“For more than ten years?”
He sighs. “No, I didn’t think it would be anywhere near that long. So much has happened to me. You know as well as I do that going undercover can be treacherous. But carrying the face of a terrorist to try to uncover his actions brings it to a new level. I got on the wrong side of people. I ended up imprisoned and held captive. But I never stopped thinking about you.”
“I never stopped thinking about you, either. I always knew you were going to come home,” I tell him.
He pulls me into a hug and kisses the top of my head. As we pull apart, my phone alerts me to a message. I look down at it and smile.
“Sam’s doing better,” I announce. “He’s requesting fried chicken and biscuits. Eric says to add coleslaw, but Sam refuses because it’s an abomination.”
Dad tosses his head back and laughs. “You have your hands full with those two.”
“Three,” I say. “You can’t forget about Dean.”
All three men went to the hospital after the police came to take Anson and Jonah. Dad and I spent most of the evening filling out reports and answering questions, and by the time we got to the hospital to check on them, they were all asleep. Sam and Eric both sustained some minor injuries in an ambush but will be fine. The doctors said they were keeping Dean for observation to make sure the water hadn’t caused any lung damage he wasn’t noticing, but I’m convinced they just kept him so the other two wouldn’t feel like he was the favorite.
“What can you tell me about Ron Murdock?” I ask as we step into the living room.
“His name was Elliot,” Dad tells me. “He was a very important part of our lives for many years.”
I listen as he shares memories of the man behind the title. He explains the organization of the rescue group Spice Enya and the roles each of the Murdock men played in keeping so many innocent people safe.
“Where was he the night Mama died?” I ask. “I know he came here, but why wasn’t he with her?”
“He was where he was supposed to be. They didn’t travel together. Your mother came back here without letting him know in time to turn around. I blamed him for a long time, and I will never forgive myself for that. He did everything to take care of your mother and keep her safe. Keep all of us safe.”
“I hate the idea of him being in an unidentified grave,” I say. “Did he have anyone?”
“No. That was one of the preferred qualifications of the men who took those roles. No families. It allowed them to concentrate completely on their responsibilities. They didn’t need to go home at night. I have no doubt that each one of them would have laid down their lives for the cause.”
“Two of them did,” I say. “I’d like to do something for them.”
“What did you have in mind?” Dad asks.
“I’m planning on burying all of Mom’s files again.”
“That’s the way it was done for us.”
“I think it’s what she would want. And I think she would want Elliott and Doc with her.”
Dad kisses me on the forehead.
“I think she would love that,” he says in a tearful whisper.
I step back from him and offer a wide smile to lift some of the sadness that’s settled around us.
“What do you say we go to the water park?” I ask. “I bet they’ve added a few new slides since we were last there.”
Wiping a tear from under his eye, Dad laughs and nods.
“You’re on,” he smiles.
Two hours later, after shopping for bathing suits, we’re at the old park where we used to spend lazy spring days, and I wished for the tourists to never come. I take off my flip-flops and stand on the cement. It’s February, so the heat isn’t enough to burn my toes, but the oil of the french fries still stings my lips, so I dip my mouth into my sno-cone to cool it.
Tilting my face up to the sky, I close my eyes and feel the sun. When I look over at Dad, he’s stretched out on a lounge chair, his wet bathing suit drying as he toasts. Soon, his skin will be golden.
A week later, Dad and I walk into the hospital near Quantico together. It’s finally time for Greg to be discharged. I’m excited to introduce him to my actual father. Everyone else is back at my house, putting together a welcome home party to surprise him. It’s a strange place to be. Our friendship has actually improved by accepting the feelings we thought we had for each other were never real or right. But I’m glad to put it all behind me and just move forward.
We get to the floor, and Amelia looks up at me with a slightly confused smile.
“Did he forget something?” she asks.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh. I just figured Greg must have forgotten something when he left, and you were coming to get it for him.”
“He left? I was supposed to be coming to get him,” I say. “When did he leave?”
“About two hours ago. He said his ride was waiting for him. I had to bring him out in the wheelchair by policy, but he only had me bring him to the door. Then he walked right out into the parking lot.”
I take out my phone and frantically call Greg. It goes to voicemail five times, then stops ringing altogether. Dad and I rush to the Bureau headquarters. I call Sam and the others to see if they’ve heard from him. No one knows where he is or why he left the hospital without letting any of us know.
The sick feeling has already started in my stomach before we
