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Chapter Fifteen – June 1

A few days later I was eagerly waiting for Angel to get to the house. Her modeling shoot was finally over, her dress was in, and I was ready to get her alterations going. I also wanted some dieting advice from an expert. My body was rebelling against me; even after working out on the Wii Fit for a couple days and eating nothing but salad, I had only lost a pound.

“Do you want me to call her?” Nick asked from the living room. He was pushing Brooklyn’s swing with his foot while glued to his laptop. I could hear the telltale sounds of World of Warcraft.

“No, it’s okay. I’m sure she’ll be here any minute,” I said.

I sank down on the couch beside him and picked up my laptop. We reminded me of an old, albeit technologically advanced, married couple.

“You should sign up for World of Warcraft,” Nick said as Windows booted. “I could use you in my army.”

I laughed. “I know how many girls are in your army; I’m sure I wouldn’t make a difference. I’d probably get myself killed.”

“I’d protect you.”

I logged into my e-mail and shook my head. “Maybe when Brooke’s a little older she can be your minion.”

“Somehow I think I’ve become her minion,” Nick said thoughtfully. I smiled. One e-mail in particular caught my eye. I tapped my screen.

“Sam e-mailed me,” I said happily. Nick leaned over my shoulder; his breath warmed over my skin.

“Oh, your boyfriend?” he teased.

“Shut up,” I said. “He says he can come down for an interview a couple days before the wedding. You think Howie will wait that long?”

Nick’s arm snaked around me.

“I don’t know, but maybe if you play your cards right I can pull a few strings with the boss man.”

The hairs on the back of my neck rose in delight at the implication in his voice. Before I had a chance to respond, the doorbell rang.

“That must be Angel,” I said. I set my laptop on the coffee table and stood up. Nick took my hand and stopped me from running off too quickly.

“Hey, keep my offer in mind,” he said. I leaned down and kissed him softly. He let go of my hand to reach for my waist, but I ducked out of his grasp.

“Your sister,” I reminded him, pointing towards the door. He leaned back in the couch cushions, giving Brooke’s swing another push.

The doorbell rang a second time before I reached the foyer. After a quick glance through the peephole, I threw the door open wide. There stood Angel, looking beautiful as always.

“Liv!” she said happily, throwing her arms around me. I hugged her tightly.

“Hey, Angel,” I said. “How was Canada?”

“It sucked,” she said seriously. I looked at her in surprise. Finally the corners of her mouth lifted.

“It’s not fun being a model when you’re in a country known for amazingly delicious bacon.”

I laughed. “Funny you should mention that,” I said. I lowered my voice. “I was wondering if you had any fantastic model dieting tips for someone looking to lose ten pounds in a month.”

She looked thoughtful. “Well, there’s the grapefruit diet. That’s always worked for me. Of course, I love anything citrus-y.”

“How does it work?”

“You drink an eight ounce glass of juice before every meal. You’re limited to eight hundred calories per day in meals. No bread. No dessert. Basically lots of veggies and grapefruit juice.”

While it didn’t sound like my dream diet (that would include peanut butter cups and chips), I figured it couldn’t hurt.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said out loud.

“Is this about a certain dress you’ll be wearing soon?” she asked knowingly. I nodded. Together we walked into the living room.

“I heard the words grapefruit and vegetables,” Nick said. He had returned to his laptop; he didn’t even turn as we walked into the room. “That’s a stupid diet. All Liv’s been eating is lettuce anyhow. I’ll be glad when this craziness is over.”

I wrinkled my nose. “This craziness is our wedding. It's a big day.”

“If I had it my way we would have just gone to the court house,” Nick said. I knew he didn’t mean it, but we had already had a long "talk" (I wouldn't call it an argument, but it was close) during dinner the night before about my penchant for a certain green leafy food. He had told me nicely I was becoming a grouch. I knew he was right, but it was all for a good purpose. Right?

Angel walked around the couch and knelt down in front of the swing. Her face lit up in a huge smile.

“There’s my Brookey-wookey. You got so big while your Auntie Angel was gone! Did you miss me? Aww look at those ittle bittle toes. I got your toe!”

Nick looked up. He laughed.

“How was Auntie Angel’s ittle bittle trip?”

She looked up at Nick. “It was fine,” she said. She rolled up on one hip and slid her phone out of her pocket. I saw her look at it as if trying to make up her mind. Finally, she held the phone out to Nick.

“Take a look at a couple pictures I took,” she said slowly. “Tell me what you see.”

I leaned over Nick’s shoulder and together we looked at Angel’s pictures. Both pictures were almost identical; they were taken at the same place at around the same time. It was a crowded shot with models milling to and fro. Finally Nick zoomed in and began to span the picture.

Nick and I saw the same thing at the same time; both of us let out an audible gasp.

“Am I crazy?” Angel asked calmly.

“When was this taken?” Nick asked quietly.

“Three days ago.”

I leaned even closer to Nick to see the screen better.

One of the few guys in the picture looked exactly like Aaron.

