Chapter 17 #2
“I’m considering trying to get an invite in case we need to pin down the couple for questions before they leave town. If they’re close to Kaira, they might know something, too, but—”
“I can get us on the list. I’ll make a big contribution. It wouldn’t be unrealistic. I can say I was in town on vacation and heard about the event and wanted to donate. Is there anything planned between now and Saturday night to help me get their attention somehow?”
Harper opened her laptop again. Was she hacking the hotel’s system? Probably.
“Dinner reservations for three tonight at the steakhouse,” Harper announced.
“You think Kaira might be the third?”
“Maybe.” Harper began typing again. “And tomorrow, they have some sort of safari adventure booked through the hotel out in the Lahbab Desert. Looks like Kaira is going as well. So, she must be fairly close to them, not simply a guest to the event.”
“I need to be at those places to try and win over this couple. I can do this. Plus, what if you, um, get sick?” she whispered the last part, wondering how Harper was feeling and if she’d told Roman about possibly being pregnant.
“You shouldn’t risk going if you’re . . .
” She let Harper fill in the gaps. “I can also try and get close to Kaira. Get her talking without realizing she’s sharing.
You may not be allowed to, but I don’t report to anyone. ”
Not the President. Or my brother, for that matter.
Harper frowned, but Julia could tell the way her brown eyes flitted from her to the floor she might be considering the idea. “You’re not a spy. You’re not trained. I can’t send you on some op.”
“Send her where?” Finn rasped, worry flooding his tone.
When did the bedroom door open?
The rest of his team filtered into the room and gathered in a line to stand opposite Julia, arms crossed as if they were a bunch of running backs prepared to stop her path before she made any headway.
Five special operators and one CIA officer . . . those were not good odds. Perfect.
“She wants to go to the resort, in my place. Try and get an invite to the party on Saturday,” Harper explained.
“We managed to secure one of the villas there. Technically, a few of us could go since there are four bedrooms in the villa. You don’t need to be married to stay as a couple, either. ” She drew a hand over her abdomen.
Oh no, was she going to be sick?
“Absolutely not,” Wyatt was quick to shoot down the idea. “Julia shouldn’t even be here.”
“I know, and I’m sorry for the position I’ve put you all in.” Julia faced Wyatt with a plea in her eyes and tone. “If it was Finn locked in that prison, what would you do?”
Wyatt peered at Finn as if truly contemplating her words. But when she checked Finn’s reaction, his gaze was pointed at her. A familiar look of worry there.
“I think Kaira knows what really happened or what Tariq is planning. You all need to focus on whatever reason you were in Egypt to begin with, right? Let me handle Oliver. And assuming Oliver’s case is connected,” Julia went on in a rush, worried she’d lose the nerve if she didn’t, “maybe what I find out will help you.”
“What makes you think you can get Kaira or this couple to talk to a stranger?” Wyatt asked while the others fell back and allowed him to take the lead.
Finn broke from the line and crossed the space to stand beside her, and she wasn’t sure if that was a sign of support or if he was about to beg her to back down. “Julia’s rather convincing. She lured Lorenzo to New York, didn’t she?”
Her heart launched into her throat at his words. He was on her side.
“I’ll go with her. And you two can still go to the resort as planned. Better together than apart, right?” Finn continued, glancing over at Harper. Julia followed his line of sight as Harper abruptly stood, apologized, then threw a hand to her mouth while making a quick dash for her bedroom.
Oh no. Roman frowned, and based on his look of confusion, he was still clueless. He quickly followed her to the bedroom.
“She might be sick, so you need me,” Julia added once the door closed.
“Michael is gonna lose his mind.” Wyatt dropped his head, his hands going to his hips like a commander hating the decision he was about to make when it involved the lives of his people.
Putting someone else’s life on the line as opposed to your own had to be such a tough call.
She couldn’t begin to imagine the heavy weight of that responsibility.
“If Harper and Roman do join us, Jessica can continue to do the cyber work in retracing the steps of everyone who may be involved in whatever is going on,” Finn said with a determined voice. “Let us do this.”
