As if he could feel the pain inside her, he leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss behind her ear, whispering, "I'm right here. Just hold onto me if you needto."
* * *
Diggs’happiness that Audra had trusted him and his team was tempered by the uncertainty surrounding Quantum. Would hesurvive?
Would the team recover if hedidn’t?
They’d all held onto the small thread of hope he’d recover fully. Maybe he’d be different, like they all were, but Quantum could make their team whole again. But he hadn’t even uttered a word in the room, just unintelligible grunts and animal-like reflexes. The overdose of serum had killed Dawson – what if it had simply turned Quantum into avegetable?
Audra squeezed his knee and Diggs forced himself to focus on the woman in his lap. She needed him right now. Diggs couldn’t help Quantum, but he could saveAudra.
Diggs held on tight to her, wishing he could save her this pain, but knowing that if they were going to solve this mystery she needed to give her input. When he felt her nod against his head, giving him permission to proceed, he pushed play and Jeremy's voice filled the room.Don’t trust anybody, especially anyone in the military, got that? There’s something bad going on here. I got involved. I’m trying to fixit.”
Jeremy sat on a crate in the center of a tent, one hand balanced on each knee, his crystal green eyes steady. Trigger lay on the ground next to him, uninjured and with all four legs.“They’re sending me on one more mission before we leave. I need you to do something for me. If I don’t make it back, you need to hide. Don’t tell anyone, especially my commander where you are. Take this to Smudge. He’ll know what todo.”
A sound came from somewhere off to his right, and Jeremy’s head cut in that direction, every muscle in his body incredibly tense. He started tapping his fingers on his knees, in a move of what appeared to beagitation.
“Please forgive me, sis. I never meant to hurt anyone.”With one hand Jeremy continued to tap on his knee and with the other he reached down to scratch behind his dog’s ears. The service dog Trigger, in the video appeared completely atease.
“Hey bro, I should have listened to you and joined the frog men. Ya’ll learned all kinds of mad skills I didn’t. Watch out for my sister, for me, okay? And tell Morris I said I shoulda listened to him,too.”
Jeremy continued to glance every few seconds toward what Diggs assumed was the entrance to his tent, all the while tapping on his knee. A tapping that was starting to look a lot more controlled thanrandom.
“You guys seeing what I’m seeing?” Diggssaid.
“Morse code. He’s sending a signal in Morse code,” Juarez breathedout.
“Hicks, grab a pen and paper. Diggs, start that video over from the beginning.” Reaper issued orders out in rapid-firecommand.
Diggs paused the video, giving Hicks enough time to retrieve the pen and paper and then replayed the video in slow motion. Not many soldiers knew Morse code anymore, unless they were in the Navy or took special classes. Jeremy was taking a huge risk, but a smart one. Audra had assumed he’d been worried, but there was a steely calm in Jeremy’s gaze of a man who knew exactly what type of situation he was about to walk into. This was his last effort to tell thetruth.
“Got it,” Hicks tapped his pen on the paper as he read. “He gave two sets of coordinates. Also, two names, Col. Bradshaw and Rashid el Bikbar. Rashid plans to hide the gold in a warehouse in the U.S. and ransom it to Bradshaw.” Hicks looked up from his paper and glanced at Diggs. “He also said he’d tried to stop them but Bradshaw was starting to getsuspicious.”
Audra had gone completely stiff in his arms. He can only imagine what must be going on inside her head. What he wouldn't give to sweep her from the room and drive all these dark thoughts from her mind. But the best way he could help her now would be to avenge her brother's death and kill the men responsible for her assassinationattempt.
"I wondered why he said to go to Smudge. I haven't seen Jeremy's friends since he joined the Navy,” Audrasaid.
"Everyone in the Navy has to learn Morse code. He was trying to send him a message. “Have you contacted Smudge yet?” Reaperasked.
"No, I had to get Trigger first, then I was going to contact him." Audrasaid.
Diggs turned her in his lap, hooking his finger under her chin so that he could look into her eyes. "Were you really not going to ask him forhelp?"
The blush that stole up her pale cheeks gave him hisanswer.
Diggs bit out a soft curse. "You were just going to try and handle this byyourself?"
"Why not? You don't think I'mcapable?"
"Of taking down a Colonel running a terrorist shadow organization?" Diggs askedincredulously.
"I didn't realize it was that big." Audra crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "I thought I could handle it, before the othernight.”
Audra let out a huff and Diggs relented, gently tracing the outline of her lips with his thumb. "Because the thought of you in danger scares me todeath."
Her shoulders deflated instantly her bright green eyes went dark withunderstanding.
Diggs cleared his throat and glanced at the men, who were all watching them with quiet amusement. It was Diggs who set Audra in the chair beside him this time, knowing there is no way he could think straight with her in his lap. He pulled the computer to him and hacked into the NSA database. "I'm going to cross reference Rashid and thecoordinates.”
