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“That seems weird,” Scotty said. “I mean, he’s your father, and you run this foundation with his blessing, yeah?”
“My father hasn’t given me his blessing since the day I was born.” Embarrassment prickled up her cheeks. It hadn’t felt awkward sharing this information with Spencer, but it felt different telling it to his team. Maybe because she could sense that they hadn’t quite decided whether or not to trust her. Toni met Kyle’s gaze. “Am I under investigation here?”
“No.” Kyle narrowed his gaze. “We’re just interested in the whereabouts of your father.”
“Yeah, I got that.”
“We have reason to believe Coran Williams may be involved in terrorist activity,” Kyle said, his expression unreadable. “If you know where he is and you don’t share that information, you’d be aiding and abetting a terrorist.”
Having her own concerns about her father’s activities was one thing. Having these men all but confirm her suspicions was a sucker punch. She inhaled sharply and did her best not to vomit. “He’s my family, my flesh and blood.”
“And that’s what we’re afraid of,” Scotty said.
“Excuse me?”
“Just sit down,” Spencer said. He pulled her down onto the chair beside him. “I know this is a lot to take in, but we really need to talk to him. That’s all. Just talk.”
“Look, I don’t know how many times I have to say it,” Toni said, tired and irritated that they were having this conversation again. “We’re barely in touch. I don’t know why you seem to think I can just pull him out of a hat.”
“Are you saying you aren’t in contact with him at all?” Kyle asked, gaze unblinking.
Toni faltered. She didn’t want to lie—but she didn’t feel she could tell the truth, either. What was the right choice?
“Toni…” Spencer said softly. “I saw your text earlier. The one from your dad.”
“What?” She tried to pull her hand free from his, but he held tight. “I don’t understand. You were snooping through my stuff?”
“I was just trying to protect you.”
“By going behind my back?” She blinked back unwanted tears. Everything felt so unstable—the one thing she’d thought she could count on was that she could trust him. But this was putting a crack in that certainty.
Kyle’s gaze darted from Toni to Spencer, then back again. “We have reason to believe that your father may have had some involvement in the village attack yesterday and that he may be heading up an organization called SHEEPSKIN.”
Head swimming, she stared at the black marble floor. “The e-readers. You think those files have something to do with all this?”
Spencer squeezed her hand, then looked at his team leader. “I told her about the encrypted files Hayley hacked.”
“I see.” Kyle stared at Toni a long moment, as if passing judgment on her worthiness to know that information. Finally, he sighed and looked away. “We don’t trust many people these days, Ms. Williams. For good reason.”
“I know about the investigation into your brother’s death,” she said. “I’m sorry about what happened to him.”
“Too bad your father doesn’t feel the same way,” Kyle said.
Refusing to be intimidated, Toni squared her shoulders and held her head high. “Considering you’ve never spoken to my father, that’s an awfully big assumption to make. You havesuspicionsabout what you think he might have done, but I haven’t heard a single thing that implies you have hard evidence. So unless you’ve got a smoking gun to show me, you’re going to have to forgive me if I decline to condemn my father on nothing more than your word.”
Kyle held her gaze for a long moment, then nodded. “You’re right,” he said, his voice a bit softer than it had been before. “I shouldn’t condemn you for being loyal to your father. But where does that leave us? Are you willing to help us try to find him?”
“I am,” she said, biting back a smile at the way the men all startled, as if that wasn’t the answer they’d expected. “The truth is, you’re not the only one who thinks my father had something to do with the attack. Miles said the same thing. He wanted to know where my father was so he could exact revenge. I’m inclined to help you because I believe you can keep my father safe—make sure he doesn’t fall into Arrieta’s hands. But first…” She tapped her toe on the floor and mimicked Kyle’s crossed arms and defensive stance. “I want your assurance you won’t hurt my father.”
A spark of respect flitted through Kyle’s hazel eyes. “I understand your position. But you should know that I vowed, the day my brother died, to avenge his death, and I intend to keep that promise. I won’t condemn your father without proof, but I’m going to keep looking for that proof until I find the person at the other end. Our objective has been and will always be the truth, Ms. Williams.”
“Toni.”
Kyle looked at her a long moment, the hint of a smile fracturing his stoic facade. “Toni.”
She nodded. “Okay, then. When I was growing up, my father had this set of rare first editions. He collected them for years, stored them in hermetically sealed vaults. I could have them overnighted here.”
“I don’t understand,” Kyle said, frowning.
