Page 58 of Fighting Salvation

“We can go. This isn’t helping and I want to go to the embassy and see if anyone remembers my father.”

Back in the car, she was quiet for a few miles but the question wouldn’t leave her mind. “Why the sudden need to look into your father’s background? I understand your mother but you father too?”

His hands tightened on the wheel and he seemed to still, his entire body freezing. She knew he was uncomfortable with his reasons and didn’t want to share and she wouldn’t push him. The last few days he’d opened up to her way more than she ever dreamed and she wouldn’t push her luck.

“When I look at Novem, I keep getting this sense of familiarity and I couldn’t figure out why.”

He went quiet, and she let him take his time. “That makes sense. Hansen was a good friend, it would be natural for you to recognise him in her.”

He shook his head. “It’s not that. She has my father’s eyes.”

Val gasped, taking in what he wasn’t saying. “How is that possible? Could it purely be a coincidence?”

He nodded. “Perhaps but I want to see if anyone can remember him from back then.”

“Okay. Have you asked someone to look into your parents’ backgrounds?”

He grimaced. “Lopez is doing it for me.”

“That can’t have been easy.” She reached for his hand and he let her comfort him which was something he wouldn’t have done before, even going so far as to kiss her palm, and making her belly dip with pleasure.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“So many things, but mainly for being here with me and not giving up on my grumpy, stubborn ass.”

She could say so much but she just replied with, “You’re welcome.”

The embassy was a hive of activity when they walked in, and she knew it was pretty usual. They walked side by side, his arm occasionally brushing against hers and making her smile to herself. She was turning into a complete melt for this man and she didn’t even care. He made her happy, and it was so unexpected and beyond what she could have imagined.

“Do we know who or what we’re looking for?”

Bás pointed at the stairs of a fairly modern building with light brick and stone pillars around the entrance. Security was average and she would have expected more than what she could see. But it worked in their favour this time, allowing them to move around without being questioned. Her friend Roz had once said to her that ninety percent of undercover work was looking like you belonged and being confident, and she’d never forgotten that.

“My father’s office was on the second floor.”

Bás led her down a corridor with a large, arched window at the end and it was easy to see why he loved this place. There was so much beauty here when she looked past the pain and suffering.

He stopped at a large set of double doors and she placed her hand on his spine, wanting to offer him comfort and he gave her a grateful smile. Knocking, he waited and shortly an older man opened them. He was a small man with a bald head and black-rimmed glasses. His complexion was almost grey and she wondered if he ever got out and saw the place where he lived or if like a lot of officials and office workers, he lived for his work.

“Mr O’Scanlan?” His voice wobbled and he seemed to lose all colour as the blood in his face drained away.

“He was my father.”

The man pulled his glasses down and peered closer. “Niall?”

“Yes, Mr Joffrey.”

“Oh my goodness, please come in. Come in.”

He opened his arm and ushered them inside a room that was like a doctor’s waiting room but grander. Dark wood panelling covered the walls, and the floor had a heavy carpet in maroon. The desk Mr Joffrey moved to lean against was heavy oak but with all the modern appliances. It was like two worlds had collided in this space.

“The Ambassador is out right now.”

“I wasn’t looking for him. I just had a few questions about my father and hoped you might be able to help me.”

Mr Joffrey ran a hand over his bald head and sat, his eyes moving to Niall constantly. “You’re the image of him. It’s like looking back twenty years or more. It’s uncanny.”