One-Knight Stand (White Knights #3) - Julie Moffett Page 0,43

mom knew my dad worked there, either. When I asked her about it, she didn’t give me a straight answer.”

“So, maybe she knew,” Kira offered.

“Or suspected.” Hala stretched her hands over her head and rolled her neck.

“She’s probably trying to protect you,” Frankie said. “The less you know, the better.”

I shrugged. “She didn’t want to talk about my dad at all.”

Mike wagged a potato chip at me. “You don’t know what kind of coding project your dad was working on? Maybe that project is the key here.”

“I don’t know what project they were working on,” I said. “That being said, I still think my dad’s disappearance is connected to J. P. Lando’s death…or murder, if we decide to go there.”

“Do you think your dad was afraid?” Bo asked, rubbing his chin. “And that’s why he bolted?”

“I do, but I can’t prove it…yet. In fact, until a few weeks ago, I didn’t even know my dad was still alive.” I paused and tried to center myself with the truth of it. If I did things right, I’d be meeting him very soon. “But he is alive, and he was the one who slammed his car into the back of the car of the guys who were trying to kidnap me.”

“What?” Mike said incredulously. “That old guy at the café was your dad?”

“Yes, but I didn’t know it was my dad until after the fact. Believe me, guys, it was a big shock for me, too. And I only found out via a text from him. He warned me there were nefarious forces in the NSA and told me to be careful.”

I’d only told Wally, Frankie, and Jax about my dad after the botched kidnapping, and they had promised to keep it under wraps to ensure I was able to stay at UTOP. Obviously, I wasn’t keeping it a secret any longer.

“Why didn’t you tell us any of this?” Kira asked.

“It’s complicated, Kira, but the truth is, I didn’t know for sure what was going on. Too much was happening at once, and I was afraid if I made a big deal of it, I’d get kicked out of UTOP. My situation was already tenuous after the failed kidnapping attempt, especially with my mom. So, I kept it close to my chest, trying to figure out things on my own.”

Jax held up a hand, palm out. “No one is blaming you for trying to figure it out by yourself. But let’s get back to what we know and don’t know about this situation. Red, who do you think killed J. P. Lando, and why? You’ve got to suspect someone.”

“I do suspect it’s someone in the NSA. Someone in a position of power. I’m just not sure who. I’m hoping my dad will tell me.”

Mike whistled in disbelief. “You think someone at the NSA is involved in the cover-up of Lando and the kidnapping of your mother?”

Even Bo looked shocked, and he was practically unshakable. “Angel, are you saying the NSA is complicit in this?”

“I don’t know. Maybe? It could be that my dad and Mr. Lando found out something they shouldn’t, and the agency—or someone inside the agency—took drastic action.”

“The NSA,” Jax repeated. “This is a huge accusation, especially given our current situation as spies in training. We’re essentially accusing one of our own.”

“I know.” I sighed and perched on corner of the couch arm next to Frankie.

The group fell silent, and I couldn’t blame them. I tried to put myself in their shoes, listening to one of them make an accusation against one of the most powerful agencies in the world—an organization that was helping to train us at this very moment—about an event that happened over a decade ago. But that’s where the facts had led me, and right now, my mom’s life depended on making them believe me.

“Okay, back up a bit, Angel.” Bo crossed his arms against his chest. “I need to be clear on this. You think someone in the NSA murdered J. P. Lando, targeted your father, tried to kidnap you, and now has abducted your mother because of a decades-old project? Is it all the same person or persons?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’m hoping my dad will have more insight on that.”

“Is that why you didn’t want to go to the police?” Kira asked. “You think whoever took your mom might have influence over the police?”

“That’s part of it, but not the main part. My father asked me not to tell the police yet,