Page 67 of Out of Sight

“And I love you, too.” I kissed him lightly on the lips. “Now let’s call Kaylie and see what she thinks of all this.”

“We’ll definitely do that. But first I think you have someone else who’d like to speak with you.”

I shifted around, turning as best I could to see my dad standing in the doorway. Even with his only child in the hospital he was still in a fresh uniform, not a wrinkle in sight. I kept a tight hold on Will’s hand when he made to stand up.

“Hello Colonel,” I greeted him solemnly. He was really here. It had been several years since I’d last seen him in person. My college graduation, maybe?

“Hello Claire. Still getting yourself into trouble, I see.”

I frowned. I thought that I was doing pretty okay in life; you know, except for the whole working for the mafia and almost dying a bunch of times type of things. Oh, and making plans to move in with a convicted felon. I was sure he’d be really proud of that.

“I didn’t mean that,” he said, surprising me. “It’s good to see that you’re safe and going to be alright.”

It wasn’t apology, but that was the closest he’d ever come to admitting fault—or that I mattered to him at all. I listened attentively.

“Jim Marshall served under me a couple decades back, did he tell you?”

I exchanged a look with Will; he clearly had no idea either. I shook my head.

“He called me two morning ago. He says—said—you’re a good kid, that the little felon who’s courting you is good people, too.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Will interjected. I rolled my eyes, just imagining which part of that sentence he had a problem withenough to interrupt. “But I’m 6'7″. There’s nothing little about me at all.”

Good God.At least he didn’t start getting into it about Big Ol’ Magnum William while we were on the topic.

The colonel cleared his throat again, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. “But Jim was under the impression I was never there for you growing up.”

Now if he was going to gaslight me into believing anything different…

“I won’t argue that. I wasn’t around. It was too hard to look at you after your mother passed, and I was too selfish to try. But I’ve been keeping up with you, Claire. I’ve always cared and tried to stay apprised of your comings and goings.”

“A lot of good that did me. I was working for the mafia!”

“Well, you never told me where your new job was, just that you had one. I didn’t know anything more until I got your voicemail after you’d already done something dangerous.”

I huffed. I was perfectly aware how stupid it was of me to go back into the office and waste all that time getting evidence. My life wouldn’t have been in jeopardy if I’d just quit and gone to the police.

“Thankfully I was able to call Jim and he got assigned to your case right away. I knew he’d do everything he could to take care of you. He was good at his job.”

“Damn good,” Will and I said together, exchanging a smile.

“Right. Damn good at his job. He never would have betrayed your location, but he did tell me when you were diverted up north to Oregon, and I got temporarily reassigned here so I could be close by if you needed me.”

Ihated that I did need him. I remembered seeing him and his damn chopper before I lost consciousness at the side of the road.

“And if you’re okay with it, I’d like you two to stay on base once you’re discharged from the hospital. I want to start making up for missing so much of your life by being the one to help keep you safe this time around.”

I looked to Will. He shrugged. He wasn’t the least bit scared of my gun-holding, straight-backed father, even if he was the one banging the Colonel's daughter. I’d wager that Will would enjoy messing with Colonel Reynolds as much as possible, actually, since he knew the Colonel wouldn’t actually be allowed to hurt him.

Oh my god, that would be hilarious.

“Is there room in the hospital wing on base?”

“Oh? Do you want to leave soon? I’m sure we could arrange another medevac for you.”

“No, not for me. Will’s sister needs somewhere to stay. She needs round the clock care, and we’re not going anywhere that Kaylie isn’t,” I said, gripping Will’s hand tightly. I felt his fingers squeeze mine. We were in this together, and Will needed to know that I was here for Kaylie, too. If he cared about her, so did I.

The Colonel raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure I could flub the paperwork enough to allow resources for that. You two are principal witnesses to a crime and require government funding to keep you safe. Adding someone else would complicate things.”

---