asleep. She felt the pressure of needing to remember the secret language pressing down on her. She needed to think about something else. That’s when she remembered the phone call from Cy’s brother. “Wait. Didn’t your brother say you were in danger at home?”
“I was. That’s what I’m trying to figure out—how my cover was blown.” Now it was Cy’s turn to look distant as Gemma could see him thinking.
“Well, it’s not as if you’re hiding who you are.” Gemma watched as he slowly turned to look at her. “Well, you’re not. You gave me your name right away. It would be easy for someone to make a couple of calls to find out where you were born.”
“I didn’t use my real name.”
“Cy isn’t your name?” Gemma asked. Who was he then?
“Cy is my name. But my last name isn’t Davidson. It’s Davies. That simple little switch was easy to remember and enough to hide my identity. The CIA provided me with such a deep background and documents that it would be impossible to trace me back to my real identity. Instead of being from Keeneston, I was from Louisville. There were even yearbooks at the high school with my real high school pictures in them.”
“And you have no idea who the people are who were asking about you at home?”
“Oh, I have a very good idea. They’re the same guys who are after you.”
“Me? Why would they want both you
“I’m not an axe murderer. The guys who are after you are the same ones after me. See, one of my brothers is the sheriff of Keeneston. He busted a dog-fighting ring recently. When I looked into it, I connected it to a group known for trafficking kidnapped women. When I dug around further, I connected it to a group that sells weapons and everything else on the black market. They’re real bad people. I've caught a couple, including a group trying to sell chemical weapons out of Russia just a while ago.
“The only connection I've found is that these men all have a Roman numeral X tattooed on their wrist. The boss man, Mr. X for lack of a better name, has never been caught on camera at any of these fights, trades, or deals. No one knows a name, a description, nothing. But Mr. X is powerful enough to have many connections in governments and law enforcement all over the world.” Cy leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees as Fred crawled over the seat and back onto her lap.
“It sounds as if he has enough power to find out who you are. Could've been someone at the CIA even.” Now this was something Gemma could think about. Her investigative reporter side jumped to attention and she wanted to know more.
“Yes. They could have. I think it was Russia, though. With the threat of a weapons sale, I dug around a little more than normal and really pushed some contacts. I must've thrown up a red flag somewhere. I was so worried that the bust wouldn’t go down, I beat the other CIA team members to it. They could have followed me afterward and have seen who I was.” Cy rubbed his hands over his face as Gemma’s thoughts raced forward.
“Then why are we going to the one place they've been looking for you?” Gemma drummed her fingers on her sister’s notebook as she thought about the situation.
“They’re not there now. Ahmed will have taken care of that. Also, as you’ve pointed out, my cover is blown and it could've been by one of my own. Keeneston is the only place I can think of where I can trust every single person.”
“Who is this Ahmed? And how can you possibly trust the whole town? That’s just naive.”
“I might not have mentioned all there was about Ahmed in the car. Yes, he’s the prince’s head of security. But he’s also one of the most feared and respected soldiers and interrogators you’ll ever find. Shoot, he’s a legend at Langley and he’s only a couple of years older than I am. That should tell you something right there.”
“And you’re trusting this guy?” Gemma knew her eyes were round, but this was just too much.
“Yes. He’s very good friends with my family and I’ve worked with him before. My sister was testifying in a large corruption case and he was guarding the other witnesses. But, he’s not the only one there. My older brothers were all in the military and the town as a whole is the nosiest group of people you’ve ever met.” Gemma didn’t smile along with Cy.
“Then how can you trust a bunch of gossips? I mean, I should know. I do it for a living.”
“They only gossip about what’s going on in town. I’m telling you, the town will be our biggest protector. They have an information network—well, a church phone tree—that is better than any government agency could ever dream of. The added benefit of a town so small is that we’ll know the second someone who isn't a resident comes into town.”
Cy couldn’t help but feel excited to be going home. It had been too long and there was definitely no one he trusted more to help him than his family: three brothers in Special Forces, his sister-in-law, Annie, a former DEA agent, and his brother-in-law, the head the FBI’s Lexington office.
“If you say so. Have you come up with a plan yet?” Gemma teased.
“Yep. Find them before they kill us.” He may have sounded sarcastic, but that was really his plan. Sometimes simple was best.
“You should get some sleep. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.” Cy heard his voice soften as he fought the urge to pull a blanket over her. She had handled today well, but he knew from experience it was the quiet of the night when the nightmares struck.
“You’re right.” Gemma gave a little smile and pushed her seat back. The large seats allowed her to roll onto her side and look out the window. She heard Cy move and then the overhead lights were turned off.
Gemma closed her eyes, but images of Gia filled her mind. Of them skiing at Big Bear, at the beach, at graduation, and the hours they’d just talk on the phone when they first moved into their own apartments. The emptiness gripped her and she felt her body shudder. Fred curled closer and snuggled his small head into her shoulder. When the despair was so strong she felt as if she’d break, a warm hand touched her back. She leaned back into its heat and strength as she let the tears come.
The memory brought a sense of comfort to her as she let Cy rub gentle circles on her back. Gemma’s tears dried up and slowly her eyes closed as Gia talked to her through her dreams.
* * *
Sergei watched the boss pace back and forth in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows in his penthouse. He was in one of his moods. His boss ignored everyone in the room while he talked to himself.
“They’ll find you, just like that bitch did,” his boss mumbled as he turned around to pace the long length of the opulent living room once again. “No, they won’t. I haven’t been caught yet.” He turned again on his heel. “Sergei!”
“Right here, sir.” Sergei stepped forward as his boss returned to reality.
“Are they watching us?”
“Who, sir?” Sergei tried not to roll his eyes. It meant a lot more work for him when his boss was in this mood.
“You know who. Sweep the place for bugs and then find that damn woman. I need those flash drives. I know they exist. I know it,” his boss yelled as he slammed his hand on the shiny glass coffee table. “Ready the jet. I’m going back to Virginia.”
“Yes, sir.” Sergei knew he’d also have to sweep the massive mansion in McLean, Virginia, right outside Washington, D.C., before his boss even set foot inside. His paranoia was growing worse. Failing to retrieve that damn reporter’s research had pushed his boss over the edge.
His boss disappeared into one of his multiple panic rooms in the apartment. He had at least three in every property he owned. He never rented when he was in a new city; he just bought houses through shell corporations. He kept a few of them but sold the ones he wasn’t going to visit again. His theory was it was hard to find him when no one knew where he was going to be. The deeds would be signed and paid for in cash and then never recorded until after his business had been resolved and he left town.
“What do we do about that gossip reporter—the sister?” one of his underlings questioned as the other
