by Ivy Nelson
“Sounds like a plan, Angel. What do you say we set aside the mess we’re dealing with for now? Let’s just enjoy dinner.”
It sounded like a good plan. She just wasn’t sure if she could keep her mind off of the situation long enough to enjoy anything.
“I’m not good at putting things out of my mind. And I’m not good at waiting,” she told him.
He laughed. “I saw you were reading the book I gave you. I can think of a few things we could do while we wait.” The grin that spread across his face was salacious, causing her to blush.
“Oh stop. You know I’m not sure what to think about all that.”
“I don’t know, Angel. You ask a lot of questions. You were enjoying the club. I think you might be intrigued, maybe even curious.”
Instead of responding she just picked up her wine glass and took a long pull from it.
“What do you want to know, Angel? I’ve answered all the basics. Let’s dive deeper.”
She shook her head and played with the stem of her glass. “I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
“Sure you do. Just ask the first thing that comes to mind.”
Her eyes drifted upward as she considered what to ask him. “How did you get involved in BDSM?”
He leaned back in his chair and said, “I’ve always been a fan of BDSM themed porn. I just didn’t know it was a real community that normal people were involved in. Then I met Darci, and she introduced me to the local scene. I’ve been hooked ever since. That was almost a decade ago.”
His casual admission that he enjoyed BDSM porn sent her eyebrows upward. “Watch a lot of porn, do you?”
“Not as much as I used to. I still keep a couple of subscriptions to some of my favorites.” He shrugged sheepishly, almost embarrassed. “Once I started going to Exposure, I found the real thing was way more satisfying than porn.”
Adara shifted and glanced around the restaurant. This wasn’t awkward at all.
“So… I know you’ve slept with a lot of women…” she trailed off, not sure how to complete the question she had started. Michael picked up on exactly what she wanted to know though. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table.
“I haven’t slept with anyone since we met if that’s what you’re asking. I did a knife play demo with a girl at an educational night at the club but that’s it. There was no sexual contact, and the girl is collared to one of the female tops.”
Adara sucked in a breath and her eyes widened. “Knife play?” she squeaked out.
Michael chuckled and picked up her hand. “I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t have jumped right to that. It sounds a lot more extreme than it is.”
Adara shook her head. “Let’s move on. That sounds overwhelming.”
“Sorry, Angel. I’m not trying to scare you away, I promise.”
“I mean, I know people enjoy a lot of strange and kinky things. I’ve been on the internet. I just… knives?”
“I’m into a lot of things. Knives just happen to be one of them. It’s not a deal breaker.”
That was too much for her, she waved her hands in front of her. “We shouldn’t even be talking about deal breakers right now. We don’t even know if I’m going to be living in this country anymore.”
His expression morphed into a scowl. “Stop. You don’t know what’s going to happen yet. We’re going to fight this every step of the way. Let’s not jump to the worst possible outcomes just yet. I promise you Angel, you’re not going anywhere.”
She wanted to believe him. But right now, things felt very grim. Just then, Michael’s phone rang.
Worry marred his features as he glanced at the screen.
“This is Chief Silas,” he said after answering the call.
There was a pause as he listened to the caller. Adara toyed with the food on her plate as she tried to listen. There was too much noise in the restaurant to make anything out though.
“We’ll schedule a time tomorrow. Miss Kent is requesting time to secure an attorney.”
Adara’s eyes grew wide. This must be Homeland Security.
“You can give us twenty-four hours to find an attorney,” Michael bit out. He tossed the phone on the table and took a long drink of wine before he picked up her hand.
“That was Homeland. They were insisting that you come in at eight in the morning but I’ve held them off so we can find you an attorney. It also buys us some time to visit your parents.”
Unable to speak, she just stared at him.
“Angel?” he asked, concern in his tone.
“Sorry. This is just a lot to take in. Why do I need an attorney?”
Incredulity filled his eyes. “Seriously, Angel? Why wouldn’t you want an attorney?”
She shook her head, “I don’t know. I feel like getting an attorney screams that I’m guilty of something.”
His thumb caressed the back of her hand. “Nonsense. You’re exercising your rights. Nothing more. Besides, I won’t be able to sit in on an interview with Homeland. Your attorney will.”
“OK, that makes sense. I know a lot of attorneys. I just never thought I would need their services for something like this.”
“We’ll find you a good one, Angel. Don’t worry.”
A humorless laugh escaped her. “Don’t worry. You’re hilarious. Worry is all I can do.”
“Nonsense. I’m not saying you can’t worry at all, but there are more productive things you can be doing at the same time.”
She sighed. He was right. “I know. I’m just overwhelmed.”
“Understandably so. Let’s call Peter and Carrie and see if they want to join us to visit your parents. Carrie will know what kinds of questions to ask. It’s getting late, we’ll find you an attorney tomorrow. It might be hard to get in touch with someone after five o’clock.”
Adara smirked at that.
“What?” he asked, visibly confused.
“You forget what I do for a living. Contacting an attorney after hours is child’s play.”
“Scared of you,” he said with a wink as he signed their bill. Rising, he extended his hand to her. “Thank you for a lovely dinner, Miss Kent. Let’s go meet your parents.”
