Page 78 of Iron Shield
Rome drew the phone toward him and dialed the number. When a man answered, voice roughened by fear for his daughter, Rome’s heart squeezed. If he had a daughter, he’d be losing his goddamn mind trying to find her.
“Mr. Velez, I’m with a federal task force assigned to your daughter’s case. I understand someone came to your home this morning.”
Silence. Then, “Where’s my daughter?”
“She’s safe.”
The man let out a shaky breath.
“Can I talk to her?”
Rome hated the question. “Not right now. For her safety, we have to keep her location and communications restricted.”
“Is she hurt?”
“No, sir. She’s being protected.”
Another pause. “Tell her…” His voice cracked. “Tell her that her mother and I love her. Tell her to come home when she can.”
Rome swallowed past the knot in his throat. “I’ll make sure she gets the message.”
“Please keep her alive.”
“That’s exactly what we’re doing.”
When he ended the call, he controlled the sigh he wanted to push out and set the phone on the desk. Cannon met his stare.
“You did what you had to do.”
He passed a hand over his face. “I don’t like where this is headed.”
“We never do.”
He sat there for a few more heartbeats, recovering from speaking to Stina’s father, before he remembered his reason for coming here.
Rome squared his shoulders. “I want to take Stina up to Montclair. Just for a few hours. She needs air and light. She needs to feel like a person again instead of an asset.”
Cannon didn’t even blink. “If you feel the need to ask for permission, then the answer should probably be no.”
“Requesting permission, sir.”
“You seem to be getting too close.”
He started to form a response, but a scrape of a footstep sounded just outside the open door. He traded a look with Cannon and then walked to the entrance to find Stina with her back pressed against the wall.
Christ, how much had she heard?
“Bring her in, Rome.” Resignation rang in Cannon’s command.
When Stina entered, he studied her face for signs that she knew about her parents, but she only faced their commanding officer like she did everything in life—without a hint of fear.
She looked at Rome. “You were taking too long, so I came to see what was keeping you.” Then she turned her attention to Cannon. “If it helps, I already know we’re under a ski resort.”
Cannon gave her a flat look. “Jolie?”
She nodded.
Cannon closed his eyes briefly as if searching for patience behind his lids. When he opened them, he looked at Rome. “Get Monk in here. Can none of you people control your women?”
