Page 7 of Final Approach (Lake City Heroes #4)

FOUR

Kristine walked through the door of her townhome and stopped with a gasp. “What are you doing here?”

Her father rose from the couch and faced her. He was a tall man, just a hair over six feet, with dark hair and gray eyes. Many women found him handsome—especially when he turned on the charm. “I needed to see for myself that you were okay.”

“I’m fine, so, again, what are you doing here?”

“Well, it seems to me it’s time to quit this foolishness you call a job and help run the agency.”

She sighed. He had to start in as soon as she walked in the door? At least he’d led with making sure she was all right. “Dad, just because you enjoy being a private investigator doesn’t mean I would. That’s not what I want to do with my life.”

“You could have died today! The plane was hijacked! You need to quit now before—” He clenched his jaw and raked a hand through his thinning hair.

He’d gone from zero to sixty with his demands.

Just like when she’d been a child, terrified to set him off, then a teen who didn’t care.

Then an adult who cared but refused to be controlled.

It was all she could do not to tell him to get out.

She loved the man, but this conversation seemed to be the only one they had anymore.

She was beyond sick of his telling her what she should do, what she needed to do.

How to live her life. He’d done that ever since she could remember.

More so since her mother’s death. And yet, in spite of his tendency to want to control her, she knew where his fear was coming from, so she bit her tongue.

“I’m not Mom. Just because she died in a plane hijacking doesn’t mean I will. ”

“But you could!”

“Yes! Yes I could.” She sucked in a deep breath and controlled her tone.

“And I could get hit by a car crossing the street. Or slip and fall in the shower, hitting my head, or...” She waved a hand.

Or stroke out while arguing with a difficult parent.

“Please, Dad. Stop with this. I can’t take much more of it.

You can’t just show up like this. It’s not right. ”

“I’m your landlord.”

“I know. For another six months, then you’ll need to find another tenant.

We’ve talked about this.” She’d hoped renting this townhome from him would pacify him, give him the sense that he had a semblance of control over her.

She saw now that it was a mistake. A huge one.

But she wouldn’t break the two-year lease agreement he’d made her sign. Six months. She’d survive. Maybe.

“Stop trying to distract me. My point is, your job is dangerous!”

“Life is dangerous,” she said, her voice low.

She refused to yell or lose her cool again.

“That’s why you’re smart and take precautions while doing what could potentially be a dangerous job.

But the local fast-food worker puts their life on the line every day as well.

Not to mention teachers and doctors and nurses and police officers, paramedics, private investigators .

Dad, drop it. Please. I’m not changing careers. ”

He groaned and grabbed his hair with one hand while he paced to the fireplace and back. “Do you want to get married one day?” he finally asked.

She blinked. “Yes. Maybe. Eventually. I’m not in a hurry.

” Although, at the age of thirty-two, she supposed most would think she should be.

“What’s that got to do with anything?” She finally walked into the kitchen and set her backpack on the counter.

Looked like he might be staying a while.

“And I thought we agreed you’d only use my key in the event of an emergency. ”

“I’d say you almost getting killed qualifies.”

“I didn’t almost get killed. Wasn’t anywhere near getting killed.” Not that there hadn’t been a few harrowing moments. “Back to the marriage comment. Where are you going with that?” She opened her freezer to search for a nonexpired microwavable meal.

“Just that if you get married and have kids and you tell them that their grandmother died when a hijacker took down the plane she was a flight attendant for, then every time you walk out the door, they’re going to be terrified you won’t walk back in it.”

Kristine froze. Then she shut the door and turned to face her father.

“Always have to go for shock value, don’t you?

And for the record, why do you think I would even tell them?

There’d be no reason for them to know until they were older and started to ask questions.

Then my husband and I would figure out a nontraumatic way to explain it.

And why am I even discussing this with you?

You just crossed a line. You can leave now. ”

He met her gaze and swallowed hard. Tears welled and dripped down his cheeks. “I’m sorry, Krissy,” he whispered. “I’m just terrified I’m going to lose you.”

She didn’t know if the tears and soft words were real or manipulation but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. It had been a hard day. Apparently for both of them.

In an uncharacteristic move, she went to him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and laid her head on his shoulder.

He stiffened, then sighed and held her for a moment.

He wasn’t a hugger, never had been, but for some reason, she felt compelled to push it.

After a few seconds, she pulled back and cupped his face in her hands.

She couldn’t let him leave mad. She just .

.. couldn’t. “Listen to me very closely. There’s more than one way to lose someone.

” She’d had enough of his control-freak antics to last her well into eternity.

But she wouldn’t let him leave with cross words between them.

He sighed, closed his eyes, and nodded. “Ten-four.” He hesitated. “Before I go, you know your sister is leaving tomorrow for that trip with her friends. Have you looked into them?”

“Who? Her friends? No. Why?”

“I did. They’re troublemakers. You need to tell her she needs to stay home and find some new friends.”

Kristine refused to close her eyes and groan. “Dad—”

“I know, I know. I’m just saying, hanging out with the likes of them is an invitation to trouble. I don’t want her going with them.”

“Like the rest of us, you don’t get a say in what she does and doesn’t do anymore. We’re all adults.” She searched for the words that would be firm but not harsh. “Dad, you and Mom worked hard for every penny you had. We never saw you guys have fun or do anything but work.”