She stood and smacked his arm. “You’re terrible. I’m not introducing you as my boyfriend if that’s what you’re hoping.”
He pushed his bottom lip out in a pout before grabbing her hand and leading her out of the restaurant. “I have a whole car ride to convince you otherwise,” he said.
6
♥♥♥
Michael watched Adara in his peripheral vision. The worry that etched her features stung him. All he wanted to do was fix this for her. But it wasn’t exactly the kind of problem you just snapped your fingers to fix. It was going to take some work. He flipped his turn signal on and drifted into the turn lane. In his rear-view mirror he could see Peter and Carrie snuggled in his backseat. The couple had agreed to join them on their visit to the nursing home. Adara had called ahead to make sure it was OK for all of them to come.
“How much farther is it, Adara?” Carrie asked from the backseat.
“We’re maybe fifteen minutes away. The nurse said Dad is having a good day. That can change in an instant though, so we’ll see how it goes. I’m counting on Mom for more answers than Dad. She’s still fairly clear headed most of the time.”
“What are their names?” Michael asked.
“Daniel and Ruth Kent.”
He nodded and committed the names to memory.
Almost exactly fifteen minutes later, they were pulling into the senior care facility. Adara directed them to guest parking and the foursome made their way inside. There was a small gift shop near reception and Adara asked if they could pick something up. They settled on flowers and checked in at the front desk. At the door to her parents’ residence, Adara turned to them. “Would you guys mind waiting out here for a few minutes? I just want to prepare them for more visitors than just me.”
“Of course, Angel,” Michae
l said. While Adara visited with her parents, he sat on a bench outside their door.
“How are you holding up?” Peter asked him. “This has to be stressful on you too.”
“Not nearly as stressful as it is on her,” he said nodding toward the closed door. “But yes, I’m stressed. I think I’m covered with the chief. I’m just worried about this Homeland interview. I hate that I won’t be able to be in the room.”
Just then, Adara poked her head out. “You can come in now.”
The three stepped into the small studio apartment. Adara smiled at an elderly woman as she spoke. “Mom. These are my friends, Michael, Peter, and Carrie. We have some questions for you and Dad.”
“Of course, dear. I don’t know how much help we’ll be. What’s going on?”
Adara shifted. Michael didn’t want to answer for her, but he could tell she was uncomfortable. He just wasn’t sure how much she wanted to tell them.
“Mom, do you remember when you and Dad sat me down and told me I might not be a legal U.S. citizen? Can you tell us more about that? What exactly happened? Where was I born? Who are my real parents?”
Ruth’s face went white. Adara was overwhelming the elderly woman. Michael rested a hand on her shoulder. “Adara, let’s try one question at a time.” When she stepped away from his touch, Michael frowned but moved back.
“You’re right. Sorry, Mom. I’m just having a bit of trouble and need to get some answers.”
“I’m sorry. I promised your father I wouldn’t tell you anything more than we already did.”
The interrogator in Michael wanted to step in and demand answers, but he resisted. Adara needed to handle this for now.
“Mom please, I’m in danger. Is Dad awake? I can ask him.” There was desperation in Adara’s voice.
“I promised,” Ruth Kent whispered.
“Ruth,” a raspy voice came from behind the small wall that separated the sleeping area from the kitchen and living room area. “Is that Adara I hear? I didn’t know she was coming home this week. I thought she had finals.”
Adara closed her eyes. “He thinks I’m still in college,” she said turning to her friends. “But maybe he’ll be able to answer some questions.”
A feeble old man shuffled around the wall, and Michael watched as Adara’s face morphed into a kind smile. “Hi, Dad. How are you?” she asked as she opened her arms for a hug.
“Who are your friends? Classmates? Are you focusing on your studies, daughter?”
“Dad, I graduated eight years ago. These are just friends and we have some questions for you.”
Carrie stepped forward with a big smile on her face. “Mr. Kent. It’s so nice to meet you. Adara tells me about you all the time. Can I ask you some questions about your family? I’ve heard there is quite a story there.”
Michael watched in amusement as Carrie charmed the old man who wasn’t quite in touch with reality today. It almost looked like his dull eyes got a little twinkle in them when she took his hand.
“Oh my. Why haven’t you brought this one home before, Adara?”
“Daddy don’t be silly. She’s married,” Adara said with a wink.
“What? She’s much too young for that. You’re the silly one.”
He was gone again. It was easy to see in his eyes that he was in a much different time than the rest of the people in the room. Maybe he should visit his own parents before they got like this. Michael shuddered. That was a sobering thought. They were still young compared to Adara’s parents, but time moved quickly.
“Adara tells me you had her in Israel. Can you tell me more about that?” Carrie asked as she helped Daniel Kent sit in a recliner. She grabbed a dining table chair and sat across from him. Clever of her to not acknowledge that she knew more details of Adara’s birth.
“Not much to tell,” the old man muttered.
“Oh, there must be something fun you can tell me.”
“Nothing fun about it,” he said. There was bitterness in his tone.
“Daniel, how can you say that? That experience gave us our daughter.”
