A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I really appreciate it.
I went back and forth on the current chapter a lot, debating whether to include it or just go straight to the next one, but I'm finally going with this one. I owe a tremendous amount of thanks to both Rosalie and BarbaraK2U for their help with this chapter! They both gave me ideas and feedback when I was struggling, and they helped shape it into its current form. Thank you both very, very much!
Chapter 11: Tobias – Success
Lauren and Mary seem to have become fast friends, chatting about the city while we wait. It's clear that the younger woman is curious about the police force, and it's not hard to figure out why. It was a deadly threat to her and her family when NUSA was in charge, and she wants to see if that's still the case.
As I watch them talk, I remember Lauren's comment about hiring Micky if we found him. I wonder if she was serious.
"How are you holding up, Tobias?" Kevin asks quietly, keeping his voice low so only I can hear.
"Fine," I answer automatically. It takes me a second to realize it's true. There's an odd peace to having found Anna's ring. Even if Micky decides not to sell it back to me, at least I'll know that I did everything I could to retrieve it.
"Maybe I'm still in shock that we actually found it," I add with a half-smile. Kevin grins in response.
"Yeah, I really didn't think we would," he comments. "I was just waiting for you to give up on your own, but damn if you didn't pull this thing off." He shakes his head a little, still smiling. He's right. Realistically, there's no way we should have succeeded in this effort, but I guess for once luck was on my side.
"I suppose that depends on whether or not Micky returns," I say, my eyes shifting to the door as if I can make him magically appear. That doesn't happen, of course – at least not at that moment. It's not until after Lauren and Mary go get dinner for all of us, and we eat in the crowded apartment, that our thief returns.
It's impossible to read his expression as he walks through the door. He wears the same carefully neutral look that I spent my childhood perfecting, and I know it's for the same reason. It hides his secrets – and has kept him alive this long.
As he enters the room, my gaze turns to the young woman behind him. For a second, as she's half hidden behind Micky, all I see is her long, dark hair braided down her back. Then, her husband moves to the side, and I see the infant sleeping in her arms.
Something jumps a little inside me as the image from last night's dream flashes through my mind – of Tris holding a baby with deep blue eyes. And in that moment, I wonder what right I have to ask this couple to give up their ring, just for Tris to maybe wear it someday. The selfishness grates against my Abnegation instincts.
The woman scans the room, her gaze passing over David and Kevin before fixing on me. She steps closer.
"Tobias?"
"Yes," I answer levelly, standing and approaching her. She shifts the baby into one arm so she can shake my hand. Her grip is gentle.
"I'm Luella," she says. Holding the infant up a little more, she adds, "And this is Kaylee."
The movement exposes her left hand, and for a second, my eyes stop on the ring she's wearing. The image of it sitting on David's counter in the pawn shop so long ago flashes through me, and I know this is the right ring. But I force my gaze to continue on to the baby. She's cute, and again I feel a twinge of guilt.
YOU ARE READING
Prior Rings
Fanfiction"So, are you nervous?" Zeke asks as he adjusts my bow tie just a touch. "No," I answer simply. And it's true. I have never been more certain of anything than I am about marrying Tris. This story is a sequel of sorts to my "Determinant" fic. It cove...
