With Honor (24 page)

Randolph shook his head. Sincerity filled his brown eyes. “I know you got it bad to solve this case, son, but you need your rest. I think now is the time to let it go.”

Shawn swallowed a four letter word that’d end him up in devil’s shit, friend or not. He wasn’t happy in the slightest to be off work with a disability for several months. He’d be dammed if he’d let this take him out. It was best to change the discussion. “How is Holbert? Any new news, Colonel?”

The Colonel’s bravery was as evident in the row of medals on his chest as it was in his stern expression. “He’s in serious condition. No changes. Doc said he needs to get through the night and then we’ll know more.”

“Have they inspected the accident yet?”

Randolph sighed. “We’ve got the men over there taking a look at the remains of the plane, but I don’t have any reports yet. Looks like a fuel line blew up.”

Shawn glanced toward Jasmine. She was standing to the side, not saying a word.

“Well, I better let you go, Conner.” He patted Shawn on the knee. “Rest up and get those hands back in order so I can beat you at the Airman’s Annual Charity Tee-off.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Shawn grinned. Golf was the only thing Shawn had ever lost at. If he could talk the Colonel into a game of baseball or basketball, Shawn would wipe the scoreboard.

When the Colonel was gone, Jasmine stroked him with a curious gaze. “Golf?”

Shawn laughed. “I hate the game.”

“Then why do you play?”

“Do you think getting ahead is all about fighting wars and flying jets? There is a certain amount of elbow-rubbing a man is expected to do to climb the proverbial ladder to the top.”

“Is that along the lines of kissing ass to get ahead?”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s not asskissing…well, not literally.” He noticed the worried line and darkness round her eyes. “You should go home and get some rest.”

She glanced at the clock on the wall. “In a few hours.”

“You should go home. I’ll send my buddy Pete to make sure you’re safe.” That is, if he could get in touch with the man.

A stubborn expression marred her delicate features. “I’m staying. So, the Colonel knows that you’re not Shane?”

Shawn nodded. “He is the one who has made me capable of doing this. He was a good friend to Shane also. Maybe you’ll rethink sharing my bed.”

“After they shoot you with a shot of morphine for the pain, the only bed warming you’re going to want is the one in your dreams.”

He couldn’t argue that. The soreness and pain weren’t subsiding. A shot of painkiller was sounding better by the second. Screw pride.

Chapter 20

Jasmine hated leaving Shawn at the hospital, but she was wiped out. After getting his shot, he’d be out for awhile, enough time for her to get some sleep. She pulled his Jeep into the driveway at home and pushed it into park. The house was dark when she entered and she didn’t bother turning on the light.

Slipping off her flats, she walked down the hallway and into her bedroom. A thudding sound made her stop. She peeked around the corner. Her breath caught when she saw a man on his knees ripping through the boxes in her closet. She jerked back as her mind raced and her heartbeat bounced with fear.
What should she do? What did he want?

She needed to call the police.

Her purse was on the kitchen table with her phone inside.

Not any help at the moment.

Her next best plan was to get out of the house.

Jasmine held her breath as she took a step backward. She paused…nothing. Another step. The stranger was still digging through the closet. Braver, she turned and bumped the side table with her hip. The bedroom became silent. Her chest burned as she still held her breath. She waited, seconds passing like days. A thought fired through her: He realized he wasn’t alone and she had one choice…

Jasmine darted down the hall, but the thundering of the stranger’s steps was loud in her ears. She made it to the living room with hand on door when the grip fell to her shoulder, pulling her back with such force that she was sent to her back onto the cool wood flooring.

Startled, she lifted her chin and met familiar eyes through the dim foyer light. Bile rose, blocking her throat–taking her a long time before she could force the word through her mouth. “Dad?”

“Jasmine,” he whispered her name.

He had aged. His once jet-black hair was now gray. His smooth skin wrinkled. His body lean. For a dead man he was very much alive.

“What? I…” Jasmine couldn’t believe her father was not only alive, but standing above her. “Is it really you?”

He lowered his hand to help her up, but she only stared at the bony offering. He pulled back. “I didn’t mean to knock you down. I was only trying to keep you from leaving.”

Jasmine pushed herself off the floor, still grappling with the idea that she wasn’t dreaming. “You’re supposed to be dead. You died a long time ago. I was at your funeral.”

“You were at a fake funeral.” His voice was husky, his eyes moist. “That’s why the body was cremated.”

If the house had came tumbling down, she wouldn’t have been more shocked. “Fake funeral?” she sputtered the words. “How could you? Why?”

“I can explain–”

“Explain? How in the world do you explain faking your death and leaving your child alone?”

“You weren’t alone. You had your aunt.”

“What?” She threw up her hands in frustration. “An aunt doesn’t replace a father.”

“Let me explain. Please. Can we have a seat?”

He backed up toward the couch and noticed that he had a limp. “You can sit, but I’ll stay standing.”

Her father sat and stretched out his leg. He clasped his knee and she noticed the narrowing of his old eyes. “I didn’t want to leave you, Jasmine. Leaving was the hardest thing I had to do. Staying just wouldn’t have been fair and to take you along meant having you on the run too.”

“On the run? From the law?” Was she hearing right?

