Chapter 2 - The Stranger Roman Vale Couldn't Buy
Victor moved before Naomi fully understood what the photograph meant.
He pulled the cabin door shut, locked it, and began typing into his phone with both thumbs.
Roman took Jude from Naomi carefully.
The baby gave a soft protest and settled against his father's chest.
"Who took the picture?" Roman asked.
"Working on it."
"Passenger?"
"Maybe."
"Staff?"
"Could be."
"Find out."
Naomi adjusted her dress and blanket, suddenly conscious of how exposed she felt despite the closed curtains.
A photograph of her had been sent to someone.
Someone dangerous enough to make Victor Rowe nervous.
That was enough information for Naomi.
"I need to go back to my seat."
Roman turned.
"No."
The single word made her stare at him.
"No?"
"If that picture went to Kincaid, your face is already connected to mine."
"That's not my problem."
Roman's eyebrows lifted.
Naomi stood.
"Your enemies don't become my enemies because I helped your baby."
"I agree."
"Good."
"They become your problem because men like Kincaid don't care whether you agreed."
Naomi felt cold.
Victor looked up from his phone.
"He's right."
"I don't remember asking you."
Victor almost smiled.
Almost.
Roman moved closer.
He was enormous when standing.
The tattoos didn't help.
Neither did the stories Naomi had heard.
Yet Jude was sleeping against his chest with one tiny hand gripping Roman's shirt.
The contrast was absurd.
"You can hate me later," Roman said. "Right now, sit down."
Naomi folded her arms.
"I don't take orders well."
"So I've noticed."
Leo screamed again.
That ended the argument.
Naomi looked toward the carrier.
Roman did too.
"You said you could feed the others?"
"I said bring me the next one."
Roman glanced toward Victor.
Victor immediately turned his back.
Naomi took Leo.
He was heavier than Jude and furious.
His tiny face was bright red. His fists punched at the air as though he had been personally betrayed by the universe.
"You're loud," Naomi murmured.
Leo screamed into her shoulder.
Roman's eyes softened.
"He gets that from his mother."
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
Something passed across his face.
Pain.
Fast and sharp.
Naomi understood that kind of pain.
It struck without permission.
At grocery stores.
At traffic lights.
In the middle of ordinary sentences.
"What was she like?" Naomi asked.
Roman looked toward the window.
"Elise?"
Naomi nodded.
He didn't answer immediately.
"She laughed at me."
Naomi blinked.
"That doesn't sound like the first thing most people would say about their dead wife."
"It was the first thing I loved about her."
A real smile appeared briefly.
"Everyone else watched what they said around me. Elise didn't."
"Smart woman."
Roman looked at her.
"You would've liked her."
The statement felt strangely personal.
Naomi looked down at Leo.
"Maybe."
She arranged the blanket and held the baby close.
Leo latched more quickly than Jude had.
His angry crying stopped almost instantly.
Roman exhaled.
The sound was so quiet Naomi almost missed it.
Not relief exactly.
Release.
For the first time in days, perhaps, one impossible problem had become manageable.
Victor's phone rang.
He answered.
"Rowe."
He listened.
His expression hardened.
"Where?"
Another pause.
"Keep him there."
Victor ended the call.
"The image came from seat 4C."
Roman's eyes sharpened.
"The gray suit?"
"Yes."
Naomi remembered him.
The businessman who had warned her not to approach Roman.
"He's one of yours?" she asked.
"No," Victor said.
"Kincaid's?"
"Maybe."
Roman handed Jude to Victor.
"Stay with them."
Victor stared at him.
"Roman."
"I said stay."
Roman walked toward the door.
Naomi stepped in front of him.
"What are you doing?"
"Having a conversation."
"That sounds ominous."
"It'll be brief."
She looked at his face.
"Don't."
Roman seemed genuinely surprised.
"Don't what?"
"Whatever Roman Vale does when someone secretly photographs him."
He stared at her for several seconds.
Then said, "You know nothing about what Roman Vale does."
"I know enough to be standing here wondering if that man is about to disappear at the next station."
Victor coughed into his fist.
Roman slowly looked toward him.
Victor became fascinated by Jude's blanket.
Naomi almost smiled.
"Sit down," she said.
Roman looked back at her.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
For perhaps the first time in his adult life, Roman Vale looked speechless.
Naomi nodded toward Leo.
"Your babies need you calm."
Roman's jaw worked.
"You're very comfortable giving me instructions."
"No. I'm terrified. But apparently terror hasn't improved my manners."
That did it.
A short laugh escaped him.
It surprised both of them.
Then Miles screamed from his carrier.
Roman looked down.
Naomi looked at him.
"Your turn."
"My turn?"
"Pick him up."
Roman frowned.
"I've been picking him up."
"Not like you're transporting a football. Hold him against your chest."
"I know how to hold my son."
"Then prove it."
Victor turned slightly away again, but Naomi caught the grin.
Roman glared at him.
"Enjoying yourself?"
"Immensely."
Roman lifted Miles.
The baby wailed.
Naomi adjusted Roman's arm.
"Support his head more."
Roman did.
"Closer."
He brought Miles against his chest.
"Now breathe."
Roman stared at her.
"I'm breathing."
"Not like you're preparing to interrogate somebody."
Victor actually laughed this time.
Roman muttered something Naomi was glad she couldn't hear.
But his shoulders relaxed.
Miles's crying softened.
Then stopped for half a second.
Roman froze.
"Keep rocking," Naomi whispered.
He did.
Slowly.
Awkwardly.
Miles hiccupped.
Roman's expression changed.
Awe.
Naomi recognized it.
She had felt the same thing when Micah first stopped crying because he heard her voice.
