Page 16 of Dangerous Mission

“I understand the background of TikTok and how to search it, but let me get with Akilah and see what she can tell me.” He grumbled for a second. “I wish she would stay off it also. The older I get, the more I worry about her. I miss the days when she would sit next to me for hours, playing with dolls. I’m not sure how I’ll handle her dating. Melody has said it’s bound to happen. I have a buddy in Texas. His little girl swore she’d found her husband when she was eight. Amy’s a great kid, but I don’t know how Fletch is able to handle her growing up.”

Axel ran his hand over his face. “Most parents will do everything in their power to make sure their kids don’t get hurt.”

“Even when we try, it doesn’t always work. President Fugate is trying to protect his daughter still, and she’s over thirty.”

He peered at the list of search results. The top one was a link to her TikTok account. His finger hovered over the mouse for a second before he pressed the button. Her latest video blasted across the screen.

Tex chuckled. “She’s in the same house as you. You don’t have to watch her videos.”

Axel’s face burned from getting caught. “I’m doing research.”

“Sure. I’m going to keep digging. I wouldn’t stay in the house much longer.”

“Thanks. Bye.”

The phone went dead. Axel stared at the screen. Her latest video had been taken on the patio. She was even prettier than when they were younger. His sisters had spent many hours getting plastic surgery, but he loved that she hadn’t had any. Her button nose was still a little bent from when he’d thrown a football and she missed catching it with her hands. He’d felt so bad when he broke her nose. Her makeup covered up the scar on her chin, which she’d gotten when they were racing down a large hill when they were ten. She hit a rock with her bike and flew off. But she didn’t let a few scrapes or blood dripping from her face stop her from riding home.

To the left was a link to a comment section, and she had close to ten thousand. He clicked on the link, and his blood boiled as he scrolled through the comments. One after another claimed she was fake. Someone said that her trying to stop trafficking was just to get follows. A few more mentioned her looks. In one, a man promised to make her pay. He clicked on the profile link, but it had no picture or info.

Axel and Terri needed to discuss her page. He walked through the house to the door. When he glanced down, he noticed the comments about making her pay had increased. Tons of people were mad at her. Another person had posted that they recognized the area and asked if she was vacationing near Clear Creek.

One video, and their location was blown.

Terri

Terri pacedthe small armory as Axel packed bags full of guns. He hadn’t said why he was so angry, just that she needed to come with him. When he’d stepped out onto the patio, she thought he would apologize for being an ass. Instead he told her to follow him to the office. Axel walked up to a bookcase, pulled back a green book, and had his eye scanned, then the wall clicked and opened. He grabbed her hand and tugged her down a long staircase. When they reached the bottom, another screen scanned his eye again before the next door opened.

They stepped into a dark room before Axel hit a light switch. The room was filled with every gun known to man. There was even a bazooka on the wall. Whoever that Xavier guy was, he had to be a little crazy.

“Are you going to keep acting mad and not tell me what happened? I have the right to know.”

He spun around and held up his phone. Her TikTok video played behind the comments. Like always, there were tons. Lately, she only scanned them to look for important information or to comment.

“Why are you looking at my TikTok?”

“People know where we are because of this.” He stepped closer. “Look here.”

She read the comment saying the area they were in. “You’re like the agents—always overreacting. We’re up in the middle of nowhere. I highly doubt anyone could ever find us. In two weeks, I have to head to California anyway, so they’ll find me.”

“California?”

“Yes. A charity I support is doing a fundraiser in a couple of weeks, and I need to be there for the opening. I know you haven’t followed me over the years, but I’m not all social media.”

“We’ll figure something out.” He threw a duffle bag strap over his arm and grabbed the other bag. “We’ll talk about it on the drive, but I’m not sure that’s going to work.”

She followed him up the stairs and out to the garage. He grabbed a set of keys from the key holder.

He opened the passenger-side door of the G wagon. The windows were tinted so dark that she couldn’t see inside. Axel threw the bags into the backseat before climbing in.

“I don’t think this is necessary.” She nodded to the bags of guns.

The growly man didn’t respond, only grunted.

It was still early, and Terri planned to wait a couple of hours before she called her mom to find out what she knew about her dad's plan. Her mother loved her father and would follow him to the ends of the earth, but she also stuck up for Terri and her siblings. Well, Terri had always thought she did. Now she wondered if her mom had known all along about the conversation Axel and her father had had.

Terri seemed to want to blame everyone else for things going wrong. Maybe it was time she stepped back from everything. Each day, a new story popped up in the tabloids about her. Some said she had an eating disorder; others made comments on her appearance. Her last assistant had tried scheduling her for plastic surgery, insisting she should get her nose fixed. Terri didn’t mind other people getting plastic surgery, but she didn’t want it for herself. Mostly it was because she was too scared to have someone put her to sleep, leaving her without control.

Her mind wandered to her college roommate, who had been taken. Terri was working with a team of scientists who were developing a tablet people could add to their drinks to add flavor but it would also change colors if someone dropped a drug into it. The team was close to making a breakthrough.

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