You’re on my side. Just hope this isn’t the dark side.
Well, wrong side. Her thoughts had her mind racing back to Finn’s comments at the hotel in Egypt and his love for Star Wars films, and how he liked Darth Vader and that other guy better.
They wore masks, right? Did he feel like he was wearing one?
Did he want to shield his face? Had his mom made him feel like that?
She had no clue why she was thinking about this now, but her heart hurt for him, and he was such a strong, loving man who’d had his heart broken by his mom for whatever reason, and it crushed her to see.
“And my brother will just have to deal,” Julia tossed out with enough conviction to stand up to the Darth Vader herself if she had to. “It’s not up to him.”
“You really are like Natasha, aren’t you?” Wyatt covered his eyes with his palm and made a tsk sound. “Damn it. If we somehow land up shit’s creek without a paddle, I swear—”
“I’ll come save you with a life raft,” Julia sputtered, and he dropped his hand.
“Save us, huh?” Wyatt asked, amusement in his tone, which was much better than anger. He looked from her to Finn, then back her way again. He shook his head but finally relented, “Fine.”
“Really?” Julia turned toward Finn so fast she nearly slammed into that wall of muscles. “If I’m going to get the attention of this American couple, then we need to really go big on this.”
“Go big, how?” Finn folded his arms, studying her with curious eyes.
“I can’t go as myself because if anyone looks up my name and discovers my brother’s identity, the plan will backfire. Can you whip up an alias?” She looked at the wedding ring on her finger. She’d need a Mount Rushmore–sized diamond to go with the band for the sake of appearances.
“We can keep the names I gave us,” Finn said, and a strange tingling sensation filled Julia’s chest at the idea of continuing the charade as husband and wife. Why did it feel so good to be his? Even to pretend?
You gave up on love. I think I have, too, though.
“And Harper or Jessica will create your background story,” Finn went on, his tone sounding like her brother when he was in operator mode. Focused. “Need a few hours, though.”
“We can shop in the meantime. I’ll need a new wardrobe. Something flashy without getting myself into trouble in Dubai. Plus, we’ll need something for this party on Saturday.”
“Anything else?” Wyatt cocked a brow, still hanging on to his foul mood.
“I would probably have a bodyguard, and if we can swap the Range Rover for a Bentley, that’d be ideal. We need to flaunt my money. Get this couple to notice me.” She wasn’t that type of woman, but she’d act the part if need be.
“And who is going to be your bodyguard?” Chris asked. “I’m not dressing up in an eighties costume.”
“Oh, come on,” A.J. said in a teasing voice. “Tom Cruise. Risky Business.” He acted as though he had a camera in his hand as he eyed Chris like he was doing that vogue thing. “I can see it now. Or maybe some Top Gun action. Was Cocktail in the eighties?”
“You have a man-crush on Tom Cruise I don’t know about?” Chris joked back and rolled his eyes.
A.J. snapped his fingers and smiled. “Ghostbusters. There you go. The big marshmallow guy.”
“You’re going, brother. Not me.” Chris winked at A.J. “You can be the green blobby thing.”
Julia’s attention bounced back and forth between the two comedians as they spoke before Wyatt remarked, “Ignore them.”
“We’ll rock-paper-scissors the situation, then.” A.J. put his hand behind his back as Chris stepped forward.
“Are they serious?” she asked Finn, who was smiling, but hadn’t he said something similar to her at the hotel before they’d left Egypt? Maybe this wasn’t a joke.
Finn shrugged. “Probably.”
“Hell, our boy here drew the short straw when it came to you, so—”
“A.J.,” Finn hissed.
“The short straw, huh?” Julia leveled Finn with a quick look.
“Anyway,” Wyatt said, and Finn appeared relieved to have the attention off him. “I guess that means I’ll be the one waiting for Michael when he shows up. I’ll have to take one for the team.” He set his eyes on Julia. “I’ll be taking the punch from your brother.”