He shook his hand briskly. “There are so many things you don’t understand. How could I tell you? You were a small child and wouldn’t have understood. Your mother and I, we had such different plans for you. We tried to leave this lifestyle before it was too late–” He dropped his forehead into his palm and he became quiet.

Jasmine couldn’t stand another moment. What was he saying? She fell into the chair and sighed. “What?”

Time passed before he lifted his head and looked at her again. “Your mom and I were spies for the government. That’s how we met. We both were on a mission in the Middle East.” He swallowed and his Adam’s apple bounced. “She was on her last assignment when she was killed.”

Jasmine laughed. This couldn’t be happening. “Killed? No. She ran away with a neighbor.”

His harsh expression told her just how serious he was. “I’m sorry, Jasmine. I couldn’t tell you the truth.”

“So you let me believe my mother abandoned me?”

He shifted in the seat. “Letting you believe that was better than telling you the truth.”

Her body went numb, but her mind ached. Everything she knew, everything she’d believed, was a lie. “Go on. Tell me what I need to know.”

“After your mother died, I couldn’t stop. I was too wrapped up. During an assignment overseas, I ran into a document worth millions to the right people. I didn’t think anyone knew that I had found the treasure, but it didn’t take long before I had a handful of people looking for me.”

“A document? Worth millions? And you just happened to bring it back into the States, no questions asked?” She scoffed.

“The journal listed a history of espionage, murders, betrayal, wrong executions, all leading back to government officials. Knowing its value and capability of doom for many, I placed the document inside a worthless statue.”

“A statue?” Then it struck her. “The replica Statue of Liberty?”

“Yes.”

“You put me in the middle?” The story made her sick.

“My plans were to dispose of it immediately. Before I could, they’d found me. You were unsafe while I was still alive. I had to die so that you could live.” His voice faded.

She felt the sting of tears, but held back. He didn’t deserve her tears. “Where does Shane Conner fall into this?”

He hesitated. The wrinkles around his eyes grew deeper. “Conner was also a spy. I met him while he was on assignment in Costa Rica. I knew he could be trusted. I guess in a drunken stupor I decided I needed to air all of my guilt. So, I told him everything.” He chuckled, but his features remained harsh. “I guess we both had a moment where we wanted to be heroes. We devised a plan to get the document back into our hands and share it with the necessary officials.”

She clasped her hands in her lap, gulping down a moan. “Shane came for the interview and because he had to get into my house to find the statue, he seduced me.”

“The magazine you were working for had a huge promotional story, looking for bachelors. He signed up and was picked, which you know.” Her father’s eyes narrowed. “There wasn’t a plan for him to seduce you.” The older man gripped the arm of the couch until his knuckles were white. “That bastard.”

Jasmine wanted to defend Shane by telling her father that she’d been seduced willingly, but those were intimate details she wished to keep to herself. “Is Shane dead?”

Her father swallowed loudly. “Yes. If he weren’t, he would have made contact with me by now. A week after he disappeared, I received an envelope in the mail addressed from him. Inside were pictures of you, of us as a family. He’d written,
In case I don’t make it, I thought you might like to have these. The trip was a failure.
”

“But why? If he didn’t find the document, why would someone kill him?”

Her father shrugged a bony shoulder. “My guess is he told the wrong person. Not sure why. He understood how dangerous this situation is.”

“And I’ve had this so-called dangerous document for over fifteen years? You just suddenly decided you needed to do the right thing?”

He blinked solemn eyes. “I’m not a bad man, Jasmine. You don’t understand. This is a cutthroat life.”

“Which you just happened to be involved in. Now my mother is dead, and Shane.” One tear slipped from the corner of her eye and she swiped it away.

He scrubbed his chin. “I’m sorry, but no one in this business is innocent.”

“You coming here, searching through my things, it’s a violation. Couldn’t you have asked for the statue?”

“Not that easy. The less you know, the better.”

Her mouth dropped open. She snapped it shut. “You mean I shouldn’t know that you’re still alive?”

“Not at this time. Not when it isn’t safe,” he said.

“Do you have more to tell me? I have the right to know everything.”

“So much more that you don’t need to know.” His voice held an undertone that scared her.

“You can take the statue and leave.” She attempted to keep the shaking from her voice, but it was impossible. Her father, a man she’d loved once, would leave again.

“I can never stay. Not because I don’t want to.”

The ring of her cell made her jump. Going to her purse, she took out her phone. She read the caller ID. An unidentified number. Was it the hospital?

She clicked talk.

“Jasmine? This is Peter, Shawn’s friend.”

She remembered Shawn mentioning him. Fear made her pulse quicken. “Is Shawn okay?”

“Yes, yes. He’s fine. I spoke with him earlier and he informed me that it’s possible that Shane was looking for something the night he spent with you. He is concerned and wanted me to check it out.”

Jasmine tightened her grip on the phone. Hearing a stranger mention the night she’d spent with Shane made her cringe. She knew Shawn had his reasons for telling Peter, but her pregnancy was an intimate detail that was none of his business. “I…well, yes we did have that conversation.”

“I can come by and maybe come up with some further explanation.”

“I can’t tonight. I’m tired,” she said.