“Angel,” Nick said slowly. “Did you notice him while you were taking these?”

She shook her head. “No, only afterward did I realize…” she trailed off, looking uncomfortable. “The same day I took these pictures one of our models went missing,” she admitted.

“What?” I said in surprise. Nick continued to hold the phone, his eyes glued on his younger sister.

“Did you go to the police?” he asked. Angel did something surprising; she laughed.

“Nick, how could I do that? They’d think I was crazy.”

“The girl that went missing…” I said, thinking out loud. “Did you know her?”

Angel nodded. “I knew her, but we weren’t really buddies. She’s one of those models whose diet plan includes a smorgasbord of illegal drugs.”

Nick looked back at the phone. He zoomed in as far as possible.

“Angel, this has to be Aaron,” Nick said. “If you look close enough you can see…”

“A scar? I know.”

Now they had me curious. I was practically crawling over the back of the couch as I peered at the screen. Nick held it up for me to get a better view.

In full zoom, the picture was horribly grainy. It was like looking at one of those optical illusions. I squinted and studied the blonde man’s head. Whether by power of suggestion or in actual reality, I did see a scar. It looked like the type of scar that someone might get if they hit their head against, oh I don’t know, a rock.

“What do you think I should do?” Angel asked. She cracked her knuckles loudly.

Nick bit his lip; it wasn’t something that he didn’t do often, but I had come to learn it was a nervous habit when he was thinking hard.

“Well, maybe it isn’t Aaron,” Nick finally said. “You’re right; if we go to the police they’re going to think we’re nuts. Or worse yet, if they do believe us, they might think we’re involved in that girl’s disappearance.”

I looked at him in surprise. Just seconds ago he said without a doubt that it had to be Aaron. It didn’t make any sense…

Yet, on the other hand it did. If it wasn’t Aaron, then there was no harm, no foul. If it was Aaron, then Nick was still protecting his little brother. Unfortunately that little brother had been involved in human trafficking before his untimely demise; if it really was a demise.

That thought made me think of something else. My very audible gasp had both Nick and Angel turning to look at me.

“What’s wrong?” Nick asked. I looked down, wondering if I should fuel the fire even more. But, it was so uncanny…

“The two dark forces the fortune teller warned about,” I said. “I know one’s Hunter, but the other…”

Nick shook his head. “Listen, I should never have taken you to see that fortune teller. It’s just all in good fun.”

It was my turn to shake my head. “Nick, normally I would agree. But don’t you think it’s strange that we’re looking at a picture of your dead brother a month before our wedding? He’s the other dark force!”

Nick sighed. “In all honesty, I wouldn’t call Hunter a dark force. We have a restraining order on him and the lawyer confirmed he’s back in Wisconsin. There’s nothing he’s going to do to ruin anything.”

“Well, it’s like they’re taking turns,” I said out loud. “Now that Hunter’s backed off, Aaron’s back in the picture.” I stopped, my eyes widening. “But what if they both decide to act at the same time? Maybe that’s why the fortune teller told us to beware of August!”

By this time Angel was looking at me like I had drunk a barrel of liquor and I had gone off the deep end. Nick was staring at me patiently; ever since Brooklyn was born he had acquired a level of patience that sometimes bothered me. I secretly have to admit I like Nick when he gets riled. Instead, Nick just passed the phone back to Angel, scooped Brooklyn out of the swing and stood looking between me and his sister.

“I’m going to go up and change stinker here,” he said. “Don’t you two have some dress appointment or something?”

Angel glanced at her watch. “He’s right, we better go.”

Even without looking at my watch, I knew they were right. I also knew Nick was trying to get me off the subject. I stood up and kissed the top of Brooklyn’s forehead. Nick kissed me softly.

“I’m still not going to let this go,” I said sweetly. Nick rolled his eyes to the ceiling, but I could tell he wasn’t agitated.

“I know you too well to expect you to,” he said. “But go out and have fun doing whatever you girls need to do. I’ll see you when you get home.”

We exchanged more kisses and ‘I love you’s’ while Angel rolled her eyes and did a horrible imitation of Nick. By the time we walked out, she seemed to have completely let the photos go. It was as if Nick confirming Angel’s suspicions had made her feel better; it would have made me feel worse.

When we got into the car, I turned to look at Angel.

“Promise me one thing,” I said seriously. She looked over in surprise.

“What?”

I took a deep breath. “If you even think you see Aaron again, call the police. Please? I just have a bad feeling about all this…fortune teller or not, the idea that Aaron could be alive and abducting women freaks me out.”

Angel closed her eyes.

“I know. It’s just…he’s my brother. If I saw him again, I’d try to talk to him.”

“Angel, the last time Nick tried that approach he got knocked out cold.”

“Liv, he’s my brother. My twin brother. He’d never hurt me.”

I didn’t agree; but I didn’t have the heart to argue. With a nod I buckled my seatbelt and started the car. It was time to change gears.

“Let’s see your dress, huh?”

Angel smiled.

“I can’t wait.”