“And then there’s this guy,” Zephyr says. “Domina? Take a good look at him.”
Sitting up, I narrow my eyes at the screen. “I have seen him before. But…I don’t know where.”
“He’s a low-level staffer on Eduardo Muñoz’s campaign. And for the last ten minutes of the rally, he was on his phone, right next to the west gate. When Cortez’s detail went on full alert, Gustavo Bernal slipped out of the stadium and into a black SUV withno plates. I lost him when a bus blocked the traffic camera a mile from the stadium. Maybe he just wanted to see how the crowd reacted to Cortez’s speech. But maybe…”
Leo straightens with a muffled groan. “Maybe he knew exactly what was going to happen. Or thought he did. And when the sniper didn’t land a kill shot, he rabbited.”
“Give the man a gold star,” Zephyr says as her face fills the screen once more. “Rip agrees with me. This is the guy to start with.” She taps her keyboard a few times, and Austin and Trevor’s phones vibrate on the table. “Sent you all the info we could get on everyone. We’ll keep digging—look for offshore bank accounts, spouses, parents, kids with accounts beyond their means, all of it. But this should be enough to get you started. Oh, and Leo?”
“Yeah?” He’s still exhausted, and his right hand shakes until he balls it into a fist and his knuckles turn white.
“I wiped all the data from your phone and tablet. The Ministry of Public Service still has them, and they’ve been trying to break your encryption non-stop. If they do, the only thing they’ll find is a truly unhealthy obsession with puppies dressed up in Halloween costumes.”
Leo’s shoulders slump, and he nods. “Shit. There wasn’t much on there I can’t recover, but…I didn’t back up the last few pictures…”
“Oh, please,” Zephyr says. “Like I’d let you lose data. Austin has new tech for you, and I’ve already restored everything. Even gave you a new lock screen.” She winks, then stifles a yawn. “I’m going to catch a few hours before Ronan comes to drag me out of here. Call me if anything breaks.”
The screen goes black, and Leo staggers to his feet. “Phone,” he says to Austin. “Now.”
The man chuckles and digs in a small duffel bag on the floor. “Iwasgoing to surprise you with it. Should have known Zephyr would put an end to that plan.”
Leo taps the power button, and the screen lights up.
Oh, my God.
It’s a picture of us. Smiling, having lunch at Cucina de Mare.
“I didn’t back up the last few pictures…”
The ones of us. The last few photos were all of us.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Leo
I can’t stop staringat the phone. I was too out of it when Austin, Trevor, and Domina found me to even think about what the Ministry might be doing with my tech—or my apartment—but as soon as Zephyr said she’d wiped everything, I realized what I’d lost.
Having this picture—the only one of just the two of us—soothes me in a way I didn’t know I needed.
“Leo?” Domina’s right next to me, her hand on my arm, squeezing just above my elbow. “Did you hear Trevor?”
I blink hard, and dammit. I need my eye drops. The lack of sleep combined with repeated blows to the head didn’t do my prosthetic—or my eyelid—any favors. “No. Sorry. What did you say?”
Trev shoots me a look of disbelief. “You need a solid eight hours, man. Not another cup of coffee.”
“You want me coherent for the call to Cortez?” I fill my mug, then Domina’s. “No amount of caffeine in the world will keep me up much longer, but I need to know we’ll be safe here tonight.”
“What do you call all of this?” he asks, gesturing to the firepower and tech strewn about my living room. Three M4 rifles, six handguns, enough ammunition for half a dozen firefights, comms units, GPS trackers, night-vision goggles, tactical gear… They thought of everything. “Give us some credit, Leo. We might be ‘retired’ from government work, but we still know our shit.”
I slump against the counter, exhausted, in pain, and embarrassed at just how much of an ass I’m being to one of my only friends in this world. “Sorry. I’m wiped. Not thinking straight.”
Trevor ambles into the kitchen, shoots Domina a quick glance, and angles his head toward the couch. “Give me a minute with him?”
“I have some extra blankets next door,” she says. “If you and Austin are going to sleep here…”
Pritchard stands, tucks one of the comms units into his ear and holsters his Glock. “That’d be great. We’ll be right back.”
Fear prickles along the back of my neck. I don’t want Domina out of my sight for even a minute. But Austin won’t let anything happen to her. Hell, he’s a better protector than I’ll ever be. He’s got two working eyes, and only minor shrapnel damage to his shoulder. In a fight, I’d bet on him every time.
