“I can’t talk long. I’ll explain after—”
“After? After what? Just where do you think you’re going?”
“You actually think I’m getting on a plane and I’m going to fly somewhere? I’m going to hide again?” And if she was, then she wouldn’t bother telling him.
“Am I wrong? Because right now, that’s what it looks like.”
“No. Nothing like that, although now that you mention it, that seems like a really great idea.”
Then she spotted Pop’s truck at the end of the parking lot. “Gotta go.”
Jo parked Cole’s vehicle and turned everything off.Everything.Including her cell. Not to stop tracking—because it would still give off that signal—but to stop Cole’s interruptive calls and texts.
She sat in the Yukon and took a deep breath. Her hands shook, and she needed to remain calm for seeing Pop—possibly for the last time.
She’d done it now. Her little excursion on the ferry had cost her anonymity. Cost her secret place, and now look at her—she was braving the world at large, coming to a small-town airport. At night, of course.
The parking lot could have been better lit, if someone had asked her. Like those big bright lights at Home Depot or some big-box store. Lights to chase away the monsters or just common thieves. Now she just had to find out where on that list her own father fell.
Chills crawled over her. Sure, it was cold tonight, but more than that, this place was creepy. Pop had to be leaving on an airplane, and he was waiting to give her one last cryptic message, but she prayed for all the answers. She hopped out of the Yukon and headed for the small terminal but hesitated. Cameras were inside—weren’t they?—and Pop wouldn’t be in there. He’d told her he would meet her at the airport. But where?
A figure stepped from the corner of the building, barely out of the shadows. Barely noticeable.
“Jo.”
She recognized her father’s whisper.
Her heart jumped. She tried to act normal and sauntered over to the corner and disappeared into the shadows with him. Was she trusting him entirely too much? Maybe. But this was Pop. She knew that he loved her, even though he was causing her pain.
She shoved every ounce of hurt away, deep inside. She had to become granite so he wouldn’t hurt her again. Was it even possible? Maybe not, but she could block any sympathy for his sob story or whatever explanation he might give. In the end, she wanted the whole truth.
“What is going on?” And with those words she crumpled, sobbed against his shoulder.
Oh,Jo,you’re so weak. Get your act together.
He held her, as comforting a moment as ever a father could offer. A bittersweet moment. Then he stepped back to peer at her. A sliver of light from the security lamp sliced across a portion of his face, giving her a look at the deep regret in his eyes.
Jo didn’t bother wiping the tears from her cheeks. “Tell me everything, and don’t hold back.”
“I’m so sorry, Jo. I never meant to hurt you. I should never have come into your life.”
“How dare you? How dare you insert yourself into my life until I don’t know what I’d do without you, and now you’re deserting me?”
The regret in his eyes turned to anguish.
“All I had to do was stay away once I saw you and knew you were mine. I didn’t, and now I’ve ruined everything. I hate this more than you’ll ever know. Please ... go. Find a new safe place. I have to put a lot of distance between us. Please know that I’ll always love you.”
“That’s it? No explanation?” About the bomb? About any of it?
Tears filled his eyes as he shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
“Can’t you even tell me your real name?”
Now he was the one who was granite.
Her heart might burst. “Oh, Pop. Just tell me ... are you a criminal? Are you running from the law?”
“You aren’t meant to know me, Jo.”
