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“Please, Daddy?”
Two words. That’s all it took.
“Okay, Princess Abby.” He tousled her hair, which Emma had arranged for the occasion, but which had been wind-blown during her ride on the carousel. “I’ll go up with you.”
“Yay!”
Abby bolted through the rest of her food and was more than ready when the last child was finishing up. “C’mon, Daddy.” She dragged Aidan up to the smiling mermaid and said, “Hi, Ariel. I’m Abby. My daddy wants to be in the picture, too.” She turned to gaze up at Aidan. “Say hi to Ariel, Daddy,” she instructed him in that parental tone that made Aidan wonder if they’d reversed roles.
“Hello, Ariel,” he replied. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Aidan caught the understanding glimpse in the mermaid’s eyes. “Lovely to meet you, too.” She wriggled her tail and scooted over a bit so that both Abby and Aidan could join her on her scalloped throne.
The photos and the visit were a rousing success.
The aftermath? Not so much. Even as they left Ariel’s Grotto, Abby was already urging him to text a copy of the picture to her Uncle Marc.
Aidan had finally relented, and he and Abby were heading back to the hotel when the secure cell phone that connected Aidan to Vance Pennington rang.
“Give me one sec, sweetheart.” Aidan gripped Abby’s hand tightly in his as he reached for the phone.
“Okay, Daddy.” Abby was sucking on a rainbow lollipop that was bigger than she was. “But just one.”
“Promise.” Aidan glanced down at his phone, frowning when he saw the number. It wasn’t Vance. It was Susan.
“Yes,” he answered.
“There’s someone watching me, Aidan,” she blurted out. “A man. He vanishes every time I look, but I’ve spotted him more than once and I know he’s there. I’m petrified. What if they figured out that Vance isn’t following their instructions?”
“That’s not the case.” Aidan kept his voice low and his words few. “Can you describe him?”
“He’s Asian. Medium height and build. That’s about all I can say. He disappears as soon as I turn in his direction, and I don’t want him to suspect I see him so I look away quickly. But I’m not imagining things,” she rushed on.
“I know you’re not. But this scenario isn’t new. A visual has been in place from the start.”
“When will you be here?” Susan sounded as if she’d barely heard him. She was coming unglued—the last thing Aidan needed right now. He couldn’t calm her down when he was standing in the middle of Disneyland with his all-too-curious daughter, who was already tugging at hi
s hand.
“Vance is on the ski slopes with the kids,” Susan raced on hysterically. “But I couldn’t go. I just couldn’t. I keep pressing Vance for details, but he only gives me the bare-bones facts. What specialized computer is he talking about? What if he can’t use it? What if he says the wrong thing and they kill Lauren?”
“He can, and they won’t. You have my word.”
Mentally, Aidan moved up his flight time and canceled the drink he was going to have with Simone. He’d fly straight from Disney to Reno without making a stop at his hotel in Silicon Valley. Thank heavens he’d enjoyed his planned afternoon with Abby before Susan’s meltdown.
“Hang out in your hotel room,” he instructed her, knowing it was the only safe place for her when she was losing it like this. “Have a glass of wine. I’ll move up my schedule and be there to meet with you in a few hours.”
14
NanoUSA
27 February
Tuesday, 3:30 p.m. local time
For the second time that day, Simone was escorted through the CEO’s inner sanctum—this time to Zoe Pearson’s office.
Zoe’s door was ajar, an open invitation that she was expecting Simone. Still, she held up one finger as Simone entered the room and shut the door behind her. Zoe gestured at her phone, which was pressed to her ear, and mouthed the words: “Just finishing up.”
