Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Brock pinched the cell phone between his ear and shoulder and moved into the sitting room, closing the pocket door behind him.
Dani was still asleep. They’d both gotten eight hours, and right now he could run a marathon.
He toyed with the flash drive in his fingers, turning the tiny, catastrophic device between his thumb and forefinger.
The line clicked and the long-distance ring sounded in his ear.
He’d missed Rhett’s call an hour ago and hoped to hell he had some insight on the tattoo.
Rhett answered on the third ring. “Hello.”
“Hey, it’s . . . me.” The odds of someone listening in on Rhett’s call were slim, but he couldn’t take any chances.
Dani was right—Rhett was the only person in law enforcement they could trust at this point.
Two years ago, Rhett had given Milo the opportunity to work as a mole for the FBI and get information on when Alban Moussa had his diamond auction.
Thanks to Milo’s work, the FBI had raided Alban’s that night and recovered four million dollars in illegally imported blood diamonds.
Rhett had granted Milo immunity from his previous heists, allowing him to walk away from stealing without doing jail time.
“Hey,” Rhett said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “One sec.” A minute passed, and Brock wondered if he’d hung up. “Sorry. I needed to get somewhere secure. Glad to hear you’re still alive. How’s Dani?”
Images of the previous night flashed through Brock’s head. She was well sated, but he sure wasn’t going to tell Rhett that. “She’s good. Sleeping. We didn’t know what to do while we waited to hear from you so we’re in Paris right now. We’re going to try to figure out who’s behind hiring Sven.”
“Look, I think you guys should turn yourselves in. If you go to the US embassy—”
“Hell no.”
Rhett sighed with exasperation. “This isn’t about you anymore. That information you have could wipe out half the fucking planet. The most important thing is to get that formula in safe hands, and turning it over to the authorities will help your case.”
“We can’t trust anyone. A man tried to strangle Dani to death the other night. He was an Interpol agent.”
Silence beat through the phone. “Yeah. I heard about the murdered Interpol guy on the news. I tried to do some digging on what he was doing without turning attention to myself, but I hit a brick wall.”
“Fishy, isn’t it?”
“I agree. But once you’re in the embassy, there’ll be a whole team of people to protect the data.”
“And to possibly leak it. There’s no encryption on this flash drive,” he said, waving it in the air.
“Dani copied it from Ubrigg’s computer as if it were a résumé.
It’s not safeguarded at all. If there’s one fucking person in that building who’s in on this, we could be handing it over to the terrorists directly. ”
“That’s a bit of a stretch.”
“Are you willing to take that chance when we know for certain an Interpol agent was involved?”
“What’s your plan?” Rhett barked, ignoring his question.
“To expose everyone who’s in on this and keep as many innocent people alive in the process as possible.”
“If it’s as intricate as you suspect, the web of accomplices could be endless.”
Brock deposited the flash drive in his jeans and rubbed his hand over the top of his head. “Where are you at with the tattoo?”
Rhett sighed as if he didn’t want to give up the previous topic. “You guys are right. It’s cult related. There’s a group called the Peace Makers, and they seem to do anything but keep the peace, according to the tabloids.”
“A vigilante type of thing?”
“Could be. There’s a lot indicating their views about the overpopulation of the world.” Disdain hung on Rhett’s words. “Another thought is that someone hired them in an attempt to have their circle take the rap so as not to expose who’s really behind this.”
“And that is?”
“I haven’t gotten that far yet.”
“Well, Dani and I plan to. Today.”
“I think you two should lie low. Look, I’m going to talk to my superior and tell him I have a lead on this. It’s short notice, but maybe I can work with Interpol—at least that way we can get this in the right hands.”
Relief spread through him. Knowing they had someone on their side at Rhett’s level gave Brock’s hope a boost. “Thanks, man. Dani will be happy to hear that.”
“No problem. I sure as hell won’t stand by while some motherfucking extremists try to kill millions of innocent people.” His tone hardened to steel, and Brock felt a glimmer of respect for the guy.
“Also, Milo wants you to call him. Serena saw Dani on the news and is quite upset, from what I gather. I didn’t give him your encrypted number, but he asked for you to call him when you can.”
“All right. I’ll do that now.”
“We’ll talk soon.”
