Hidden Agenda (17 page)

Mason's mouth tightened. “Your ‘death' has been hard on her. She thought she lost her only son.”

“Something I've regretted every day for the past eight months.”

“But like your sister, she's a Hunt. And while the road hasn't always been easy, she's strong.”

“Will she forgive me?”

“She's your mother, Michael. She'll never stop loving you, no matter what happens.” Mason stopped again at the exit of the park. “I have a question that can't wait. What about Olivia and Ivan? I'm still trying to connect how they fit into this.”

Michael hesitated and turned, watching Olivia stop to rub behind Gizmo's ears half a dozen yards ahead of them. “Three days ago I was preparing for my death, and they rescued me.”

“But who are they? What were a young woman and her teenage brother doing on Valez's island, and how did they know you needed rescuing?”

“Antonio Valez is their father.”

“Wait a minute.” Mason paused, eyes wide, as he took in the news. “You're not serious, are you?”

“They were both born here in the States. Their mother died a few years ago. They've had regular but limited contact with their father over the years.”

“And you trust them?”

“They saved my life.”

“According to what you just told me a few minutes ago, you saved Valez's life, but that doesn't mean you did it because you're on the same side.”

“It's not the same.”

“Why not?”

Michael's anger spiked, hating the fact that he needed to defend Olivia and Ivan. “Because it's not the same. They're not involved in their father's work.”

“And you know this how?”

“Because Olivia told me, and according to everything she's said and done, I have no reason not to trust her.”

“I'm sorry.” Mason rubbed his temple. “Forgive me if all of this is a bit difficult for me to take in, but you're on the run from the man who wants to kill you, with his son and daughter, of all people, and you expect me to trust them?”

“Yes, I'm asking you to trust them
and
me. Because now that Kendall is dead, it won't be long before everyone inside the department assumes that I'm working with Valez on the wrong side of the law.”

Mason looked hard at him and held his gaze. “They already do.”

M
ichael and Olivia stepped out of the elevator onto the fifth floor of the hotel, where Mason had arranged for him to meet with his family. Michael's heart was hammering. A decade of law enforcement had trained him to keep his emotions in check, but there were some situations that one could never prepare for. And this was one of them. Everything about today had become personal. He'd missed his parents and his sisters. Missed his life as part of the Hunt family. And now that was all about to be given back to him.

Olivia walked beside him down the hall with its generic, pale-green wallpaper and floral-patterned carpet. At the moment, besides Mason's confession of faith, it seemed like she might be the only good thing that was going to come out of the entire mess. That was if they even made it out with their lives intact.

“You ready for this?” she asked, as the elevator dinged shut behind them.

“I'm ready to see my family, I just didn't expect the flood of nerves. So much has happened in the past eight months. None of us are the same—at least I know I'm not.”

“And you're right, they won't be either, but they're still your family, and they love you unconditionally. That's something that will never change.”

“I know, it's just that”—he glanced down at her—“despite all of my good intentions, I know my decisions have hurt them. They've had to live with the reality—right or wrong—that I'm dead. I can't imagine what they must be feeling.”

“I imagine they're ecstatic, but also just as nervous to see you walk into that room.” She ran her hand down his arm. “They never imagined you coming back into their lives, and now you are.”

“Like Lazarus rising from the dead.” He shot her a smile that quickly faded. “But even that joy can't completely erase the grief they've gone through the past eight months.”

“Maybe it can.”

Maybe. He stopped in front of room number 536 and drew in a deep breath before knocking.

“You should go in alone,” she said. “I'll understand—”

“No.” He clasped her hand. “I want you here. That's why I asked you to come with me while Mason and Ivan take care of the dog.”

The confession took even him by surprise. His few attempts at dating hadn't exactly worked well for him over the past few years. There had been a few women he'd been able to imagine a future with, but he'd always put work first. And it had never gone over well when he was running down a suspect and couldn't tell his date where he was, or why she'd just been stood up.

He squeezed her hand, then knocked on the door.

