Next to Me (18 page)

“Holy crap! It looks like your closet threw up!” Landon laughs as he enters my room.

“I can’t decide what to wear. I’m kind of freaking out here,” I say. I’m too anxious about seeing Dad that I can’t think clearly. I flop myself on the bed and look up at Landon. “Help me.”

“Ok, ok…You’re freaking out for no reason. This is your dad, not some blind date. You’ll look beautiful, and grown up, and established in whatever you wear, Jenna.”  Landon pulls me up off the bed and holds me for a moment.

“Thank you. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think this would be happening. I’m still trying to process the whole thing. I’m glad it was you he sent to find me.”

“Me too. I’ve been impacted by a lot of the cases I’ve worked, but this has been life-changing.” Landon takes my face in his hands and kisses me sweetly. “Now, let’s get you dressed. Hmm…not something I thought I’d ever say.”

We both give a small laugh and turn our attention to the mess on my bed. I uncover a few of the stronger possibilities and show them to Landon. I’ve got a dress and a couple of skirt and pant outfits. In the end we decide that my blue wrap dress with the elbow-length sleeves will give the impression I want. It’s comfortable and classy, but not too dressy that I don’t look or feel like me. It’s actually the dress I wore to my nursing school graduation a few years ago. Spring picked it out when we went shopping for graduation outfits.

“You look beautiful,’ Landon tells me as I slip on my heels. I’ve pulled my hair into a low ponytail behind my ear. My hair is dark now and I don’t want Dad to be distracted by that. I want him to see my face and know it’s me. “Are you ready?”

“Yes. No. Maybe we should have left already so we can be the first ones there. Or maybe we should be late so we can make an entrance. That’d be so weird to walk in together, don’t you think? I mean him and us, not you and me. I don’t want to see him for the first time at the reservation podium of a restaurant. What do you think?” I’m so excited and nervous that I’m starting to get really flustered.

“Hey. It’s ok. He’s probably more nervous than you are. He has to look you in the eye and explain why he let you think he was dead all this time. He’s got a lot more to worry about than you do. You just have to show up and love him.” Landon smiles at me and takes my hand. It feels like the safest place in the world and immediately makes me feel more at ease.

He’s right. Dad came looking for me, and knowing him, I know he cares more about who I am than what I look like or even what career I have. It’s crazy, but even after all this time, and thinking he was dead, I just want my father to be proud of the person I’ve become.

We arrive at the restaurant and are seated right away at 7:45. This is good. I can sit, maybe even have a drink before Dad gets here. Landon sees worry on my face again and covers my hand with his on my knee under the table.

“You ok?” he asks quietly.

“Yes. Just nerves bubbling to the top again. I’ll be fine. I’m thinking I may need a glass of wine sooner than later, though,” I laugh softly.

“I’ll get right on that.” Landon squeezes my hand and then releases it to take the wine and mixed drinks padded book from the center of the table. “Um, Jenna…when your father gets here…let’s not jump into telling him about our relationship right away. I haven’t told him and I don’t know how he’s going to feel about it.”

“I’m sure it’s going to be fine, Landon. He can’t be upset. He’s the one who brought us together, after all,” I smile. Landon smiles back and looks up and behind me, his smile changing from one of sweet adoration to something more generically pleasant. He nods before looking at me.

“He’s here. Are you ready?” he asks.

“I think so.” Butterflies swarm my stomach and I wish we had gotten here even earlier so I could have had that drink already. I stand and straighten the skirt of my dress before turning around.

Oh, shit.

Panic and raging fear rush through me and I stumble back a moment, catching myself on the table. I can feel the blood drain from my face and am sure it’s turning pale, maybe even translucent. I can’t breathe as I begin to search out the closest escape route.

“Jenna, what’s wrong?” Landon says, steadying my incredibly unsteady legs.

“That…that’s not my father, Landon,” I tell him.

“What are you talking about?” Confusion paints Landon’s face as the man who he thinks is my father approaches.

“Hello, Veronica,” the man says politely.

“Senator Dellinger,” I reply. I push down the lump in my throat with a hard swallow and try to regain a normal breathing pattern before I pass out.

“Sir,” Landon says by way of greeting the man before us.

“Why don’t we sit down,” the Senator instructs. We do as he says and take our seats.

“Excuse me, Senator, but…I’m confused. Jenna, what do you mean he’s not your father?” He directs his attention back to me, but I can’t form the words.

“Jenna, the man asked you a question. Don’t be rude. Answer him,” Dellinger says. His salt and pepper hair and dark eyes make him look as menacing as he really is. And with his black suit, he sits there calmly like some don, giving orders to the family with full expectation of them being carried out. Not what you’d expect the Senator for Connecticut to look like.

Fear and panic are being replaced with anger and rage. I intentionally move the knife at my setting away from me so I don’t do anything stupid. “Senator Dellinger is not my father. He is, however, the man responsible for my father’s murder.”

I keep my eyes on Dellinger as I call him out and make sure he knows that I hold him responsible for killing the only family I had left.

“What? Why? Why would you have me find her if she’s not your daughter?” Landon asks. He doesn’t know what I know, which is that the only reason Dellinger would go to such great lengths to find me is because he needs me. He needs the skills that I possess. The skills my father taught me.

“The situation with your father was an unfortunate means to an end. Now,” he says picking up the menu. “What’s good? I hear this is the best Mexican restaurant in Chicago.” Dellinger looks over the menu, completely ignoring Landon’s inquiry.

“What the hell is going on?” Landon raises his voice and pulls down Dellinger’s menu causing the Senator to stiffen.

“I’ll tell you what’s going on. Henry Dellinger needs something and I’m the only one who can get it,” I say with a straight face.

