Return of the Prodigal Son by Langan Ruth

Author:Langan, Ruth [Langan, Ruth]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2013-06-11T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

It was barely dawn, but Donovan had been up for hours feeling tense and edgy. He’d been reading through the Adam Brady file before going to bed. Something he’d read had begun playing through his mind while he slept. It was a pattern in his life since early childhood. At rest, his mind took over and worked through whatever knotty problems he had to deal with, until all the tangles were gradually unraveled. Now he found himself wide-awake and sifting through the report again.

He flipped through another page, then stopped and reread the paragraph a second time. His eyes narrowed in thought. It wasn’t much. But it was a question that needed answering. He tapped a pencil against the desktop. This wasn’t something he could accomplish by going through channels.

He booted up his computer and sent an e-mail to an old friend who still had access to government files. There was no way of knowing when, or even if he would get a reply.

Rubbing a hand over the stubble on his chin he headed toward the bathroom to shave and shower. Half an hour later, while he sipped fresh coffee, he checked his e-mails and found an answer.

His fingers flew over the keys as he responded. After several more e-mail exchanges, he shut down his computer. As he reached for the keys to his car he was shaking his head in amazement. It would seem his fellow patriots, who had once called themselves The Lost, were still connected. If only by the slimmest of threads.

“Mom.” Cory slammed into the house and held out a wrinkled piece of paper. “Donovan isn’t home. This was taped to his door.”

Andi read the handwritten note:

“Gone to D.C. Don’t know when I’ll be back.”

Cory was reading over her shoulder, though he already knew what it said. He looked crestfallen. “Why didn’t he tell us?”

“Maybe something came up unexpectedly.” She managed a smile, even though she was as distressed as her son. “After all, he doesn’t owe us an explanation every time he makes a move.”

“I know. But he didn’t say a word about this last night.”

She was thinking the same thing. Aloud she merely said, “I’ve been meaning to scrub the barbecue. I think this would be a good day to tackle it. Want to help?”

He shrugged. She could see that his heart wasn’t in it. Neither was hers. But she’d always found solace in work. Maybe it would help Cory to stay busy.

“Come on,” she coaxed. “Afterward, I’ll cook burgers.”

“Okay. I guess.” Cory glanced at the note again, then walked away.

Suddenly all the joy had gone out of his day.

As Donovan turned off the highway and drove through the little town of Prattsville, he touched a hand to the dark growth that shadowed his lower face.

He hadn’t expected to be gone for three days. But once he got to D.C. he knew he wasn’t going to leave until he had all the information he wanted. It had been far from easy. If not

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