I finally did it. I am stowed away in the back of a truck. I have no clue where it is heading, but it is better than where I have been.
—The diary of Megan Jean
Riley hobbled into the kitchen with Alex. She was smiling and laughing. They stopped when they spotted Mia.
“How are you doing, sweetheart?” Alex asked.
“I would be better if the two of you would stop looking at me like that,” Mia said.
“You were so upset this morning,” Riley said. “With good reason. Maybe you should take some time to yourself.”
“Time is something we don’t have,” Zack said.
He walked into the kitchen as well; another man followed behind him. Mia recognized him but couldn’t place him at first. He walked up to her and held his hand out.
“Trent Quillian,” he said. “We met a few weeks ago. Sorry about holding a gun to your head and all that stuff.”
“It’s been an interesting couple of weeks,” Andrew said.
Mia did not return his handshake. He gave a nervous laugh and put it down.
“I told you not to kill him,” Mia said, “not to start trusting him.”
“I’ll explain later,” Andrew said. “But he has proved himself.”
“Why do you say we don’t have any time?” Riley asked Zack.
“Grant’s wedding is less than forty-eight hours away,” Greg said. “That is when we strike.”
“No,” Riley said.
“Absolutely not,” Alex finished.
“You two don’t have to help,” Mia said. “But we’re moving forward.”
Both of them looked at her with shock.
“You just lost your mother this morning,” Riley said. “I was shot in the leg, your big Affinity leader has his arm in a cast, one of our members is in a coma—we need more time.”
“I’m ready to finish this,” Mia said. “You don’t understand how dangerous Grant is; if he spends one day as grand commander I can’t imagine the horrors that await this country.”
“Andrew,” Alex said, “talk some sense into her. We need to regroup.”
“I trust you, Mia, but Rex is dead,” Andrew said. “There is no way to prove you’re Grant’s wife. They’ll make you out as a liar.”
“That does make things a bit difficult,” Greg said.
“Did you grab all the bags from the van?” Mia asked.
“They’re by the garage,” Greg said.
Mia walked over toward the entrance. There she saw her mother’s satchel. Mia flipped it open and pulled out the book before she returned to the group. She handed it to Greg. He started flipping through the pages before slamming it shut.
“So it is settled then,” Greg said. “More than enough to prove Mia’s identity.”
Mia silently thanked her mother.
“I’ve prepared a delicious meal for all of you, so please have a seat.”
Mia could feel Alex and Riley staring at her in disapproval, but Mia knew once this was over her mother’s death wouldn’t have been for nothing, and that was more important than focusing on her grief.
The table was long and had a bench on each side where four people could fit, with a chair at each end. Everyone took a seat.
“What about Corinna, Carter, Frank, and Rod?” Andrew asked.
“Frank is in the shower,” Alex said. “He’ll be down soon.”
“I made enough for everyone,” Greg said. “But we should let them sleep as long as they like. I can only hang out here another hour before I head home.”
Mia gave Andrew a look; her initial guess was correct.
“I was wondering why the most trusted man in America lived in such an average house,” Trent said.
“This is not in my name and not traceable back to me,” Greg said. “I use it to house runaways.”
“I never would have guessed you were sympathetic to women,” Mia said.
“Why?”
“You seem so loyal to the grand commander,” Mia said.
“Keep your enemies close,” Greg said.
They all sat down around the table. Footsteps came from down the hallway. Mia tried to see who was coming. When Carter stepped into the light Rod’s arm was draped around his shoulder. Andrew stood up to help them and Mia walked over with him.
The portly man had lost a great deal of weight. He looked like flesh and bones. His gray hair was greasy and stuck to his head.
“I would give you a hug,” he said, “but if I take my arm off of Carter’s shoulders I think I’ll fall.”
Mia wrapped her arms around his waist. She felt her eyes sting with tears of joy, knowing they wouldn’t fall.
“I am so sorry to hear about your mother,” Rod said. “I owe her my life.”
“I’m sorry we didn’t come for you sooner,” Mia said.
“I didn’t tell you about my relationship with Affinity to protect the cause,” Roderick said. “I thought by keeping Carter in the dark I was giving him more of a childhood. I should have known better than to keep something like that from you.”
“It’s done with,” Mia said. “No more apologies.”
She released Rod’s waist. Carter and Andrew helped him sit at the table. Mia caught sight of his bandaged wrist and wondered what atrocities Grant had put the man through. Her desire to stop him only strengthened.
“It appears I’m the newbie,” Rod said. “I don’t know most of you.”
The group went around and gave introductions.
“I’m Zack,” Zack said. “Also a member of Affinity.”
“Have we ever had personal contact?”
“No,” Zack said. “But I was aware of your existence.”
Soon Frank and Corinna came down and squeezed in on one of the benches.
“So, Riley,” Rod said. “Irish government? How did you get in contact with this group?”
“I helped Mia pose as a prostitute in order to rescue your son and Andrew from a well-organized and unstable militant group that was brainwashing them,” Riley said.
Rod’s cheeks puffed up as he formed a smile. “I suppose in another situation that would sound abnormal,” he said. “But not here.”
Andrew passed Mia a salad bowl and she put a scoop on her plate. Mia took a look around the table. All of the people she loved most in the world were present. If they hadn’t been gathered together to bring down an unfair government it would have looked like they were here to celebrate a holiday. Some of them were family, some cherished friends, and others newcomers who shared Mia’s outlook. It shocked her that even in this time of sorrow and struggle she felt a sense of happiness.