She stepped into the situation room, Aegis rushing forward to greet Hakan and Rif. Six helium-filled Welcome Back balloons hovered over a massive tray of raw vegetables and dips. “We thought about getting you a cake but realized we’d be the only ones eating it,” Hakan said. “You’re going to make us all healthier.”
They both knew about her diabetes now and had been incredibly supportive. It was a relief to be herself around the people she trusted, with no secrets to hide.
“Thanks. I just left Papa at the rehab center.” Her father was having a special prosthesis made, and it looked as if he’d be able to walk again. “If you can believe it, he’s already back in the pool. And he challenged me to a race in two months’ time.”
“You’ll lose,” Hakan said.
“I expect nothing less.”
But the father-daughter relationship was far from healed. Too many secrets, too many lies. She turned to Rif. “I spoke to Father Rombola yesterday. He plans on opening the new orphanage in two months.” Thea had taken over the African charity that she and Nikos had worked on together. When she’d talked to Rif about it, he was keen to get involved. The organization now also rehabilitated former child soldiers, largely in Kanzi. It was important work, something positive her brother had contributed.
“Just let me know what you need. How does it feel to be back?” Rif asked.
“I need to be busy. Recuperating gave me too much time to think.”
“We’re grateful to have you here. Lots of work to do,” Hakan said.
Rif stroked Aegis’s head. “Hey, we forgot to tell Thea. Remember that guy, the doctor in the three-thousand-dollar suit who was part of your last training group and headed to Mexico? Zegna, I think you called him? He got himself kidnapped during his first week there.”
She flashed back to the prevention seminar she’d conducted for a group of doctors before Papa had been kidnapped. It was hard to forget the well-coiffed guy who’d challenged every word that came out of her mouth. “Who handled his case?”
“Paco. The guy’s boss, Annie, specifically asked for you, but you were a little busy.”
“Is Doc Zegna okay?”
“He was fortunate: taken by pros who wanted cold cash. Paco had it wrapped up in less than two weeks.” Rif poured her a glass of sparkling water. “And the debriefing showed he’d been a model prisoner. Looks like your words hit the mark. He even sent you flowers and a thank-you card.”
She half smiled. “Seriously?”
Both men laughed. Hakan shook his head. “No, he wasn’t a model prisoner, just a lucky one. And his lawyer sent us a letter saying he was considering suing the firm. Some people are just assholes, no matter what happens to them.”
“I’m still relieved he’s okay.” It felt good to be back in the saddle—at the office, ready to work. “Please fill me in on the docket.”
Hakan recounted the active cases, sharing all the available intel. She was eager to get started, and not just because she was getting bored of her own recovery. People out there needed their help. After what she’d been through, the job felt more important than ever.
When Nikos had been abducted, they’d held more than his body hostage. The General and Oba had stolen his peace of mind, his security, his future. She and her father had hovered in a horrific limbo for those nine long months, desperate for him to come home, while the rest of the world continued its normal routine. And when Nikos finally did return, a dark passenger named Ares came with him. The kidnappers broke something in him and gave birth to something new, and Nikos could never fully find his way back. And now he’d been lost in the murky waters of the Zambezi.
She touched the Saint Barbara medal hanging from her neck.
I promise to work tirelessly so this doesn’t happen to another family, Mzungu. Please forgive me.
She stared at the display board illuminating the ongoing cases across the globe. Currently, forty-eight on Quantum’s roster. Some only hours old, others ongoing for years.
You couldn’t come home, Nikos, but others will.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS