Part 17 (1/2)

”They might.”

”You think they'll hurt me to find out more about this project?”

”They could.”

”G.o.d,” she said, glaring at him. ”I thought you were better than Mom.”

He let the words hang for a moment. He liked the idea that she had actually thought him better than the woman who had raised her. But he had to address this issue and do it quickly.

”I didn't mean to do this to you,” he said. ”I honestly thought it would never come to this-and it might not. We might be overreacting. That's what I have to find out.”

”How?” she asked.

”It'll take some research. But while I do it, I have to know you're safe.”

”So hire someone to guard me,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. ”Send to me to someone else. See if I care.”

He almost smiled. She was still young enough to lack sophistication, not realizing how revealing her words were.

”Ki Bowles had security guards,” he said. ”One of them died defending her.”

”Oh.” Talia's voice got small. She crossed her arms. ”So what're we going to do?”

He liked the ”we.” ”I'm going to keep you close until I find out what's going on.”

”And if it turns out that someone is after you?” she asked.

”And it's someone I can't easily deal with?” He shrugged. He didn't like the answer he was going to give her, but it was the only one he could come up with so far. ”We'll probably have to Disappear.”

”You're kidding, right?”

He shook his head.

”That's weird,” she said, ”and scary. When will we know?”

”Soon, I hope,” he said. ”So I'm going to need your help. You're going to have to stay at my side and be vigilant. If I tell you to sit still somewhere, you will. I'll never be more than a few meters from you. But I don't want you to know a lot about the project that Ki and Maxine and I worked on. It'll put you in too much danger. So if I tell you I can't explain any further, you're going to have to accept that. All right?”

She nodded. ”Do I get a weapon or something?” ”No,” he said. ”Then how do I defend myself?”

”With your emergency links and your proximity to me,” he said. ”This should only be for a day or so. We'll take it one moment at a time.”

She nodded again. Her next question surprised him.

”Can I help?”

He frowned at her. She had great computer skills. She could dig and find information.

”There might be some things for you to do,” he said. ”But mostly, I need you to stay close. Can you do that?”

”Yeah,” she said quietly. Then she turned toward him, that adult expression back. ”Dad?” ”Yes?”

”You never told me. What happens if you die?”

”You're taken care of,” he said.

”Meaning?”

”You get everything. My business, my home. My money. All of it.” But he hadn't appointed a formal guardian yet. Right now the will simply gave Celestine Gonzalez and the staff at Oberholtz, Martinez, and Mlsnavek the right to appoint someone. Someone he hadn't approved.

”I don't want all that stuff,” Talia said.

”I'm not planning on dying,” Flint said.

”But you just told me your life is in danger,” she said.

”My life has been in danger before, and I'm still sitting here.”

”This kind of danger?” she asked.

”Worse,” he said.

She frowned, clearly thinking about that. ”More than once?”

”More than once,” he said.

”And you survived.” She said that more to herself than to him.

”I'm tough that way,” he said.

She was silent for a long moment. He could see how hard she was thinking. It was as if her universe had s.h.i.+fted again.

He hated doing that to her. ”So,” she said, ”the only difference is me.” ”What do you mean?” he asked. ”I mean, you can take care of yourself. You're afraid for me.”

Sometimes he wished he could talk to Rhonda. Sometimes he wished he could ask her how she dealt with such a bright and intuitive child. Sometimes he wanted to ask how he was supposed to deal with her.

”Yeah,” he said. ”I'm afraid for you.”

”And you can't trust someone else to take care of me,” Talia said. ”Not just because of Ms. Bowles, but because of the people at that day care center, the ones who were supposed to take care of Emmeline, the ones who killed her.”

Out of the mouths of babes. At least he didn't wince at her cra.s.sness. ”That's right,” he said. She was quiet again. He could sense her trying to come up with a solution. ”You should give me a weapon,” she said. ”That just makes things more dangerous,” he said. ”I'd rather use your brain.” ”For what?” she asked. ”Most of my job is research,” he said. ”and this might require me to synthesize a lot of information.” ”I thought I couldn't know about the project,” Talia said.

”But you can help me find out about Ki Bowles's private life,” he said. ”Maybe an old boyfriend killed her.”

”We can only hope,” said his daughter, and the sincerity in her voice-and the fact that he agreed with her-made his heart break.

At her age, his daughter shouldn't be that cynical. And he was afraid it would only get worse.