Page 86 of Unspoken Lies

“It should be closed down,” Theo grunts. “They refused to let the lawyer in, and stated that only someone married to Rachelle could gain access.”

“Which is illegal and sexist,” Mr. Emil mutters. “The boys have been working in the background on this, but it’s going to be a bit sticky.”

“I’m certain I’m going to dislike this,” Ignacio chimes in. “What’s the plan?”

“I’m Rachel Thompson’s husband,” Jared says, shifting in his square on the video call.

Gazing at him, I shake my head.

“You’re not hallucinating, Liliana,” Mr. Emil says wryly.

“This is dumb to argue about, but why can’t it be her wife?” I ask, annoyed.

“Because I hacked the system, and we’re the ones in the dog house,” Theo says.

“Of course you’d use this to your own benefit,” Ignacio sighs.“Tus pendejadas no les van ayudar a nadie.”

“It might help,” Elijah says with a shrug. “The institution also needs orderlies to work on call and are short staffed. They reached out recently for help and Theo managed to intercept an email.”

“Oh, please continue,” Mr. Emil says, looking as if he’s getting a migraine.

“I’m really good at lurking in the background and picking up information,” Elijah adds. “I’ll be able to see how Rachelle is and how this place works.”

“I honestly wonder if this place has legitimate patients,” Theo says.

“We can’t save everyone,” Jared reminds him.

“No, but I can drop a few comments into the right ears here in Portland to ensure that it spreads like wildfire,” Mr. Emil says. “There are a few people who are very concerned about mental health issues who will be more than happy to take this on. In the meantime, we work on getting Rachelle out. I promised her this would never fucking happen.”

“You couldn’t have known,” I say, but notice the way Theo’s eyes shift slightly. “Right?”

“I was worried about the amount of medicine bottles in her apartment,” Theo says. “I had concerns her doctor may be trying to keep her overmedicated.”

“I didn’t know Dr. Michaels would have her committed, no,” Mr. Emil says. “We’re going to have to work together to get her out. Don’t fight about the logistics, okay?”

“What am I supposed to do in the meantime?” I ask.

“Or me?” Nacio asks. “It seems they have things in hand.”

“As frustrating as this will be to hear, I need the drug issue that we’re having handled,” Mr. Emil says with a wince. “Keep your parole officer appointments, do what you’re supposed to do, guys. I want you to be able to give Rachelle your full attention when she gets out, which means no loose ends.”

Nodding, we hang up.

“Grab a bite to eat, Lili, and then let’s see if Dad’s guy was able to find anything on the drugs,” Nacio says as I collapse on the sofa. “I will run you a bath when we get home, I just need to do something.”

“Alright,” I agree, heaving myself to my feet. “I’m twitchy from being stuck in one place for so long. They insisted on strip searching me because of my weapons.”

“And you’re just telling me this now!” Nacio yells as I walk to the kitchen.

Oops. At least he’s not losing his shit over Rachelle anymore.

“Did you tell the lawyer guy this?” he asks, watching as I begin making a sandwich

“Yeah, he’s going after the asshole’s badge,” I say with a smirk.

“Baby, you should have led with that,” he groans. “Between the two of you, I’m going to end up with gray hair.”

“Does that mean I get to call you Daddy then?” I snicker.