“The St. Augustine Historical Society. Places like that keep archives, genealogies, and records of prominent families. The Moore family has been here for generations. There has to be something.”
“And newspaper archives,” Lila added, her mind racing. “If something happened to William’s nephew, there would have been an obituary. Maybe news articles.”
“Exactly,” Eve said.
“When do we go?”
Eve glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “Right now. The historical society should be open.”
Lila’s grin was pure excitement. “This is the best vacation ever.”
Eve laughed despite the seriousness of what they were doing. “Let’s just hope we find something useful.”
“We will,” Lila said with the confidence of youth. “I can feel it.”
Eve hoped she was right.
Because the more they uncovered, the more convinced she became that Mia and, by extension, Lila were in danger.
And she needed to know why before it was too late.
12
DAVID
The café sat on the edge of nowhere, the kind of place that existed solely for weary travelers who needed a bathroom break and a shot of caffeine before continuing their journey to somewhere more interesting.
David liked it precisely because of that.
No one looked twice at you here. The sleepy young clerk behind the cash register spent more time scrolling through his phone than paying attention to customers. The place was self-service, grab what you wanted from the coolers and shelves, pay, and leave. A few cleaners moved through the space like little robots, wiping and sterilizing tables the moment people vacated them, their faces blank with the kind of disinterest that came from doing the same task a thousand times.
It was perfect for discreet meetings.
Especially the tables scattered between the trees in the back, positioned so that weary tourists could park their cars beside them and catch a few hours of sleep in the shade before moving on.
David knew where every surveillance camera was positioned. He’d mapped them as soon as he’d arrived back in St. Augustine. And even if he did get caught on one, the image would be erased immediately thanks to his competent team. Small perks of having people who knew what they were doing.
He sat at one of those back tables now, a cup of terrible coffee cooling in front of him, and rubbed his eyes.
He was tired.
Not the kind of tired that came from a bad night’s sleep or too much work. The bone-deep exhaustion that came from living a cat-and-mouse lifestyle for far too long. Twenty-eight years of looking over his shoulder. Twenty-eight years of coded messages and dead drops and never staying in one place long enough to call it home.
But hopefully, it would be over soon.
His contact had finally tracked down the source. The person who’d destroyed David’s life, who’d forced him into hiding, who’d taken everything from him. They had everything they needed now. All the evidence, all the proof, all the connections to the corrupt officials and politicians who’d protected the villain for nearly three decades.
They’d finally managed to root out every single contact the person had in various agencies. Cut off all their protections and isolated them.
Now it was just a matter of closing the trap. In case anything went wrong, he had a backup. One he hoped would never have to be used because that would mean having to expose his daughter. Something he vowed would never happen again.
David’s thoughts drifted to his daughter, Morgan.
She’d be in her late-thirties now. A fully grown woman with a life he knew nothing about.
Was she married? Did she have a career she loved? Was she really as happy as his contacts said she was? Did she have kids?
His heart jolted at the thought, and he couldn’t help but smile.
