Don't Say a Word - Barbara Freethy [133]
Julia wanted to say the same thing, but in all fairness she couldn't. She'd had a good family to grow up in. And another sister as well. She still didn't know how she would tell Liz about Elena. That wasn't a conversation she was looking forward to.
"Is he your boyfriend?" Elena asked, nodding toward the bedroom.
"What? You mean Alex?"
Elena smiled. "Of course I mean Alex. Who else would I mean?"
"Actually, I was engaged to someone else until a few days ago. My fiance didn't want me to search for my real family. It turned out to be the last straw between us, and I'm glad now. I realized he wasn't the one for me."
"Because of Alex?"
"I didn't break up with him because of Alex," Julia prevaricated. "What about you? Any men in your life?"
"Not recently. I was engaged, too, a couple years ago, before my accident. He was a choreographer, a good one. He couldn't bear the thought that I'd never dance for him again. So he left. It hurt, but life goes on. I learned that lesson a long time ago."
Julia scooted forward on the couch, clasping her hands together. "I'm so sorry that your childhood wasn't happy. I wish we could have been together. It isn't fair that I grew up in a loving home and you didn't. I feel so guilty."
"It wasn't your fault. We should have been kept together, not hidden away from the world."
"For our protection, they say," Julia reminded her. Although she wasn't quite sure if that was the true reason or the convenient one. They'd become baggage, children no one wanted to be associated with. That's why they'd stuck Elena in a foster home. Julia was lucky, very lucky. Sarah had wanted her desperately enough to change her entire life and her past just to be able to take care of her. For the first time, she felt a lessening of her anger toward Sarah. At least she had been loved and taken care of. She needed to remember that and be thankful.
Alex returned to the room. "I reached my father. He'll have Brady trace the number. He thinks it's a bank account. He knew your parents made plans before the defection. Your mother had come to the U.S. a number of times with her ballet company. My father believes that she may have stashed away a great deal of money during those visits."
"So the treasure might be cash," Julia said.
"Might be," Alex agreed. "He'll call me back. I told him where we were. He said to stay put. Apparently your parents were planning to live here in DC, because your father was going to work with our intelligence agencies. That's how Elena ended up here. It was the initial drop point."
"You make me sound like a bottle of milk or a newspaper," Elena said with a touch of annoyance.
"Sorry. Those were his words, not mine."
"It would make sense that they'd come here so our father could work with the government," Julia interjected. "Does your dad think the account might be here in the city?"
"That's his guess. Or possibly New York," Alex replied. "Your mother made several trips there as well."
Julia's cell phone began to ring. She slipped it out of her purse and saw Liz's number. "It's my sister," she said, feeling awkward when she said it. "My other sister." She cleared her throat and answered the phone. "Hello."
"Hey, it's Liz. What's going on? I haven't heard from you in a while. Have you found out anything?"
"A couple of things," Julia said. "I don't want to get into it on the phone, though. I promise to tell you everything as soon as I get back."
"Get back? Where exactly are you, Julia?"
She hesitated, then said, "I'm in Washington DC."
"Why? What's there?"
"It's a long story."
"And you don't want to tell me. I get it. I just wanted to let you know that some guy was watching me on the docks this afternoon."
"What did he look like?" Julia asked, her pulse quickening.
"He was big and stocky, and he wore a baseball cap. He left as soon as he realized I'd seen him. Do you think he's the guy who burglarized our apartment?"
"I think he might be. Don't go back to our place, Liz, especially alone."
"I won't. Believe me, I'm not looking for trouble."