“No, I need to tell you this. I’ve been waiting two years for this.”
“Alright,” I say. “Go ahead.”
“He told me the reason no one had seen him in so long was he was deep undercover doing extremely dangerous, highly classified work. He wasn’t able to tell you what he was doing or where he was going because he needed to protect you. So I wasn’t allowed to tell you I saw him. He told me he came to recruit me; that he’d been watching my career closely and was impressed, so he wanted me to work with him. He had an organization called Leviathan, and I had been chosen to apprentice under him. Of course, I agreed. Then he told me I would have to leave essentially my entire life behind. I would have to end my relationship with you and just disappear the way he had. It felt like an impossible decision.”
“No, it didn’t,” I tell him. “And that’s alright. This is everything you’ve ever worked for. I understand why you would immediately jump on the opportunity.”
“Leviathan…” Sam muses, sending a meaningful look to Dean and me.
“I honestly believed it wouldn’t be long before I was able to tell you what was going on and bring your father back into your life. But then I realized there was something else going on. He wasn’t the man I thought he was,” he says.
“How long did it take you to realize it?”
“Longer than I’d like to admit. There are things I did I will never be able to atone for, things I participated in I thought were for good, but I will never be able to forgive myself for doing,” he tells me, his voice dropping even further.
I reach out and rest my hand on his. “You don’t need to be forgiven. All of us have to do things in this career that we regret. That’s part of this life. You have to remember that what you do is for the greater good. Sacrifices need to be made.”
“Not these kinds of sacrifices. The only sacrifice I was fully willing to make, I didn’t have to.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Did you find the signature in the guest book at the funeral home?” he asks.
I’m surprised to hear him bring it up now, but I nod.
“Yes. How did you do that?” I ask.
“I didn’t. But I had someone do it for me. In case…” he draws in a breath. “In case I didn’t get the chance to talk to you again, I needed you to know I tried. I needed you to start searching. Did you get the book?”
“The guest book you signed?”
“No, the one older one. He said he signed it for your mother.”
I shake my head. “No. Bellamy is the one who found the signature. They wouldn’t talk to her.” I feel like we’re sliding away from what’s important, and I can already see Greg getting tired. I lean closer to him. “Greg, what is my uncle’s name? Who is he?”
“Lotan,” he says, his voice dropping down to a whisper again. “I only know Lotan.”
I swallow hard and glance back at Sam and Dean, who nod.
“Greg, I need you to…” I start, but he suddenly takes my hand, stopping me.
It looks like he’s fighting to stay awake, and I’m sure the medication they still have pumping through him to manage his pain doesn’t make that easy.
“Emma, he’s coming for you.”
“When?” Sam demands. “What do you know?”
Greg’s eyes are slowly closing.
“He says it’s time you know the truth. You were taken from him. You can’t let him take you.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, my heart pounding, so the base of my throat shakes, and bile stings the back of my tongue. “What are you talking about? What truth?”
“He wants you first. You were what he always wanted. Then the other. His children together to reign.”
Chapter Twenty
The words are like ice down my shoulders and into my chest.
“What are you talking about?” I ask desperately. “Greg, what do you mean?”
I stand and lean over him, speaking directly into his face, trying to rouse him again.
“Emma,” Sam says, taking my hips and trying to pull me backwards away from the bed.
“What did you just say?” I demand. “What do you mean?”
Amelia comes into the room, forcing back the curtain and rushing to the bedside.
“Emma, please,” she scolds. “You’re disturbing the other patients. He’s still heavily medicated, and he’s going to need to sleep. He’ll wake up again later, but you’ll have to be more restrained.”
I step up close to the nurse, getting my face to within inches of hers.
“Back off,” I growl.
“Emma,” Sam warns, yanking me back and pulling me to the other side of the room. “You have to stop. If you want any chance at all of figuring out what’s going on, you need to calm down. She could have you removed and not let you back in here. Take a breath.”
“Did you hear what he said?” I ask, lowering my voice so Amelia can’t overhear me.
“Yes,” he says. “I did. But it’s not going to do you any good screaming at an unconscious man. When he wakes up, you can talk to him and find out what he meant.”
“I can’t wait until he wakes up,” I snap. “He said my uncle is coming for me because he wants his children to be together.”
“You need to calm down and think clearly,” Sam tells me. “Think about what you’re saying. You know that isn’t true. You didn’t even know he exists. How could he be your father?”
Realization hits me. My legs suddenly feel like they can’t support my weight. Sam notices my knees buckling and takes hold of my upper arms, leading me over to the couch and letting me sit. He sits down beside me, and I read his eyes.
“He’s not,” I say. Reaching into my pocket, I take out my phone and call Eric. “I need you to put a rush on a
