Aria's weak cry pulled me awake. My eyes flew open and I quickly snatched my goddaughter from the hands of her snoring mother. Glancing out the window, I was surprised to see the familiar gas tank near Logan airport. We would be landing in Boston in just a few minutes.
That explained why Aria was fussy. Her ears were probably popping from all the pressure. Rocking her back and forth proved to be soothing for both of us and I lost myself in playing peek-a-boo and listening to her cute giggles. Before I knew it, the wheels touched down and a feeling of foreboding swelled over me.
I was willingly stepping back into the lion's den and I had no idea if I would be able to escape again. I looked over at Tianna who was still snoring. She must be exhausted after the last few days. Running my hands down her shoulder I gently shook her awake.
I slapped myself, mentally, as I realized that I had yet to ask her if she was injured or even if she needed to go to the hospital to be checked out.
"T, T, are you okay? I've been so selfishly concerned about myself I forgot to ask you how you're doing."
Chuckling at my guilty expression, Tianna's eyes roved over me and her baby before leaning forward and kissing Aria on the forehead.
"Only you would feel guilty about taking care of yourself first and I am fine, trust me. This is not the first time..."
The look of despair on my face reminded her that I wasn't privy to the intimate details of her life. She blew out a gust of air and stopped herself from continuing. "Let's wait until we are checked into the hotel to talk about this."
Nodding my head in a daze at her words, I almost missed when the seat belt sign went off indicating that it was time to deplane.
We made short business of retrieving our things and getting out of the airport. Throughout the whole process I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that I was being watched.
Shaking my head, I chalked my paranoia up to being in Boston again and quickly ordered a car from one of the ride sharing apps. It was a twenty-minute drive from the airport to the hotel in downtown Boston and I spent the entire ride stiff as a board while memories of my former life bombarded me.
For the first time in years, my siblings ran across my mind. I wonder how they turned out. The youngest and I were six years apart, making her roughly fifteen years old, so she should still be living at home. I had missed five years of their life. I wonder if they still hated me and how they would feel about me coming back...
With a small groan, I shook those thoughts out of my head. It didn't matter. I needed my parents and convincing them to help me was my biggest worry. The relationship between my siblings and I could wait.
Some Time Later
As soon as Tianna and I got to the hotel we had a long discussion about her home life and I let her in on the rest of the horrific details of my past. It was liberating to finally share everything about myself with someone.
For Tianna, sharing her story was cathartic. I had never seen her cry so much as the sordid details of her marriage came pouring out. There were instances that I felt like she was still hiding some things from me but I nodded and hugged her regardless.
My friend had endured a lot and I had no right to judge her. All that mattered is that she wanted a change and as soon as my parents fixed whatever was wrong with me, I would help her divorce that ass and get her settled somewhere far away from all the drama.
When we were finished, we settled in to eat brunch and I reached for my laptop. Before leaving Arizona yesterday, I had tracked down my parents' email and sent them a message. After all this time, they still worked at the largest genetics lab in Boston.
I waited to check for a response until now. Partially because I was on a plane but mostly because I was scared that they hadn't replied or worse they had replied and told me to drop dead.
*****
It had been five hard years since that little bitch had run away. Five years since the organization was so far up our asses we couldn't fart without it being recorded. Everything we did was monitored. The only thing I was grateful for was that they had spared our lives.
Somehow Peter and I had missed Nicolette in Chicago but were lucky and whoever they sent to retrieve her had failed too. That had earned us a conditional reprieve.
The reprieve itself was a joke. Once a year they would haul us in front of the council to explain to them what was being done to find their precious experiment. It was humiliating to have to re-hash our failure year after year. Even worse, our co-workers had taken to avoiding us so they wouldn't be associated with the team that had failed so miserably.
Over the years we had searched for Nicolette becoming more desperate each time we had been hauled to New York to report that we had yet to find her. Then today, today, all my prayers had been answered. Out of the blue, I received an email from Nikki asking if she could come home because something was wrong with her.
Pure happiness had exploded through me. I had been so excited that I rushed to Peter's office, interrupted his meeting, and quickly ushered everyone out.
As soon as the room was empty, I jumped on him and attacked him with kisses. Before I could explain why I was so happy our kisses became passionate and my lab coat was on the floor followed by the rest of my clothes soon after.
It had been a while since that type of passion had erupted between us. Following Nicolette's escape, I had been able to control or dissuade Pete's advances.
As soon as we were finished, I laughed. Apparently, Nikki had been good for one thing. She had gotten me the best lay I'd had in a very long time.
"Peter, Nikki sent me an email! Something is happening to her and she's coming back to Boston for our help. We are going to be free my love! Free from the organization. We will finally be able to escape their grasps."
Peter smiled and after another mind-blowing round of sex, we sent an email to the organization and waited for them to tell us how to proceed.
******
Nicolette's nerves were threatening to drive her mad. The relationship between her and her parents had never been good yet here she was at a restaurant anxiously waiting to meet with them.
She had been beside herself that morning. Wanting to show them just how sophisticated and elegant she had become, she had hogged the bathroom and done a complete beauty routine.
She started with a face mask then plucked her eyebrows and her chin. The biggest struggle was her hair. Afraid that her parents would disapprove of her natural curls, she considered straightening it. Thankfully, she caught herself just in time. Her hair was a part of the woman she was today. She loved how it coiled and curled to her head after a shower and the natural volume it had even after it was combed out. She was proud of her hair and there was no way she would change it to please anyone.
She eventually settled on chiney bumps in the front and a poofball in the back and finished with a light slather of edge control. When she finally emerged from the bathroom she looked like a Nubian princess.
As good as she looked, it still wasn't enough to stop the constant spikes of fear and uncertainty in her tummy. She was fidgety and jumped every time the doors to the restaurant opened. "For the love of heaven Nik, stop that! You are making me freak out." Tianna interrupted her reverie. "They apologized in the email didn't they? Plus it sounds like they want to make amends and help you so stop freaking out. Besides that's why I am here. If they try any funny business I will knock them out."
The goofy grin on my best friend's face made me burst out laughing. She couldn't hurt a fly but knew the promise would help calm my nerves. Lost in a battle of wits, neither one of us noticed my parents entering until I was suddenly engulfed by a lady in a cream-colored trench coat.
*****
The look of dubious shock on Nikki's face was all I needed to confirm that this was in fact her mother. "Nicolette, oh my goodness; Nicolette, we've missed you so much. I was a horrible mother to you. I am so sorry!" Mrs. Winspere' sharp wail was shocking. She sounded nothing like the cold woman Nikki had described to me.
Soon after, there was a gruff voice behind her; "hey, hey, stop hogging her. I want to hug her too."
It was a tall man a little smaller in comparison to my husband's 6'2 but no less imposing. He moved in and wiggled his way in between the mother daughter duo.
Nikki's eyes connected with mine. Bewilderment and happiness glowed in hers and a few tears escaped down her cheek. I couldn't imagine what such a reaction from her parents meant to her. Suddenly, I felt my wet cheeks and realized that I was crying too. I truly hoped that their reaction was the start of beautiful relationship between the three of them.