Sam sighed and sat down on the steps leading down into the living room. “Ethan got evidence on the sixteenth from someone claiming that Rachel was alive.”
“And from this you come over and give your mother false hope?” Frank demanded.
“Dad, listen to him,” Donovan cut in.
“He came over to the house with pictures. Of Rachel.”
“Oh, Sam, how could someone do that to him?” Marlene cried. “To any of us?”
Sam leveled a look at his mother. “Mom, she’s alive. I’ve seen her, held her. So has Donovan. Ethan is with her now, as is Garrett.”
Marlene gasped. Frank went completely white. Nathan and Joe looked at Sam with open mouths.
“But how?” Marlene finally managed to get out. “My God, Sam, where has she been for a year? Did she run away? Did she leave him?”
Sam took a deep breath, knowing what he had to say wouldn’t be easy for his family to hear. “The mission that we went on—that we all went on—was to rescue her. She’s been held prisoner in South America for the last year.”
“Oh, my God!”
The entire room erupted in a chorus of denials, of exclamations and demands for more information. Nathan and Joe stood while Marlene buried her face in her hands. Frank gripped the sides of his chair with white knuckles. Only the young girl viewed the goings-on with disinterest.
“What do you mean held prisoner?” Nathan demanded. “What the f**k is going on, Sam?”
For once, their mother didn’t threaten to wash his mouth out with soap. Sam doubted she’d even heard what Nathan said. Her features were drawn in shock.
“Is she okay, Sam?” his mom asked.
“She’s not, but she will be,” Donovan said soothingly. “It’s going to take time.”
“She’s very fragile,” Sam said grimly. “It’s why we came ahead to break the news so that hopefully things will have calmed down by the time Ethan brings her home.”
“Calm down?” Marlene asked. “Calm down? How can I calm down? You tell me the daughter of my heart is alive after we’ve mourned her for the last year and I’m supposed to be calm? When is she coming home, Sam, and just how bad is she?”
“That’s just it, Mom. We have to be calm. She can’t stand the excitement. She’s . . . she’s in withdrawal. They kept her heavily medicated during her captivity. We don’t know what all she endured. She’s on the verge of shattering, so we absolutely cannot overwhelm her when she gets home.”
“There’s something else you should know,” Donovan said quietly.
All eyes turned to him.
“She can’t remember a lot of her life.”
“What?” Marlene gasped. Tears crowded her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “My baby can’t remember us?”
“She remembers Ethan. And Garrett. Not much else. I scare her witless, and Donovan might as well be a stranger,” Sam said grimly.
“Lord have mercy,” Frank said shakily. “That poor child.” He looked over at Sam, his eyes drawn and angry. “Why? Why did they do this to her?”
“I don’t know that, Dad. But I plan to find out.”
“Holy shit,” Joe breathed. “This is heavy stuff.” Then he looked up at Sam. “Drug cartel?”
Sam nodded.
Nathan swore. “What the hell happened? Did she see something over there she shouldn’t have? And if so, why the big charade? Why not just kill her and be done with it?”
“Nathan!” his mother exclaimed in a shocked whisper.
“He’s asking a valid question, Marlene,” Frank said. “He’s not saying they should have killed her, but it seems awfully damn weird that they sent us home her rings and told us she was on a plane that she obviously never set foot on.”
“Are you sure it’s Rachel?” Joe asked.
Both Donovan and Sam nodded.
“Thank God. Thank God,” Marlene choked out. “It’s a miracle. She’s alive.” For the first time, joy shone in her eyes as it finally sank in that Rachel was alive. “What a wonderful gift. Ethan must be beside himself.”
Donovan blew out his breath. “This isn’t going to be easy for either of them. They’re going to need a lot of help from us. The biggest thing we can do is not to crowd them and to let them find their way back on their own terms.”
“When are they coming back?” Marlene demanded. “I need to go over and clean the house and get everything ready for them. There’s groceries to buy. She’ll need new clothes.”
Sam held up his hand. “One thing at a time, Mom,” he said soothingly. “It’ll be a few days. She’s being treated, and the doctor wanted her to wait a few days before traveling. You’re right, she’ll need new clothes. She’s thinner. Coming home to a bunch of clothes that don’t fit her might be upsetting, so it would be nice if you could shop for her.”
Marlene brightened. “Rusty and I can shop for her, can’t we, Rusty?”
She turned to where the girl had been sitting a few moments earlier, but her chair was now empty. Marlene blinked in surprise. No one had seen her leave.
“Who is Rusty?” Donovan asked.
“Someone who will be staying here awhile,” Marlene said almost belligerently.
Sam exchanged pained looks with his brothers. Their mother’s defensive tone could only mean one thing. She’d taken in another stray. Only this time it was a human.