“Rhett,” Brock said. “Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.” His throat thickened. “If I make it out of this, I’ll buy you a drink.”
Rhett chuckled. “I’ll take you up on that. It’d better be a bottle of something expensive.”
“The best that dirty money can buy.”
Rhett growled. “Ah, shit. You’re lucky we’re after bigger fish right now, otherwise I’d have to open a case on you.” There was a trace of humor in his voice, but Brock knew from what Milo had said that Rhett was an honest agent.
“If liquor is all I need to grease your palms, you’ll be the cheapest cop I’ve paid off.”
Rhett guffawed. “Nice try. You’re a good guy, but if your file ever comes across my desk, don’t expect special treatment.”
Brock snickered. “Glad to see you’re easy to get a rise out of. My file probably won’t cross your desk again after this, so you’re safe to accept a drink from an ex-criminal.”
“Glad to hear that. Keep Dani safe.”
Brock looked at the closed pocket door beyond which Dani slept. Keeping someone with a penchant for trouble safe was easier said than done.
Brock disconnected and immediately called Milo. He answered on the second ring.
“Dude, what the fuck? Dani’s face is all over the news. They’re saying she’s a terrorist.”
Brock winced. There was no way to minimize their situation. “I know.” He stretched his hand in the air in front of him as if Milo could see the you-can-calm-down gesture.
“Tell me you’re with her and this is all a big mistake.”
Brock paced the room, keeping his focus on the movement of his feet.
“Yes . . . and no.” He rolled his shoulders back, preparing for the impact of Milo’s reaction.
“I’m with Dani, but there isn’t a mistake.
She has something very dangerous in her possession and we believe some of the local cops are involved, as well as at least one Interpol agent.
As of right now, we don’t have anyone in Europe we can trust with this. ”
“Sonofafuckingbitch. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t want to say on this line,” he said. “But if we can find out who wanted Dani to steal this data in the first place, it will give us a name to provide to the authorities.”
“Damn, I wish you were in the States. Rhett would have you both in a safehouse while he figured this shit out.”
“A lot of things would be different if we were on American soil.” Brock jammed his hand into his pocket. “How’s Serena?”
“Not great. She had a panic attack when she saw Dani on the news.”
“I’m really sorry, bro. Is she around? I can wake Dani.”
“She’s finally in bed for the night. She was throwing up all day. I think the news about Dani made the morning sickness worse.”
“Send her Dani’s love. I’ve talked to Rhett and he’ll see if he can help on his end. Not sure what he can do from halfway across the world, but I’m holding out hope.”
“He’ll do as much as he’s capable of. Take care of Dani, Brock. Serena won’t be able to handle it if something happens to her.”
“I’ll protect her with my life.” The muscles in his throat compressed on the words. Wasn’t that what he’d always done? He felt no bitterness when that realization hit him. Protecting Dani felt even more natural than protecting himself. “I’ll check in when it’s safe.”
He hung up and turned. Dani stood at the threshold, her hip against the door and the side of her head leaned against the wood frame.
She wore his long-sleeved white shirt, which hung almost to her knees.
She had the sleeves pushed up to her elbows, and her tiny frame looked even smaller in the oversized shirt.
Her thick locks were piled over one side of her shoulder.
Her face was pale and free of makeup but her lips were a shade pinker than usual thanks to their lovemaking.
Clarity sparked her eyes—something rare for Dani first thing in the morning.
Part of him ached at the fact that he’d missed her sleepy, heavy-lidded wake-up that he’d witnessed on the train.
It was ridiculous the little things that you could miss about a person when they’re out of your life.
The light from the stand-up lamp near the door brought the purple hue around her throat to life, making fresh anger boil beneath his skin.
If he’d arrived at Leland’s ten seconds later, if he hadn’t decided to hop on that plane against his better judgment, they wouldn’t be here right now. She’d have died alone and terrified and he wouldn’t have even fucking known.
“Everything okay?” she asked. The words rolled out on a purr, and he gravitated to her body like a magnet.
“No,” he said wryly, tucking the corner of his mouth into his cheek. He circled his hands around her hips and towed her to his chest. A sharp hiccup of surprise gasped from her lips and her eyes widened.
She moved her gaze over his face and a fist tightened in his chest.
“I’ve got the name of the cult Sven was involved with.”