"How?" Knox asked.
Allie walked over to Rowan. "Do you have the complete guest list? Of everyone at the resort right now?"
Rowan lifted his Incredible Hulk mug off a stack of stapled papers. "Um, yeah. Jason asked Mr. Drakos for it when we got here." He handed it to her.
"What are you thinking?" Jason asked. "We know there are several Americans here."
"Yes," she answered without lifting her eyes from the list. "ButcertainAmericans could be especially . . ." She scanned the list hoping she'd seen who she thought she'd seen yesterday near the beach.
And . . . there he was. Next to another name that could be helpful.
"Found him," she said. "Actually, I foundthem."
"Who?" Jason and Knox asked in unison.
She turned the list around to face Knox and pointed at the two names. "Threatening Americans overseas can sometimes be charged as a crime in the US, but threatening the sitting Treasury Secretary and a current US senator could be seen as a more serious crime."
Knox grabbed the list from her hand and stared at the names. "Treasury Secretary Thrasher and Senator Carlington are both at The Mandeville right now?"
"Yep."
Jason grinned. "Nice, Allie. You're right. Threatening a senator and a presidential cabinet member will give the government more to work with." He took a deep breath with a slow exhale. He looked a fraction less tense. "Okay, we need to focus on our part, or our government will have no one to prosecute." He held up one finger. "Our first priority is everyone's safety, which means making sure the bombs don't detonate." He held up a second finger. "And our second priority is ensuring the bomber and Kendall escape to an extradition country." He used air quotes when he said "escape."
"You want to let them escape?" Allie asked.
"Don't worry. It's part of the plan. Drakos has a long-range helicopter sitting on the helipad. I told him to make sure it stays put because we may need it. He's not thrilled about it, but he's getting desperate about getting rid of Byron. I've been talking to our contacts at the FBI. They believe Byron is based in Venezuela, so that may be where Kendall or the bomber head to after they leave here."
"But Venezuela is a non-extradition country," Allie said.
An almost-smile flitted across Jason's face. "I know. But if they take Drakos's long-range helicopter, they won't have enough fuel to make it all the way to Venezuela, so the pilot will have to stop in Grenada to refuel. And the FBI won't have any trouble picking them up in Grenada."
An appreciative smile sprawled across Knox's face. "And you know the pilot will stop in Grenada because . . .?"
"Because I called Nash Stone. He was already in the Caribbean, so he'll be here in an hour or so."
Knox looked very pleased with Jason's answer. Allie didn't know the name Nash Stone, but clearly Knox did.
Jason continued. "He'll be sitting in the helicopter, as if he's waiting for a passenger from the resort." He looked at Knox. "Our job is to make sure the bomber and/or Kendall decide to take Drakos's chopper."
"Oh, sure. No problem. Easy peasy," Knox said.
Allie knew Knox's sarcasm masked his apprehension about Jason's plan. She narrowed her gaze at him. "How are you going to do that?"
Knox grinned. "No idea. But we'll figure it out."
She let herself study his face for an extra moment. The unease she thought she'd perceived was minimal to nonexistent. "You like the challenge, don't you?"
A mix of surprise and amusement lit his face. "Yes, I do."
She respected his eagerness to tackle dangerous challenges. It was attractive. And nerve-racking. But she knew that caring about Knox Coulter meant supporting his calling to run headfirst into danger on a regular basis.
Was it worth the stress?
She didn't have to explore his soft gaze more than two seconds to know he was worth all the worry he'd provoke in her.
She offered him a genuine smile and turned to Jason. "You don't think they'll be suspicious?"
Jason shook his head. "So far, Kendall just thinks we're Drakos's private security. He doesn't know we have any contacts within the American government. They don't realize who they're dealing with. What we need to focus on first is finding the bomber. We cannot allow those bombs to detonate."