“Because we didn’t have the money to do anything fun.”

She ignored his sharp tone. “I’m just saying, Emily, Ethan, and I have all worked hard to get where we are today. If we want to have a little fun, then don’t begrudge us that. We’ve earned it.”

“I don’t begrudge it,” he said. “But money is hard to come by. Spending it on elaborate vacations is risky. You might need that money someday. You never know when an emergency will come along.”

“Like Mom’s death?”

He closed his eyes. “Yeah. It just about broke me. Mentally, physically, financially. You know how hard it is to make ends meet as a single father of three kids?”

“I don’t, but I can imagine. And we made it. You have three amazing offspring. Why don’t you trust us to do what’s best for us?”

He rubbed his mouth. “It’s just hard.”

“I know. But here’s the thing. Emily’s a good person.

She’s a journalist with a great job. I doubt her friends are the troublemakers you’ve said they are.

I’m not saying they’re perfect, but honestly, if Emily wants to hang out with who you consider troublemakers, that’s her choice.

” A part of Kristine was concerned about what her father found out in all of his snooping, but still .

.. she refused to interfere in her sister’s life like that. Emily would be livid.

“But—”

“No buts, Dad. Stop it. You have to stop this.” He’d always been controlling, but it was like he’d ramped up the efforts over the last few months.

Anger zipped across his face, and for a moment, a spark of fear flipped Kristine’s stomach.

In her teen years, that look came before he’d yelled or thrown something.

She steeled her spine. She was a federal agent and knew how to defend herself if it came to it.

Then the expression faded, but he looked like he wanted to argue more.

Instead, he finally said, “I have a long drive home and I want to go to the gym. I’ll talk to you later. ”

She wouldn’t classify the hour drive to Asheville as long , but whatever.

“Sounds good. Be careful.” He worked out on a regular basis and was in excellent shape.

She was glad he took care of himself physically.

She just wished he would also pay such close attention to his mental health.

But she wasn’t about to mention it. That would set him off again, and she didn’t have the bandwidth for the discussion-slash-argument that would ensue.

At the door, he stopped and looked back, his eyes unreadable. “I love you, Krissy-girl, and your siblings. More than any of you will ever know or understand. Everything I do is with you three in mind. I just want what’s best for you all.”

“I know, Dad. You just need to work on better ways of expressing that.”

“Right.” He hesitated, then left, and she locked the door behind him, resisting the urge to bang her head on it.

But she didn’t need the literal headache that would bring, so she walked back into the den, kicked off her shoes, and picked up the remote.

Had she really thought she might have to defend herself against her father?

Yes, she really had.

Shoving off that depressing thought, she got the opening credits rolling for The Maltese Falcon , then pulled up the food delivery app on her phone.

She ordered a burger, fries, and two pieces of cheesecake.

It would arrive in about an hour. She didn’t even care that she’d already had a slice earlier.

Most of it would wind up in the fridge for later. But not all.

The memories rolled over her. Working in high school so she could pay for her graduation stuff, working to pay for her car and insurance and cell phone.

Work and school had been her life because her father always claimed to be broke.

And she supposed he was. Like he said, trying to support three kids on a cop’s salary . .. well, yeah. He was probably broke.

She sighed.

Her dad told her he loved her all the time. The words didn’t mean much to her other than to make her question them. Did he really love her and her siblings, or did he simply use those words like he did everything else, as a way of trying to control them?

She just didn’t know and she was too weary of trying to figure it out.

With a sigh, she snagged her work laptop, pulled up the report she’d submitted, and went back over every detail. Had she gotten it all? Emotions had been high at the time. She could have forgotten something.

Two hours later, she set the computer and her leftovers aside. She hadn’t forgotten anything. Her phone buzzed with a text from her younger brother, Ethan.

Glad you’re okay. Good job staying alive. Talk soon.

Short, simple, and to the point. That was Ethan. She smiled. He’d graduated from law school last year and was knee-deep working for one of the largest firms in New York. His dream was to make a lot of money and stay as far away from their father as he possibly could.

Even Emily didn’t have much to do with the man.

Kristine didn’t know why she allowed her father in her life as much as she did. Other than guilt due to the fact that she was responsible for his widower status.

She swallowed hard at that thought. Her mother’s death never should have happened. At least not the way it did. If her father knew—

But he didn’t and she wanted to keep it that way. Telling him would only hurt him. And she’d done enough of that.

With a groan, she surged to her feet and tossed the remote on the couch, then carried her leftovers to the fridge. She took a quick inventory and made a mental note to go to the grocery store tomorrow.

She shut the refrigerator door and walked back to the laptop.

Why had Marcus been put on that plane? Her plane. Coincidence?

She looked up the TSA agents working security. Every single one. Ran backgrounds on them.

Twenty minutes into her search, she got a hit. Colleen Pearson. She had a recent DUI. More digging turned up medical debts and a home in foreclosure.

She tapped her lips, then texted the information to Andrew and Nathan.

I have no idea if there’s a connection, but someone let Marcus Brown through security with a fairly large amount of superglue even though it was in a jewelry making kit. It still should have been flagged. I think we need to take a hard look at this agent. Could have been simple oversight. Or not.

Andrew answered her immediately.

We’ll have her picked up first thing in the morning and see if we can get footage of which line he went through.

Perfect. Now, she could sleep. Maybe.