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“Tess!” The abrupt bark of H’s voice shook her. Impulse moved her feet. Both men were admiring the trailer as she approached. “It rigged?”
Neither acknowledged her.
“C4,” Daire replied. “Remote trigger.”
H’s head bobbed in understanding. “Seams or floor?”
“Both.”
H slapped Daire’s shoulder and led the way forward. “Good boy.”
Daire opened the trailer door but didn’t go in. He stepped back, holding the door for H. In turn, the older man gestured for her to go inside first. Motivated by the knowledge there was alcohol inside, she didn’t hesitate to go in. It was only beer; beggars couldn’t be choosers.
H spoke to Daire as she stepped up. “Stand alert.”
“Sir,” Daire said.
What was that about? Whatever. With the fridge in her sights, she went to retrieve a bottle. H came in and closed the door. No Daire. Twisting off the cap, Tess tipped the bottle to gulp down the cool liquid.
“You should get some sleep,” H said.
Bed wasn’t on her radar yet. It couldn’t be much after nine p.m.
She put her beer on the dinette table. “Would you like something to eat?” Tess asked, crossing to the foil covered plates on the counter. “We have leftovers, I can put them in the microwave.” Stepping back, she gestured to the fridge. “Or we can cook something fresh if you don’t mind waiting for the grill to heat up.”
“Sleep,” he said. “You should sleep.”
Shaking her head, Tess was too tense to even take a deep breath. “I wouldn’t sleep now.”
“You don’t have to worry,” H said, scanning the space. “Daire will stay outside all night. He won’t let anything disturb us.”
Restraining her anger and embarrassment wasn’t easy. “I really don’t care about what he’s doing.”
“He didn’t tell you about his connection to me,” H said, inspecting her. The discerning descent of his brow prickled her irritation. “Your mother didn’t tell you much about me either.”
“No, she didn’t.”
“That’s for the best,” he said.
Such a breezy, unapologetic response from the man who provided half her DNA. “Excuse me?”
“It’s best that you don’t understand. You heard many things tonight that won’t make a lot of sense to you. It’s best if you don’t think too much about any of it.”
Oh, he was trundling down a dangerous path… Her frown was slow to form. “Are you threatening me?”
“No,” he said in quick reply. “Tess, I’m your father. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. Your mother took on that responsibility when you were young. She did her job well. Now that she’s not able to do it, it’s only right that I take over.”
Not able to do it. Plain. Simple. Direct. What the hell? Beyond anything she’d heard that night, the attitude, the lack of sentiment, it was incredible. “Is this some kind of joke?”
For the first time, his certainty wavered. “No, why would you think—”
“You realize I’m not a child,” she said, taking a step toward him. “You may be part of some fantastic global conspiracy that I don’t understand, but I am capable of making decisions for myself.”
“Capable, maybe, but they don’t seem to be the most intelligent decisions. I will find somewhere to keep you safe, somewhere for you to stay. You won’t have to worry about anything. I’ll ensure you have supplies and—”
“I don’t know anything about Olympus or your crazy code names or what the hell Daire planned to do with me, but I have been running for twenty-seven years. Yeah, okay, I stuck my head above the parapet and maybe that was stupid. I lost my mother; my whole world was upside down. I can admit I wasn’t in the best frame of mind. I thought I could actually take you on, take on whatever we’d been running from.”
“You can’t do that.”
