Page 49 of Jay Bird

“She’s still living across the country with a longtime friend. From everything I could gather, she seems to be doing okay.”

Willow nodded. That was enough. She didn’t need an address, or a phone number. And she definitely didn’t need a reunion.

“The last time either of them contacted me was probably two years before I disappeared,” Willow explained. “And that was because they wanted money. My dad was my family. When he died, I was alone.”

A heavy silence settled over the table.

Willow didn’t want those thoughts circling back in on her. She didn’t want to think about her brother or her mother, or the way they only seemed to notice her when she had something they needed from her, as if her worth had always been tied to what she could give rather than who she was.

Her father deserved better than having his memory mixed up with theirs.

She looked back at Tink. “Could we talk more about the identification?”

“Sure.”

“How long will it take to get a drivers license?”

“Two or three days.”

Willow’s eyebrows rose. “That fast?”

Tink smiled faintly. “I have friends.”

Jay Bird snorted. “That’s his polite way of saying don’t ask questions.”

Tink smirked, but then his expression shifted.

“But there’s something else we need to discuss before we start putting your name back into circulation.”

Something about his tone made Willow’s stomach tighten.

“What?”

Tink glanced briefly at Derek, who nodded.

“Someone recently has been looking into her name.”

Every bit of warmth left Willow’s body. “What? Do you know who?”

“I found some activity tied to your old identity. Someone was doing some record inquiries. Nothing that gives me a name or an exact location yet, and whoever’s doing it knows enough not to leave an obvious trail.”

Willow’s heart began to beat faster. “How recent are we talking about?”

“Shortly after you escaped.”

Willow already knew who was behind it. Chen had his own connections.

Willow glanced over at Lily, who was still sitting on the floor coloring, completely absorbed in her little world, unaware that the monster Willow had dragged her halfway across the world to escape might already be looking for them.

Jay Bird shifted closer to her. “Willow—”

“It’s him,” she said, cutting him off.

“We don’t know that,” Derek said gently.

She shook her head. She knew Chen well enough to understand that he wouldn’t stop until he found her.

He had told her often enough what happened to people who betrayed him. She had helped Riley escape, attacked him, stolen from him, and then taken Lily. Of course, he was looking for her.