Page 92 of Blind Trust
Her father swiped under his eyes, clearing his throat. “We knew this day would come but weren’t sure how it was going to happen. If you have questions, we’ll answer them as best we can, but a lot of what you might want to know can only be answered by Tom.”
“Agent Bridges explained a little about my...” She didn’t feel right calling them her parents. “About Sean and Annie Murphy. It’s a lot to take in.”
“It is, honey.” Lyla’s mom reached a tentative hand to Lyla’s shoulder. “And we completely understand if you need time to process it all. We want you to know that we love you so very much, and no matter what kind of relationship you feel comfortable with, we will be here for you.”
Nicolás’s words came back to her. She was fiercely loved. The two people in front of her knew she wasn’t theirs, a fact she’d grappled with all night and kept coming to the same conclusion—they loved her unconditionally. No matter what she’d put them through, the risks she’d taken, her adolescent defiance, they never once gave up loving her.
Her watch pinged with an alert that said it was time to run her next errand. She sniffled and wiped away the moisture in the corners of her eyes. “I, um, have to go to work.”
“We understand.” Her dad wrapped an arm around her mom’s shoulders. “Please be careful.”
“I will.” With a peace she couldn’t understand, Lyla moved in and surprised both of her parents when she hugged them. They hugged her back. Hard. “I love you, Mom and Dad.”
She hugged them a little longer before promising to be back later this evening for another visit. On her way out, she found Christine León also leaving.
“Lyla, right?”
“Yes.”
The woman shifted and gave Lyla a strange smile. “Would you mind walking me out?”
“Actually, I need to meet my friend.”
“He can wait, dear.” Christine shifted her coat, which was folded over her arm, revealing the steel muzzle of a gun. “Let’s take the stairs.”
32
Nic checked his watch. Lyla was running late, but he didn’t want to rush a conversation he knew she needed to have with her parents. He prayed again for their reconciliation. His phone buzzed with another message from Kekoa checking on their status.
He was nervous. Kekoa wasn’t a fan of carrying the weight of personal protection even though he would demolish mountains for the people he cared about. But his nervousness was making Nic nervous.
Checking his watch again, he moved to the nurses’ station to see if he could maybe call Walsh’s room and check on her.
A man walked over with a bouquet of flowers, bumping into Nic. “Follow me.”
Nic glanced around him, confused as to who the man was speaking to.
The man set the flowers on the counter. “You work for SNAP. The girl, Ms. Fox, is in danger. You need to come with me now.”
Alarm set his adrenaline pumping. He tried to step around the man, but he caught Nic’s arm. Nic was about to throw a punch when a flash of recognition hit him.
“Do I know you?”
“Probably, yes, but that’s not important right now. They’ve already left, and I’m afraid if we wait another second, your friend won’t be alive.”
It was the lack of exaggeration in the man’s tone that drove Nic to follow him. On his way, he pulled out his phone and sent a group text that the plan had gone bad. He kept an eye on the man in front of him and then lifted his phone to take a photo. The camera sound pulled the man’s attention back to him.
“What are you doing?”
“Identifying you.”
A rigid expression was the only reaction he got. That made Nic feel only slightly more sure that he wasn’t being tricked. The next message he sent was to Kekoa about the cameras in the hospital, but midtext a message came in with a video that showed Lyla leaving with a woman. Nic was in full panic mode.
“Who’s Lyla with?”
“Christine León. Under secretary of defense for acquisitions and sustainment. She’s behind the arms deals to Venezuela and Ireland. I have a list. And she coordinated the shooting of your boss and Genevieve Miller.”
“Where is she taking Lyla?”
