Maybe Millie’s father could do something after all.
Chapter 23 ~ Stryker
DRESSED IN A MONKEY suit, I stood in front of the mirror in the bedroom not recognizing myself. My casual clothes were in a heap on the bed and I longed to put them back on. That wasn’t the plan though. I wasn’t sure about the whole plan, but someone who was part of the wedding had supplied us with official wedding invitations so that we could get on the property.
Security would be tight and I hoped that the false ID Carter had come up with would hold. I doubted that anyone would recognize me unless they looked close enough.
My hair had been cropped in an army cut, which made my head feel damn cold. It certainly changed the way I looked after having slightly longer hair for so long.
The bowtie around my neck felt more like a noose, but before I ripped it off, I kept telling myself that this was all for Evie.
Evie who had no clue that I was already free from under Declan, but soon would. I just hoped that we got there before it was too late.
My nerves were shot to hell and the lack of sleep hadn’t helped. Millie’s father, Jordan, had been a surprise in itself. I’d expected a hard-core criminal like Declan. Instead we’d found a successful businessman who knew what he was talking about, and who wanted nothing more than to bury Declan.
Carter and I had nearly come to blows when we’d arrived last night though. I’d wanted to get in touch with Evie to let her know that I was free and coming for her, but Carter told me it would be safer if she had no idea. I agreed, grudgingly. I’d just wanted to charge in there and take her with me. Keep her safe.
“Fuck.” I clenched my fists wanting to hit something, or someone.
“Hold it in, man.” Carter started fussing with my tie so I raised a brow in amusement. He grinned. “We don’t want attention on you, and with the mess around your neck people would do a double take.”
“You need to get out more than I do,” I grumbled. “And how the fuck do people wear these without choking to fucking death?”
“There.” He moved to the door. “Not many people who wear these things have a neck as thick as yours…we need to go and meet up with my people.”
I raised a brow. “No way can I involve Jordan more than I already have. My people are the law, Jake. They can’t know that I asked Jordan for help.”
“Why did you?”
Carter looked away. “We needed somewhere to sleep.” He shrugged.
“Hum…so it had nothing to do with Millie? You didn’t want to check her old man out in person to make sure your girl would be good?”
He sighed. “I wanted to see if the rumors of him being one of the good guys were true. It wouldn’t have made any difference because Millie is under my skin. I didn’t want her worrying about us meeting. So now we’ve met, and I’m worrying about telling her that we’ve met.”
I chuckled. He was so damn serious that I ended up laughing my way downstairs. That soon stopped when my father met us there.
I’d listened to everything he’d said yesterday and I wanted to believe him. It was just difficult after how my life had turned out. All these years I’d thought that he didn’t care and hadn’t looked back, but that had been a lie. I didn’t want to like him or believe him. But that was hard to do when the truth was staring me in the face. Trust though. I wasn’t sure that would ever be there again.
“Son,” he whispered, reminding me that I was standing there staring at him. “Are you okay?”
Inhaling, I nodded. “I’ll be okay once I have Evie.”
“She’s a lovely girl who I know loves you. We’ll get there in time, and then you’ll both be together without having to look over your shoulder for Declan ever again.”
“Am I missing something?” I scowled, wondering what the hell he was talking about with Declan.
“Um, perhaps I’ve said too much.”
“Dad?” I reached out to grab his arm, but he’d disappeared, out of my reach.
I went to follow when a voice stopped me. “Leave him.”
I turned and faced Jordan Michaels. “Do you know what he’s talking about? About Declan?”
“The man who is in love with my daughter is with the FBI, yes?” He chuckled at my surprise. “He isn’t the only one who has connections. Carter is a good man and you know that you’re about to meet up with his men, right? Who did you think they were?”
The truth was that I hadn’t given it any thought. After he’d explained the situation on the plane to me, I’d kinda switched off and missed some of what he’d said.