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When I thought he was going to blow me off, he shocked the shit out of me.
Another quick glance around the shop, and he spun his paper cup in slow circles on the table. “Your previous agent?”
“Carl,” I offered, and he nodded.
“He didn’t retire. The agency wasn’t going to tell you he was killed. The thing is, he saw it coming. Something had spooked him. He reached out to me and asked me to do what I had to in order to get your case if anything happened to him. Made me promise not to let anything happen to you.”
“If he didn’t trust the agency, why would he trust you? Who were you to him?”
“Because Carl and I had a history prior to the US Marshals. Carl was my team leader. We were in the Marine Raider Regiment together. Well, it was the Marine Special Operations Regiment when we first met. I was a young kid then, fresh out of training. He took me in and was more of a father figure than I’d ever had. He never crossed the line or showed favoritism as my NCO, but he molded me into the man I am today. I have him to thank for everything. I’ve been busting my ass to find the people responsible for taking his life,” he said as he lifted the hat, ran a hand through his hair, then replaced the cap.
“So someone in the US Marshals had him killed?” I asked in disbelief.
“That’s what I believe. Someone in the US Marshals betrayed Carl and was likely on Luis’s payroll. We think that was how he got out of the country so easily after he had your family killed. Anyway, I think it was pure coincidence that he found out you were still alive, but he didn’t have time to access your new identity before he told Luis.” He rasped a hand over the whiskers on his face. “I’m pretty sure Luis killed Carl—but not before he gave me all your files and wiped his computer.”
“Then shouldn’t I be safe from Luis. Right?”
“Not exactly.”
“What do you mean… not exactly?”
“For about four years before your father’s death, he was working with someone in the FBI to uncover a powerful group involved in drug and human trafficking. I have no idea the exact connection or what he was doing because all of his files disappeared the night he died.”
Despite the years, I winced at mention of my father’s death. Then I looked him in the eye. “I’m still confused. Why would that put me in danger?”
His gaze burning into mine, he quietly said, “Because your parents lied about your mother’s pregnancy and passed you off as theirs, and your real father is Luis Trujillo.”
The faint sound of a sharp inhale was thankfully disrupted by one of the cashiers dropping a pot of coffee on the floor behind the counter. Still, I sat in stunned silence.
“Excuse me?” I finally choked out. No way was Luis Trujillo, leader of the most ruthless cartel of modern time, my father.
“Carl believed that when your ‘adopted’ father started helping the FBI, Luis was gunning for him because he had a hand in the drug trafficking, if not the human trafficking as well. He also believed that Luis didn’t realize you were his child—until he stole your father’s files.”
“Shit. Then my dad knew Luis was my… biological father?” I asked as panic began to skate through my veins and seize my heart.
“We believe that was part of his driving force behind taking Luis down.”
“But then who is my mother?” I asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
He took a deep breath before inflating his cheeks and huffing out. “Priscilla Kellerman.”
“But… that’s… that’s my aunt. That’s impossible. She died before I was born!”
“Not exactly,” Ryan said hesitantly.
“What do you mean,not exactly?” Exasperation was leaking into my voice.
“Your mother and father helped her hide herself and her pregnancy, faked your mother’s pregnancy, then passed you off as their child. They found a midwife willing to do an in-home delivery and keep quiet about who actually gave birth to you. Everything was buried.” He appeared resigned, maybe even apologetic. It suddenly made sense why my parents always said I looked so much like my aunt. I assumed it was simply family connection.
“Because Luis was my father?” I asked, already piecing it together.
“Yes. I guess she had a brief affair with him until she found out he was married. She left him, and he lost his shit and looked for her. Carl was pretty sure Luis didn’t know she was pregnant when she left.”
“Because he didn’t want Luis to find me,” I murmured, still in shock.
“Exactly. Luis Trujillo is likely the most vicious cartel boss of our time.”
