Page 77 of Fallout

She replied that she would do anything to help. He responded with a thumbs-up, and she prayed for favor for him.Lord, we can’t lose Simon.Not just because he was an asset to the company with his wealth of skills but also because they all cared greatly about him.

It was past time to quit hiding in the bathroom. She trailed back down the hall and heard voices float toward her.

“She’s your choice?”

Destiny’s steps faltered.

Jasper said, “It’smychoice. That’s the point here.”

Richard sighed. “Why do you always have to be difficult?”

“Why should it be easy? Life is difficult.”

“And you’ll make it harder doing this.”

Jasper said, “It’s a whole lot better than being alone and leaving Destiny to do this alone.”

His words warmed her heart, but this whole situation was complicated. And she didn’t like that they weren’t aware she could hear them. It was a little too private of a topic for her to be eavesdropping. She coughed, gave it a second, and then emerged from the hall into the kitchen.

Jasper had a jar of mayonnaise in front of him, and he swiped a knife across a piece of bread. “Almost done, honey. You want cheese?”

It was on the tip of her tongue to make a joke, but she saw Richard’s face. Instead of belligerence or some other frustrated emotion, what she saw was sorrow.

Over a sandwich?

She asked, “Everything okay?” and glanced between them.

Richard came over, holding his hand out. He took hers and said, “Welcome to the family.”

“Oh, uh. Thank you.”

Jasper grinned. When his father turned, the expression disappeared. “Dad, you want a sandwich?”

“Just coffee, thanks.”

Jasper said, “It’s decaf.”

His father didn’t look too happy about that.

Destiny said, “I got a notification.” She told them about Peter being released and the contract killer identifying the kingpin. “The FBI are going to arrest him now, and hopefully, they will find Simon.”

Jasper squeezed her shoulder. “I hope so, too.”

“Who is it?” Richard had an odd look on his face. “Do you have that information?”

Jasper pushed a plated sandwich across the counter to her. “Dad, what do you know?” He faced his father.

Richard looked at her, then at his son. “I’ll tell you what I know.” He folded his arms, the coffee abandoned. “I went by that private medical facility to congratulate Gage. They have a sister center close by on the outskirts of Benson. It’s a residential facility where they provide around-the-clock treatment for patients. I’m going to discuss it with your mother’s doctor to see if that might be a good fit for her, long term.”

“That’s a good idea, Dad,” Jasper said. “Mom needs to be somewhere she feels safe and she can be cared for.”

“Things had been declining with the live-in nurse. So maybe this is for the best.”

Jasper said, “Now tell me about the kingpin.”

Richard turned to her. “You mentioned an FBI raid. Who are they after?”

Destiny swallowed the big bite of sandwich. “The contract killer identified him as Marcus Harper.”

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