Midnight Kiss (Men of Midnight #7) - Lisa Marie Rice Page 0,76
head next to hers. “Do you remember any of this?” he asked quietly. He felt it against his skin when she shook her head. But he was also feeling her sorrow and pain. This story was devastating to him. He couldn’t imagine the earthquake going on inside her.
Glass continued. “Your mother was friends with a brother and sister living at Happy Trails. They weren’t too good at holding jobs but they weren’t bad people either. I gave them a lot of money and promised them a very healthy income for life if they would take you far, far away, to the other side of the continent, and pretend to be your parents. You weren’t ever to come to California. I procured some fake ID for all three. The fake ID improved over the years until the backstory for all three of you was perfect.
“Bob and Rachel Sanderson left Sacramento with you on a private jet and set up in Boston as Neil and Sandra Ellis with their daughter, Hope.” His mouth turned down. “I need to apologize to you, Cathy. I suspect Bob and Rachel didn’t make good parents. I kept tabs on them and it was clear they weren’t doing much parenting. I told them to put you in a good boarding school when you were ten. I think everyone was relieved and I know you thrived there. I got regular reports. You have no idea how hard it was for me to stay away from you. You are my only living relative. I never married. When I die, I’ll leave you a very nice sum but not my whole fortune. I need to make sure my company survives my death, to safeguard my employees. I would have traded all my money to be with you as you grew up. But it was too dangerous. Whoever tried to kill you — whether Bard or his father Court — will still want you dead.” He shrugged, clearly exhausted. “I hate them both because they deprived me of your mother and of watching you grow up. Of being your uncle, a part of your life. The best I could do for you was the Sandersons, secrecy and the money. But you’ve done just fine on your own. I can’t tell you how proud I am of you. But I have to warn you — never let your guard down, ever. Keep this knowledge to yourself. Court Redfield is a Senator now and though I’m not political, I’ve heard that in a couple of years he wants to run for President. An illegitimate child in the family could ruin those chances. I don’t know how Bard turned out. He was a hard man when I met him, and he’s spent his entire life in combat. Court Redfield is coldly ambitious and his hero warrior son is part of his legend. Someone killed once and he’d kill again, certainly if your existence threatens a run for the presidency. I won’t live to see whether he wins the presidency or not, but the danger you were in as a little girl is more acute now. Court Redfield is ruthless, honey. And Bard probably is too. You do not want them as enemies.
“I wish —” The video glitched then came back on. The backdrop was different and Frank Glass had on a gray sweater instead of a black one. There was no way to tell how much time had gone by. Glass looked a little worse. Maybe he’d waited 24 hours. Maybe he’d waited a week. There was no way to tell. “I wish I could stay alive to help you. But I can’t. I have all the money in the world and I won’t outlast the year. All I can do is point you in a useful direction. I have sources who told me that in his time at the CIA, Court Redfield set up what could be considered a private army, made up of ruthless former Special Operations soldiers. Those sources said that they were a kill team and eliminated some inconvenient people. Senator Deaver of Montana, Marcy Lamott, an investigative journalist. I heard that he had a brutal run in with Black Inc last year. Jacob Black hates Court Redfield’s guts. If you are ever cornered, turn to Jacob Black. Tell him you are my niece. Tell him this story.”
The video glitched again and when Glass came back on the monitor he was wearing a green hoodie that hung off him. His