Chapter 28

twenty-eight

PAUL

It was funny how life worked out. As I listened to my brother tell me about our parents, I felt an instant connection with him, as if we'd known each other for years. While I was speaking to Alex, Liam packed up our picnic and brought everything inside. I followed him into the kitchen, needing his calming influence on my frazzled nerves. Even though the conversation with my brother was going well, I felt as though I was standing on the edge of a cliff, waiting for a gust of wind to tip me over the edge.

Liam placed a cup of coffee in front of me.

I smiled my thanks, then replied to Alex's question about Amy. "She turned six a couple of days ago. I haven't told her about the DNA test or about being adopted."

"Do you think she'll like having another uncle?" Alex asked.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. Knowing he wanted to welcome Amy into his life as part of his family brought tears to my eyes. "She'll love it. Since my parents and sister died, she's missed not having more family around her. "

I heard Alex sigh. "I'm sorry I dragged you into all of this."

"It isn't your fault. You didn't know the terrorists would want the program. Besides, if it wasn't for what's happened, we might never have met."

"That's true. I want to ask you where you're staying, but Dylan warned me that someone could be listening to my calls."

"Dylan?"

Alex didn't answer me straight away. "Sorry. I had to check that I could tell you who he is. Dylan was sent to help me with the program. He also has a black belt in karate and knows how to use a gun. He's not here at the moment, but he'll be glad we've spoken to each other."

"He sounds like a good type of person to have around."

"He is. Did Liam tell you I've met him?"

I shook my head. "No, but he did say you were shot. How are you?"

"I'm getting better. My arm will take a few months to repair itself, but I shouldn't have any permanent damage."

"That's great. Liam thinks the terrorists will leave everyone alone once you've finished your project. Maybe we could get together when this is over."

"I'd like that."

I heard another person's voice in the background.

"Someone's come into the room," Alex said quickly. "I won't be long."

There was silence on the other end of the phone as he spoke to whoever was there.

I tapped Liam on the shoulder. "Alex is talking to someone. I'll check on Amy."

"Okay. I'll be here when you get back."

I walked across the kitchen and peeked inside the living room. Amy was just waking up. I sat at the end of the sofa and rubbed her leg.

"Are you still there?" Alex asked.

"I'm here, but I need to go soon. Amy has just woken up."

"I need to go, too. Someone on my project team has a question I need to answer. I'll call you in the next couple of days to see how everything's going. If you want to talk to me before then, Liam has my cell phone number."

I looked down at Amy. "Thanks for telling me about my biological parents. It mustn't be easy to talk about what happened."

"It isn't, but it's important you know the truth. Take care. I'll call you soon."

After I said goodbye, I gave Amy a big hug. Alex's childhood was heartbreaking. Adding a baby into his family would have been like throwing kerosene onto a fire. What little comfort he'd found would have been destroyed by the stress on his mom and dad.

I would never know how or why my parents had adopted me. But maybe it didn't matter. I'd been happy. My family had loved me. And at the end of the day, my family had given me a lifetime's worth of happy memories. You couldn't ask for more than that.