“I know you didn’t, and I’m sorry for being an ass. I’m just…” He sighed and leaned on his crutches, letting them take his weight. “I’m antsy, and I’m worried about your safety. Mom’s too. With everything going on, it would make me feel better if you were both in London and as far from this mess as possible.”
After a quick call to his mother where she cried, and both he and his father had done their best to reassure her everything would be alright, Jamie had spent the rest of Sunday and all of Monday getting ready to jet.
Thanks to a fake ID, an untraceable credit card, and Amazon Prime one-day delivery, he had everything he needed to make it to his next destination solo. So did his father. “You remember what to do?”
Samuel nodded. “Drive to Logan. Leave the car in the underground parking. Meet a guy named Dax at the Delta counter at ten past two. He’ll give me a fake ID and a ticket on a direct flight to London. Don’t stop anywhere, and don’t make any calls.”
“That’s right.” He took a double hop toward the desk, laid his crutches aside, and dug into his open go bag.
“How will I know who this Dax person is?”
“He’ll approach you. When he gets close enough, he’ll call out your fake name.”
“Daniel Lewis.”
“Yeah. He’ll greet you with a hug to make the exchange. Take the package he gives you. Then go straight to departure screening. It shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes to get through security and to your gate.” Jamie pulled out a credit card and held it toward his father. “One hour in the airport from arrival to take off. If you get spooked at any time, ditch the plan, go to the nearest hotel, use this card to book a room, and call the number on the back. You’ll go through a bunch of switches, but you’ll reach me eventually, so don’t hang up.”
“Can I keep this?” He waved the black Visa around before jamming it into the back pocket of his new pants. “In case I need to reach you?”
“No. Drop it and the burner phone before you clear UK customs. Once you’re out on the street, your London handler will find you. Same deal. Lise will greet you as Daniel Lewis and give you a new package. Inside will be your personal passport, IDs, credit cards, and a new Apple with your old profile. If you need to reach me, there’ll be a Nix in your contacts. Call that number, leave a message, and I’ll get back to you.”
“I feel like I’m in a Jason Bourne film.” His nervousness apparent, Samuel’s attempt at levity fell flat.
“No need to worry,” Jamie replied, doing his best to reassure. “The precautions are standard operating procedure and unnecessary ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the time. Once you touch down in London, you can go back to being the same old Samuel Snow everyone knows and loves to hate.”
He didn’t mention the Petrova Personal Protection agent hired to sit next to his father on the plane. Or the security detail he’d arranged for his parents while they went about their everyday lives. He didn’t want them looking over their shoulders, constantly worried about the threats he’d brought to their door, but he sure as fuck wasn’t leaving them unprotected either.
Samuel shook his head and took the car keys dangling from Jamie’s fingers. “That guy was an asshole. London is supposed to be a fresh start. An opportunity to be a better husband and a better man.”
“And a better father?”
“If it’s not too little too late, I’d like a chance to be. But if not a father, then maybe a friend?”
Ice-blue irises, identical to his own, held his gaze. Three days ago, hishell-noresponse would have been automatic. But shit had changed. The world had changed. And the two of them had changed with it.
With the assassination of the VP, who knew what tomorrow would bring? And yeah, the whole life is short bullshit? Truer now than it’d ever been. Made holding a grudge against his father seem pointless, if not downright stupid.
Especially since he intended to go after Johnson. No telling what the outcome would be, but chances were good, he wouldn’t be coming back from his mission. A sacrifice he was willing to make to keep the bastard from harming any more of his loved ones.
He’d lost enough colleagues. Enough friends. Enough family. Johnson had to be stopped. The sooner, the better. And Jamie wanted to be the one to pull the trigger. Selfish. Maybe? Necessary for him to be able to move on with his life if he survived the fallout. Definitely.
“I’d like that,” he said, clearing his throat to continue. “I mean, I can call you. Keep in touch. If that’s what you want?”
“That’d be great. And then maybe someday, when this is over, you can come to London. Lillian would go nuts with the cooking and cleaning, but she’d be over-the-moon happy if she got to see you.”
Jamie nodded. He’d like to see his parents again. His small family—together—happy. Something to look forward to. “Sounds good.”
“Okay,” Samuel said, his smile contagious.
“Okay,” he replied, his own sheepish grin as genuine as his father’s.
“I guess I should go.”
“Yep.”
“Alright then.” Samuel plucked his new travel bag off the end of the bed and slung the strap over his shoulder. “We’ll talk soon?” He crossed the forest green carpet and held out his palm.
“Yep.” He took the hand offered, taking care not to squeeze too hard as a hint of regret washed over him. He wished he had more time. Wished he knew of a better way to express the feelings swamping his insides.
