The Discarded Read Online Free PDF Page A

Abraham neared the vehicle. “I don’t want to go in.”
    His steps faltered. “It’s okay,” he said. “There’s nothing to worry about.” Not a lie, per se, more a hope. Still, the words made him feel like he was as guilty as those who had killed her mother.
    He climbed into the van and paused when he reached the central aisle, unsure what he should do next.
    Tessa shook in his arms. He could feel her staccato breaths, ragged and scared. He ran a hand over her hair, trying to calm her, but he couldn’t hide his own unease. Quietly, she began crying against his shoulder, as if she was afraid if someone heard her, something worse would happen.
    And, of course, it did.
    Desirae, standing next to the driver’s seat, motioned toward a row in the middle of the bus. “You can put her there.”
    Tessa dug her fingers into Abraham’s arms.
    Out of all the things he’d done over his decades in the business, walking down that aisle was the hardest. When he reached the seat, he crouched down and pulled Tessa away from him enough so that he could look her in the eyes.
    Her cheeks were soaked with tears, her mouth a trembling frown.
    He had to believe that no one would harm a girl so young, that Carter hadn’t been lying, and wouldn’t have had Abraham bring her this far just to eliminate her when that could have happened back in Osaka.
    He brushed a hair away from her forehead. “It’s going to be fine,” he said. “Remember, this is all about keeping you safe. My friends here are going to help with that.”
    “No,” she whispered.
    “You remember when you first saw me?”
    A hesitant nod.
    “You didn’t know who I was, but I turned out okay, didn’t I?”
    Another pause, another nod.
    “My friends are okay, too.”
    Her expression darkened again.
    “You’ll see.” He forced a smile on his face. When he could hold it no longer, he lifted her away from him and set her on the seat. “Nice and cushy, huh?”
    She held her arms out to him, her chest heaving with rapid breaths.
    “Hey now,” he said, gently pushing her arms down. “I need you to be a good girl for me. Can you do that?”
    “Stay with me.”
    “I wish I could, but I can’t. I have some other things I need to do.” He could feel his own eyes start to water as words became harder and harder to speak.
    A throat cleared behind him. He wiped his tears before looking back.
    Desirae, her face tense, said, “We’re on a schedule.”
    “Back off,” he mouthed, and then turned to Tessa.
    “Don’t leave,” the girl said.
    He touched her cheek. “You’re going to be fine, Tessa. You’re a strong girl. I’ve seen it. I want you to be strong for me again, okay?”
    “No.”
    “Please.”
    No, again, but silent.
    “I know you can do it. Be a strong girl.”
    She sniffled and finally whispered, “Okay.”
    Abraham rose to his feet. “It’s all going to be fine.”
    He turned and started back down the aisle.
    “Abe,” Tessa called.
    He kept walking.
    “Abe!”
    He closed his eyes as he halted, took a deep breath, and looked over his shoulder. “Yes?”
    “When will you come back?” Tessa said.
    He stared at her. There had been things he’d said to her he wasn’t sure were true, but he had never said anything he knew was a lie. Until now. “Someday,” he told her.
    When he reached Desirae, he paused again. “If I ever find out someone has hurt her or treated her badly, I will hunt them down. Understood?”
    “Relax,” Desirae said. “No one’s going to do anything to her.”
    He held her gaze and asked, “Where are you taking her?”
    “You know I can’t tell you that.”
    He continued to stare at her for another moment, and then slipped his bag off his shoulder. From inside he pulled out the box they had taken from the house in Japan. “She likes checkers.”
    He forced the box into Desirae’s hands and exited the bus.
    Standard procedure dictated that he immediately leave the area, but he was no longer working from the