Victor exhaled a heavy breath. He seemed to breathe freely for the first time since he’d arrived at the hospital. They all did their best to provide comfort, but comfort would not have come until he was assured that his wife and child were doing okay.
The doctor was beaming with pleasure. “Governor, how would you like to meet your daughter?”
Victor’s smile grew wide. “I’d like that very much,” he responded with a relieved chuckle.
“Alright, then. Please allow us to get your women all cleaned up. I’ll come back and get you in about ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes. Yes, Doctor,” Victor happily agreed.
When the doctor left the waiting room, Victor turned to their family, happier than Lincoln had ever seen him.
“It’s a girl!” he celebrated.
As Lincoln and the rest of his family hugged and congratulated Victor, a familiar female voice shouted, “Congratulations!”
Everyone in the room turned to the voice.
“Naomi?” Victor questioned with furrowed brows. He looked to Gregor, who was dressed in jeans and appeared to be off duty. “How did you get past security?”
“I have my ways, Governor,” she bragged with a cheeky grin.
Lincoln took long strides to get to the CIA agent. He’d warned her to stay away from his family. Had she listened, she wouldn’t have had to worry about being dragged into one of the empty hospital rooms to have him snap her thin neck.
Tahira took a quick step back and held her hands up in surrender.
“Ah… ah… ah! Wait a minute, Colonel. I come bearing gifts.”
Lincoln continued to charge until his fingers were wrapped tightly around her neck.
“Lincoln Creed!” his father bellowed, probably at the sight of him manhandling a woman, but Tahira Raji was no ordinary woman. She was a weapon. More specifically, a weapon that seemed to be trained on his family.
Lincoln’s brother pried his fingers from her neck and pulled him away. When Tahira clutched her neck and gasped for air, she was actually smiling.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Victor asked him. “Was there something between you and Naomi?”
Lincoln shook his brothers off of him and turned to Victor. “Her name is not Naomi!”
“What? Then, what is her name?”
“I can’t tell you that,” Lincoln growled.
Tahira cleared her throat and stood up straight. “I can help you understand. That is if the Colonel here will give me a chance.”
Victor pulled the back of Lincoln’s shirt until he was facing them.
“I don’t have time for this shit. Tell me what the hell is going on.”
“As I said, Governor,” she interjected. “I come bearing gifts. But I must speak to you in private. Well, he can come.” She pointed at Lincoln. “And Gregor can wait just outside the door.”
Lincoln could feel his brother’s eyes burning into him. He felt that he had no other choice but to divulge a small portion of classified information. He leaned close to Victor and whispered, “CIA.”
The short acronym immediately got his attention. With an angry scowl, he barked, “Let’s go!”
Victor stormed out of the waiting room. Lincoln held the door open for Tahira so they could follow. After locating an empty hospital room, they entered. As soon as Lincoln closed the door, Tahira began to speak.
“I can’t tell you my name, but I can tell you that it’s not Naomi. The information that I am about to give you is classified. It must not be shared.”
Victor folded his arms and waited for her to continue. However, his expression read anything but patient.
