“What is it?” Jaci asked.
Her father’s hand fluttered as if he considered reaching for her, but the years had put too much distance between them, and it fell back to his side. “We will talk later.”
“Why later? Why can’t we talk now?”
“Because I’m not sure how much I can tell you right now,” he said. “I must confirm with my team.”
Team, assignments, arrangements . . . there was so much to her father’s life that she didn’t know.
“Are you hungry?” he asked, his tone lighter, almost imploring. “Would you like me to make you a sandwich?”
“I’ll make one myself.” She pushed away from the bed, feeling like she moved through a dream. None of this felt real.
Finn was in the small galley kitchen when Jaci walked inside. There were only a few cabinets above the sink and oven, and no dishwasher. If she opened the oven, she wouldn’t be able to walk in the space between it and the rectangular card table. A set of French doors at the end of the kitchen revealed a tiny balcony and another apartment complex behind, this one with red shutters to brighten the white facade.
“Hi,” Finn greeted, opening a covered bin and pulling out a loaf of bread.
Jaci gave him a stiff nod, none too pleased with his part in the charade.
As if sensing her feelings, Finn said, “I’m sorry about kissing you earlier. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I was just putting on a good show. Right?” He nudged her ribs with his elbow.
Jaci softened somewhat. “I know, and I know that’s what you were supposed to do. I’m just worried it might work a little too well.”
Finn nodded, his eyebrows arching upward under the scruff of hair poking from his beanie. “Your mother is worried, hey?”
Jaci opened the fridge and found a container that looked like mayonnaise. She slathered it across two pieces of bread. “Yes, but it’s not my mother I’m concerned with. It’s my boyfriend.”
“Oh.” Finn gave a low whistle. “You have a boyfriend. Or, you did have one.”
Jaci glowered at him. “Ricky won’t believe it. But he’s going to wonder what’s going on, and I need to be able to explain it to him.” She took the deli meat from the pouch and piled it onto her sandwich. Finn handed her a tomato, and she gave him a brief smile before slicing it.
“He must be a good boyfriend to trust you so much.”
Jaci grunted. “My life has been nothing short of crazy since he met me. I think he’s kind of used to it being the opposite of what it seems.”
“I hope you get to talk to him soon then.” Finn sat down at the card table in the room, supported by thick books underneath two of the legs to keep it from wobbling. Jaci collapsed into one of the folding chairs next to him.
“So why are you here?” she asked. “Are you just visiting also?”
Finn took a huge bite of his sandwich and shook his head. “No. I live here.”
Jaci furrowed her brow and took a bite of her sandwich as well. She hadn’t even realized how hungry she was until the first bite, and then she quickly took several others before she decided to broach her next question. “But doesn’t your dad. . . ?” She trailed off. Maybe their dads didn’t work together the way she had thought. She didn’t want to blow her dad’s cover.
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“Work for Familia Unita? Yes. Just like yours.”
Was that what they called themselves? Although not Spanish, the language was similar enough for her to work out the meaning: United Family. She managed to shove the rest of her sandwich in her mouth and swallow before her next question. “How does that work out? How can you live here with him when he’s doing that kind of work? What does your mother think?”
He lowered his glass of water. “My mother is dead. She was murdered. It led my father to seek out this group.”
Jaci pressed a hand to her chest and inhaled sharply. “I’m so sorry.”
Finn shrugged. “This is how I cope. I joined my father’s team.”
A gasp escaped her lips. “So you actually work with him? Like you’re a vigilante also?”
He nodded, lifting his chin in a proud manner. “Yes. I trained for six months before he agreed to let me join him on assignments.”
Jaci couldn’t wrap her mind around it. It was bad enough thinking of her father out there killing people, taking the law into his own hands, even if it was for the greater good. To imagine this boy doing it also. . . . “But you are so young! How old are you?”
“I am sure I’m not much older than you. I’m nineteen.”
Jaci nodded as she mulled over his words. “I just turned eighteen.”
Finn went back to the counter and started to make another sandwich. “What do you think of this, this work our fathers do?” He waved his hand around the apartment.
Jaci leaned back in her folding chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “And you too,” she said. “How do you justify it?”
He faced forward. “It is easy. We are making the world a better place. We are protecting people. Many of the countries where we work, the law is corrupt. The police are bad men. What we do some might think is wrong, but it is not. And that conviction in my soul allows me to do what needs to be done.”
How could he be sure? He seemed so confident. But the justice system was in place for a reason, and she couldn’t disregard that.
“Your mother’s killer, did you find him?” she asked.
Finn nodded, a tight smile pressing against his lips. “We did. And we dealt justice swiftly. We did not make him suffer the way he made her suffer. This is not about revenge, it is about protecting future citizens. He will never hurt someone else again. We made sure of that.”
Jaci considered his words, trying to figure out where in her own thoughts his actions fit. She had never been able to decide if her father was a hero or a criminal, and she had quit trying. All that really mattered was that he was her father.
As if on cue, Mr. Rivera came into the kitchen, and Jaci turned her attention to him. “Dad, do you have Wi-Fi here?”
Finn laughed, and then quickly straightened his face when Jaci looked at him. “Sorry,” he said, his accent making the words sound even more apologetic than they were. “Just the idea of them having something like the Internet here.” He rolled his eyes and waved his hand around the kitchen. “In case you haven’t noticed, nothing but the bare essentials.”
Mr. Rivera frowned. “Finn is correct, but it’s for a reason. We are under aliases and trying to live incognito, which means the minimum in utility bills and no tracking IP addresses. But there is an Internet café close to the shopping center where Finn is taking you. I’m sure he can take you to both.” Her father looked at Finn for confirmation.
“Sure, that’s fine.”
Jaci stood up. “Can we go now?” If she hurried, she could have her computer up and running before Ricky left for work.
There wasn’t anything for her to do here, anyway. What were she and her father going to do over the next few days? It didn’t sound like he wanted to go out in public and hang out. She certainly didn’t want to sit here in this little apartment, twiddling her thumbs while her father went out on assignments.
But her father looked surprised by the suggestion. “Didn’t you want to spend more time here, resting? There are some things I would like to talk to you about.”
She hesitated, torn between finally getting her answers and needing to talk to Ricky. “I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time for that,” Jaci said. She stood and cleared her spot at the table.
“I don’t mind taking her now,” Finn said.
Her father gave a brief nod. “All right. Be careful. I trust you to protect her.”
Jaci opened her mouth to say she didn’t need his protection, but then she saw the serious manner in which Finn nodded back. She realized she didn’t even know if she needed protection or not. Should she be worried?
Mr. Rivera reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. While peeling off several bills, he said, “Clothing is a little bit more expensive here. Do you think that will be enough?”
How was she even to know? Jaci pushed down a flash of irritation, recognizing the frustration she felt at the unknown factors in this situation. “I’m sure it’s fine. I have some cash too.” She looked at Finn. “I’m just going to grab my purse and I’ll be ready.”
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