Chapter 28

Delilah paced the hall past Agent Trevors, who was sitting nearby looking at his phone. They hadn't heard anything yet, and it had been hours.

"Does that make the time go faster?" Trevors said, resting his phone on his lap.

"I don't know how you can just sit there."

"I've had a lot of practice."

"I shouldn't even be here."

"Why not? I thought you said you wanted to be."

"Yeah, but Samson doesn't want to see me. I betrayed him."

"Sit down."

"I can't."

"Delilah, come and sit down."

She finally did, but her knee bobbed.

He put a hand on it. "The reason I agreed to let you be here is because, if he makes it out of this, I think he will want to see you."

"He'll want to see his dad and his daughter." She pressed a hand to her mouth when the words brought tears. Samson wouldn't know she was alive until he saw her. If he saw her.

"Yeah, but you're the one who saved her."

"What if he doesn't make it?"

"Then we're in the same position we were at the beginning of the day."

Trevors' phone rang. "Hello, this is Trevors." He listened as someone spoke, and Delilah sat still for the first time, desperate to hear what other news was coming in.

"I see," Trevors said, then listened some more. "No, he's still in surgery.… Yeah, I'll call you as soon as I know anything. Thanks. Bye."

"So?"

"What?"

"What was that? What's happened?"

"Nothing. They rang to say there was no sign of other survivors."

"What about Demir? Have they found him?"

"No, and it could be a long time before they do. If he's in there, he could be anywhere."

Her leg started bobbing again, so she stood and paced until the doctor appeared at the end of the hall.

Trevors stood.

"Agent Trevors?" the doctor said when he got close.

"Yes."

"I'm Doctor Gill. I've already informed the family, but I was told to give you an update on Samson when he came out of surgery."

"Yes, thank you."

Delilah held her breath but stayed near the wall. She was unsteady on her feet, and if it was bad news, she didn't know how she would respond.

"He went into cardiac arrest on the table, but we were able to revive him. He's a lucky man. Besides the bullet wound, he had other internal bleeding, but the surgery was successful. He's not completely out of the woods yet, but we'll know more in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Assuming there's no infection or other complications, with physiotherapy, it's possible he will have an extensive if not a complete recovery."

"You sure?"

The doctor smiled. "Yes. At this point, things are looking positive."

"That sounds…impossible."

"He's doing much better than we expected."

"I take it his family's with him now?"

"Not yet, but they will be able to visit with him soon. I understand he's part of an ongoing federal investigation?"

"He is. But there's nothing urgent, unless—" He turned to Delilah. "I can get you in if you want."

"No. No, I couldn't. Thank you, Dr. Gill. That's wonderful news. I know his family will be relieved."

Gill nodded. "Agent Trevors, you can have me paged if you need anything further."

"Thank you. I will."

Trevors waited until the doctor turned before he looked at Delilah. "You sure you don't want to see him? I'm going to head in once he's able to have visitors. I want to congratulate him on not dying. Again."

"You go ahead. He gets to see his daughter, and that makes me so happy. The last thing I want to do is ruin it by turning up in his room."

"If you're sure."

"I am."

Samson blinked away the fuzziness in his vision. He knew he was in the hospital and somehow he was still alive, but when he thought he saw his daughter standing near the door, he became concerned. Either he was actually dead, or the drugs they'd given him were making him hallucinate.

Another figure appeared in his line of sight. It was his dad, wringing his jacket in his hands.

"Son. We thought we lost you."

He got his focus back on his dad, then looked at his daughter, who was still there.

"Riley?"

She smiled and walked slowly closer. "Hi…Dad."

His face bunched as tears stung his eyes. "You're alive?"

She nodded as tears ran down her face. "Yeah."

"I heard the gun."

"Did you? I can't remember. It was all a blur."

He reached his hand toward her, and she walked closer, taking it. "I'm so—" His emotion made it impossible to talk.

"Everything's going to be okay. The doctor said you're doing great."

He closed his eyes, remembering the moment he'd thought he'd lost her. "He said he was going to kill you. Then I heard the gun."

"He tried. But Delilah saved me."

"Delilah?" He whispered her name.

"I think that was when the gun went off. She jumped for it and saved me. She got me out of there. We thought you were dead too. That man said they'd killed you."

"Demir."

"Yeah."

He nodded and looked at the foot of the bed, where another figure had appeared. "Catherine."

"It's good to see you, Samson," she said.

"I'm so sorry for everything."

She shook her head. "You saved Riley."

"Delilah did."

"But you exchanged your life for hers. I thought we'd lost her for good."

"I'd do anything for her."

"We won't stay long," Arthur said. "You need to rest, but they expect a full recovery."

"Full?" Samson said. "I can't believe that."

"That or close to it. It'll be a hard road, but that's what the doctor said."