A moment later, he was engulfed in his father's arms, feeling like Lazarus and the prodigal son all rolled up in one. He'd been the middle child who pushed boundaries and drove his parents crazy growing up. The one who'd let them believe he was dead. But when he looked into his father's eyes, Michael knew all had been forgiven.

“I've missed you, son. More than you'll ever know. And to
have you back . . .” Tears welled in the older man's eyes. “It's the miracle I never even knew to pray for.”

Michael studied his father's face. He'd aged over the past year and had acquired a few more gray hairs, but he clearly hadn't lost any of his inner strength.

Avery grabbed onto him next, his fiery, redheaded sister. “After all these months of trying to discover the truth behind your death, this—” she gripped his shoulders—“this isn't what we expected.”

“It wasn't what I'd planned either, but seeing you all again feels even better than I thought it could.”

Emily's tears fell freely as she pulled him into a hug, erasing in one moment the months they'd spent apart, and lessening the guilt threatening to swallow him.

The front door opened, and Mason and Ivan walked into the room with Gizmo in tow, along with a bag of dog food and a water bowl.

Michael pulled Olivia beside him, his own tears pooling, as he began making introductions. “This is Olivia and Ivan. And that little guy is Gizmo. They saved my life.”

He stood beside the couch as his family—in typical Hunt family fashion—hugged Olivia and Ivan. He barely noticed the posh décor of the apartment-styled room, or the smell of coffee brewing in the tiny attached kitchen. All he could do was cling to the realization that they were safe for the moment, and he'd finally come home.

“I know we have a lot to talk about, but before we get started, are any of you hungry?” Emily's question broke into his thoughts.

She nodded toward the dining room table that was covered with pizzas and soft drinks, but nerves had squelched any feelings of hunger.

“Maybe later,” he said. “Olivia? Ivan?”

They both shook their heads.

Michael turned to his father as they all sat down on the plush seating, while Gizmo curled up on the carpet at Ivan's feet, apparently tired from his recent run in the park. Michael had a hundred questions to ask, but there was one question that couldn't wait until later. “What about Mama? Mason said you decided not to tell her what's going on yet?”

“I'll probably regret the decision once she finds out,” his father said, “but until I knew exactly what was going on, I couldn't take any chances of having her heart broken again.”

The guilt resurfaced, twisting through him like a knife. “I know the past few months have been difficult . . . I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am—”

“You don't have to apologize for anything.” His father reached out and squeezed Michael's hand. “You were doing your job to make this world a better place. Now we just have to figure out a way to put an end to this, so life can go back to normal for all of us.”

Michael sat back, wondering if that were even possible. At the moment, any sense of normality seemed a world away. “I know that I'm wanted by the police,” he began. “And that there's a price on my head from the cartel.”

“You did manage to get yourself into quite a bit of trouble.” Avery pulled out a notebook and pen from her jacket pocket, then let her gaze rest briefly on Olivia and Ivan.

“They both know everything I'm about to say,” Michael said. “I'd like them to stay.”

“Okay.” Avery leaned forward, her hands clasped in front of her around the notebook. “On our end, the captain's formed a special team to find you, believing you have crucial information that could bring down the cartel in this area. And if that wasn't enough, you've been tied to a murder and a shooting—FBI agent Sam Kendall, and a man who was shot during a convenience store robbery. The police know you were there.”

Michael nodded. “We saw the news report last night.”

“Then let's start back at the beginning. What happened the day of the explosion? We know the official version—that you were killed in a bomb attack—but clearly, that version was a cover-up by someone.”

Michael let out a slow breath as he gathered his thoughts. He'd never expected to be sitting across from his sister on the other end of an interrogation, even if it was in the middle of a cozy hotel room. “This all started a lot further back than the day of the explosion.”

He started at the point when he'd been approached by the FBI about going undercover in Valez's organization, and how he'd eventually managed to work his way up in the ranks. He told them how he was involved in laundering money in order to eventually gain access to Valez's money trail and his contacts.

“I'm assuming the plan worked?” his father asked.

“For the most part.”

Michael continued sharing about how he found out that the bomb had been intended for Valez, his decision to stay undercover, how Valez set him up with a new identity, and how because of a leak in the department, Kendall had insisted they keep his new identity secret for his own safety.

