by Liliana Hart
“So seriously,” Miller said, excitement lighting up her eyes. “She’s like M is to James Bond.”
“More like what the senator was to the Jedi,” he answered. “She just hasn’t destroyed us all yet.”
“Nice one,” she said, nodding in approval. “I didn’t think you watched movies.”
He pointed to the image of the white yacht docked on the island of Santa Cruz. “This is ours for the next two weeks. Trident owns it, along with the aircraft we’ll soon board, but it’s all sheltered through a dummy corporation that has known ties to the cartels. It’s the easiest way for us to gain access.”
“And Trident is …” she prompted.
“Trident is the classified, experimental program created by the Directors. The Gravediggers and The Shadow all work for Trident, under the eye of The Directors, and under the direct orders of Eve Winter. Trident is a domestic organization with international agents, and there’s nothing else like it.”
“Why would they do that?” she asked. “Why would the agents agree to that? To work for another country?”
“Because it’s bigger than any jurisdiction or authority. Domestic terrorism isn’t limited to American terrorists. It’s international. Who better to teach us how to fight Hamas than the Mossad? Who better to teach us how to take down IRA terrorists on our soil than MI6, and fight against ISIS than ASIS, who’ve been fighting them on a global scale?”
Miller’s brows rose in surprise and she said, “Wow, I never thought of it like that. You’d think if they could come up with something that brilliant, they could figure out a way for us to avoid boats.”
He barked out a laugh and shook his head. “This fixation on boats is unhealthy.”
“Funny,” she said, “being on a boat feels unhealthy to me.”
“Having the boat will give us the freedom to move from island to island without too many questions being asked. We can expect to be inspected. They know who owns the boat, but they’ll want to see with their own eyes who is staying there and if we pose a threat. Emilio Cordova has a lot of power and influence, and once they figure out you slipped out of their grasp in Last Stop, they’ll know you’re somewhere on the islands.
“But they’ll be looking for Miller Darling, and they won’t expect you to have the resources you do now. It should buy us some time. Maybe enough time to get in and out without them knowing.”
“You really think that?” she asked.
“No, but I can hope,” he said. “I just want you to be prepared for what this could mean for you. If we don’t shut Cordova down or give him what he wants, you’ll be marked for the cartel. Whether you want to admit it or not, your brother has put you in danger. You’re looking at a life lived in hiding at worst, or under constant surveillance at best.”
He could tell by the look on her face that she hadn’t thought of it.
“You’ve got to prepare to have your life invaded. They’ll be tracking your credit cards and passport. They’ll know everything about you by the time they’re finished. They’ll know your strengths and your weaknesses. The people who matter most in your life. And they’ll know everything about your parents and your brother, even things that you don’t know that they can use against you.”
“I hope they don’t die of boredom,” she said, trying to make light of it. But he could see the fear in her eyes—the understanding that everything she’d known had changed. “I can’t imagine it would be very interesting for them to discover that I sit around in yoga pants and work an average of seventeen hours a day. Or that I’m a member of one of those wine-of-the-month clubs. Or that I don’t have animals because I’m terrified I’ll be lost in a book and forget to feed them. That’s kind of how I feel about kids too.”
His lips twitched, but she’d given a pretty accurate portrayal of her life. The Gravediggers had already done a full background on her when they’d discovered her friendship with Tess and how much time she’d be spending at the funeral home. He’d spent hours poring over her file. She was an enigma, a woman who enjoyed the solitude of her work. She’d invested her money wisely, paid for her house, which was constantly needing repairs of some kind, and she drove a modest car. She lived her life and enjoyed it. It had also been some time since she’d been in a relationship. She’d been in two long-term relationships, but had never been willing to go the long haul with marriage.
She and Tess had the kind of relationship he understood. He’d felt that closeness when he’d been a SEAL. And he felt it to a degree when he’d become a Gravedigger. But it wasn’t quite the same. They weren’t there because they had the young idealistic notions of saving the world. Their choices had all been taken from them, and it was different when you knew the real cost of freedom. But they were still his brothers, and he knew they were the only ones he could count on in this world.
“I’m sure they’ll be fascinated by your wine-club membership and your fear of starving animals and children,” he said. “But the bigger concern is them tracking you down, different hair and identity or not. There’s only so long you’re going to be able to hide that smile and stubborn chin.”
“What’s wrong with my smile?” she asked, getting her dander up again.
“There’s nothing wrong with your smile,” he told her, rolling his eyes. “It’s distinctive. And it attracts attention.”
“Well, that certainly doesn’t make me feel self-conscious at all. Like Julia Roberts distinctive, or the Penguin from Batman distinctive?”
“And … we’re back to the movies,” he said, frustrated. “And the answer is neither. Your smile lights up a freaking room. It makes everyone stop what they’re doing just so they can look. And that full top lip is so fucking sexy it’s everything I can do not to bite it.”
“Geez,” she said, licking the lip in question and driving him crazy. “As far as compliments go, you have a way of delivering.”
“You drive me crazy,” he said. “And if you keep licking your lips I’m going to kiss you.”
