“Ring us as soon as you know.”
“I will.”
Pumped up on caffeine and adrenaline, she looked out the window, the familiar streets of Stockholm seeming strange to her, the city awash in the grays of clouds, sea, and rain. It was only when they passed Rosenbad, the street that was home to the foreign ministry, that she realized he wasn’t taking her to Erik’s office. He headed into Ostermalm, passing Humlegarden and the Royal Library before turning into a gate that led to a private courtyard of a three-story residence.
The car drew to a stop. “The minister is expecting you, Miss Nilsson.”
Laura thanked the driver and stepped out, the air chilly. She made her way to the black double doors and rang the bell, too tense to stand still.
If the Swedish government had somehow won Klara’s freedom, why couldn’t Erik simply tell her so over the phone? Why was it so essential that she come to Stockholm at once? Was it possible that something terrible had happened, that they’d discovered Klara had been killed or . . . ?
Laura’s stomach turned, even as her logical mind told her Erik wouldn’t have made her fly halfway around the world to get bad news. She drew a deep breath, tried to rein in her imagination.
The door opened.
Erik gave her a tired smile, lines of stress on his face, his blond hair looking like he hadn’t combed it since getting up. “Come in. Did you have a good flight?”
“Yes. All the connections went smoothly.” Laura stepped inside and wiped her feet, wishing Erik would skip the small talk and tell her why she was here.
“Let’s step into my office.” He motioned toward a closed door to her right.
She followed him inside—and froze.
He stood by Erik’s desk wearing jeans and a black T-shirt, a smile on his handsome face. “Hey,
JAVIER WAS IN deep shit, but the moment he saw Laura, that no longer mattered. He couldn’t keep the stupid grin off his face. “God, it’s good to see you.”
She rushed into his arms and held him tight, as if she thought he might disappear. “What are you doing here?”
Had it been only two months since he’d seen her? It felt like an eternity.
“That’s a long story.”
Erik’s voice cut in. “Mr. Corbray is under house arrest. He claims he acted alone, but I find that rather hard to believe. He showed up on my doorstep early yesterday morning with Klara in his arms—”
“Klara is
Javier nodded, unable to keep from smiling. “She’s a beautiful little girl, Laura. She has your face and the sweetest blue eyes—”
Erik interrupted. “Mr. Corbray took Klara by force and entered Sweden illegally. I should report him to police, but instead I’ve confined him to my home and am doing my best to keep this secret. On the one hand, I don’t want it to become an international incident. On the other, I don’t want to break the law. But if I follow official procedure, I would have to hand Klara over to the Pakistani delegation. That is the dilemma Mr. Corbray brought to my door.”
Laura’s eyes were still wide, and it was clear to Javier that she wasn’t picking up anything Erik was saying. “M-my daughter . . . is
“Yes, she is.” Erik went on. “I have been working round the clock with a few individuals in the Swedish government to ensure that Klara can remain in the country. We’ll give her Swedish citizenship, give her a Swedish passport, but this is all very irregular. If the parties in Pakistan come forward—”
“I’ve already told you. Al-Nassar’s brother is not going to talk.” But Laura didn’t need to hear any of this. Javier cupped her face in his palms. “Klara has already been seen by a doctor, and she’s okay. They took DNA, and it checks out. She’s your little girl. There’s no doubt.”
“But how—”
Erik glowered at Javier. “Let’s hear that story again, because I don’t think you’ve told me the truth yet.”
Javier hadn’t told the truth, but he wasn’t going to incriminate any of the guys who’d helped him out, not even Tower. He told Laura the basics, not mentioning that he’d been part of a team of five. If anyone was going to hang over this, it would be him. “I went in after dark armed to the teeth and demanded they turn her over to me.”
Laura looked up at him. “I can’t believe the navy sent you by yourself.”
Javier cleared his throat. “They didn’t send me,
“Oh, my God, Javi.” Laura gaped at him. “You gave up the Teams?”
In the end, it hadn’t been a hard decision.
“I couldn’t let them keep her from you any longer.” Javier knew Laura’s mind must be reeling from all of this.
Her blond brows came together in a look of worry. “Did Klara cry when you took her away? She must have been terrified.”
“I sedated her.”
Laura blinked. “You . . . You drugged her?”
“I got a dose of sedatives from a pediatrician before I left the U.S. She slept in my arms the entire trip.” He’d watched her sleep, tiny eyelashes on her cheeks, one little hand tucked beneath her chin, and had fallen hard for the sweet little thing.
“Can I see her? I want to see her.”
Javier was surprised she’d held out this long.
Erik seemed to relax, anger fading from his face. He smiled. “Yes, of course. She’s upstairs having breakfast with my wife and the girls. I’m sorry to go on like this. I wanted you to understand the gravity of the situation.”
She took Erik’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you, Erik, for all you’ve done.”
Erik led the way up the stairs toward a kitchen, the sound of little girls’ voices and a woman’s echoing down the hall.
Javier held Laura’s hand, an unreadable expression on her pretty face. He couldn’t imagine what she was feeling. The whole thing was more than a little overwhelming for him, and Klara wasn’t his daughter.
Though he hoped maybe one day she would be.
He watched Laura’s face as they entered the kitchen. Her gaze fell on Klara and went soft, tears shimmering in her eyes, a tremulous smile curving her lips.
Klara sat on a booster chair, her dark brown hair in neat pigtails, a look of distress on her tiny face, little tears on her cheeks.
Heidi, Erik’s wife, hurried over to Laura and hugged her, speaking in English for Javier’s benefit. “It’s so good to meet you at last, Laura. Klara is such a darling, such a sweet little girl, but she won’t eat. She won’t touch anything but her bottle.”
Then Klara looked over at Laura, mother and child making eye contact for the first time. And Javier’s vision went strangely blurry.
CHAPTER
32
LAURA LOOKED AT the daughter she’d never seen, taking in the sight of her from her long brown hair to her bright blue eyes to her sweet face, her features so like Laura’s that they reminded Laura of baby pictures she’d
