Striking Distance

Journalism was clearly in the girl’s DNA. She had already lined up an internship with the L.A. Times-Sentinel, and she’d done it without Laura’s help. Her excitement for the job reminded him so much of Laura that it scared the shit out of him. So far she hadn’t talked about going overseas to work, and for that he was grateful.

He loved the girl, loved her like she was his own daughter.

“Remember that life is not just your career. A career is what you do. It’s not who you are. This was a lesson I had to learn the hard way. You’d be surprised how fast your priorities rearrange themselves when there’s a knife being held to your throat.”

Laura’s speech was almost done. Javier could see that her audience was transfixed. He knew what they saw when they looked up at her, because it was what he saw every day—a beautiful woman with a big heart, a courageous survivor, a person who’d been through the worst and had come out stronger and more determined to make a difference in her world.

They saw a hero.

“When you leave this ceremony today, you walk in the footsteps of a dozen generations of American journalists whose job it has been to shine a light into the darkness. They made their mark on the history of our nation. Stand strong, think with your heart, and you will make yours. Congratulations, graduates of the class of 2033.”

The audience of students and parents rose as one to its feet, the applause deafening. Onstage, Laura shook the university president’s hand and those of several professors, a smile on her face. She took her seat, while the president asked the students to stand, invited them to move their tassels, and pronounced them graduates.

Cheers. Flying beach balls. Mortarboards in the air.

Laura came down the steps, the question in her eyes.

He answered before she could ask. “You nailed it. That was fantastic.”

“You think so?”

“Did you miss that standing ovation?”

She smiled. “I didn’t want to disappoint Klara.”

He saw Klara making her way toward them, a bright smile on her sweet face. “I don’t think you did.”

“Aunt Laura!” Klara ran up, dressed in her black robe, and threw her arms around Laura. “That was beautiful. I got tears in my eyes.”

“Congratulations, sweetheart! I’m so proud of you. We’re both so proud of you.”

Klara hugged Javier and gave him a kiss on his cheek. “You look so handsome, Uncle Javi. I’m not used to seeing you in a suit. But what’s this?”

She punched his body armor lightly, teasing him. She knew what he did for a living, had seen him in body armor more than once.

“That’s my toned and muscular body.” Javier flexed his bicep. “You think your beautiful aunt would hang around with just any guy?”

Klara laughed, her smile making her look even more like her mother. “Are you coming to dinner with us?”

“Of course!” Laura glanced at her watch. “I want to head back to the hotel and change, but we’ll meet you in the hotel lobby in an hour and go together.”

“Perfect!” Klara danced off through the crowd, beaming, her long, dark hair spilling down her back.

* * *

LAURA STRETCHED OUT beside Javier, bliss still singing through her. Sex was the best way she knew to release stress. “We may be old, but we’ve still got it.”

“Who’s old?” He drew her closer, kissed her cheek. “You’re a hot and sexy fifty-two, and I’m a badass fifty- eight. Fifty is the new twenty. You think any of those kids at today’s graduation has a sex life that comes anywhere near to ours? We’re just getting started, bella.”

Someone knocked on the door. “Aunt Laura? It’s Klara.”

“Carajo!”

Fighting not to laugh, Laura jumped up, grabbed her bathrobe, and slipped into it, while Javier grabbed his clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. She called toward the door. “Wait just a moment.”

When Javier was safely in the bathroom, Laura unlocked and opened the door. She could tell immediately that something was wrong.

“Come in, Klara. What is it?” She instinctively switched to Swedish, but Klara, who was very proud of her fluency, continued in English.

“You did a wonderful job today.”

“Thank you.” Laura tucked a dark curl behind Klara’s ear. “Are you okay?”

Klara nodded, her gaze averted, her expression clearly troubled. She paced the length of the room. “I had a long talk with my parents just now.”

“Oh, I see.” Laura knew that Erik and Heidi wanted Klara to come home to Sweden rather than staying in the U.S. “Is this about the internship?”

Klara shook her head, her fingers fidgeting with her rings. “I made them promise that when I finished college they would tell me who my real parents were.”

Laura felt blood rush from her head, her heart pounding so deafeningly she didn’t know Javier had stepped out of the bathroom until she felt his hand against the small of her back. “What did they say?”

Klara met Laura’s gaze, tears in her eyes. “They told me you are my mother.”

The words sent a jolt through Laura, making it hard to breathe.

“Let’s all go sit down.” Javier guided her to one of the chairs on the other side of the hotel room. “You need anything—water, coffee, tea?”

Laura shook her head, her gaze fixed on the young woman who sat across from her—her daughter.

So the day had come.

She wished Erik and Heidi had warned her. Despite the selfish side of her that would have loved Klara to know, she hadn’t wanted her girl to be burdened with this. She didn’t know what to feel, happiness, worry, and grief tangling inside her.

“Yes, Klara. It’s true.” Laura reached out, took Klara’s hand in hers. “I am your biological mother. What else did they tell you?”

“Everything, I think.” Klara shared what Erik and Heidi had told her, and it was everything. “They said you gave me up for adoption because you were afraid that bastard Al-Nassar’s relatives might come to steal me back.”

“There was more to my decision than that.” Laura gave Klara’s hand a squeeze, fought not to give in to tears. “You were so precious and innocent. I didn’t want you to grow up knowing how you’d come into the world. I knew that if I returned to the U.S. with you, the media would figure it out. Not only would Al-Nassar’s family know where to find you, but you would grow up with that knowledge in your heart. I didn’t want that for you. I can’t imagine how painful it has been for you to hear all this now.”

Klara’s blue eyes were clouded with emotion. “I’ve hated that man since the day I found out what he’d done to you. It’s hard to imagine that he’s actually my father.”

“Ever since Javier rescued you, you have been surrounded by love. Erik and Heidi loved you so much that the moment I realized I couldn’t keep you, they offered to adopt you. Stella and Anette adore you. My mother, your aunt Birgitta, loves you, and although you might not remember much about her, my grandmother loved you, too.”

“I remember her.” Klara smiled. “She was fun. And Aunt Birgitta is really my grandmother. Wow.”

Then a look of realization came over Klara’s face. “I always thought all of the security we had when you came to visit was because of what had happened to you. I never understood that part of it was for me. It was, wasn’t it?”

Laura nodded. “We all worked as hard as we could to keep your relationship with me and your location secret all these years.”

“That’s why you have to keep this to yourself.” Javier explained the risks to Klara, told her what she could and couldn’t do, her eyes wide by the time he finished.