Defending Morgan (Mountain Mercenaries #3)(34)

“Shhh,” Arrow soothed. “Don’t think about it right now. Relax and enjoy being home. Me and my team will have your back. Nothing’s going to happen to you. Okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed.

“One more thing,” Black said, and the look on his face made Arrow brace. “The press is here. I guess your father called them after he heard that you were found and on your way home.”

One of Morgan’s hands went to her hair. “Oh shit.”

“You look fine,” Arrow told her. “Relax.”

“I don’t . . . I can’t—”

“You can,” Arrow said. “You can do any-fucking-thing. Just ignore them. Rex is probably putting together a press conference right now where all their questions will be answered. All you have to do is be yourself.”

“What if I don’t know who I am anymore?” Morgan asked.

“One minute at a time, beautiful,” Arrow said. “One minute at a time.”

She nodded, and he watched her take a deep breath.

“Can we go now? I want to see Mommy,” Nina said, squeezing around Arrow and latching on to Morgan’s hand.

“Almost,” Ball said. “Your mom is inside, and she can’t wait to see you.”

The smile that crossed the little girl’s face was a thing of beauty. This was why Arrow and the others did what they did. The reunions allowed them to get through the low and dark points in their missions. Seeing the joy and relief on loved ones’ faces was more precious than he could explain.

After another minute or two, they were stepping off the plane onto the tarmac. They got on a small shuttle bus, and then they were inside the terminal. The second the door opened, a female voice shrieked, and Nina tore her hand from Morgan’s and ran toward the woman.

Arrow watched with a smile as Nina was scooped up and almost smothered in the bosom of a large woman who was sobbing uncontrollably.

Then they heard a man say, “Morgan?”

She froze in place, and Arrow wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and protect her from the emotional angst she was so obviously feeling right now.

But like the strong woman he’d gotten to know, she straightened her spine and walked toward the man who’d said her name.

He was a little shorter than average for a guy, and even though Arrow knew he was only fifty-one, he looked much older. His face was creased with worry lines, and his hair was almost completely white. He’d seen pictures of the man from years earlier, when he had mahogany-brown hair. The stress of his daughter being missing hadn’t done his looks any good.

But it was the relief and love in his eyes that made Arrow relax a bit.

He’d looked into the eyes of many a killer, and he’d bet almost anything that Morgan’s dad was innocent. Of course, he’d also had a long time to adjust to the role of grieving parent, and he could be an excellent actor. It was for those reasons Arrow would keep his eye on the man.

“Dad,” Morgan said as she approached him.

They embraced, and Arrow saw a tear fall down Mr. Byrd’s face as he held his daughter.

“I never gave up,” he said softly. “I prayed every night that you were out there somewhere and you’d be found.”

“Thank you,” Morgan told him.

“You don’t have to thank me,” he gently chided. “I’m your father. I’d move heaven and earth for you.”

“I hear you pretty much did just that,” Morgan joked as she pulled back.

Mr. Byrd ran a hand over her hair and kept his eyes locked onto her face. “Are you okay? I haven’t heard all the details about what happened to you. All I know is that you were found down in Santo Domingo. How’d you get there? Did they hurt you?”

When Morgan cringed, Arrow stepped in. He returned his hand to the small of her back and caressed her briefly with his thumb. “There will be time for questions later,” he told Carl Byrd. “How about we get out of here? The reporters are waiting outside the door, and the last thing Morgan needs is to have to deal with them right now.”

“Of course,” Morgan’s dad said. “I’m so happy to see you,” he told his daughter. “Leave the press to me. I’ve gotten pretty good at dealing with them over the last year. We’re meeting back up at the Broadmoor, right? I’ve reserved a suite, so there’s plenty of room for us to have our talk, and you’ll have a room to yourself.”

Arrow watched Morgan swallow hard, then turn pleading eyes up to him. It was crazy how easily he could read her after such a short period of time, but he knew without her saying a word that the last thing she wanted was to spend the night in a hotel room with her father—let alone talk about her ordeal with him.

“Actually, Mr. Byrd, for the time being, she needs to stay with me. There are some details about her rescue that need to be discussed further.”

“Surely that can happen tomorrow? She’s been through a lot, and she needs her family right now,” Carl stated somewhat angrily.

“She’s standing right here and can make decisions for herself,” Morgan said firmly. “Dad, I love you, and I’m more grateful than you know that you didn’t give up on me. But things have happened extremely quickly, and there are details that I need to discuss with Arrow and his team tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow, and we’ll figure out what to tell the press, okay?”