Gift’s brows raised at his mother’s statement.
“That was when things started to fall into place. Only three people knew I’d be in Phuket: Kendrick, your father, and my current boss, who has nothing to do with intelligence work. I thought maybe Kendrick had somehow learned I knew Sukhon was alive and wanted to shut me up. It never occurred to me he would go after Gift. Why would he?”
“Because he thinks he’s my father,” Gift said. “Which, in his mind, would corroborate Sukhon’s story if she chose to go public.”
Anchali nodded. “I know that now. But I never suspected he might think you were his child. It seems absurd.”
“Kendrick’s an idiot,” Gift countered.
Anchali nodded.
Park shook his head. “But Kendrick said you called him and that you were concerned about Gift being in the program.”
“I wasn’t worried about Gift and some silly assignment, but Roland Skinner had left a message blustering on about it and I didn’t want Kendrick to know I suspected he was the one who tried to kill me. I needed him to think I was still in Phuket.”
“But you weren’t?” Park asked.
Anchali shook her head. “I was on my way here.”
Gift frowned. “Why?”
“I needed to be closer to you on the off-chance Sukhon and Kendrick were working together. I couldn’t rule it out. But then Suri called me and told me Aspen had gone after Gift. That’s when I knew.” She gave her son an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry,noo. I didn’t even know he worked there until I got the message.”
“It’s okay. I lived. He did not,” he said, echoing his mother’s words back to her.
Anchali beamed at him. “When Kendrick tried to kill you, I knew Sukhon wasn’t working with him. She would never try to harm her own child. I asked my contacts to bring her to me. I knew she’d be safer here. And I thought it was about time that you knew everything. You deserved to know everything.”
“But you looked so shocked when I said I knew I was adopted,” Gift said.
“I was shocked. I had planned to tell you everything, but I didn’t expect you’d already know something so big.”
Sukhon looked from Gift to Anchali. “Why did you let me bring a gun?”
“I wanted you to feel safe. And I knew I could take it from you if I wanted.”
Sukhon flinched at that but seemed to accept the statement. “How do you know Kendrick won’t find us here?”
Park answered first. “Kendrick’s currently cleaning up a different mess. At least, he thinks he is. He thinks Aspen is still alive and Gift is still at the Watch. With any luck, he hasn’t grown any smarter since the last time we saw him and is walking into a trap…right…about…now.”
Gift looked to Sukhon. “Please, come with me…withus. Let’s end this once and for all. Please?”
Sukhon closed her eyes then took a deep breath. “Yes. Okay. Let’s end this.”
Gift felt like his knees were going to give out as he walked to the gym. He didn’t want to see Kendrick. He hated the man and wanted to see him dead. The idea of him being in the same room as both of his mothers made him sick.
Boone had called while they were on the way back to say that Kendrick had fallen right into their trap. Kendrick would be incapacitated in some way, Gift was certain. But in Gift’s mind, he’d become a monster in a fairy tale, waiting to devour them all.
Gift shivered as Park pulled the gym door open, the creak drawing the attention off all those in the room. There were so many people. But Gift only searched for Kendrick.
When his eyes settled on the man in question, Gift frowned. He’d remembered Kendrick as this larger-than-life powerful person, not the sweaty old guy tied to a chair before him, a white rag stuffed in his mouth and held in place with some type of cord.
How could this be the same man from just a few days ago? How was this the man who had tormented both of his mothers?
Park and Gift entered first. Sukhon clung to Anchali behind them, shrinking back when she saw the amount of people in the cavernous space. The scene was surreal, like something out of a movie. Kendrick was secured to a sturdy wooden chair in the middle of an enormous blue tarp, arms and legs secured with heavy restraints.
The few staff members in attendance talked amongst themselves in the corner while Gift’s pod mates all sat on the edges of the tarp like they were just waiting for the green light.
Boone looked relieved when he saw them. “Oh, good. We’re just waiting on two more and then we can start.”
