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She gave him a hard look. “It’s not how any of us thought it would go, and it’s not your fault.

I appreciate the fact that you’re still here and still trying to help.

” She sighed. “I can’t imagine going through this on my own, and I wouldn’t even know where to start.

I mean,… as you can tell, I’m pretty stunned at this latest development.

A possible second brother seems crazy,” she admitted, as she shook her head, maybe to get rid of her thoughts, “but now I can’t help but wonder if there could be more. ”

“That’s a really good point,” he noted, “and we’ll do our best to get answers for you, but, as you know, it will take some time.”

She nodded. “It all takes time,” she muttered, “and sometimes it takes too much time. I want answers, and I want them now, but the person who I could have gotten answers from… isn’t even alive anymore,” she said bitterly.

“You also have to accept that your adoptive mother may not have known everything. It’s very possible that she didn’t know about another sibling.”

“I want that to be true,” she replied. “I really do.”

“Maybe the two brothers were together, or maybe they were singled out as being more of an issue than we thought,” he suggested. “We can’t know what’s going on at any one time on these matters. Just try and wait until we get additional information.”

She took a deep breath and let it out very slowly.

He noted, “You’ve had a lot of coffee.”

“No, I haven’t,” she countered. “This was just too much, too soon—and, by the way, one can never have enough coffee.” She shot him a look. “You want more?”

“Sure,” he agreed, “although I was thinking you might need food, as in real food.”

She winced. “If you are referring to the cookies, I’ve only had a couple.” When he looked at her in complete surprise, she smiled, then stopped. “What?”

“You finished the package,” he stated bluntly. “So, the sugar picked you up, and now it’s dropped you.”

She winced. “There goes my waistline to boot.”

He snorted. “Definitely don’t worry about that right now.

Besides, you don’t ever need to worry about it.

You’re perfect as you are.” From the expression on her face, she didn’t seem to receive his simple compliment.

Yet it had been so natural for him, just the way he spoke.

Thankfully she left it alone, but she did get up and walk into the kitchenette, which had a small office fridge and a coffeemaker with cups, plus a few plates and plastic spoons and forks.

“Are we even allowed to leave?” She turned and glared at him. “Am I a prisoner?”

His eyebrows shot up. “No, you’re not a prisoner. We’re just trying to keep you safe, while we figure out what’s going on.”

“Are you trying to keep me safe or are you trying to keep me away from my family?” When his breath came out in a whoosh , she immediately closed her eyes and reached out a hand. “I’m so sorry,” she muttered, shaking her head. “That was a bitchy thing to say.”

“You’re obviously on a turntable of emotions, so the best thing you can do is just relax as much as you can. Maybe it would help to find something to distract you, while we wait for further information,” he reiterated.

She stared at him and then slumped into a chair at the nearby dining table. “I hear you, and I know that’s the thing to do, yet it just feels so wrong.”

“Wrong in what way?” he asked.

She pondered that. “Are you wondering if it’s an energy thing?”

“I’m wondering all kinds of things right now,” he declared. “One of the things we have to consider is this.… When you felt all that energy, did you feel one brother or—”

She sucked in her breath. “Or the other. Exactly, but if we are twins,… I assumed that’s why I recognized Don,” she said, looking around frantically. “How is it that I would not know the difference between him and the other one?”

“Because you don’t know who and what you’re dealing with at the moment,” Morrison replied. “None of us do.”

“Would I really pick up on the other one, even if he’s only partially blood related to me?”

“Absolutely,” he said. “Sometimes we just have connections to people. We don’t always understand how or why, but the bond seems almost unbreakable… because it feels that way.”

She stared out at the living room, her back resting against the dining room chair. “It makes sense, but right now my mind is totally glommed on to, What if there’s more family? What if this second guy is also my brother? What if there’s, say, four of us? Would I not recognize that energy? ”

“Maybe you would,” Morrison suggested, “Maybe you did .”

“But that will make me question everything I’ve felt all this time,” she wailed. “Maybe I sicced you on Don, and it wasn’t him at all.”

He stared at her, then just waited for her to process what she’d just said. He had mentioned that before.

She closed her eyes. “But that isn’t true, is it?”

“I don’t think so, but remember that, because of you, Don is still alive. We don’t know who did what to him yet. However, as soon as we can get that information, we will have further details to work from.”

She glared at him. “You know that doesn’t help.”

“No, it doesn’t help right now,” he clarified. “Yet I’m definitely the grounding rod you need right now,” he murmured.

She got up and opened the kitchenette cupboards and the fridge. “I don’t know what we can eat,” she muttered, staring at the interior of the cupboards.

“I doubt if anything is here. I’m sure the hotel clears out any foodstuffs left behind by the previous guests,” he explained. “Gage will return pretty soon.”

She stared at Morrison. “I thought I was supposed to find something to do.”

He smiled. “If you can, that would be great. I just don’t know how you are doing in terms of being tired or hungry or just disoriented.”

“I’m feeling very disoriented, as you well know.” He just nodded but didn’t say anything. “And I’m not trying to bite your head off. I’m sorry. I seem to be doing that again. I’m working off automatic reactions now.”

“I know that. I really do. The bottom line is that we need to find something to do until we have more to go on.” Just as he went to take a look out the window, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and stepped into the other room. “Terkel, what’s up?” he asked.

His tone brisk, Terkel asked, “Is she listening?”

“No, but she’s not far.” He turned to see that she had followed him. “She’s right here beside me now. What’s up?”

“Put it on Speakerphone.”

He immediately did as Terkel asked.

“Sadie?”

“Yes, I’m here,” she replied. “What did you find out?”

“You have two other siblings,” he shared, “one brother named Darren, plus you have a sister.”

Morrison reached out to steady her. “Hang on, Terkel. She’s collapsing.” He quickly moved her to the couch. “Go ahead,” he added. “She’s here. She’s just had a bit of a shock.”

“Apparently your family included four kids, two boys and two girls, who are two set of twins,” Terk shared.

“One connected to you and one connected to Darren. Your sister’s name is Tammy.

We don’t have any confirmation at this point that she is alive, but we’re looking into that right now.

Apparently your brother Darren is here in town. ”

“Which is the one who we saw earlier, one of the two men following us,” Morrison noted.

“Yes, that’s our assumption. We obviously don’t have any DNA to confirm that at this point in time, but he is a known associate of Don’s,” he added. “Don, I presume, is the one in the hospital?” Terk asked.

“Yes,” Sadie replied.

“That confirms the intel I have to date. That’s the name he was born with. That’s the name that they kept throughout foster care, though, as far as we can tell currently, he uses the nickname of Cody.”

“Why Cody?” she asked.

“He’s a bit of a hacker and, since he likes to code, calls himself Cody.”

“What about the other brother, Darren?” Sadie asked.

“He just goes by Darren.”

“I hate to ask, but is he a criminal?”

“He has a very long rap sheet,” Terk replied. “So the answer to that question is a definite yes.”

“And my sister?” she asked, her voice thin and strained as she stared at Morrison, the hope evident in her gaze.

“We don’t have a rap sheet for her. In fact, we don’t have anything,” Terk admitted, his tone gentle. “Which is why we need confirmation that she’s potentially still alive. We also don’t have a death certificate or anything else to say she is deceased.”

“Right,” Sadie muttered, followed by a sigh. “Why can’t you tell me that she’s… a nurse somewhere, married with two kids, and having a great life?”

Terkel laughed a bit, and his tone was lit with humor as he added, “If I get a chance, I’ll be more than happy to tell you that, but right now I don’t live in a fantasy zone. However, as soon as I have anything more, I’ll let you know.” And, with that, he rang off.