“Right, sorry,” she said. “Umm … I can’t remember what we were talking about.”
“We were talking about Cordova tracking you down on the islands.”
“It’ll take time,” she said. “We won’t be the only people vacationing there.”
“They’ve got the men and the resources. And the locals know to answer questions when they’re asked or keep their mouths shut.”
He swiped his finger on the tabletop to change the view. “All the islands together only inhabit about twenty-five thousand people. Tourism doesn’t add that much to the population, especially at this time of year, because it’s not a tropical destination for people escaping the cold weather.
“Look at this area here,” he said, pointing to a small group of islands to the northeast of the main islands of Galápagos. “These are the Triangle Islands. Or Aguas Mortales, as the locals call them. The way the islands form the triangle lets water flow in several different directions, so the waters at the center of the triangle have a swirling pattern that’s dangerous to anyone or any vessel in the water. You can see how turbulent it is through the 3-D rendering.
“This island here is uninhabited. Lots of diving, though, and hikers. It’s a volcanic island, so a good part of it is barren and the terrain rough like you see here. But you can also see the treed areas are dense and basically untouched. The inside of the island is mountainous in areas and hard to gain access to. The other two islands are sparsely populated—and I mean very sparsely—but they’re still difficult to access on the interior of the island because of the waters. We’re going to have to do some hiking and camping.”
“I’m cool with hiking and camping,” she said. “But I should warn you I’m not cool with snakes. I’ve tried. I just can’t deal. You’ll be better off shooting me.”
“You don’t like boats or snakes,” he said. “I’ll add it to the list of things we’re most likely to run into while on the islands. Is there anything else I should know about?”
> “I’m not a superfan of active volcanoes or lava, but I figure the chances of that are pretty small. What was that movie with Pierce Brosnan and the volcano?”
“Dante’s Peak?” he asked, wondering how in the hell he knew that.
“That’s the one,” she said. “Terrible movie. Gave me nightmares for weeks. I still won’t step foot in a hot spring because I don’t want to accidentally be boiled alive.”
“You have a lot of fears that have very little chance of ever coming to fruition. You must entertain the hell out of your therapist.”
She quirked a brow at him and put a hand on her cocked hip. “I’m sure I do. You think it’s easy to be a writer? You try having all those voices talking in your head all the time and see how it makes you feel.”
“It’d make me feel nuts,” he said. “That’s my new biggest fear. Becoming a writer.”
“You’re a laugh a minute,” she said. “What was your old biggest fear?”
“Running out of ice cream,” he said. “I have to have it every night before bed or I can’t sleep worth a damn.”
“Wow,” she said. “Really not what I was expecting.”
“Why? Only a foolish man doesn’t have fears,” he said. “Fear is healthy. When you stop being afraid, you usually don’t survive long in this line of work. And who wouldn’t be afraid of clowns and creepy dolls?”
He segmented the three islands so they could be seen separately. He was going to spend more time studying the mountainous regions. Finding the crash site of her parents was important to her, but he knew the statistics as well as anyone—most small plane crashes were never found.
“This is kind of blowing my mind,” she said. “I don’t understand how you can get things in place so quickly. Private planes out of San Antonio and boats off of Santa Cruz.”
“A lot of cash and a lot of connections,” he said. “Just because Eve gave the orders to abandon the operation doesn’t mean any of us are going to. Tess and the others are working at HQ and they’ve been busy securing the things we’ll need.”
“I don’t understand,” she said. “Eve gave direct orders. Why wouldn’t she try to stop you?”
“Eve is never one to underestimate or try to second guess. No one knows why she does the things she does. She could give Cordova our exact location or make sure we were detained by the Ecuadorian police, just for the hell of it. But she won’t.”
“Why not?” she asked. “If she’s angry enough it would be the perfect revenge.”
“Mostly because of her ego,” he said. “Revenge isn’t her primary motive for anything. She’s cold as ice. She was lying about how Cordova isn’t a current priority. He and the Black Widow both have been on our watch list since I joined with The Gravediggers. Our job is mainly to deal with threats of terrorism that occur on U.S. soil, and we’ve not had a reason to go after them because the cartel hasn’t been doing a lot of business in the United States in the last several years. Their drugs and guns still end up here, but they’re coming in by other avenues. They do a big business with the Russians, as well as several factions throughout the Middle East and Africa.
“As soon as Cordova’s men crossed the border and came to abduct you, it gave us the unofficial permission we needed to go after them. Taking down the Black Widow’s cartel, even a small portion of it, will be a feather in Eve’s cap. It’ll mean increased funding and all kinds of things that give her a little more power. If The Directors don’t watch it, Eve will be in charge of everything and they’ll be wondering what happened.”
“What happens if things don’t work out the way you expect?” she asked. “What if she doesn’t let you use all these resources and we end up in an Ecuadorian prison? What’s the game plan then?”
“We’ll deal with that when the time comes,” he said, mouth grim. “But you’ll be safe. Deacon will see to it.”
