RISE - Part Two (The RISE Series Book 2) (10 page)

"Tess? What's going on?"

I turn to the left to see Gabriel, holding a box in his arms. He entered the suite through the doors from his mother's room.

"It's about Landon's dad," I say breathlessly, pointing at the television. "He's been helping the police."

"Landon's dad is dead." He inches forward to look directly at the television. "He died years ago."

"No." I shake my head slightly. "I saw him weeks ago. He's alive. He's been alive all this time."

He doesn't respond. He stands next to me, his eyes trained on the screen just as mine are.

"I'll now state the names of the individuals we arrested. After that, I'll allow a few questions." The man behind the podium announces.

I don't move from where I'm sitting as each name is broadcast along with a picture of the individual handcuffed and being taken into custody.

"Why didn't Landon tell me Frederick is alive?" Gabriel rests the box on the sofa next to me. "How long has he known his father didn't drown?"

"Not long," I say absentmindedly as I dart my eyes up to where he's standing. "He saw his father on a flight. That flight that I was on with Gianna from Milan."

"Does my mother know about this?" He sweeps his hand in the air towards the television. "Does Anja know?"

"Anja knows." I don't offer anything about Gianna's knowledge because I'm not sure. Right now, staring at the television screen and listening to the man list the names of men who are accused of everything from embezzlement to fraud, I don't know what to think.

"Joe Richter of Pittsburgh." The man at the podium shuffles through more papers as an image of a gray haired man with his face out of views appears briefly on the television screen.

"The most notable of the arrests we made this morning was that of the individual we suspect oversaw the major operations of the organization. We have obtained evidence that implicates him in these crimes. He is also considered a suspect in an open missing person's case."

A man's picture appears on the screen. He's handcuffed. His face flushed and his eyes unfocused behind the rims of his glasses.

I don't need to hear his name. I don't want to and as the man conducting the news conference leaves through the papers in front of him, my smartphone rings. I turn towards it, my eyes scanning the details of the incoming call. It's Landon. He's one of the two men I thought I could trust with my life.

The other man's name falls from the lips of the man on the television. "Otis Marlow was taken into custody this morning at his home in Los Angeles, California."

Gabriel says something but I can't absorb any of it.

I can only stare at the television and at the photograph of my father being arrested.

T
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eborah Bladon has never read a romance hero she didn't like. Her love for romance novels began when she was old enough to board the bus, library card in hand to check out the newest Harlequin paperbacks. She's a Canadian by heart, and by passport, but you can often spot her in New York City sipping a latte and looking for inspiration for her next story. Manhattan is definitely her second home.

She cherishes her family and believes that each day is a gift for writing, for reading, and for loving.