Page 113 of Critical Doubt

He looked at her, and for the first time she thought he actually saw her for who she was.

"You didn't hesitate," he said, pride in his eyes. "Not for a second."

"If I had, you might have been shot. But thanks for taking out the other guy."

"This is very odd, Savannah."

"It is. We're definitely never going to have a normal father and daughter relationship."

"Probably not." A long pause followed, and then he added, "But I wouldn't mind talking to you more often."

A wave of emotion ran through her at the words she'd wanted to hear for a very long time. "I wouldn't mind that, either."

"Okay then."

"Okay," she echoed. They still had a long way to go in their ability to communicate, but maybe this was a start.

The ambulance arrived moments later, followed by Parisa and two other FBI agents as well as the local police, who had been alerted to the shooting by 911 calls from the neighbors.

She made a short statement to the police, and then while her father was being interviewed, she told Parisa everything she had learned.

"This is a new twist," Parisa said, a gleam in her brown eyes. "We need to find Colonel Vance. We also need to see if we can get anything out of that guy." She tipped her head toward the man who had regained consciousness, only to find himself in handcuffs.

"I don't think these men know anything. They look like hired guns. They probably don't even know who hired them, but it had to be Vance. He must have realized my father had followed him to his meeting with Rajeesh Buthanu, and he decided to take him out."

"That's a good assumption. We can put your father into a safe house until this is over."

"I doubt he'll agree."

"You should try to convince him." Parisa gave her a thoughtful look. "I know I should tell you to come into the office and talk to Paxton, but between you and me, I think he'll bench you and bury you in paperwork, and you don't want that."

"I really don't."

"I'll tell him you're staying with your father, until we can get him to a safe place, that your dad is shaken by the events that occurred here—even though he's not."

"It takes a lot to rattle my father. I think staying away from the office is a good plan. I'd like to help you find Vance, but I can't be benched."

"Understood. Don't worry. We'll pull out all the stops to find him."

"Did Ryker come back to the office while I was gone?"

"No. You never heard from him?"

She looked back at her phone, realizing she had gotten a text. "Wait, I did." She read the text with a deepening frown and then repeated it aloud. "Need a little time, will get back to you. Don't worry." She looked at Parisa. "That's an awesome text. Men suck."

Parisa smiled in commiseration. "At least you know he's all right."

"And pushing me away. I've known all along it was coming. I just didn't think it would be so soon." She drew in a breath and pulled herself together. "Well, I can't worry about him now."

"No, you can't. I'm going back to the office. Talk to your dad. Let me know what he wants to do. In the meantime, we're going to track down Colonel Vance and, hopefully, those stolen weapons."

As Parisa left, she debated for a moment and then sent Ryker another text:New developments. Call me. It's important.

Then she put down her phone and joined her father. He'd finished making his statement, so they stepped onto the back patio while the investigators went through the crime scene.

"We'd like to put you in a safe house," she said.

"I can take care of myself. Didn't I just prove that?"

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