Hush (Black Lotus #3)(50)
R O S E
ASHER CORRE
ROSE ARCHER
“Oh, my God!” I blurt out as I lurch off the couch, covering my mouth with my two hands. My heart beats rapidly as I stare down in shock at the notepad where my middle and last name look up at me. This can’t be a coincidence.
It’s him!
And suddenly, I can hear his voice so clearly.
“My little Elizabeth Rose Archer.”
“Declan!” I holler, grabbing the notepad and running across the penthouse.
I sling the bedroom door open, waking him up when it slams against the door jamb.
“Declan, it’s him! It’s him!”
He leaps out of bed, still half asleep. “What’s going on?”
“It’s my dad!” I cry out. “Look!”
I show him the notepad, and he takes it from my hand.
“What am I looking at?” he questions at the paper that’s filled with so many names, and I point to ASHER CORRE.
“That’s him! The letters in that name spell ROSE ARCHER.”
“Who’s Rose?”
I look up at him, tears streaming down my cheeks, and I can barely breathe when I tell him, “Me.”
He stares at me, confusion etching his face, and I claim without a shred of doubt, “My name is Elizabeth Rose Archer, and that man is my dad.”
“THERE’S A LISTING for an A. CORRE in Washington,” Declan tells me from behind his laptop. “Gig Harbor, Washington. There’s no more information.”
“In Washington? Is that him?”
“Only one way to find out,” he says. “I had the plane scheduled to take us back to London, so I’ll have to wait until morning to call and get it rescheduled.”
Adrenaline intoxicates me, putting my body on high alert. My heart pounds, begging me to strap on my shoes and run across the country to get to my dad because waiting seems like an impossible feat. I pace the room, and when that dulls, I pack my bags, and when that’s done, I get on Declan’s computer and search every social media site and people-finder database to see if anything pops up.
Nothing, aside from what Declan had found. City and state. That’s it.
The night drags on, testing every ounce of patience in me. Seconds feel like hours and hours feel like years, and after an eternity, the sun rises. Declan is beyond demanding when he calls to reschedule the plane, and I feel sorry for the poor sap that’s on the other end of the line. He barks his orders, and when he hangs up, tells me, “Grab the bags.”
“We’re leaving now?”
“Yes.”
We move at lightning speed as we get all our belongings together, but it’s still not fast enough for my growing anxiety. Thank God for his private jet, because the flight takes less than four hours. Once we’re settled into our hotel suite in Tacoma, I ask, “Now what?”
“Now we need to find a way to get his address.”
“How far is Gig Harbor from here?”
“Twenty minutes or so. Not far,” he tells me.
I sit and think, and it doesn’t take but a couple minutes for the idea to pop into my head.
“Can you look up the utility companies in that town?” I ask Declan who is already on his laptop.
I walk over and stand behind him while he looks up the information for me. He pulls up the number, and I quickly punch it into my cell phone and send the call.
“City of Gig Harbor,” a lady answers.
“Yes, I’m calling on behalf of my brother, Asher Corre. He’s been in an accident and is currently in the hospital and unresponsive. We don’t know when he’s going to pull out of his current state, so I wanted to make sure that his bill is up to date,” I lie, and when I look to Declan, he gives me a smirk at my quick thinking.
“What was the name again?”
“Asher Corre.”
I hear her typing at her keyboard before saying, “Yes. Our records show that there is currently a zero balance.”
“Oh, good,” I respond. “In the meantime, would it be possible to have a paper copy of his bill mailed to the house. I know he pays online, but since I don’t have access to his passwords, I want to make sure that I can pay via snail mail.”
“Of course. Yes. We can definitely have the bill mailed out to you.”
“Great. And just to make certain, can you tell me the address you have on file?”
“I’m showing 19203 Fairview Lane with a zip code of 98332.”
“That’s correct. Thank you so much for your help.”
I hang up, and Declan asks, “Did you get it?”
“That was too easy, and that woman was too trusting,” I respond and then hand him the paper with the address.
He punches it into his computer. “There it is.”
“Let’s go!” I blurt with excitement, anxious to see if it’s really him.
“Hold on,” he says. “We can’t just go showing up on his doorstep. He’s hiding from something or someone, so we need to be careful for his sake and also yours.”
He’s right. I need to slow down for a second and think this through.
“I think we should get in the car and drive by. Check the place out. We need to verify that this is indeed your father first.”