Despair hit her hard. She was no closer to finding an answer to where her father could be hiding out or what the blueprint picture on the puzzle could mean.
Caden lowered his feet with a thud, and she jumped. “You okay?” she asked.
“Yeah. Got that footage from the airport from Daria.”
“I have an adapter. Can you plug it in to my television so we can watch it on a larger screen?”
“Sure.”
She got it for him and within seconds was watching the footage from the airport about eight months ago—two weeks after her father was reported missing and presumed dead.
“Daria managed to find the place where they got a good shot of Nicolai’s face for the software,” Caden said. “I told her we’d scan backward from there.”
“He used his real name and passport, didn’t he?”
“He did. Guess he didn’t think it mattered.” The video played and for the next hour, they watched the twenty-four-hour period prior to Nicolai’s arrival at JFK airport until Caden pressed pause. “There.”
“What? Where? Did I actually miss him?”
“It was a brief flash, but I think so.” He rewound and played it while Ava leaned forward as though that would help her see better.
But she finally caught a glimpse of the man he was talking about. “I don’t know, Caden. That’s awfully iffy. It’s mostly the back of his head.” But it could be. She desperately wanted it to be. “Can you keep going backward? See if we can get him coming off the jetway?”
Caden pressed the rewind button and the video jerked backward.
“How about that one?” he asked.
Ava stared, her jaw dropping. Her father’s face appeared on the screen. Larger than life and definitely alive.
“I knew it,” she whispered. “I knew it.” A sob slipped from her and she pressed her fingers to her lips. “I was too scared to believe it, but deep down, I knew.”
Caden swiped a thumb over her cheek before the tear had a chance to drip from her chin. “If your father has gone to these lengths to fake his death, then Nicolai must be after him.”
“But how did he survive? I saw the video. John showed it to me,” she said, her voice low. “And I bought it.”
“Not completely, you didn’t.” He paused. “You think he doctored it?”
“I don’t know what to think.” She picked up her phone and tapped her chin. “How do I approach this?” He raised a brow and she shrugged. “I could come right out and ask him, but he’d just deny it.”
“Ava, can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“Who do you trust?”
She blinked. Once, twice, then looked away. Then back. “You. I trust you.”
Her words slammed into him with the punch of a tsunami, scattering every sensible thought and emotion and leaving him reeling in the aftermath. “What about Sarah? Heather? Brooke?”
“Yes. Up to a point. But the problem is, I’ve never been able to fully trust them. I know they care about me. I know they love me. I know they trust me. The problem is, I’ve had to be so careful with what I said that I could never let myself be vulnerable with them.”
“Because of your father.”
She nodded.
He shook his head, unable to fathom not being able to trust those you loved. “And the main reason you never go on a second date?”
“No, it’s the main reason I’ve never gone on a third date. I’ve had the occasional second one.”
“Oh, right. You’re going to marry the guy who gets the third date.”
She narrowed her eyes, then huffed a short laugh. “Quit messing with me.”
He nudged her. “Come on, it’s making you feel better, isn’t it?”
“A bit.” Her smile faded. “But John’s going to give me some answers. Maybe by calling him this early, I’ll catch him off guard.” She tapped the number and waited. “Come on, come on.” Just when Caden figured she’d have to leave a voice mail, she said, “Hi, John, it’s me.” She put it on speaker and set the phone on the table.
“Ava.”
The man sounded aloof, chilly. Not like she’d just pulled him out of a deep slumber. She must have thought so, too, as she grimaced and shot him a glance. “I . . . want to ask you something.”
“All right.”
“When you came to my house and showed me the video of my dad falling off the ferry, I was . . . in shock.”
“I’m sure.” His voice warmed a few degrees. “Maybe I shouldn’t have shown you the footage, but I didn’t figure you’d believe it if you didn’t see it.”
“I know. You were right. I wouldn’t have. I know you want me to leave things alone. And maybe I should.” Caden could see where she was going and was impressed that she never actually lied. “But I think I need to see that video again. I think it will help me come to terms with . . . things. Can you send it to me?”
A long pause followed her words.
Then a heavy sigh. “Yeah. Sure. If you think that will help.”
“I really think it will.”
Another pause. “I can’t decide if you’re playing me or not.”
A short laugh escaped her. “Playing you? Because I want to see a video of my father falling to his death? Right. Thanks, John. Have a good rest of your day.” She hung up and Caden gaped.
“Okay,” he said, “I didn’t expect that. What now?”
“We wait for him to send the video.” Caden snapped his lips shut about the time her phone pinged. She waved it at him. “And there it is.”
“Once again, I’m not sure whether to be impressed by you or scared of you.”
She bit her lip and her eyes clouded. “And there you have it.”
“What?” He frowned.
“Why I don’t do relationships. I’m too much a product of my upbringing.”
Caden wanted to slap himself. “Ava, that’s not what I meant, by any stretch of the imagination. I think you’re absolutely amazing. I mean I thought you were incredible and wonderful before all of this. Now, I just admire you even more.”
She gave him a sad smile and reached out to cup his cheek. “You’re a good man, Caden. A wonderful man, really. Any girl would be blessed to call you hers.”
“But not you?”
Her eyes widened and she cleared her throat. “Of course I would be. But you don’t deserve to wonder if I’m playing you every time I ask you for something.”
Anger flashed. Mostly at Ava’s father for not shutting her down the minute he learned of her hacking and snooping. “Wow. You really think I would go there? Glad to know you think so much of me.”
He might as well have reached out and slapped her. The stricken look in her eyes said his barb had found its target.
He sighed. “Ava, I’m sorry, that’s—”
She looked away. “Let’s just watch the video, then you can go.”
His phone buzzed and he let out a harsh sigh, swiped the screen, and barked, “What?”
“Dad’s had a heart attack,” Sarah said. “He’s on his way to the hospital.”