“Meaning…” Landon’s irritation is more than evident. Here he was, thinking he was bringing two long lost family members together and the reality is that it was all a lie.

“The Senator is a collector. The only problem is most of the things he collects are already owned by
other
collectors. When they won’t sell to him, or when he’s outbid at auction, he sends someone to retrieve what he believes should be his. He coerced my father into doing it for him for years, and, since my father bragged about teaching me everything he knows about breaking into the unbreakable, he thinks he can coerce me into doing his dirty work for him, too. Unfortunately he’s gone to all this trouble for nothing.”

“Why lie to me about who she is?” Landon asks Dellinger.

“I wasn’t going to tell you that I needed you to find the only person who has the skill set to break into a sealed, glass case and retrieve the last piece of a collection I’ve spent 15 years searching for. A father needing to find his long, lost daughter was much more compelling, don’t you think? Now, I had hoped to eat before we got down to business, but since you’re cutting to the chase and laying all the cards on the table…” Dellinger pulls an envelope from his inside jacket pocket and sets it on the table.

“Don’t. Don’t say a word. I’m not doing whatever it is you’ve come here to tell me to do. I don’t work for you and I’m not afraid of you,” I declare.

“Are you sure you don’t want to think about that first. I mean, you are fully aware of what happens when my instructions aren’t followed.” Dellinger narrows his eyes, bringing new meaning to creepy.

“If you think for a second you’re going to hurt Jenna and not end up paralyzed from the neck down, you’re quite mistaken,” Landon warns. He’s leaning across the table defensively.

“I knew you had gotten close to her, Mr. Scott, but perhaps I underestimated just
how
close. And I have no plans of harming Miss Matthews. She is, after all, the key person I need in getting what I want,” Dellinger says.

“Well, you’re out of your damn mind if you think I’m going to cooperate with you. There is nothing you can say or do, no amount of money you could offer me, that would make me comply.” I straighten my posture, asserting my position in refusing whatever it is he’s about to offer.

“Your life isn’t that important to you, but I know a few others’ who might be.” Dellinger lifts his hand and motions for someone to come to him. I hadn’t noticed them before, but two men dressed in dark suits approach and stand next to Dellinger where he’s seated. One of them looks like an MMA fighter with a bald head and tattoos running up his neck to the side of his face and back of his skull. The other looks like he just graduated from MIT, glasses and all. I would bet there’s a pocket protector under that jacket.

The MIT guy pulls a tablet from the attaché case he’s carrying while MMA guy stands and looks menacing. A few taps and swipes to the tablet and he hands it to Dellinger who looks at it for a moment before turning it around. On the screen is a high and angled view of my living room apartment. Spring and Matt are sitting on the couch watching TV, completely unaware that they’re being monitored. Dellinger swipes the screen to the left a few times, revealing different rooms in my apartment with each screen. He swipes it again and the next view is of Mercy’s living room.

“I swear to God if you hurt them…”

“Good. You’ve got the picture then. Now, inside this envelope is your ticket and hotel information. When you arrive, my contact there will connect with you and give you the rest of the instructions.” Dellinger’s smug look makes me want to punch him, but I won’t for the very reason he chose to meet in a place like this. He knew I wouldn’t make a scene.

I open the envelope and find it contains an itinerary and a plane ticket to Paris.

“This ticket is dated for two days from today. How am I supposed to leave for France in two days? I have a job! I can’t just pick up and leave for four days!” I’ve raised my voice and a few of the guests in the restaurant turn their heads to see what my fuss is about.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to work something out. You’re a very resourceful girl,” he says. “My contact will let me know when he has connected with you and that everything is in place. And don’t think of skipping town, Veronica. I found you once, I can find you again. Only next time, you’ll
know
it’s me.”

I push my chair out and stand up slowly. “Fine.” Dellinger smiles approvingly at me and the picks up his menu and begins to review it. I push past MMA guy and head straight out the front door of the restaurant and out onto the sidewalk. I inhale deeply then let it out along with all the fear, anxiety, and anger I composed inside.

“Jenna!” Landon calls to me as he exits the restaurant. “Oh, my God, Jenna! I’m so sorry. Obviously I had no idea!” He tries to put his arms around me but I pull away. “Jenna…”

“Listen, Landon…I have to take care of this, ok. When I get back…I guess we can talk about what’s going to happen with us,” I say.

“You
guess
we can talk? What’s there to talk about?”

“I should never have let my guard down. You brought him here, Landon. Now, I know you didn’t know, but you could have. You should have. Did you
not
do any kind of background check to confirm if what he was telling you was true? One little background check and you would have known that Senator Henry Dellinger is not my father!” I begin to walk down the sidewalk in the direction of my apartment.

“Hold on a second! He had things a father would have of his daughter’s. He had your laptop, pictures of you…he said that he and your mother were never married which was why your last name was different than his. He played me, Jenna. How is that my fault?” I’m walking faster and Landon is actually working to keep up with me.

“Ok. I get it,” I say. “Regardless of any of that I have to focus on what he wants right now. I can’t underestimate him. He
will
hurt Spring or Mercy, or both. Wait.” I stop in my tracks. “How would he know who I was or where I lived? And Mercy?”

“I told him about you last week. I also gave him Sarah’s name so he probably had her place wired, too. I don’t know where Mercy lives, so he must have had a second guy come in and follow you to find out what your weak spot would be,” Landon explains.

I begin walking again as I remember him telling me earlier today that Dellinger was pressuring him for an answer. I really can’t blame Landon. The Senator gave him enough evidence that he wouldn’t question me being Dellinger’s daughter, but none of that matters now.  I have to go to Paris, meet up with Dellinger’s guy, and get this over with. Spring and Mercy’s lives depend on it.

“Will you stop?” Landon shouts, grabbing me by the elbow. “Why does this change things between us?”