An Unexpected Variable – Ryder
An Unexpected Variable
Ryder
A deline snores softly as I tuck her under a blanket.
To my surprise, she didn’t spend our dinner peppering me with different flavors of the “When are you sending me back to London?” question.
Instead, she filled me in on all her classmates’ lives and asked if they could join her in coming home next time.
She knows damn well that the answer is “no,” but I’ve always struggled to say that word to her. I always settle for a “We’ll see.”
As I turn off her lamp’s light, a soft knock sounds against her door.
Looking over my shoulder, I spot Chester, and he motions for me to meet him in the hallway.
“We’ll talk about London in the morning.” I kiss Adeline’s cheek and shut the door behind me.
“Good to see that she’s adjusting well to her life in London,” Chester says. “I won’t say ‘I told you so,’ when it comes to daughters needing their fathers.”
“If you need a friend to bother late at night, let me know and I’ll hire one for you.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” He follows me to the staircase. “You’ll need to hold off on the next job for another week or so.”
“Did someone make a mistake or a miscalculation?”
“Yes.” He stops walking. “It was you .”
I raise an eyebrow.
“Autumn Jane can’t go to Canada.”
“So, you’re on this again.” I hold back a sigh. “Is it because you don’t want her to?”
“I’ve never wanted her to be here in the first place.”
“It’s not your call to make. She’s going.”
“It’s not fucking possible.” He steps closer. “She. Can’t. Go.”
My chest tightens.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“With all due respect, whenever I give orders?—”
“The moment she flashes her passport at customs,” he says, interrupting me, “it’ll trigger an alert if we’re lucky, and someone nice will tell us that she needs to return home.
If we’re unlucky, which we will be, because we’re flying private, she’ll be arrested on the spot, charged with an international criminal offense, and then held in an immigration detention cell until she faces a court date.
Oh, and… we won’t be waiting for her to get out. That is my call to make.”
What the… I stare at him, stunned as all hell.
“The whole point of her employment is being undetectable, right?” He softens his tone. “So, that’s why she’ll have to go as ‘Sarah Stone,’ and we’ll need to wait and make sure our guys in customs can get her through, since we can’t risk using whoever is on shift this week.”
“And we’re what—three days from departure?”
“Exactly.” His voice tightens. “Which is why you need to listen to me on this.”
“How sure are you about all this?”
“Five thousand percent. I have someone working on her alternate passport as we speak.”
I blink.
From what I know about Canadian policy, there are levels to the type of bans they offer, depending on how egregious the offense is. They offer a paperwork route for temporary relief to anyone who needs to enter under certain circumstances, but I can never risk filing anything.
Even if it’s for someone I like…
“What exactly did she do to get banned?” I ask.
“I’ll let you know when I find out,” he says. “Our contacts are on it, though.”
“I can’t see her doing anything too reckless,” I say, assuming she got a slap on the wrist. “When does her five-year ban expire?”
“Five years?” He shakes his head. “She’s indefinitely inadmissible. Her ban is for life .”
I pull my phone from my pocket and send Autumn a text message.
Are you awake?
Just now getting into bed…
The ellipsis feels off. Like she’s stalling. Or covering something.
I don’t text back.
It’s pointless at this moment, and while she’s busy researching me, I need to figure out where the hell I went wrong in researching her .
Then again, one of my old confidantes was temporarily banned from Canada for stealing a pack of cigarettes from a tourist stand.
I can easily make it to her place before she falls asleep…
I check the time. Then check it again.
Screw it.
Scrolling through my contacts, I call one of the men who watches over Autumn’s temporary house for me.
“Yes, sir?” he answers on the first ring.
“How long have the lights been out at Miss Jane’s place?”
“Quite a while, sir,” he says. “A long time.”
“I need you to be more specific than that.” I pause. “Since she came home, when exactly did she turn off the lights?”
“She hasn’t come home yet, sir,” he says. “I’m still waiting for her to show.”
“You’re sure she’s not there right now?”
“I swear, sir.”
I end the call.
“If you’re worried about your slight miscalculation, don’t,” Chester says. “I’ll handle it.”
“No.” I head toward the garage. “ I will .”
End of Episode 5