Parents spent years teaching children how the world worked.
But in the beginning, babies taught adults the most basic lessons.
How to slow down.
How to listen.
How to become necessary.
The train began reducing speed as Philadelphia approached.
Victor checked the time.
"We have a problem."
Roman didn't stop rocking Miles.
"Which one?"
"We're supposed to remain onboard."
"And?"
"The photographer just moved toward the connecting car."
Roman's face darkened.
"Let him."
Victor looked surprised.
Naomi did too.
Roman looked down at Miles.
"If he's working for Kincaid, chasing him confirms Naomi matters."
"You've changed your mind quickly," Victor said.
Roman's gaze met Naomi's.
"No. She changed the variables."
Naomi didn't like the way that sounded.
"I don't want to be a variable."
"Neither did I," Roman said. "Life has poor manners."
The train pulled into Philadelphia.
Passengers moved in the corridor.
An attendant knocked.
Victor opened the door a few inches.
"Mr. Vale?"
"Yes?"
"We've been informed one of the infants may be unwell. Would you like medical assistance?"
Roman looked at Naomi.
She nodded.
"Yes," she said.
Roman repeated, "Yes."
Within minutes, a paramedic who regularly worked the station boarded the train.
Roman allowed him into the cabin only after Victor checked his credentials.
Naomi watched Roman carefully.
For all the stories about his arrogance, he asked sensible questions.
"His color changed."
"How long?"
"Maybe two minutes."
"Was he responsive?"
"Barely."
"When did he last have a wet diaper?"
Roman hesitated.
Victor checked a note on his phone.
The paramedic examined Jude.
Then Leo.
Then Miles.
"They're dehydrated," he said. "Mild to moderate in the larger two. More concerning in the smallest."
Roman's face tightened.
"Hospital?"
"I'd recommend it."
Victor looked at Roman.
Roman looked toward the platform.
Somewhere beyond the windows, commuters crossed between trains.
Any of them could be Kincaid's people.
Naomi finally asked, "What happens if they don't go?"
The paramedic answered directly.
"With newborns, things can change quickly."
That ended it for her.
"They go."
Roman looked at her.
Naomi didn't care.
"If you're afraid of a public hospital, find another way. Private clinic. Police escort. Secret doctor. I don't know what billionaires do. But the babies go."
Roman's eyes held hers.
"You think I don't know?"
"I think you're trying to solve two emergencies with one decision."
His expression hardened.
"My sons are not the only people whose lives depend on what happens in Washington today."
Naomi felt anger rise.
"They're six weeks old."
"I know exactly how old they are."
"Then act like it."
Silence.
Victor closed his eyes briefly.
The paramedic looked fascinated by the floor.
Roman stepped closer.
"You think because you fed my sons you understand my life?"
"No."
"You think I don't want to take them somewhere safe and spend the next week learning how to sterilize bottles?"
"I think wanting something and doing something are different."
His jaw tightened.
Naomi continued.
"Whatever meeting waits in Washington existed before Jude started turning gray. Jude doesn't get another father."
The words hit harder than she intended.
Roman looked down.
His wedding ring caught the light.
When he spoke again, his voice was quieter.
"Elise said something similar."
Naomi softened.
Victor interrupted.
"I can get Dr. Shah to the D.C. house."
"How fast?"
"Twenty minutes after we arrive."
"Equipment?"
"Everything necessary."
The paramedic nodded cautiously.
"If the pediatrician can assess them immediately and transfer if necessary, that's better than nothing."
Roman made the decision.
"Do it."
Victor was already dialing.
Roman looked at Naomi.
"You were right."
She hadn't expected that.
"About what?"
"I was solving the wrong problem first."
Naomi looked away.
"I'm still getting off in Baltimore."
Roman's expression went unreadable.
"You're going to Baltimore?"
"Yes."
"You live there?"
She immediately realized she'd given him information.
Roman noticed her regret.
"I won't ask where."
"Thank you."
"But you're not getting off."
Naomi's anger returned.
"You don't decide that."
"The man who photographed you left his briefcase."
Victor placed a black leather case on the table.
Naomi stared.
"Why do you have that?"
"Security retrieved it."
Roman opened it.
Inside was almost nothing.
A charger.
A notebook.
Business cards.
And one photograph.
Victor removed it carefully.
Naomi's heart stopped.
The picture showed her apartment building.
Not taken today.
Not taken yesterday.
The trees were bare.
Winter.
Months earlier.
Naomi's hands turned cold.
Roman looked at Victor.
"Why would Kincaid have a photograph of her building before today?"
Victor said nothing.
Naomi couldn't breathe.
"That's impossible."
Roman picked up the photograph.
On the back, someone had written three words.
BELL KNOWS ELISE.
Naomi stared at the handwriting.
"I don't know Elise."
Roman looked at her sharply.
"You've never met my wife?"
"Never."
"You're sure?"
"Yes."
Victor took the photo.
His face changed.
"Roman."
"What?"
Victor turned it toward him.
There was a date stamped along the edge.
The photograph had been taken nine weeks before Elise Vale died.
Roman's voice became almost inaudible.
"Someone was watching Naomi before Elise was killed."
Naomi's knees felt weak.
"Why?"
Nobody answered.
Leo shifted against her.
She held him tighter.
Roman looked at the three babies.
Then at Naomi.
His face had become calm in the most frightening way.
"Victor."
"Yeah."
"Cancel Union Station."
"Kincaid won't like that."
"I don't care."
"Where are we going?"
Roman's eyes remained on Naomi.
"Home."
And for the first time, Naomi understood that she hadn't walked into Roman Vale's story on that train.
Somehow, impossibly, she had already been part of it.
May you like
Long before either of them knew her name.
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