Page 28 of The Ghost

“We knew,” George confirmed. “Now let’s talk about Ashcroft.”

“How could you do that?” I shouted. “For three years, I thought he was dead and you said nothing!”

“Ms. Abrams!” the director yelled, slapping his palm on the table. “Let’s retain some semblance of professionalism!”

“You’re worse than Ashcroft.” I shook a finger at him.

“In what way?” he asked, leading me toward the question he wanted answered.

Lukas reached out for my hand, directing my gaze toward his face. I allowed myself to be distracted, and when I saw the calm in Lukas’s eyes, it helped me find my center. I wasn’t going to get anywhere if I was overly emotional. Yes, I had been hurt, but there were bigger things at stake. I might not like the people I shared the room with, but they were the world’s only hope. I was forced to play ball.

“Never mind,” I muttered.

“No,” George pursued it, “I want to know.”

“I was going to say that Mr. Ashcroft didn’t lie,” I admitted. “But I know that’s not true. What do you want to know about him?”

George straightened his shirt, recognizing that he’d won that round. “What was he like as a father figure?”

“I never thought of him as my father exactly,” I cautioned. “He was more like a principal of a school or a prison warden. I was honestly relieved when he died. When I thought he died,” I corrected myself.

“And why do you think you are so important to him?” George asked.

“I used to think it was because I had special skills,” I mused. “All along, he gave me certain privileges, but I had to earn them.”

“Like what?”

“Like he would allow me to stay up and listen in on the chatter,” I admitted. “When the other kids were in bed. He had a room in his mansion with all kinds of surveillance equipment, and we would listen in on what was going on in the world.”

“And what did you learn?” George continued.

“I thought I was learning how to be a good CIA agent,” I said. “But I could see how he might have been preparing me for something else.”

“Did you ever hear the name New Dawn while you were growing up?” one of the other people in the room asked.

“No,” I said emphatically.

“And what about the agents who died?” someone else spoke up. “Did you know them?”

“I probably knew some of them,” I admitted. “But Mr. Ashcroft had kids going into and out of that house for years. I didn’t know all of them.”

“What did he say when you saw him last?” a fourth person asked.

“Not much,” I remembered. “He wanted me to get on the helicopter with him, but I refused.”

George turned to Lukas, apparently asking him for direction. Lukas sighed and glanced at me. “Give us a minute.”

“Sure,” I said, standing up.

I walked out of the room, feeling like I had accomplished very little. We were still no closer to finding Mr. Ashcroft or determining the scope of his depravity. Maybe Theo would have better luck with his mission. But for the moment, I felt dirty and wanted a shower.

I was walking down the hall on the way to my bunk when I ran into the last person that I wanted to see. Ryan wore battle fatigues and a gun belt, and the sight of him made my stomach want to rebel. I looked around, instinctively searching for a way out, but there was nowhere to hide and no one to rescue me.

“I thought you were shipping out,” I said, trying to make it sound casual.

“I am,” he assured me. “We just haven’t left yet.”

He put a hand on his hip and gave me an appraising look. When we were engaged, I might have found it charming, but at the moment, it felt invasive. I didn’t want him to look at me like a piece of meat. I didn’t belong to him, and I wasn’t ready to lay out terms. I had hoped I would have a few more days before having to formally dump him, but it looked like I was already out of time.