Page 55 of Lethal Deceit (Hightower Security #2)

Mick

Two weeks later…

I stare at the red phone on my couch and can’t believe Hightower managed to get into my apartment again.

I need a better security system. I was only gone for thirty minutes.

Frustrating as it is, I’m desperate for news of Samantha, and if this is how Silas Hightower is going to communicate, so be it. I snatch up the phone and read the message on screen, smiling when I see who sent it.

Delilah.

It’s all the confirmation I need, so I tap out a reply, add an emoji to it, then stalk around my apartment, wishing I’d thought to check in with Brooke again. She’s been way too blasé about what happened, and I’m a little concerned it’s an act she’s keeping up for my benefit.

Brooke will have to wait. I need advice—no judgment, no questions—and there’s only one person I trust to give it straight. I check the battery on my phone, glance at my watch, then hit call.

Dad’s always been an early riser, and since Brooke and I moved out, he’s kept to the same schedule even though he’s retired. He picks the phone up on the second ring, and emotion tugs at me when I note the concern in his voice.

“Ahoy, all okay? Limbs attached? Nothing bleeding?”

I smile at his greeting.

“Ahoy to you. All’s well. I just need to pick your brain about a few things.”

He chuckles.

“I’ll start the meter running. You can pay me when I see you at church.”

My father is as subtle as Silas Hightower is. They’d probably get along great.

“Where are you anyway?”

he asks.

“Brooke said you’re taking some time off, but now she’s disappeared too.”

Normally that wouldn’t be an issue. If she’s working a story, she’s been known to go to ground, and it’s days, sometimes weeks, before we hear from her. But it’s brainless to do so without stopping to consider she could have lost her life.

“I’m hanging with some… new friends.”

“Ah. Thought you two were conspiring. Is she working on a hot story again?”

I shrug, even though he can’t see me. I get he’s thinking about Brooke, but I don’t have a lot of time before I have to leave for my judicial hearing.

“She is. So, listen, I have a couple hard questions to ask you. You got time to answer?”

“Always, son. Let me have it.”

I take a breath and lay it on him.

“I met someone, but she’s… not exactly the kind of girl you and Mom would have chosen for me.”

Dad exhales, the sound crackling faintly over the line. “How so?”

I shift the phone to my other ear, heart thudding like it’s trying to punch through my ribs.

“She made some bad choices. Did some dumb things…”

A pause.

“Right. How bad are these choices and these dumb things?”

I drag a hand down my face.

“Bad. Really bad.”

“Did she murder someone?”

“No.”

A beat of silence. I can picture his brow raised, that skeptical half-frown I’ve seen a hundred times.

“Hmmm. She conspire to murder someone?”

“It’s not that kind of bad.”

“Well, there is nothing that God won’t forgive. If she’s repentant, that’s all that matters.”

I run my hand over my face.

“Yeah, I know, but… look, I need you to just be open-minded. I’m not making excuses for her, but she didn’t have it as good as me and Brooke did.”

“What are you trying to tell me, son?”

“She was accidentally involved in the terror attack.”

Silence.

“Dad? You still there?”

“I’m here. I’m just trying to figure out if you’re yanking my chain.”

“I’m not. She’s the woman I was trying to find when I went on TV.”

“Son, I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.”

“I’m trying to say…”

I close my eyes.

“I want you and Mom to meet her. Brooke already has.”

“Brooke has met the woman who nearly got you killed?”

I kick the couch. I should have done this face-to-face and with my sister to back me up.

Another indication I’m not thinking clearly. Being apart from Samantha is ten times worse than being with her.

“She wants to apologize to you both for the part she played.”

“Son, the way you painted her, she needs to be serving a life sentence. Are you telling me you’ve not only forgiven her, but you’re in love with her?”

That stops me in my tracks. I never said anything about being in love with her.

“Uh, I, it’s…” I say.

He chuckles.

“Well, I’ll be. You really have fallen for this woman. I’m happy for you, son. Surprised at your choice, but happy.”

I’m so relieved my voice hitches. “Really?”

“Course I am. But between you and me, you made the right call letting me know first. It’ll give me time to warm your mother up before you bring her here.”

“I’ll swing by as soon as everything is… worked out.”

“Looking forward to it, son.”

I end the call, feeling more optimistic that Samantha will be welcomed into our family.

But while my dad might be handling this news okay, my mom will be a whole different ball game.