Sang's Freedom (Original And Rewritten)

Chapter 92: Talk To Me

-Chapter 92-

Victor Morgan's POV:

A shadow hung over me, but I refused to open my eyes. Maybe it was one of the people who took my mom...That would be good. At least I would have a lead.

At least I wouldn't go home empty handed.

The idea of going home to see the worry and disappointment on my brothers' faces was more than I could stand.

They would be so angry with me. They could turn their backs on me for this. No matter what I was getting hours...

The idea of having to run as punishment for my idiocy sucked worse than anything.

Someone kicked my foot. "Victor." I didn't respond. "Victor, don't make me shoot you." My eyes snapped open to see Matthew standing over me. He was holding a handgun and I yelped.

"What are you--?"

"It's precautionary," he muttered. "You do know there's people out here who would try to kill you, and I don't mean me."

Matthew was extremely annoyed. I could see it in the way he clenched his jaw. His blue eye was taking in the horizon, looking straight past me. He looked strange having his leather jacket replaced with a dark suit jacket.

"Who would kill me? The people who already got rid of the warehouse?"

"Yes, them. They could still have someone watching this place. Why the hell didn't you tell anyone where you were going?"

"They would have stopped me." Mr. Blackbourne. Kota. North. They would have been furious when I told them that I wanted to do this on my own.

"I wouldn't have. Sometimes a man has to make his own way."

"But..." Matthew was the team lead. For now it didn't matter what the others thought of my actions.

"Get in the car. We can continue this on the drive back." Matthew started walking away. It amazed me that he didn't wonder if I would follow. I didn't have to go anywhere with Matthew if I didn't want to. I could walk away from everything. Even the Academy.

I could go home to George and my step mother. Without the Academy the beatings would start again. The endless tours. The perfected pieces of Beethoven.

My feet followed Matthew on their own accord. I was a prisoner to the keeping of the miniscule security I had built up around my life. I could not lose it now.

I slammed the door to the truck loudly, but Matthew just looked at me questioningly through my window before holding out the keys. "Will you drive?" His voice was muffled by the glass, but I scooted into the driver's seat and he took my place in the passenger's and then we started out onto the highway. We rode in silence for a very long time.

"You really could have been kidnapped, Victor." Matthew's words were gruff and unexpected.

I shrugged. What could I say?

"Not only that, but you jeopardized our mission. If Mr. Hendricks finds out we are the ones who have been snooping around out here he will know that we are aware of the sex ring."

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry means shit to me. Why did you do this, Victor?"

My hands clenched tightly on the steering wheel. "You wouldn't understand it. Just tell me how many hours I'm getting and let's forget this."

"No, this isn't something I'm just going to drop."

"Tell me how many hours," I ordered.

"None." Matthew's fingertips touched the edge of his eyepatch before raising up into his dark hair. "Your aversion indicates this has something to do with your mother? If that's the case, I understand."

Was he trying to talk softly to me? I was just as tough as North! I don't need him to talk to me as if I was some girl!

My fingers clenched harder on the steering wheel. "You seriously don't know anything. You're truly stupid if you think you understand."

"I've lost people. Some of them in a flash. Others went missing like your mother and took years to find."

"Were they alive?"

"No." Matthew turned his attention to his window.

"Do you think my mom is alive?" Suddenly I needed Matthew to tell me what he thought. If he really had been through this...even if no one he had cared about had survived...

"I don't know. What I do know is that her body wasn't among those in the warehouse. I had a man go out to do data collection. He said that the profiles of the women came back to reflect the women taken were all between ages 16 to 22 in age. Even the ones he found buried. I can lend you the file."

I swallowed hard. "Yes, thank you." It was that easy? I could have asked Matthew and he would have given me the answer to the question weighing most heavily on my mind?

Was my mother in that warehouse?

No.

Thank fucking god she wasn't.

She was somewhere else. Perhaps she had really abandoned me and my father. Perhaps she had moved on and started a new family and was safe and happy. The idea, one that had caused me much pain at one time, now filled me with relief.

"You know," Matthew went on after a moments hesitation. "You, all of you, can ask me for things. This file work I'm allowing you to access is nothing. If you would like to pursue finding your mother, we can make that our mission, too."

"Why?"

"Because it's your mother. You need closure, no matter the form it comes in." Mathew rubbed his face, his fingers slipping under his eyepatch. He pulled the black cup off and away keeping his eyes closed. "No matter what happens, don't run away, Victor. We are finally at a point with Sang where I don't have to worry about her running. I don't want to worry about you either."

"It's because I'm Victor Morgan, right?" My words were bitter.

"What?" Matthew's eyes remained closed.

"I'm an esteemed pianist protégé, or haven't you heard?"

"I haven't heard. I'm not really one for classical music. I thought your father owned an electronics company. What are you doing on the piano?"

"You did a background check on me?"

"Of course."

"How could you do a background check on me and not find out I play the piano?" We drove past miles of cornfields.

"Not very observant, I suppose."

That was a lie if I had ever heard one. I almost called him on it but before I could, Matthew was asleep.

And he slept.

And slept.

And slept.