"I guess God's not done with me yet. I thought he was."

"He saved you for a reason."

"I know. I understand that now. More than you know."

Arthur nodded solemnly. "He took you to a dark place to show you that."

"I gave Him no other choice."

"Well. That's over now, and it's good to have you back. If you want, we can take turns staying with you."

"I'm sure I'll be fine, but would it be okay if I had a word with Riley before you all go?"

"Of course," Catherine said, patting Riley on the shoulder. "As long as it's okay with her."

Riley nodded, and Catherine followed Arthur out of the room.

She sat in the nearby chair, chewing on her lip.

"We don't know each other, and I'm sorry for that. That's my fault."

"It's okay. Grandma explained."

"I was trying to protect you."

"I know."

He opened his mouth to continue but wasn't sure how to ask for what he wanted from the girl he'd abandoned a decade ago.

"I've made a lot of bad calls in my life, and after your mom died, that only got worse. I didn't want you to know the man I'd become. You wouldn't have liked me very much—or at least that's what I told myself. I thought I was protecting you, but in the end, you still weren't safe."

"It all turned out okay."

"Did it?"

"Well, you're in a hospital bed, but besides that, everything is okay."

"I guess what I want to ask is if there's any way you can forgive me."

"Grandma wasn't exactly nice in describing your absence as I grew up. But she was angry, and I could see that. She wasn't trying to turn me against you. She just didn't know how to handle her grief, and I get it. I had my own stuff to deal with, but as far as forgiving you, I don't think there's anything that needs forgiving."

"How are you only fifteen years old?"

She laughed. "It is a bit weird being here right now because you are kind of a stranger."

"If it's okay with you, I don't want to be anymore."

"It's more than okay."

"I was hoping you'd say that. I know I'm late to being a dad, but if you'll give me a chance, I'd like to take it."

"I'd like that too."

"But only at your pace. If I'm getting too smothering or something, say so. I don't know how to do this father thing."

"I don't think any dad does."

There was a knock at the door, and Trevors stuck his head inside. "Sorry, am I interrupting?"

"Trevors, come in. Aren't you a sight for sore eyes? I'd like you to meet someone very important to me."

"We've met," Trevors said. "It's good to see you again, Riley."

"You too. I'll let you guys talk. But I'll be right outside."

Samson watched her walk all the way out.

"Pretty girl," Trevors said.

"She's amazing. I hate that I've missed so many years. I remember holding her as a baby, and I thought my heart would break. Then, after the accident that killed her mom, it did."

"You have a second chance. Not many get that."

"No, and I don't know how I've gotten it."

"Don't ask questions, just accept it. I won't keep you long, but I had to see you with my own eyes."

"Even I'm finding it hard to believe. Were there any other survivors?"

"No. None that they've found yet. There have been a few bodies, but there's no sign of Demir's yet."

"He's dead."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah. It's a long story, but I had an encounter with him before I blew up the building."

" You blew it up?"

"Yeah. Like I said, long story."

"I'm surprised he kept you alive."

"He had work for me to do, building bombs for him."

"Ah, I see. You took advantage of the situation."

"I did. But I didn't see Marc."

"He's in police custody. He'll be going to prison for a long time."

"Good." He pressed his lips together and looked at the door. "You're on your own?"

"I am now."

"Now?"

"Is there someone in particular you're looking for?"

Samson sighed back into his pillow. "Is it true that Delilah saved my daughter?"

"Yeah. She disarmed Demir, threatened him with his own gun, and pulled Riley to safety. She was also instrumental in getting Marc. She risked her life for that too."

"You sound like you're trying to convince me of something."

"I know what she did, telling Marc about Riley, but I hope you don't hold that against her. She wouldn't have said anything if she had any other choice."

"Did she ask you to come tell me that?"

"No. She thinks you don't want to have anything to do with her. She stayed long enough to make sure you were okay, then she left."

"I shouldn't have gotten mixed up with her in the first place. I let myself become vulnerable, and that's on me."

"You haven't learned anything, have you? Even after all of this, you're still as thick-headed as ever."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Why didn't you get to know your daughter all these years?"

"Because I was protecting her."

"Maybe partly. But I think you were protecting yourself more. In all the years I've known you, you've never once let anyone in."

"It's dangerous."

"Yeah, there are risks, and there are consequences, but there are risks and consequences when you cut yourself off from everyone around you too."

"When did you become the wise monk?"

"I'm just saying, sometimes the pain is worth it for what you get."

"You ever consider moonlighting as a psychologist?"

"Don't need to when I have plenty of material in my day job. Look, I'm not telling you to get back together with her. But do me a favor and don't write her off."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Right, well, now that I know you'll live, I should probably get back to work. I have some reports to write, and you have some healing to do."

"Thank you, Nathan. For everything."

"Any time."