Page 174 of Protecting You
He wasn’t a great father yet, but he would be. He knew what his daughter needed, and he intended to provide it. Not just money but love and time and care. That he understood Peri needed to be his priority right now only made Alyssa love him more.
“He’s paid to lie,” Ghazi said. “He faked it well. And we both know you’re an exceptional liar. I am a difficult man to fool, yet you managed it.”
She turned back to the computer, ignoring him, scanning the code, trying to find an opening. There must be…
“That must’ve been some ring,” Ghazi said. “That part you hadn’t planned in advance. Your tears were authentic. You want it, don’t you? Those diamonds. Because of the value? Or because you want the man?” He paused as if waiting for an answer. “Both, probably. You’re more of a fool to believe him than I was to believe you. You knew he was lying and still bought it.”
Alyssa had been scrolling through the code but not really seeing it. She scrolled back and started again, her fingers like ice in the chilly room.
“How far did he take it? Did he coax you into his bed the way he coaxed you into his heart? How much does that betrayal hurt?”
Callan hadn’tcoaxedher into his bed, and as for his heart…she’d handed hers over all by herself. “I need to concentrate. If you want me to do this, you should stop talking.”
“You can walk and chew gum at the same time.”
“I can’t focus on this and listen to you at the same time.”
“Aren’t you curious about how I found out it was all a lie?”
She was, but again, she wasn’t about to say so. Whoever had messed with the code to allow her to hack in—and she was convinced someone on the inside had left that door open—must’ve left a window cracked into the drone security system. She just had to locate it and slip through.
And pray that, on the other end, Dad and Callan were securing those weapons.
“It was when your father and the CIA agent left the party to talk privately. They were going to the room your father always uses—which, of course, had been bugged. But your boyfriend insisted on using a different room. Why would a fiancé do that? A man with nothing to hide?” He paused again, and again Alyssa pretended she wasn’t listening. “He wouldn’t, but a spy would. We still didn’t know his real name, of course. But his little girl provided that information.”
Alyssa found it.
The window was barely cracked. One word in one line of code. One key.
She made note of where she was, then navigated away.
It was too soon.
She needed to stall.
“Don’t worry,” Ghazi said. “We didn’t hurt her. We just asked for her father’s name. Children are so trusting of adults, even adults who plan to slaughter them.”
Alyssa cringed, feeling the sting of his words. She turned in her chair to face him. “Gosh, I feel so much better now.”
He nodded to the system behind her. “You need to keep working.”
“I can’t concentrate with your talking. Go ahead and finish what you want to say, and then I’ll get back to it.”
A flicker of anger crossed his features, but he tried to hide it with a smile. “You’re much braver than I expected.”
Brave? She felt anything but.
“Not many women would give themselves up for someone else’s child.”
“Maybe not where you come from, but I don’t know a single woman who wouldn’t.” Her mother, her sisters, her cousins’ wives and girlfriends. All of them would sacrifice themselves to protect the innocent.
“Single women are desperate for a man," Ghazi said, "so perhaps that’s why.”
She hadn’t meantsingleas inunmarried,but she saw no reason to explain herself.
“I have one question,” he said. “And then you can continue. When did you find out who I really am? Or have you been playing me all along?”
“I had no idea who you were until the night we met. When Callan claimed to be my fiancé, that was the first time I’d seen him in years. He told me the truth about you.”
