Read Following Fabian for Free Online Page B

miss.”
    “Sarah? Astrid didn’t—”
    “Hey, don’t worry. She’s fine. I got in front of her in time to slow the bullet a bit. She’s okay, and…the baby is okay.”
    “What baby?”
    “Mine.”
    Fabian closed his eyes, pulled the phone away from his ear, and shook his head hard. There must have been some water stuck in the canal or something. “I’m sorry, what? Obviously, I’ve missed more than I expected.”
    “Yes. Sarah is pregnant—our daughter is due in a few weeks—and we’re married.”
    “I was only gone, what, six, seven months?”
    “Around seven, I guess. I’ll just say that it only takes one time. Pretty sure she was pregnant before the circus took off. Anyhow, she’ll probably maim me for engaging in this discussion at all, so, to change the subject, where is Jacques?”
    Who gave a shit about Jacques? Fabian was going to be an uncle , and he had a sister-in-law. He wasn’t going to let that drop.
    “You’re seriously married? Like, legal and everything?”
    “Yes.”
    “And you have a job, and I bet you live in a real house and not a trailer.”
    “It’s a pretty nice house. Granted, I had nothing to do with picking it out.”
    Pangs of envy stabbed at Fabian’s heart and stole his breath.
    Hearth, home, family. Most thirty-five-year-olds sought those things, if they didn’t already have them, but Fabian had never really believed he’d get them. He’d been transient all his life, and didn’t have an education. His travel visa had probably already expired, and he was likely in the country illegally. He certainly didn’t have a driver’s license, or even know where his birth certificate was. And here his older-by-minutes brother was, all cleaned up and respectable.
    He had to ask… “You happy like that, Felipe?”
    Another long silence filled the line, and then his brother said, “Yes. I’m happy. Sarah’s family has been very warm. Belonging to someplace and someone is nice.”
    “Then I’m happy for you.” Envy aside, he really meant it. “Maybe someday I’ll have a landing pad of my own.”
    “Why not live here? With us?”
    “I wouldn’t intrude. I’d be a burden. Best I go back to Spain and—”
    “And what? Chase ghosts? Cry over headstones of people we never really knew? There’s nothing for us there. Trust me, I know. I was there six months ago, Sarah and me. I’m here legally, and not just because of the marriage.”
    “And me?”
    “And you look like your brother, and your brother’s picture is currently on your passport. We had to be careful in regards to you. While we were abroad, we coordinated with Spanish and French law enforcement agencies to give them information about Jacques, but we didn’t mention you were still with them. Otherwise, you would have gotten deported on the spot once you were found. I had to pretend to be you on a couple of occasions, but you’re here for the moment legally, though dishonestly.”
    Fabian groaned and fondled the gold cross pendant he’d been wearing non-stop for seven months. Before Felipe had disappeared, he’d rarely worn it. Now he fondled it as if it were a worry stone.
    “I know how you feel about lying, but let me bear that sin and don’t fret about it,” Felipe said. “We have a list of missing children we suspect may have been abducted by Jacques. Names have obviously been changed, and some may be long dead, but they’re going to e-mail descriptions and age progressed artist renderings of the abductees over for us to look at, see if we recognize any of them.”
    “Okay.” Fabian sat on the commode and threaded his legs into a brand new pair of boxer briefs.
    “Do you know where Jacques is?”
    “I caught snippets of conversations. Rumblings. He’s lying low, hoping people will forget about him. There was some talk about looping up into Canada and moving toward the west coast, but for now, I believe some of his shapeshifters are hiding him in the Black Hills. I’m pretty sure