Gift shook his head. “I can’t. My mom could be out there, hurt or dead. How am I supposed to sleep without knowing she’s okay? I know we didn’t really understand each other but she was still my mom.”
“I know,ouen. Your mom loves you very much. That’s how you ended up with me in the first place.”
“Did she say anything to you when you talked to her the other night?”
Park’s stomach churned. “I didn’t. She didn’t answer. And she didn’t call me back.” He hadn’t thought much of that at the time. He’d been too distracted by Gift.
But now, they both understood how dire that sounded. Park reasoned with himself that Anchali often traveled for work; it wasn’t uncommon for her to be unreachable. But knowing that did little to quell his unease.
“What do these people want with me?” Gift asked. “My mom said the first attempt was retaliatory, something to do with foreign policy. But then why did Aspen try to kill me? I thought the instructors here were all…vetted.”
Park kissed the top of his head. “They are.”
Gift had a point. Park tried to recall if anyone had ever told him the conditions of Aspen’s hire. Who had done his background check? Who had vouched for him? Both Suri and West knew Aspen. Pike, too. He was network. An agent.
Could he have been a sleeper? A double agent, maybe? But who had he worked for? What foreign power would benefit from killing Gift or even Anchali? If it was revenge, why? Why all the subterfuge? Were there others? Kendrick had promised Park that all staff would be fully vetted by a company that specialized in this sort of thing.
Gift startled when Park sat up and snatched his phone where it lay charging on the side table. Park pressed a hand to his uninjured cheek in apology. Gift rolled onto his side to stare at him, his fingers tangled in the sheets, bottom lip trapped between his teeth.
Park forced himself to focus on the task at hand, calling Boone who answered almost immediately. “What’s up?”
The echo told Park he was still in the gym.
“What’s the name of the company that conducts the background checks on the employees?” Park asked, skipping the pleasantries.
“Elite Protection Services. Why?”
“Do you have a number for them?” Park asked, ignoring the question.
Boone sounded slightly suspicious as he said, “Of course, I do. But it’s after hours.”
“You must have some kind of emergency contact,” Park pushed.
Boone sighed. “Texting it now. Are you going to explain to me what’s happening right now?”
As soon as I’m sure you’re not a part of it.
“I will as soon as I figure it out.”
Park hit the number as soon as the text came through. He didn’t recognize the area code, only that it was a U.S. number.
A deep voice answered on the second ring. “Avery.”
The man didn’t sound surprised to be getting a business call this late at night, though Park knew from experience that jobs like Avery’s rarely had office hours.
“My name is Park Chen and I’m calling from the Watch. Is this a secure line?”
“It is,” Avery replied.
Park combed his fingers through Gift’s hair. “We’ve had a breach. One of our instructors just tried tokilla student. I would like to know who ran the background check and what they found.”
Park expected some resistance, maybe even some defensive posturing, but the man simply said, “Name?”
“Aspen. Jeremy Aspen.”
“Jeremy?” Gift muttered, sounding incredulous. “I was almost murdered by a man namedJeremy?”
Park tried not to smile as Avery said, “Hold the line.”
