He extended his hand, bringing the ring closer to me. “Try it on, little lady.”
“Marion, I can’t and won’t.”
“You already have.”
Patrick
The room around us stilled, settling in prevailing silence. Mason and I stared between Sparrow and Reid as Reid’s findings echoed in our heads: “No,” Reid had said to Sparrow. “You’re not Ruby’s father. Dr. Dixon and I consulted Laurel; we are all in agreement that while you’re not Ruby’s father, genetically you’re related—statistically, closely related.”
Sparrow was still standing, his hand going to his hair as his bicep bulged beneath the sleeve of his white pressed shirt. His leather loafers began to move as the buttons on his shirt beneath his tie fought against his deep breaths. “This…this doesn’t make sense,” he said, sounding less sure than a moment before.
I replayed Reid’s announcement in my head and asked, “Can you be more specific on closely related?”
Reid took a deep breath and reaching for one of the chairs, spun it around, and lowered himself to straddle the back. “We could learn more if we had Madeline’s DNA. Here’s the thing. Even though, Sparrow, you have similar markers to Ruby, you don’t have any statistically significant markers in common with Patrick.”
The two of us looked at one another.
“You’re saying Sparrow and I aren’t related,” I said.
“That’s what I’m saying,” Reid confirmed. “That means for Ruby to be related to Sparrow, the missing piece to this equation is Madeline.”
I shook my head. “I agree with Sparrow…this is ridiculous. I met Madeline, shit, nearly twenty years ago. We were both fifteen years old.”
“When you were living on the street,” Mason interjected.
“Did you know?” I asked Mason. “Did Laurel give you a heads up?”
Mason set his coffee mug on the floor near his chair. “No, man, I came here because of Reid’s text. Laurel didn’t say a word.”
Reid sheepishly grinned. “Don’t blame her. It was my idea. I thought it was better if everyone learned together. This way we’re avoiding assumptions.”
“So how old is she?” Sparrow asked.
I leaned back. “She? Ruby? Sixteen.”
“No,” Sparrow said, “Madeline. How old is she? You said you were both fifteen, and I know how old you are.”
We were all relatively the same age, all entering the military at eighteen.
“Her birthday was this month.” I thought about the date. “She’s the same age as I am—same as you.”
Sparrow’s head was shaking. “Fuck.” He continued pacing. “Closely related…my parents are both only children. I’m an only child. How does that account for closely related?” He looked to me. “What do you know about Madeline’s parents?”
“Not much. They died in a car accident when Madeline was twelve. We talked about it but not in detail. There was no one to care for her after they were gone. No family. No anyone. She was too young to understand why everything they owned was taken away.”
“Debt,” Mason said, “would be my guess.”
“Hell,” I went on, “I don’t know if they had a house or an apartment. They lived in the suburbs. Madeline made it to the part of town where we met by taking a bus away from the last foster home. When her parents died, she was abandoned. She went into the foster-care system and hated it. She didn’t last long in any one house, either her doing or theirs. She was fourteen when she walked out of the last one. I remember a story about babies and a foster mom who drank too much.”
“Her parents’ names?” Reid asked, as he turned toward the computer.
“Tate.” I thought back. “Her father’s name was William, I think. I know her mother’s, for sure. It’s a unique name, Alycia.”
“I’ll see what I can find,” Reid said.
It was Mason’s turn to talk. “What if Ivanov knew?”
“Knew what?” Sparrow snapped.
Taking a deep breath, Mason stood. “Hear me out. What if Ivanov knew that Madeline was closely related to the ruler of Chicago? What if he sent her here, not as a distraction for Patrick, but for you? What if his plan was for you to meet her and then to drop the bombshell?”
“What fucking bombshell?” Sparrow asked. “There’s something wrong with these damn tests. Do them again.”
“Three times,” Reid said. “Dr. Dixon ran it three times. The results didn’t change.”
“So,” Sparrow turned to Mason, “if that was Ivanov’s big secret, did he think I’d welcome this long-lost relative with open arms and present her with half the Sparrow dynasty?”
Again the room settled in silence with only the sound of computer keys tapping as Reid continued his search. The revelation hit me—hit me as it simultaneously made itself known around the room.
“Maybe it wasn’t Madeline who Ivanov was keeping a secret,” I said.
Sparrow’s dark eyes met mine. “Ruby?”
Closing his eyes, he lowered himself to one of the chairs. “Is she supposed to be a threat?” He looked around. “Ivanov thinks he can use a sixteen-year-old girl as a threat to my kingdom and my power?”
“If that was his plan, he no longer has control over her,” Reid said.
Mason stood. “Why would Hillman try to kidnap Madeline’s daughter?” When we didn’t answer, he continued, “No offense, Patrick. It could have been because of your connection, but damn, if he knew that she is part Sparrow…?”
“How the fuck would he know?” Sparrow asked. “Nothing is confirmed.”
“It makes sense,” I said, standing. “That’s the answer to my why question: why didn’t Ivanov try to marry Madeline? Why has he taken care of and responsibility for Ruby?” I looked at my friends. “Listen, I know there are good men and women in this world who willingly take on other people’s children. I’m grateful that Ruby is safe and alive, no matter who afforded her that protection. But what little I know about Ivanov, he’s not a good man with a kind heart. Fuck no, he has no bounds for what he will do to perpetuate his power.”
“The goddamned answer,” Sparrow said through a clenched jaw, “is fucking obvious. Sixteen years ago, I wasn’t in charge. I don’t know why or how anyone knew, but there’s only one possibility. Madeline is roughly months younger than me. That rules out my mother having a secret love child. That leaves one man.”
“Allister,” we all muttered under our breath.
There were no bounds to Sparrow’s hatred of his father. If what he said was true, this revelation would not endear Madeline and Ruby to Sparrow.
Sparrow stilled his pacing. “How did Ivanov know? Assuming he did, how?”
“That’s what we need to find out,” Mason said.
Sparrow looked at me. “Forget what I said before. Go get Madeline. I want answers. I’m not offering her the keys to my kingdom; I don’t give a shit how closely we’re related. I earned this damn kingdom by enduring my father for as long as I did.”