As she worked, part of her mind was already at the museum, imagining the conversation with Pierre and Marcus and the museum staff.They needed to know what she’d found.
But first, she had one more search to run.
She pulled up shipping manifests, customs records, flight plans.If someone was moving stolen artifacts, they’d need transportation.And if they were connected to the Yam Khûmk?n, they’d use specific routes, certain trusted channels.
There.A private jet, registered to a shell company, had made trips between Honolulu and Bangkok six times in the last month.Sophie memorized the tail number, then erased her search history.She’d give the information to Marcus, let him run it through official channels.Her role was information, not action, at least at this time.
She secured her systems, triple-checking the encryption before powering down.As she stood, her phone buzzed.
It was Connor, persistent as always—and as usual, his timing was perfect.
She was ready to deal with him; it was past time he answered for a few things.
Sophie punched the answer button on her phone with her thumb.“Are you finally calling to tell me what’s really going on?”
7
CONNOR
Sophie’s namelit the screen as she answered his call.Her slightly husky voice with its crisp British accent took him by surprise, braced as he’d been for another aborted call.“Are you finally calling to tell me what’s really going on?”she demanded.
“Sophie.”Instead of answering, he leaned back in his padded ergonomic chair and deliberately slowed and softened his tone.“I was beginning to think you were ignoring me.”
“Too busy putting children to bed and hunting expert thieves to deal with you and your schemes.”Her voice carried the blend of frustration and anxiety that had become familiar.“Connor, we need to talk about the museum thefts.”
He closed his eyes briefly.
He needed to see her.Craved it, even.Plus he wanted to gauge her responses by watching them.“Can we switch to video?”
Sophie didn’t answer—but a moment later, his phone screen bloomed to life, filled with her frowning face.
Something inside him unknotted, relaxed.Just looking at her soothed him, even when she was backlit by unflattering blue monitor glow that highlighted how her eyes were circled with tiredness.The scar from a near-fatal case stood out on her cheek more when she was fatigued.The scar pulled her eye down on one side, a faint ridged line paler than the rest of her golden-brown skin.
Nothing could dim her beauty, but she was more precious to him for these frailties and flaws.
Sophie seemed to be studying him too.She glanced away at last, blinking those luminous eyes and giving a little shake of her head.“Damn you,” she said.
“I’ve missed you,” he said.“So much.”
“You have a funny way of showing it, as the Americans say.”There was no mistaking the bitterness in her tone.
“There’s a lot going on over here.I had no choice but to return.I can’t explain everything, but the consequences could be catastrophic—for whole countries.”
“You do realize how grandiose that sounds,” Sophie said icily.“And whatever you’ve been trying to do isn’t working.Someone’s coming after us here—and they have ties to the Yam Khûmk?n.”
Of course she’d already found the connection.Sophie’s brilliance with technology matched his own skills.“You found the digital signature.”
“Yam Khûmk?n protocols, but watered down.As if a student learned from an apprentice.”She glanced down and he heard the soft click of keys in the background.“Another thing you might know about.There’s a jet held by a shell company making runs between Honolulu and Bangkok.Tail number November-Four-Seven-Nine-Kilo-Papa.”
“Yes.”Connor’s jaw tightened; he knew that plane.“That used to be one of ours.”
“Used to be?”Sophie’s tone sharpened.“Connor, what haven’t you told me?”
Connor stood and moved away from his desk.He paced the large stone chamber whose chill walls were softened by luxurious tapestries.His bare feet sank into silken rugs.Through the narrow arrow-slit type windows, dawn was breaking.He stepped outside onto a stone balcony and paced.“When I came back to Thailand, not everyone accepted my return to leadership.Some felt I’d ...compromised the organization by leaving.By choosing you and the children.”
“And these people are now on my island, threatening my family’s safety?”The controlled anger in her voice made him wince.
“I’ve been tracking them.I have people in Honolulu, watching.They won’t get any further with this play.”
