Songs for Perri Read Online Free

any way Perri could help her. But she was going to help Owen. Crystal would have wanted her to.
    Turning right, she kept a lookout for the police as she zinged along, but noticed only a white sedan in front of her, also going to the airport.
    The man smiled as he put away his cellphone. The trap was baited. Now there was nothing to do except wait.
    CHAPTER TWO
    Walt lay on the bed, his crippled leg propped up on one of the hotel's large pillows, watching the expressions change on Hugo's face as he talked on the phone. The receiver covered the younger man's mouth enough that Walt couldn't see what he was saying, but his expressions made Walt extremely curious. He'd know soon enough.
    He was glad Hugo was with him. His best friend—outside his own family—Hugo had dropped everything to come to Mexico. It had taken two days to make the necessary arrangements so they could work undercover together, but Walt didn't want anyone else. He had trained Hugo personally. He knew his abilities...and his loyalty.
    Walt shifted his weight, trying to ease the cramps. Until they returned to the hotel room, he hadn't realized how much he'd pushed himself yesterday, walking up and down the hot Mexican sidewalks. Today he'd have to sit on a bench and watch the people go by. It was necessary for him to stay visible, since Owen didn't know Hugo. The two had worked out of different offices, different areas. Of his family, only Crystal had known Hugo.
    Dearest Crystal. Her memory cut him sharply.
    He grimaced from the pain, both physical and mental. He hadn't told Hugo about her death; it had no bearing on Owen's troubles. He didn't want it clouding his friend's mind while they were searching for his missing son. Time enough to tell him when they succeeded.
    The younger man hung up and turned to him, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard. He was Owen's age—thirty two—with the strength and energy of a dynamo.
    "Who was that?" Walt asked, unable to wait any longer.
    "Luke."
    "And?"
    "You won't like this. Your step-daughter's on her way here."
    "What?" Walt jerked upright, then wished he hadn't and lowered himself slowly back against the pain. He felt his heartbeats accelerate with the added strain of the new information. “Perri...coming here? How? Why? Who?”
    "She got a message, somehow. Found out that Owen was in trouble and took the first plane down. Be here in less than two hours."
    Walt rubbed his hands, hard, up and down upon his face, his thoughts racing randomly, searching for answers. Who could have contacted Perri? Only a few in the company knew of Owen's mission; fewer knew him as Walt's son. Or had Hugo and he taken too long to prepare things before coming down, so that Owen himself had called? Owen wouldn't be that thoughtless, would he? He should have known the postcard was enough. "What a mess."
    Hugo shrugged. "Just send her back. She should have known better than to come down here. Tomorrow morning if there are no more flights out tonight."
    "Does Luke know where she's staying?
    "The San Juan."
    "Get a room there for yourself."
    "And you?"
    "I don't want her to see me. She thinks I'm doing an accounting job."
    Hugo plopped himself into an overstuffed armchair by the bed. "You mean, you still haven't told her? Crystal said you were going to."
    "No. At first she was too young. The less she knew, the safer we all were."
    "I understand that, but why not later?"
    That was a question Walt had wrestled with often. "You know me...I've always operated on a strict "need to know" basis. Besides, how do you tell a person you are not who they think you are?"
    "You told Owen."
    "Owen was different. He thought being a secret agent would be neat...they were the only jobs worth having; while Perri thought they were terrible jobs, filled with dishonesty. You know about Crystal's first husband, don't you?"
    "Yes. A no-good bum."
    "He had visitation rights, so Perri saw him often enough to get a good dose of his true