My Father's House

Chapter 17

"I don't understand." I shook my head. "That doesn't make sense." I continued, my voice louder, "He gave me up because he was protecting me, but then he went ahead and raised you?"

Kael winced at the tears that poured following this statement. His expression held some regret before he looked away respectfully. "I can't explain his actions, Harper, only he can. All I can say is, in his own way, he thought he was doing you a favor. He wanted you to be normal, live a happy life away from all this, have a career, get married, have a family..." he paused, "To him, giving you up was a demonstration of his love. He said it's the hardest thing he's ever had to do."

"How did he know I would be ok? I could have ended up in a broken home, abused, pregnant at sixteen. That's not unheard of, you know. Those orphanages and foster homes aren't anything to brag about. Maria finding me was a miracle, really."

He nodded, "I know, I know. He kept tabs on you though."

"He did?" I had never thought about my birth parents keeping track of me in my many homes. I glared at Kael. I wanted to hate him so much. It wasn't his fault that my father had some warped sense of nobility. It wasn't his fault that he had effectively replaced me in my father's life. I realized at that moment that he was much more than some thug that my father had sent. He was a part of my life, a piece of my shadowed past.

I remembered the first time we met, the first time he saved me. Something he had said, suddenly surfaced in my mind. "When you saved me in that alley, in London?"

He nodded, seeming surprised at the change of topic.

"You said that it was 'your job' or something? That 'he sent you' I think?"

"Did I? How do you remember so much? And to think I was worried you had a concussion."

"So did he?" I pressed.

"Mmm. When this whole thing went down with the shipment a few months ago," he made a broad swoop with his hand, "he knew it was going to get bad. He'd always told me about his daughter, where you were, what you did. Even how you'd taken to calling yourself 'Harper' instead of 'Caraleena'. I think that bothered him, actually."

I shrugged. "Good. It's ridiculous; more of a sentence than a name."

He shook his head and went on. "About a month ago, he told me I had to protect you, stay with you until this was sorted out. He knew they'd be looking for leverage. You would provide the perfect bargaining chip."

He reached down to hold his side, appearing to brace for a muscle spasm of some sort. "When I got up the next morning, he was gone. Just like that. I looked everywhere. I knew his usual hideouts fairly well. Nothing. Finally, I gave up and put the place up for sale. Figured, why not? That should bring him back." I remembered what he had told me earlier, over dinner, about my father's wish to leave me the house. Interesting, considering Kael seemed to think he also intended have Kael run the business after his death. Kael went on, "So I went to find you."

He tilted his head to the side, studying me, "You know I'd been following you since you got off that plane at Heathrow? Yeah. I knew all about that little meeting with Garrett. Apparently, they were using him to find you. Unfortunate he had to be so clever."

I found it a little disheartening to think I had been stalked for a week and not even known it. Nevertheless, I couldn't fault him for it. I was alive as a result.

"I see." I didn't have anything else to say at the moment. I needed time to process. In truth, I was surprised he had shared so much with me. It occurred to me that he could be planning my demise. If that were the case, any amount of information he offered would be insignificant. He could kill me right here. Garrett was sleeping peacefully upstairs. He would never hear my screams.