“What experience is that, Mrs. Kent?”
“You ask too many questions. You a reporter or something?”
Carrie laughed. “I am. You’re very perceptive. But that’s not why I’m here. I’m just trying to help your daughter.”
“You’re going to get her kicked out of this country if you keep digging.”
“That’s what I’m trying to prevent.”
Until now, Adara had stayed quiet. Now she spoke up. “Mom please. It’s important. I could go to jail. They’re trying to tell me my father might be a terrorist.”
“Your father is sitting right there.” The old woman crossed her arms over her chest. Stubborn.
“Mom. You know what I mean.”
“Don’t tell her, Ruth,” Daniel said.
“Daniel. We need to tell her.”
“Tell who dear?” Gone, again.
Adara looked as if she was about to burst into tears, and Michael wanted to go to her. But she had made it obvious she didn’t want him touching her right now, so all he could do was stand back and watch
“We should just go,” Adara said.
“Whatever you want, Angel.”
“Adara, wait. I won’t go against your father’s wishes, but there’s a journal in my safe deposit box. You can take it. It won’t tell you everything, but you’re a smart girl and your nosy reporter friend can probably help you.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment, Mrs. Kent,” Carrie said brightly.
Adara hugged her parents then turned and said, “Let’s go. The bank is already closed, but we can go first thing in the morning.”
They signed out at reception and piled into Michael’s SUV.
On the drive home, Michael reached for Adara’s hand, but she pulled away again. “I’m sorry, Angel. We’ll get you answers. At least they gave us something.”
When they got back to the hotel, Adara excused herself for the night. Michael tried to stop her, but she didn’t seem to be interested in talking so he let it go.
The next morning, she was awake and drinking coffee when he got up.
“Morning,” he said, sizing up her mood.
“Good morning. I thought we could head to the bank as soon as they are open. I sent some e-mails to a couple of attorneys last night, and I think I know who I want to use. We can have lunch with her at one this afternoon.”
“Sounds like you have a plan, Angel. I’ll need to spend some time in my office this afternoon, but I’ll make sure I’m free for lunch. We can go to the bank whenever you’re ready.”
The trip to the bank was uneventful. Adara was still being distant. For now, though, he had to park her back at the hotel and go to work.
In his office, he was immediately flooded with things to do in his new capacity as chief of special investigations. His assistant brought him a stack of paperwork and told him it was all due today.
“You’re a real downer, you know that?” he said with a wink.
“Just doing my job, chief. I would do it for you if I could,” she headed toward the hallway and stopped at the doorway. “Oh, I almost forgot. A Stephen Miller with Homeland Security was here looking for you.”
Michael rolled his eyes which didn’t go unnoticed by his assistant. “I’ll make sure you’re busy the next time I see him.”
“Ha. Thank you, Nicole, but that’s not necessary. If I’m here, let him in. I have a lunch meeting at one though.”
“Yes, Sir. So noted.”
When she was gone, he stared at the stack of folders. He had known his paperwork load would increase with the new position, he just hadn’t realized by how much. With a sigh, he lifted the first folder off the stack. Expense report. Boring. The next one was more interesting. A list of all open cases in his department. The chief wanted him to provide a short summary of where each case was at and if he thought any of them needed to be moved up or down on the priority list. He combed thr
ough the list of cases and made notes where he had questions for the detectives working on the case. Nicole could get the lead detectives on each case to answer his questions for him. At twelve-thirty he took the completed paperwork and his notes on cases to his assistant’s desk.
“I’m heading out for a couple of hours. You can file the completed paperwork for me, right?”
“Yes Sir. Just can’t do it for you,” she said with a wink.
“Appreciate it. I’ll be back by three-thirty,” he promised.
He was at the hotel by one. When he walked into the suite, an African American woman in a dark blue suit sat on the sofa. She stood and offered her hand. “I’m Tabitha Kelly. You must be Chief Silas.”
“That’s me. You can call me Michael. Thank you for being here, Ms. Kelly.”
“It’s what I do, Michael. Adara was just starting to tell me what’s going on. This is quite the situation we have on our hands.”
“That’s one way to look at it,” Michael said as he sat in one of the armchairs.
“Tabitha was just saying that stalling is going to be our best bet while Carrie and Peter dig for more information,” Adara said.
Michael nodded. Made sense.
“For now, though, we have to get through the interview tomorrow without getting Adara arrested or deported. I feel confident we can do that. I think it’s best if we start combing through every piece of paper we can find to dig up more information. We know your parents are hiding things from you so let’s start with the journal.”
Adara picked it up from the table. “I haven’t been able to bring myself to read it. Mom said it won’t tell me everything, but Carrie might know where to start.”
“Alright then,” Tabitha said, clapping her hands together. “Let’s get this Carrie over here and get to work.”
Michael liked this woman. She was ready to get to work and save Adara. That was the kind of person they needed on their team right now.
• • •
“Miss Kent, thank you for coming in today.”
Special Agent Stephen Miller of Homeland Security fiddled with the video recording equipment that sat at the end of the conference table. Adara sat next to Tabitha Kelly and did her best to remain calm. It was hard to do, considering the circumstances.
