the dais. Blue jumped to the floor and followed him out the door.

Her heart ached for him, but that wasn't what he needed to hear right now. For him, this still wasn't over. As much as she loved him, she couldn't go with him, couldn't follow him down this never-ending path of grief.

The pain in her heart was real. For him, and for her.

But I have to let him go .