“I have been suspicious of this man and can certainly understand your desire to capture him,” Khalid said. “I am especially concerned about his presence here, as I have twin teenage granddaughters.”
“Udall is a very dangerous man, especially to young women,” Luna warned him. “We have it on good authority that he is very charming and convincing. So, I would strongly recommend you keep your granddaughters and any other women you care about as far away from him as possible.”
“Luna is right, Khalid. He’s extremely dangerous and volatile and will do anything to protect his interests. So, please do not approach him,” Emily implored. “I cannot stress that enough.”
“I understand.” He gave a slow nod. “Now, how may I help you to capture this man?” Khalid’s tone had morphed from kindly older man to an angry man determined to protect the women of his community.
It took them an hour to iron out all of the important details, including lodging for the team, surveillance schedule, everything that would help ensure the success of the mission.
“Khalid, thank you again for your support.” Emily and one of the OSI teams had worked with him multiple times in the past, and he’d earned their unwavering trust. A very important commodity when working in a country like Pakistan. “Remember, please don’t do anything to put yourself at risk. Okay?”
“Yes, I remember, but do not worry about me.” He gave a sad smile. “I have dealt with men like this Udall person many times in my life. I will begin work here and will be ready when your people arrive.”
They said their goodbyes, and he left the call.
“What a nice man.” Luna never knew her grandparents, but she considered this man’s grandchildren to be extremely fortunate. “Considering what we know about Udall, whatever we’re paying Khalid for this job, it’s not enough.”
“Interestingly enough, Khalid refused to allow us to pay him.” Emily took a sip and set her mug down with a thump. “We insisted, so he reluctantly agreed but asked that the funds be deposited into trust funds for his twin granddaughters, and that we ensure they would continue to be eligible for their Special Immigrant Visas, should they choose to come to the States in the future.”
“That’s incredible.” Luna was looking forward to working with Khalid.
“We set up the trust accounts, and Jeffrey took care of the visa situation,” Emily added. “His granddaughters are only fourteen now, but on their twenty-first birthday, they’ll be able to accessthe money. By then, it’ll be enough for them to have a very comfortable life, no matter where they choose to live.”
Emily spent some time walking Luna through her process for ordering supplies, weapons, ammunition, clothes, etc. Though Luna took copious notes, it would take some time for her to handle it on her own.
“Over time, I’ll introduce you to my other sources and contacts in the field. Don’t be surprised when some of them are a bit squirrelly—it’ll just take time for them to trust you.” Emily finished what was in her mug. “In the meantime, I’ll send you an encrypted file with all of their information. Names, aliases, locations, personal history and personality profiles, missions they’ve worked with us, stuff like that.” She must’ve seen the glazed look in Luna’s eyes. “I know it sounds like a lot, but you are more than capable of handling it. And don’t worry, because you know I’ll be right here if you have any questions or run into any problems.”
“Thanks, Emily.”
“You’re welcome.” She checked her watch, picked up her tablet, and stood. “I’d better get going. I’ve got to head over to the training facility. I have a grappling session with my honey.” She waggled her eyebrows up and down. “As always, it was great talking with you. And Luna, you deserve whatever you want with Boone. Got it?”
“Yeah, I got it.” Luna nodded. “Thanks again.”
“Talk to ya soon.” Emily blew her a kiss and ended the call.
Loving Boone. Luna thought back to Emily’s words.
Yeah, she loved him, which was scary, yet not scary all at the same time.
Gah!Love was so confusing.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Boonemadehiswaydown the hall toward where light spilled out of the open doorway of Luna’s workshop. She sat at her workbench, a small screwdriver in her hand, her entire focus on the satellite phone she was holding. He crossed his arms, leaned his shoulder on the doorframe, and watched her.
She was so fucking gorgeous, especially when she was doing something she loved. And messing with electronics was definitely something she loved doing.
She’d somehow figured out a way to tweak their satellite phones to increase their line of sight to a satellite. An invaluable asset when out in the field. In the past, any kind of cloud cover, dense forests, narrow streets in a city lined by tall buildings, or deep natural valleys would mess with the satellite’s ability to communicate with the phones and fuck up their reception.
She set the phone down on the workbench and tilted her head side to side. She clasped her hands, held them above her head, arched her back in a stretch.
Did his gaze stray to her breasts? Absolutely. Did he feel bad about that? Nope. From what he could tell through her T-shirt, they appeared to be the perfect size for his hands—not too big, not too small. His plan was to confirm that verysoon.
They’d exchanged a few texts since he dropped off his equipment for her to inspect. He’d learned that the app she’d created to track the satellite’s movement had gone off at two forty-seven in the morning their time, which would’ve been eleven forty-seven in Aliabad. She’d gotten up and connected her laptop to the secured network, then sat up for two hours listening for any sign of Udall. When she didn’t hear anything the first time, she’d enhanced the sound and listened to it again. She did that three times and ended up only getting about two hours of sleep.
Luna dropped her hands and let loose a massive yawn.
Time to go.
