She frowned and shook her head. Not a good trait for an investigative reporter. She should be asking the hard questions.
Questions like, how did the men know where they were staying? Who were they? How did Blake know they were actually sent after her, and how in the world did he organize the lake house, the courier, and the car without her hearing him talking on the phone? The hotel room wasn’t that large, and she was a light sleeper. Those questions she’d ask as soon as he came back in. She yawned and covered her mouth. The adrenaline spike that had hit her earlier was wearing off, and exhaustion hit her like a brick wall.
She watched Blake as he took the bags out of the car and then turned to face the lake. He scratched his ear and then put his hands on his hips and stared out at the water. “Probably trying to figure out how to keep anyone from sneaking up on the house.” If anyone could do it, it was Blake. She sighed and lay down on the bed. Yawning, she rolled over and pulled the quilt off the footboard of the bed and up over her. She’d close her eyes for just a minute. When Blake came in, she’d shower and get ready for the day.
CHAPTER 11
Blake took the bags out of the backseat of the car and dropped them at the rear of the vehicle. Then he reached up, tapped his ear, and activated his comm device. The whole damn world exploded when he did. He put his hands on his hips and gazed out at the lake as people talked over each other.
“Stop,” Jewell said, and every voice was silenced. “You’re driving me crazy, talking over each other. I can’t imagine how Havoc can understand anyone. Now, be nice, and I’ll unmute you.” She paused, then ordered, “Anubis first.”
“Thank you,” Anubis said before continuing. “It seems Zajac has gotten spooked. We believe that people he pays in Antwerp are attempting to frame Elise.”
“Excuse me?” Blake crossed his arms over his chest. “For what exactly?”
Anubis continued, “The deaths of the private investigator and the two men he took out when they came after them. The Antwerp police released a report naming her the suspect for the murders. That set off bells and whistles in CCS. According to the crap report Jewell pulled from their servers, they have fingerprints and a weapon that matches the gun that killed allthree men. But neither the weapon nor the prints were included in the file. They also have a deepfake video of her image shooting the men. It’s damn good from what our forensics people have told me.”
“It’s good, but we’re fucking better. We’ll find a way to prove that’s fake. And there weretwoguns involved at the crime scene,” Con said. “I have a copy of the initial report that has since been deleted and replaced.”
“How did they get her fingerprints?”
“Good question,” Anubis said. “Jewell?”
“I can’t find a way that they have them actually. They don’t have fingerprints in the system from forensics. I can’t find a forensics report at all. Con, were you able to find one?”
“Nope. It doesn’t exist at the lab where they process their evidence or in the electronic files, so I’m thinking they plan on killing her, then taking her fingerprints and filling in the blanks.”
Blake shivered as a wide shaft of unadulterated hatred for Zajac and everyone doing his bidding slid up his spine. He glanced down the driveway. “Is this location compromised?”
“No.” All three of them answered simultaneously.
“The vehicle you have does not have electronic tracing through the manufacturer. The location is secure and secluded. Keep her out of sight, and no one should come knocking or gunning,” Jewell said.
“And Zajac?” Blake had two missions he was juggling at the moment.
“He’s in Antwerp at the moment, but …” Con didn’t finish the sentence because Anubis took over. “His schedule is booked for the next week, but from what we can determine, after that, appearances and meetings are being cancelled.
“So, he could be coming here.”
“Yes. His compound in Budapest is where he feels safest, and until they locate her and eliminate the threat he believes she’s become, we think he’ll crawl in his hole and stay there.”
“You expect me to take care of her and him at the same time?” He chuckled, “I’ll have to use ropes and a safe room after all.”
Anubis laughed. “That’s still not an option, Havoc. Rook is clear of his last mission and is en route to Hungary as we speak. He’ll watch her when you do your recon and while you complete your mission.”
“Rook should be in the hospital,” Jewell grumbled.
Blake’s head snapped up. “What happened?”
“A minor gunshot wound,” Anubis said casually.
“Gunshot wounds are not minor,” Con said. “Only crazy people say they are.”
“Have you met any of us?” Blake asked the computer specialist.
“Met and married one of you,” Con grumbled.
“Been there and got that t-shirt, too,” Jewell sighed. “Anyway, that being said, I’ve rented a house down the street through an independent agent. It’s currently for sale, but the owners have agreed to rent it for the next month. That’s where Rook will stay so he’s nearby if you need him to watch your reporter when you need to make a move on Zajac. Plus, he can heal.”