He looked at the Panerai dive watch on his wrist. It wouldn’t be too much longer before they were at their stop, and they’d need to move quickly.
“What did you find out from the letters?” he asked.
“Justin’s last known address was in Ecuador. He used stationery from the Hotel Coronado, but it wasn’t the same address he listed in the letter. He was there for at least a few weeks, maybe more.”
“What’s the address?” he asked.
She handed over the pad she’d been making notes on and he called out the address for the computer to locate.
“He was in San Lorenzo,” Elias said. “That’s a three-day boat ride to the islands, according to the computer. San Lorenzo is a port town. I doubt he stayed there longer than to get his mail, buy supplies, or gas up his boat. His time was better spent on the water searching the islands.”
“Where’d he get a boat?”
“There are plenty to rent or buy in the area,” he said. “It’s become a big business for a lot of the locals. Justin is as comfortable on the water as anyone. He’d know how and where to navigate. And he’d know when to abandon the boat and go in by foot. Your brother isn’t stupid. He’d know he was being watched. All divers and treasure hunters are. He’d leave his boat anchored somewhere and find a different way of reaching his destination.
“What else did you find?”
“I just wrote down notes from his last letter. Did you read it?”
His lips twitched and he met her gaze. “Yeah, I read it. I remember when he read your book out loud. That was most definitely one of those memorable periods in my life. I can’t believe Rocket never called you.”
Her mouth dropped open in surprise. “You mean he was serious about that? You’re telling me a bunch of badass Navy SEALs really sat around and read my book?”
“Technically, one of the guys caught Justin reading it, and no one really believed his sister wrote it.” Elias shrugged without apology. “So we stole it and read it aloud. By the time Rocket finished the first chapter we were all hooked and wanted to know what happened. He did a great job with all the voices. And it wasn’t all mushy stuff like we thought it’d be. There was lots of action and blowing up stuff. And you obviously did your research on all the weapons.”
She stared at him as if she’d never heard a compliment before and then said, “Umm … thank you.”
He looked over the rest of her notes and the passages, hoping that they weren’t pissing into the wind by reading into Justin’s letter. Maybe he was feeling nostalgic instead of leaving them breadcrumbs. But his gut didn’t think so, and his gut was something he always trusted.
Elias took out his cell phone and laid it on the tabletop, looking at it with derision. There was no chance of them going off the grid. Not even in the remote areas of the islands. His phone and watch both had trackers. But each of them also carried a tracking chip they’d been inserted with during their debriefing.
There was no escaping the hold The Gravediggers had on him. He still had a lot of years left on his contract. And the resources he needed to take out Eve Winter were only available if he stayed exactly where he was. He’d take his vacation time and do this mission. And then he’d take his licks at the end. But he’d never stop searching for a way to make Eve pay for what she’d done.
“You look very serious and angry all of a sudden,” Miller said, interrupting his thoughts.
“I’m getting hangry,” he said. “I’d have thought you’d have made coffee by now.”
“Honestly, I forgot. I sat down and started reading. But now that you mention it, I could use a cup. And a snack.”
He went over and started the coffee and grabbed a granola bar. “Want one?” he asked her.
“Is it dipped in chocolate or does it taste like a donut?” she asked.
“No,” he said, arching a brow. “It’s a granola bar.”
“Then I’ll pass. Toss me whatever has the most calories.”
“You know you’ll regret it if you do,” he said. “Every time you eat junk food you talk about how much you’re going to have to work out to offset the calor
ies.”
She narrowed her eyes and held out her hand, and he took that to mean she didn’t particularly care about calories at the moment.
“Do you know how many calories fear burns?” she asked. “Besides, I’m going to need my strength for the upcoming boat and snakes.”
“Good point,” he said. “There’s a Snickers bar and a bag of chocolate-covered pretzels.”
“Yes, please,” she said and took them both from him.
“Before you get chocolate all over your face, I need to take your picture and get your passport ready. We’ll be in San Antonio in less than an hour. We’ll take one duffel with the cash and weapons and pick up whatever other supplies we need when we arrive on the islands.”
“Is it stupid to ask how we’re going to get weapons on a plane and into another country?”
“Not normally,” he said. “But it would look more suspicious if we came without them, considering who they think owns the plane and the boat we’ll be using. There are always ways around the law. That’s why the world is as fucked up as it is.”
“That’s encouraging,” she said. “I’m so tired I’m about to get back in that casket.”
“You can grab some sleep on the plane,” he said. “Let your chocolate and coffee fuel you. And just so you’re not surprised—”
“Usually sentences that start out that way don’t end well,” she told him.
“I want you to remember Cordova is looking for you. He wants you badly. But I’m an unknown entity. We can buy some time going as a couple.”
He took a small black box from his pocket and opened it, and then he tapped the three rings into the palm of his hand. She shook her head and took a step back, but he grabbed her hand before she could get too far away.
“Your passport will say Elise Miller,” he told her. “It’s best to stay closest to the truth when possible, and since Elise is your middle name, you’ll at least recognize it if someone says it. Or if someone calls you Mrs. Miller.”
