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Authors: Melissa Schroeder
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didn’t compute, when they did, she opened her mouth once, then closed it.
Dee laughed. “Yeah, everyone has that same reaction.”
Alicia sat down. “Your father tried to kill you?”
She nodded and rested her hand on her belly. “I overheard him having a man tortured, then killed. We didn’t know it, but Dad was Mafia.”
“You had no idea your father was in the Mob?”
“I take that back. We had an idea he was connected. I mean, a lot of our friends had fathers involved in some way.” She shrugged. “Devon was always gone to some nerd camp, and I had…well, we were teenagers. What were you doing at seventeen?”
“My father had me along with him on a job in…” She paused trying to remember where they had been. “Thailand. I liked Thailand.”
“Wait, your father took you on jobs when you were in high school?”
“Yes. After my mother was killed, he didn’t like leaving me with anyone. I went along.”
There was a look of horror on Dee’s face.
“What?” Alicia asked.
“I can’t imagine going on spy jobs at that age.”
She shrugged. “It was good training. I learned a lot.”
“You did this from the time you were twelve?”
“Part of the reason was safety. The other part was learning from my father. He knew they would pull him from the field very soon and I needed to learn from the best.”
Dee studied her for a moment, then shook her head. “Anyway, I was hiding in my dad’s office. I wasn’t hiding to begin with, but I wasn’t supposed to be there. Heard my dad, then hid in the closet.” Dee shuddered. “So, I went to the FBI. Dad ended up finding me though and I went on the run for years.”
Alicia worked through all the information. “That was when Devon was at the CIA camp.”
Dee snorted. “I guess we can call it that. So, tell me more about your father.”
Alicia sighed. “He was all I had in the world after my mum died.”
“You were close?”
She thought back to their time together, then further back, before her mother had been killed, before the paranoia had set in. She remembered the three of them, a unit. They had been careful and she was sure there were measures her parents took to ensure her safety. Still, it had been a normal childhood. There were vacations and fun times at holidays, then everything had been destroyed in a matter of seconds.
“We were. My mum was killed by a terrorist bomb. Not really directed at her. Just wrong place, wrong time. Dad never really got over it.”
Dee nodded.
“And then, I went into the business. I know that he watched out for me, but did not meddle. He believed that I should make it on my own.”
“And you did too.”
She nodded. “I was getting rather good…then it just sort of went to shit.”
“But you have Bridget.”
She thought about her daughter and smiled. “Yes. I have her.”
Dee opened her mouth, then hesitated.
“Go on.”
“I just want you to understand Devon. He was always kind of…I don’t know broken.”
“You’re twins. He was broken but you weren’t?”
“Things happen for a reason, right? Or that’s the way I always looked at it. But, for us, it was so damned horrible. I had to go on the run after someone from the FBI sold me out. I didn’t let anyone close for a really long time. It was too dangerous. Trusting someone could put their life in danger or mine. I just couldn’t take the chance.”
“And Devon? Didn’t you trust him?”
“I thought he was dead. There was an accident…thanks to my father. Devon survived, but he lost his girlfriend.”
That put a different light on his disappearance. Following the timeline in her head, it would have been around the time the CIA went into panic mode looking for him.
“We were so young at the time, but I know that he has always felt he was the reason she was killed. Dad thought he was in the car. So, Devon disappeared.”
“Oh.” Everything made a lot more sense now. When she had read his file and the case studies of
Dee laughed. “Yeah, everyone has that same reaction.”
Alicia sat down. “Your father tried to kill you?”
She nodded and rested her hand on her belly. “I overheard him having a man tortured, then killed. We didn’t know it, but Dad was Mafia.”
“You had no idea your father was in the Mob?”
“I take that back. We had an idea he was connected. I mean, a lot of our friends had fathers involved in some way.” She shrugged. “Devon was always gone to some nerd camp, and I had…well, we were teenagers. What were you doing at seventeen?”
“My father had me along with him on a job in…” She paused trying to remember where they had been. “Thailand. I liked Thailand.”
“Wait, your father took you on jobs when you were in high school?”
“Yes. After my mother was killed, he didn’t like leaving me with anyone. I went along.”
There was a look of horror on Dee’s face.
“What?” Alicia asked.
“I can’t imagine going on spy jobs at that age.”
She shrugged. “It was good training. I learned a lot.”
“You did this from the time you were twelve?”
“Part of the reason was safety. The other part was learning from my father. He knew they would pull him from the field very soon and I needed to learn from the best.”
Dee studied her for a moment, then shook her head. “Anyway, I was hiding in my dad’s office. I wasn’t hiding to begin with, but I wasn’t supposed to be there. Heard my dad, then hid in the closet.” Dee shuddered. “So, I went to the FBI. Dad ended up finding me though and I went on the run for years.”
Alicia worked through all the information. “That was when Devon was at the CIA camp.”
Dee snorted. “I guess we can call it that. So, tell me more about your father.”
Alicia sighed. “He was all I had in the world after my mum died.”
“You were close?”
She thought back to their time together, then further back, before her mother had been killed, before the paranoia had set in. She remembered the three of them, a unit. They had been careful and she was sure there were measures her parents took to ensure her safety. Still, it had been a normal childhood. There were vacations and fun times at holidays, then everything had been destroyed in a matter of seconds.
“We were. My mum was killed by a terrorist bomb. Not really directed at her. Just wrong place, wrong time. Dad never really got over it.”
Dee nodded.
“And then, I went into the business. I know that he watched out for me, but did not meddle. He believed that I should make it on my own.”
“And you did too.”
She nodded. “I was getting rather good…then it just sort of went to shit.”
“But you have Bridget.”
She thought about her daughter and smiled. “Yes. I have her.”
Dee opened her mouth, then hesitated.
“Go on.”
“I just want you to understand Devon. He was always kind of…I don’t know broken.”
“You’re twins. He was broken but you weren’t?”
“Things happen for a reason, right? Or that’s the way I always looked at it. But, for us, it was so damned horrible. I had to go on the run after someone from the FBI sold me out. I didn’t let anyone close for a really long time. It was too dangerous. Trusting someone could put their life in danger or mine. I just couldn’t take the chance.”
“And Devon? Didn’t you trust him?”
“I thought he was dead. There was an accident…thanks to my father. Devon survived, but he lost his girlfriend.”
That put a different light on his disappearance. Following the timeline in her head, it would have been around the time the CIA went into panic mode looking for him.
“We were so young at the time, but I know that he has always felt he was the reason she was killed. Dad thought he was in the car. So, Devon disappeared.”
“Oh.” Everything made a lot more sense now. When she had read his file and the case studies of
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