19
Halo
While I didn’t get a good look into the casina, I saw enough to know that someone had been in there. My guess was, they were looking more for Richard Emsworth than for his daughter, but I couldn’t be certain of that.
If I found out that Lucia or anyone else from AISE had been in there, I’d have her removed not just from Valentini but from her job.
Later, once I was sure there was adequate detail for Tara, I’d call a meeting and conference in Striker. If necessary, I’d bring Doc in too.
I turned toward Tara. “My name is Benjamin Knox Clarkson. My friends and the people I work with call me Halo.”
“Who do you work for?”
“K19 Security Solutions.”
She nodded in understanding.
“You should be aware that I am in Italy on behalf of the CIA.”
“Because of my father?”
I nodded. “Initially, my only concern was finding you. Once we discovered your father had disappeared too, we specifically asked for the assignment.”
“Who did?”
“Quinn’s father, Doc.”
Tara put her head in her hands. When I saw her shoulders heave, I longed to reach over and comfort her, but there was more we needed to talk about before I could allow myself to do that.
“Catarina,” I murmured, putting my hand on her arm.
She turned to me. “You don’t have to call me that. You know my name.”
“I like it.”
She covered her tear-stained face with her hands a second time.
“What’s making you cry?”
When Tara shook her head, I moved her hand from her face, put her arm around my waist, and pulled her into my arms. Seeing her like this, I couldn’t remember what I thought we needed to talk about first.
My phone vibrated with a text message, but I ignored it. “Can you tell me why you’re crying?”
“Why did they want to find me?”
“I don’t understand the question.”
“Why did Doc want to find me?”
“Because he cares about you. Everyone does.”
I could feel her head shake against my shoulder and pulled back enough that I could look into her eyes. “Tara, everyone cares about you.”
“They think I stole from them,” she whispered.
“Who does?”
“Pen, Aine, Ava. Maybe even Quinn.”