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He knew that all it would take is a look at Jacey …
“There she is!”
The mob shifted, separated, and came back together around Jacey, cutting her off from everyone else with practiced ease. Wolves separating a baby lamb from the herd.
“Are you Kayla’s daughter?”
“Are you Juliana?”
He could see that Jacey was breathing heavily. She was afraid. “I’m Jacey,” she answered softly. “My mom’s in a coma…. ”
A microphone flew at her face, almost hit her in the nose. “How does it feel to be his daughter?”
Liam screamed her name. He grabbed hold of the cameraman in front of him and shoved. The camera fell to the ground, the man stumbled sideways.
Liam surged through the opening. “Jace—come here!”
Above the crowd, their gazes met. Liam saw the fear in his daughter’s eyes. He saw when she gave way to panic; not all at once, but in little breaths. He plowed through the crush of bodies. She held out her hands toward him.
He pushed and shoved his way forward, his hands outstretched, fingertips straining to touch hers.
“How does it feel to be Julian True’s daughter?” someone yelled out.
A hush fell. Jacey looked at Liam, her mouth open, her eyes widening in shock.
“Jesus Christ, she doesn’t know—”
“Move in, Bert, get a shot of her face—now—”
“GET AWAY FROM HER!” Liam screamed the words. He threw himself forward, knocking people aside, ramming them with his elbows.
At last he was at her side. He slipped an arm around Jacey and pulled her close. He could feel her trembling. “It’s okay, honey,” he whispered in her ear, even though he knew it wasn’t true.
“Who are you?” someone shouted at him.
“It’s the doctor,” someone else said. “What are you—”
“She has no comment. ” Liam heard the snarl in his voice; it was an unfamiliar sound that came from a dark place deep inside him. He dragged a dazed Jacey through the crowd and helped her into the Explorer.
The reporters followed them all the way, still shouting out questions and popping photographs. The last thing Liam heard as he slammed the car door was “Get the license plate number. ”
He started the engine and hit the gas. The car surged forward, tires spinning on the slushy snow, and spun out of the parking lot.
His heart was hammering, and there was a coppery fear taste in his mouth. He’d never felt so ashamed and defeated in his life. He had failed to protect her. It was his fault. The daughter he loved more than his own life had been hurt.
Jacey twisted around in her seat, watching the road behind them. “They’re not following us,” she said in a watered-down version of her ordinary voice.
Liam veered left onto the snowy, unmaintained forest service road that led to Angel Falls State Park. He chose this road because it only appeared on the most detailed maps of the area. No one would follow them here.
When they reached the end of the road, they found the empty parking lot as pristine as a new sheet of paper. In the late afternoon it was dark in these deep woods.
He parked near the information board, a rough-hewn wooden pyramid that told the story of these falls, discovered and named by Ian Campbell in honor of his beloved wife.
Liam took a deep breath and turned at last to his daughter. “I couldn’t get to you fast enough. ”
She looked at him, her dark eyes confused and afraid. “Is it true, Dad?”
He wanted to be angry with Mike right now, but as it was, all he felt was cold and hollow. “It’s true. Your mom was married to Julian True. ”
