“He told JT he was heading to bed the last time we talked to him.” He’d been one of the last people at the party, and she’d watched him walk out of the bar. Why had he gone back?
“Sandra and Drake have both exits covered and intend to follow them. I contacted you because I’m worried that the bar is about to close and we’ll need a third set of eyes,” Hutch relayed. “I’m in contact with our friends, but I’m concerned about the assistant. She’s carrying what looks like a heavy bag. I don’t think that was what she was using earlier.”
Deanna had been carrying a clutch at dinner. It had barely been big enough to hold a mobile and some lipstick. “I’ll shadow her. My room is fairly close to the pool. You stay where you can watch us, and let me know if anything else happens. Including with Drake.”
She didn’t want him to think he could waltz off with the prototype. She was certain JT would get it back at some point, but only after the US government had studied it and figured out a way to use it, thereby cutting Malone Oil out.
“Will do.”
She hung up and reached for the clothes she’d folded earlier in case she needed to slip out. At least she’d prepared for one thing. The rest of the evening she hadn’t thought once about the job. From the moment JT had put his hands on her, all she could think about was him.
She could get so lost in him. Like her mom had been in her dad right up until the moment he’d walked out on them.
God, was that what this was about? Not Roger, but her dad? JT was nothing like her handsome, ne’re-do-well father. JT was almost slavishly devoted to his family in a way her father had never been. Even as a youngster she’d known her father wasn’t good for her mother.
And JT wasn’t good for her concentration. She quickly dressed and checked her gun, easing it into the shoulder holster she covered with a light sweater, and then she was sneaking out.
She caught a glimpse of JT in the moonlight, his cut chest on full display. He was so gorgeous, so giving. Losing him would kill her. When she’d found out about Roger’s betrayal, she’d thought her heart had been broken. She couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to lose JT. Her heart wouldn’t merely break. It would shatter into a million pieces, and there would be no putting it back together.
She shook off the thought and strode to the outer room, picking up the small earpiece she’d placed on the bar and settling it in. She touched it.
“Sandra, can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear.” Sandra’s voice was in her ear.
Nina brushed her fingers through her hair, hiding the earpiece in case she ran into anyone. She’d seen a couple of vending machines near the pool. She could fake that she’d gotten lost looking for them. “Do you have eyes on Jordy?”
“I have eyes on everyone I need to have eyes on,” Sandra replied. “He’s getting fidgety. Jordy, that is. Drake is proving to be perfectly patient. He’s outside, and from what I can see, he hasn’t moved a muscle. He’s good at blending into the background. Patrick has no idea he’s being watched.”
That was a skill that would help the kid enormously at the Agency. “I’m going to try to do the same with Deanna. Let me know if anything changes.”
“Will do.”
Nina pocketed her room key and slipped outside. The hallway was quiet at this time of night, though it was brightly lit. It reminded her of how she was used to working in the shadows.
She strode down the hall and moved into the stairwell. The lift would be easier, but it was also more unpredictable. She’d taken a tour of the grounds when they’d gotten in so she could familiarize herself with the place. The pool was at the eastern end of the building. It was a huge space, with a large infinity pool overlooking the ocean.
She jogged down the four flights of stairs and slipped outside, the sounds and scents of the ocean seeming to take over all her senses. Without the music that played in the pool area during the day and long into the night, the sound of waves crashing against the beach became the night’s soundtrack. Warm wind caressed her skin and she once again wished she was here for the normal reasons. If she was simply here to relax with her boyfriend, this would be one of the most romantic spots in the world, with the moon shining down and the air soft around them.
But a voice in her ear reminded her that she wasn’t here for any of those reasons.
“Jordy is on the move,” Sandra said in her ear, her voice barely audible, which made her think she was being super cautious. “He started for the path that leads to the beach, but he saw me. I fucked up. He turned and walked the other way.”
“Patrick is finishing up his last drink, and it looks like he’s going to try to get laid,” Drake said. “I think he’s a bust. I’ll try to see if I can follow Jordy. Sandra, switch with me and make sure Patrick goes back to the hotel.”
“I’m moving into position,” Sandra replied.
“Drake, if you take the path to your left, you’ll move in behind Jordy.” Hutch’s voice was perfectly calm, though Nina knew they were moving into a danger zone.
Chaos was the enemy.
She strode quietly down the path that led to the largest of the pools. She stopped at the edge of the patio, keeping behind the big bushes that surrounded the space, giving it an illusion of privacy. Deanna was pacing, staring down at her phone as though it was some kind of a lifeline. She had a big beach bag on her shoulder, and she’d changed
