by Ivy Nelson
Michael went and let room service in with a cart. It was loaded down with breakfast for the four of them. They spent the next hour chatting about everything but the mess they were in, while enjoying eggs, bacon, pancakes, and other breakfast trimmings. Once their plates were empty, Peter and Carrie stood to leave.
Michael watched as Peter spoke directly to Adara with the kind smile and gentle tone of someone talking to a scared child. “The good news is that Homeland hasn’t beat your door down demanding an interview. Let’s focus on that. I’ve got my men searching for your potential relative. We’ll get you your life back as soon as we can.”
Adara offered her hand to the tall security expert for a handshake. Michael smirked as Peter chuckled and wrapped her in a hug instead. “I told you, you’re family,” he said as he released her. “Come on Carrie my love. Let’s get to work.” The couple said their final goodbyes and Michael observed Adara quietly for a moment after they were gone.
“Are you OK? What do you need right now?” he asked.
At first she just stared at him. “Adara,” he prodded.”
She shook her head. “Sorry, I’m not sure what I need. I just want my life back. Yet forty- eight hours ago, I was prepared to disappear for good.” She paced the living room. “I have siblings for crying out loud. I might be the daughter of a terrorist. I have so many questions and no way to get answers.”
Michael wished he could produce the answers she was looking for but he couldn’t. Not right away anyway. It was going to take digging and hunting to find what she was after. He had just as many questions as she did. It felt lame that he didn’t have anything better to say to her, but he did the best he could.
“We’re going to get through this angel,” he promised. He just hoped it was a promise he could keep.
### Adara paced the hotel room for what must have been the hundredth time. Michael had been called into his office and had ordered her to stay put. For the briefest of moments, she had considered running. But she had finally been convinced that she was better off letting Michael and his friends help her. After several hours, Michael returned.
“Let’s go get something to eat,” he said as soon as he came in the door. “Sure. I’m starving. You were gone for hours,” she said.
He frowned. “You could have ordered room service.”
She shrugged. “Felt silly. I don’t like spending other people’s money.” Michael just shook his head. “You have to take care of yourself. If you’re hungry in the future, order the damn room service.
God, he was bossy. She decided to let it go.
“Where are we going for dinner?” she asked.
“Wherever you want. My treat.”
“What is this? A date?”
“If you want it to be. Otherwise it’s just dinner between two people who happen to be
stuck together at the moment. I would like to think if none of this were happening, we would be having dinner together anyway.”
That was a fair point. Why was she being so defensive?
“I could go for a good steak and a bottle of wine, I’ll get changed,” she said moving towards her bedroom door.
“Meet you back here in ten,” Michael said as he walked to his own room.
A half hour later, they were pulling up in front of a nearby steakhouse. She should have known he would know exactly where to go for a good steak. It made her smile. There was no wait, so they were seated quickly. When the waiter walked away with their wine order, Adara asked, “Where did you go?”
“I had a meeting with the chief of police and the mayor. My promotion was finalized the day you called me to come get you. I’ve been putting off some press appearances. I was also clearing up why I have you in my custody. They aren’t totally sold on it but I’ve bought us time anyway.”
“That’s good,” she said as the waiter came back with their bottle of wine. After he went through the production of pouring them their first glass, she changed topics.
“What’s our next step?”
“Wait for Homeland to contact us. Wait for Peter to tell us if he’s found anything.”
“That’s a lot of waiting,” she said wryly.
He chuckled, “We can also go see your parents, see if they can shed some light on this.”
She glanced at her watch. It was early still. “Maybe after dinner. Their assisted living facility isn’t too far from here and visiting hours run until nine.”
“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 withthe 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 fel
t very grim. Just then, Michaels 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 twentyfour 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 very overwhelming. 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 too.”
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.
Chapter 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 make go away. 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,” Michael 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?” C
arrie 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’s eyes were welling with tears and Michael wanted to go to her but all he could do was stand back and watch. She had made it obvious she didn’t want him touching her right now.
“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.”
