A Spy's Home---Book 2: Wounds, Both Old and New

Chapter 10

I tried steadying my breathing as I looked at the apartment door in front of me. Do I really want to do this alone, without Rory? I finally knocked on the wooden door, and impatiently waited for an answer.

Right when I was starting to regret all of my choices up to this point, the door opened and appeared a middle-aged man who had olive skin, and short, spiked up blakc hair.

Taking a deep breath, I asked, "Are you the father of Susie?" The man nodded, and I saw there was slight discomfort in his eyes. "I'm sorry to bring her up, but I was wondering if I could ask a few simple questions about her disappearance." I replied, feeling guilty about bothering this man.

"Show me your police badge." he responded, gruffly. It took me a few moments to realize what he was asking of me, but when I did I quickly answered, "Um, sir, I'm not with the police, but what happened to Susie I've experienced before when I was young, and I'm trying to figure out the connection between the kidnappings."

The man gave me a blank expression, but his eyes seemed to be lost in thought. "Hey padre, is everything alright?" a familiar male voice asked. A young man I recognized in an instant stepped from behind the doorway to the kitchen and stopped suddenly when he saw me.

My breath got caught in my throat as I processed my thoughts. Finally ,I stuttered, "C..Carlos?" His brown eyes went wide before he crossed the room and stepped in front of me. "Z...Zylina!" he exclaimed, with a smile slipping on to his face. The realization hit me in a flash; Carlos's younger Hermana was Susie!

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Five Minutes later....

"Zylina, what are you doing here?" Carlos asked after convincing his dad to let me inside, and sitting me down on the sofa. "I...I heard about Susie's disappearance, and I went through something similar when I was little. You've heard of the kidnappings that's been going on, right?" I told him.

Carlos looked down at his feet and nodded; sighing I said, "I'm trying to find a connection. Someone took me as a two-year old, and I'm trying to find out whether whoever took Susie is the same person."

He looked back at me with glassy eyes, and I put my hand on his shoulder in a sympathetic gesture, before asking, "Can you tell me what happened?" Carlos sat up straight, rubbed his face, and responded, "I trust you enough to tell you, but don't question my padre about this. He's already been through enough after losing my mama"

I nodded softly, and promised, "I won't ask him any questions. I didn't know you lost your mom and then your sister." Carlos shook his head, shrugged, and responded, "Not many people know about my mom."

My stomach got a knot in it at the statement, and I felt a sting of guilt for asking Carlos to relive his sister's kidnapping. "C....Can you start from the beginning?" I asked. Carlos ran his fingers through his hair before doing any talking.

"It's not a really long story, I had just gotten back from work and it was about 10 pm. I was sneaking toward my room when Susie woke up and came out. I hugged her a little before telling her to head back to bed, but she wanted me to tuck her in, so I went into her room with her." A small chuckle escaped his lips, but I could see tears forming behind his eyes.

After a moment of silence, Carlos continued on with the story, "A few minutes after I tucked her in, Susie fell fast asleep, so I kissed her forehead and went to my room. About an hour later, I woke up to the sound of footsteps in Susie's room, but it sounded too heavy to be hers, so I went to check it out expecting to see my father. I opened the door in time to see a flash of black drop from the window with Susie unconscious in their arms. There was no time for me to do anything."

Carlos stuffed his forehead into the palm of his hands, and I sat there with my hand glued on my mouth in shock. Carlos had not lost his sister, but had to witness her being dragged away.

I stood up, and choked out, "Carlos, I'm sorry. I'll try my best to find the person who did this to us." I turned around and headed for the door, but I could feel Carlos's eyes burning through the back of my neck before I shut the door, and disappeared down the hallway. 

TBC....