Katrina’sphonerangjustas she left the resort restaurant after having lunch with Khloe, Lakelyn, and the rest of the bridesmaids.Her heart leaped, hoping it was Darwin calling to let her know he was already coming back.He’d had to leave so fast this morning, she hadn’t been able to tell him how wonderful last night had been.And she wasn’t just talking about the sex.While that had been awesome, she was thinking more about admitting how they felt about each other.The idea that Darwin was falling for her as fast as she for him made her all gooey inside.
She quickly took her phone out of her purse, deflating a little when she saw the call wasn’t from him.In fact, she didn’t recognize the number on her phone at all.She was seconds away from letting it go to voicemail when she realized it might be Darwin calling from a different number.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Katrina.It’s Kyla.Can we talk somewhere you won’t be overheard?It’s important.”
Katrina hesitated.She’d been on her way to her room to grab her dress and shoes for the wedding.The plan was to meet up in Khloe’s suite and spend the rest of the afternoon taking pictures and leisurely getting ready.But they’d been waiting for this call from Kyla.She had to take it.
She was curious why Kyla wasn’t calling Darwin, though.
Looking around, Katrina realized there were way too many people around this part of the lobby.“Hold on a second.Let me find a quieter place to talk.”
Moving outside, she headed around to the side of the resort, making sure there was no one within hearing distance.“Okay.I’m outside where no one can hear me.What’s up?”
“Great.Is Darwin there?”
“No.He had to go back to San Nicolas Island again.”
On the other end of the line, Kyla sighed.“Since he’s not answering his phone, that’s what I thought, which is why I called you.”
For a moment, she wondered how Kyla had gotten her number, but then remembered she was a hacker.It probably hadn’t been that difficult for her to track down Katrina’s phone number.
“I took all the information you and Darwin provided, dug into everyone’s background, and then started looking for connections with people who might want to get their hands on a weapon like the Genesis drone,” Kyla said, getting straight to the point.“Bottom line, it looks like your father and the other people from his investment group have gotten themselves involved with an international criminal named Nick Chapman.The man used to be in the Navy SEALs, but later became a soldier of fortune and a well-known arms dealer who travels the world acquiring and selling weapons.If he’s involved in this situation, that’s about as bad as it gets.There’s a long history of people dying when they get in between him and what he wants.”
“Slow down and back up,” Katrina said, realizing she’d started breathing hard somewhere along the way.Probably at the part where Kyla announced her father was working with an international arms dealer.“First, how do even know Chapman is involved?And how are you so sure my father is the one he’s dealing with?”
“Over the past year or so, Chapman has become a big player in the world of weaponized drones,” Kyla told her.“When he makes a move somewhere, people take notice.Chapman flew into San Diego International about a week ago, and a lot of people noticed.It’s a safe bet he’s in town to procure a new weapon.When I did a little snooping of the airport video, I found several views of Chapman being picked up by another familiar face–Silas Forbes.”
“But just because Silas is involved, that doesn’t mean it goes all the way back to my father,” Katrina said, even as her heart started sinking.“Silas might be doing this on his own.”
Katrina could practically feel the exasperation coming through the phone from the other woman, but at least Kyla didn’t call her on what was more wishful thinking than anything else.
“Maybe,” Kyla finally admitted.“I don’t have anything directly tying Chapman to your father or brother, other than the fact that the arms dealer is in town, meeting with Silas and several other members of the investment group run by your father.But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.Either your father is working a deal with Chapman to sell him the Genesis weapon, or he’s standing in the way of a deal to sell him the Genesis weapon.One way or the other, it’s not going to end well for your father.The first likely ends up with him in prison, the second ends somewhere much worse.”
Katrina’s heart thudded all the way down to the pit of her stomach, fear threatening to overwhelm her.
“I need to talk to my father,” she said, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice.“I have to let him know who he’s dealing with.He needs to get out now before it’s too late.”
“Normally, I’d prefer if you had Darwin with you before confronting your father, but in this case, you may not have time to wait for him to come back,” Kyla said.“Chapman is scheduled to fly out of San Diego International first thing tomorrow morning, which suggests that whatever is going down will happen tonight.”
Katrina’s head spun.This was all happening too fast.She and Darwin were supposed to talk to her father together, but now he was on San Nicolas Island, without any assurances that he’d get back in time for the wedding, much less talk to her father.
She took her phone away from her ear to look at the clock and cursed silently.She didn’t have much time if she wanted to talk to her father.Khloe’s wedding was tonight at eight, and the hours between now and then were supposed to be filled with plenty of girl time as they all got their hair and make-up ready, took pictures, and shared stories about guys.It was all about spending time with her sister.
But she didn’t have a choice.She had to talk to her father and try to get him to see the danger he was putting himself and the rest of the family in.Even if he was too stubborn to listen.
“Keep trying to get in contact with Darwin,” Katrina finally said into the phone.“And let him know I’m going to talk to my father.Hopefully, everything will work out, and Dad will listen to reason, and we’ll be out of danger before Darwin gets back.”
“I hope so, too,” Kyla answered, though she sounded doubtful.“Be careful.And if anything doesn’t feel right, get out of there and call me, okay?”
“I will,” Katrina said as she hung up, having a hard time believing she’d have to worry about being in danger from her father.
Slipping her phone into her purse, Katrina quickly walked through the shadows being thrown by the setting sun, making her way toward the pathway that led to her parents’ house.Maybe she could use the walk to clear her head and figure out what the heck she was going to say to her father.
That plan went sideways the moment she reached the back of the resort and saw the flashing blue lights of several police vehicles and the crowd of people gathered near the edge of the vineyard, effectively blocking the pathway she’d been hoping to take to her childhood home.
Torn between curiosity at what was going on and the urgent need to reach her father, Katrina kept going, intending to circumnavigate the whole mess when she saw Khloe standing near the front of the crowd with Asher and Upton, not more than ten feet away, talking to a cop.