“That's quite a story,” Mason said once he finished.

“I have evidence.” He set the flash drive he'd confiscated from Tomas on the coffee table in front of his sister.

“What is this?” she asked.

“Files, including a second set of books that show how Valez has been keeping track of all his illegal gains.”

“If you have this evidence, then why not go to the captain right now?” Emily leaned into Mason's shoulder on the love seat. “We could give him the drive and tell him everything you've just told us. Aren't those files proof of what you've
been doing? Proof that you're working for and not against the department?”

“I can't go in yet, because Russell Coates was arrested during that operation you were involved in,” Michael said. “He'd been working undercover, and someone murdered him in his cell because of what he knew.”

“If they killed him to keep him quiet, they would do the same to you,” Emily said.

“Exactly.”

“We need to find out who killed Coates.”

“And the names of everyone on the force who's working for the cartel. If we can get our hands on that kind of list, I'll be able to come in.”

His father stood up and adjusted the thermostat. Despite the cold weather outside the room was getting uncomfortably warm. “I know you did what you thought was right, but you should have walked away, or at least come to us.”

“You don't know how many times I almost walked away. But I'd poured so much time into this assignment. And then when I found out that some people believed I was the leak, I was afraid what would happen if I came in. Afraid what would happen if any of you were involved.”

“We're family, son.” His father sat back down across from him. “I don't care what happens, I want to be involved. And now that you're here, we're going to get through this together.”

“But the two of you, Avery . . . Mason . . . You could lose your careers over this.”

“You're worth it, little brother, and don't you forget it.”

“I agree,” Mason said.

Avery touched his arm. “The captain has me working your case. He just doesn't know yet that we found you. I'll bring him in when—and if—I know you'll be safe.”

“As long as you all know what you're getting into, know as well how much I appreciate it.”

Avery turned to Olivia. “When Mason told us you and your brother were with him and had been on the run a few days, we gathered a few changes of clothes and some other things we thought you might appreciate. And we brought a few things for you as well, Ivan. There's a bathroom in that hallway, if you'd like to shower and change now, though what we brought for you might be a bit big.”

“It's fine.” Ivan took the bag of clothes Emily handed him. “Thank you.”

“A fresh set of clothes and a hot soak in the tub would be fantastic.” Olivia stood up.

“Your clothes are in the bedroom,” Emily said. “There's also a Jacuzzi in the master bath. Take your time. You'll feel a lot better.”

Michael watched Olivia slip into the bedroom, then turned back to his family. “Thank you.”

“We brought you a change of clothes as well. Mama arranged to have a lot of the things from your apartment packed up and stored in their garage. Not that you had a lot of stuff, but most of what you did have is safe.”

“I'm sorry for all of this—”

“Stop apologizing,” Emily said. “You're here, safe, which is all that matters right now.”

“She's beautiful,” Avery said. “Olivia,” she added with a grin.

Michael grinned back at her. “Trust me, I've noticed.”

“I know you have. Every time you look at her you're like a high school geek out on a date with the prom queen. But the real question right now is, can we trust her?”

“Is that why you sent them out?” Michael asked. “I've already been through this with Mason.”

Avery set her notebook down. “We're talking about Valez's daughter and son. What else are we supposed to think?”

“Not that they're some Trojan horse sent to topple the department.”

“You trust them? Completely?”

“Yes, I trust them.” Michael worked to swallow his anger, knowing that they had every right to ask the question.

“I'm not planning to interrogate them, if that's what you're worried about,” Avery said. “You've always been a good judge of character.”

“I'm telling you, they're not involved with their father's business.” Michael briefly recounted his time at Felipe's cabin. “They didn't even know who their father really was until a couple days ago. Olivia's a journalist, who visits Valez once or twice a year. Ivan is a typical college student. Do a background check on them, and you'll see.”

“Trust me, I will, but there is one other thing we need to talk about. I want to bring in my team to help with this.”

Michael shook his head. “There are already too many people involved in this—”

“They offered.”

“They know I'm here?”

“No, just that you're alive. No one besides the four of us knows you've made contact.”