Rodrick Derby sat in the lobby of New Edges next to his son, Ric. The fact that he was on enemy territory didn’t escape his attention. But he’d do anything for his kids. And no matter what Kathleen had said or done, nobody and nothing could take Katie away from him.
She was his daughter. After all, he’d been the one who had picked her up after a spill on her bike, he’d been the one who’d been there for her her whole life, whether she’d been ill, sad, or happy.
It had cut him deep, at first, when Katie hadn’t called him this last year. But he knew his daughter, knew that she needed time to heal. He couldn’t blame her for taking off. After all, it’s what she’d been taught to do. Every time he and Kathleen had problems in the past, they would retreat to different corners of the globe. He to Alaska on his extended fishing trips and her to Italy. Now he knew now why she had always frequented here. The two main reasons were walking towards him now.
Seeing Damiano and Dante Cardone walk out of the glass elevators did little to calm his nerves as he waited for his daughter. The lobby of the building was fairly packed, since there were small shops on the first two floors.
They stood and Ric shook both men’s hands, though Rodrick did not. Ric had been the first to figure out his connection with Dante. They’d worked together in Portland and he had noticed the resemblance. The connection hadn’t come to light until Ric had confronted his mother and forced Kathleen’s hand. Then she had called him to confess when he was on vacation in Alaska. It had been a call that he had thought had ruined his life.
But being afraid for Katie now had made Rodrick realize he didn’t care if she wasn’t his biological child, she was his in many more ways. He’d never been more afraid than when he’d received the ransom call at his new apartment in Portland. He’d moved there to be closer to his son. After all, he’d kind of been leaning on Ric for moral support in the last year. It had been a hard blow for them both to get over. Now Rodrick didn’t give a damn about what Kathleen had done.
Looking across the room, he noticed how Katie resembled both men and his heart sank a little. It was true. Looking at them, he could tell that his daughter was a perfect match to their gene pool. She had her father’s eyes, nose, hair, and coloring. Rodrick no longer cared about what his ex-wife had done to him, but he wanted to get his hands on her for all the years she had lied to his daughter.
He thought of Katie, how she’d always been a daddy’s girl. Looking over at Damiano, he wondered what her life would have been like with him. Would she have been a daddy’s girl with him, too?
“I understand that under the circumstances this is a very unusual meeting,” Damiano said in a very thick accent. “Our only concern is for the girl’s safety. Kathleen has decided to stay at home for this meeting. I’m sure Katie would like to meet her in a more private setting.”
Rodrick almost laughed. If he knew his little girl, Katie would see her mother again when hell froze over. Then he realized, she truly was his girl; her feelings and attitude matched his so closely. She may not be his biologically, but she was his in every other way. He smiled to himself, knowing that he had made the best part of his daughter. He had actually been surprised that she had agreed to meet the Cardones at all. But he supposed she couldn’t hold her mother’s past transgressions against someone she didn’t know, much to his own thinking.
“I trust your trip was pleasant.” Dante motioned for them to all sit again.
Just then there was a commotion and they watched in horror as a small truck crashed through the front doors, shattering glass, and sending people scattering in all directions.
Rodrick looked at the man driving the truck and recognized with horror that it was Jason slumped behind the wheel. Glass shards were everywhere around him and he was bleeding from the cuts to his face and hands, as the horn blasted continually. He looked around for his daughter as he rushed to Jason’s side.
“Jason!” He shook the boy until he saw with relief that his eyes opened.
“They grabbed her, in the white van.” Jason said.
Ric and Dante both looked up as a white van turned the corner at a very high speed. Then they looked at each other and took off running in the same direction.