Page 11 of Waiting For A Girl Like You (Haven House #4)

“The first several years of Toby’s life were spent in an environment where everyone—whether related to him or not—loved him,” Ben continued.

“Simone raised Toby like he was her own. Devon mentored Toby as only a father would, and Ty taught him about the world in a way only he could. Abe shared a room with him, and Annabeth watched cartoons with him because no one else liked that weird Power Rangers show except them. They were his family, even though they didn’t share a drop of blood with him. ”

“And we didn’t know,” Annabeth said softly, giving Ben a bittersweet smile. “We didn’t know other families weren’t like us. CeCe and I didn’t fully understand we weren’t real sisters for the longest time. I remember how it boggled our brains when someone pointed out we weren’t physically related.”

“We were a group of lost people who found a family together.” Ben took a second to control himself, pressing his lips tight before turning to Annabeth.

“Your mom? She’s our foundation. Simone is, and always will be, the heart of this family.

” His gaze shifted to Jamison. “And your mom was the very air we breathed. Laura Jean kept us alive and happy, showing us how we could find the beauty in everyday things.”

Finally, Ben turned his attention to his son, but Samuel shook his head. “Dad, I don’t want to hear it. Not today. Today… it’s too much.”

Ben ignored him, continuing anyway. “And your mom was our center. Miranda was strong—so fucking strong—and a thousand times wiser than any of us. She could read people like a book and knew immediately when they were hurting or needed to admit things about themselves that they couldn’t dare speak out loud.

If you had a secret, Miranda would keep it safe. ”

In the years Rowan had known Benjamin Fairweather, he’d never seen him become emotional.

And while he wasn’t acting even close to what a normal person would deem emotional, this was different.

Ben was devastated. It was like the past had rushed into the room, allowing all the years of pain and sadness to take the floor.

“Even Rebecca had a role in our family dynamic. She was so young, with so much potential, though I couldn’t see it then.

I was too self-centered, and me leaving that potential untapped opened her to being manipulated by my brother.

That’s not an excuse for what she did, by the way.

I don’t forgive her. I’m not a big enough man for that, and I never intend to be.

Truth be told, I hope she’s burning in the pits of hell.

I hope she’s in eternal pain for what she did to us.

” Ben cleared his throat, returning to sit beside Klausen.

“But while I’m not big enough to forgive, I am smart enough to recognize her fall was because she wanted to belong.

Like her son, Rebecca wanted to belong to someone, and I’m sure Toby was influenced by that.

He was influenced by us and by the world here, trying to create his own twisted version.

A world Sinclair isn’t remotely familiar with, and those people are going to catch on soon enough if they haven’t already. ”

No one spoke, with both Samuel and Annabeth shrinking a bit in their seats.

Jamison was too young to remember three of the four women Ben was talking about, but Rowan was sure Samuel and Annabeth did.

They probably remembered every moment. Every good time and every bad.

There was such a thing as being bonded due to shared trauma, and when he first got to know the family after the whole truth came out, he had really thought that’s what was happening here .

But it wasn’t.

This family was bonded by their love for one another, and it happened long before July 4, 1999. That night might have irrevocably changed their lives forever, but it hadn’t shaped them into a family.

“You’re very right, Ben,” Will said at last. “Sinclair isn’t going to treat these people like whoever ran things before him, but he’s put on a good enough front that they were willing to die for him.”

“Izzy said the women were surprised.” Liam went to sit at the table beside Jamison. “From the toxicology reports, we know they were heavily drugged, but she said they were surprised they were dying. I can’t move past it.”

“And that’s significant,” Agent Anderson agreed. “If they were surprised, I’m sure other members were too when the group didn’t return. A suicide mission where your team isn’t aware it’s a suicide mission is the cruelest kind of betrayal, not easily forgiven.”

In his research, Rowan had found that Zanmi had gone silent. The usual Tobias Miller social media chats were dead. Members who were once the loudest and most active hadn’t even touched their phones in the last two weeks.

“They’re either all dead, which seems unlikely,” Rowan said, “or the rats are finally abandoning ship. The chat rooms and servers Zanmi used are now quiet or have just completely disappeared. The major players we didn’t nab in the raid haven’t been heard from in weeks.”

“And we’re checking to see if any of them have returned to their ‘normal’ lives,” Will added, using air quotes around the word normal.

“If they’re no longer with Zanmi, they’ll need to survive somehow.

The newer ones should return to their jobs or their mom’s basements soon, but the long-term members without Zanmi’s support might begin applying for jobs or leases. ”

They could only hope. As much as he wanted to believe members were leaving the group, Rowan had found no evidence of that being true. It was as if they had all vanished.

“I’ve worked hard to keep this quiet and not to pat myself on the back, but I’ve done an outstanding job,” Jamison said. “However, you’re right. By now, Zanmi must know what went down.”

Jamison truly had done a stellar job. They’d collaborated closely to spin the story just right.

She provided measured comments to the press about the mild incident at the infamous Fairweather family property known as Haven House, claiming another attempted break-in by Toby’s group.

Meanwhile, Rowan planted false police reports for the media to discover and coordinated with Ben to keep the situation tightly under wraps.

“I don’t think they’re dead,” Will said, excitement creeping into his voice, recognizing today as a victory.

“But I do think the veil of Sinclair’s leadership has lifted.

Zanmi might finally see he doesn’t have their best interests at heart, which could benefit us.

The whole thing could implode from the inside out, and we won’t have to do anything but watch it fall. ”