Page 48 of Dangerous Protocol

“Why would you do that if you loved him?” she asked. “And why didn’t you tell him about me?”

As much as he wanted to jump in and defend her, he remained silent. This was Maya’s story to tell. He laid his hand on her shoulder.

“It’s more complicated than that. And once I explain why I did what I did, I hope you’ll try to understand.” She scooched closer to Isla and took hold of her hand.

“A long time ago, I had a very dangerous job going after some really not nice people.” She told her how she often went undercover, which involved keeping secrets sometimes. “I got very good at keeping secrets.”

“Ya think?” Isla exhibited her deft ability at sarcasm.

“I kept those secrets to save my life and the lives of innocents.” To give her a sense of the kind of danger involved, and without going into too much detail, she shared bits and pieces of stories about a couple of her missions.

It was critical to provide Isla with context for why Maya made the impactful choices she did at the time.

Their daughter’s eyes widened, and she was positively riveted by her mother’s retelling of her highly unconventional past. How her life had been threatened by some very bad people, which was why she had to leave Jeffrey in the middle of the night.

“So that’s why you’re always so worried and why we moved so many times?” Isla asked.

“Yes, that’s why,” Maya said. “The people after me would get too close, so we would have to relocate very quickly.”

“Butwhy couldn’t he … Jeffrey … my fath—” She puffed out a frustrated breath and looked at him. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to call you.”

“What would you like to call me?” He knew what he’d like to hear, but it was going to be up to her.

“Um, I guess … maybe I’ll call you Jeffrey?” She quickly added, “For now, anyway?”

“Whatever you want, honey.” This was very new to all of them, and it would take time to navigate their way through these revelations. But he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little disappointed.

“Honey,” Isla repeated. “You called me that before, and you were carrying me.” Her brows beetled, as if questioning her memory. “Or did I imagine that?”

“No, you didn’t imagine it.” Jeffrey circled around to the other side of the bed and sat opposite Maya with their daughter between them. “You were getting a little scared, and I wanted you to know you were safe.”

“You said, ‘I’ve got you, honey,’ then Iwasn’tso scared,” she said.

“I’m very glad to hear that. And I promise, I will do whatever it takes to make sure you’re never scared like that again.” He would keep that vow, even if it meant leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.

Maya loved watching the two of them together, figuring out how to communicate with each other. She hated to interrupt, but her daughter needed to hear everything.

“Isla, I didn’t tell Jeffrey I was pregnant because I was afraid it would put him in danger.”

A barely discernible growl of frustration rumbled up from the large man across from her.

“And, as you can tell by his grumbling, he did not agree with that decision.” If she had it to do over again, Maya wasn’t sure she wouldn’t do the same thing. She would never tellhimthat, though.

“The man that took me, is he the bad person that wants to kill you?” Isla’s anxiety manifested itself in the form of chewing her bottom lip.

“He is. And no, I am not going to tell you why he wants to hurt me.” Maya would not be responsible for staining her daughter’s soul by sharing the gory details of how a man tried to rape her and how she was forced to kill him to survive.

“How did you know to look for me in America?” Isla asked.

“I didn’t, actually. I had hit dead end after dead end, and after exhausting every possible resource available to me, I decided to seek out Jeffrey’s help.” Even knowing it meant exposing herself to danger and opening herself up to his feelings of betrayal and anger. “I knew with absolute certainty he would find you. Andhe did.”

“If I hadn’t been so stupid to run away, and if you hadn’t needed Jeffrey’s help, would you have ever told me the truth about who my father is?” Leave it to Isla to ask a tough question.

“First of all, you weren’t stupid, Isla. You were lonely and vulnerable, and that was my fault.” Maya sucked it up and gave her an honest answer to her question. “As far as telling you the truth about Jeffrey, honestly, I’m not sure. Perhaps if I was certain we were no longer in danger, but that hasn’t changed. I am still the target of a crazy person, and Jeffrey—and you—are still in danger.”

“Yes, but this time, no one is running away.” He reached over and covered Maya’s hand with his. “You are both staying here, and we are going to deal with this together. Agreed?” There was a commanding edge to his voice as he looked from Isla to her.

The man would not take no for an answer.