With one final look, Jake tipped his chin. “That’s all. Keep your phone close. We’ll do everything we can on our end. In the meantime, I want you to keep looking for a connection between Akmar and Craig Wyatt.”
Nate held out his hand. “I’ll let you know if I find something.”
With a strong grip, Jake returned the handshake. “Good luck, Nate. Stay safe.”
* * *
Full of anxious energy, Gracie waited in Nate’s living room as he rushed to gather his things.
He’d been fairly quiet since his private meeting with Jake.
She wanted to ask what it was about, but he’d been bouncing back and forth between his computer room and bedroom for the past twenty minutes. She got the feeling now wasn’t the time for questions.
A picture on the mantle above Nate’s electric fireplace caught her attention. She walked over to it and began tracing the edge of the wooden frame with her fingertip.
With nothing else to do but wait, Gracie studied the two boys smiling back at her.
One was clearly older. She guessed him to be around seventeen. The other boy looked as though he were eight, maybe nine. Gracie smiled when she realized the youngest boy was Nate as a child.
The two were standing side-by-side and each was holding a fishing pole and a small, plastic tackle box. Behind them was a cabin near a large lake, the setting sun reflecting beautifully off the water’s smooth surface.
It looked like such a happy time. Definitely a much simpler time.
“You ready?”
Gracie turned to face him.
“Yeah.” Eyeing the three bags and backpack he was attempting to lug around, she went to him and pulled the small one from his hand. “Here. Let me carry this one.”
“Thanks,” he mumbled as he handed it to her. “Okay, so just like when we came up here. You stay behind me at all times, and if I tell you to do something, you do it. No questions. Got it?”
“Got it.”
Gracie wasn’t stupid nor did she have a death wish. This was Nate’s area of expertise, so she had absolutely no problem doing as he asked.
As soon as they made it outside, they turned in the opposite direction from where his truck was parked. She started to ask, but Nate beat her to it.
“We have to assume those men know about the team. If that’s the case, then they most likely know where each of us lives, what we drive, all of it. So, instead of taking my truck, we’re going to take this.”
Gracie glanced at the white, four-door sedan Nate was already loading his bags into. “Whose car is this?”
“Jake’s.” He took the bag from her hand and put it into the trunk next to the others. “Well, technically it belongs to R.I.S.C.” He slammed the trunk shut. “We have a few like it.”
She studied it again. “Meaning, cars that don’t stand out or draw any unwanted attention?”
Smiling, Nate winked. “Smart girl.” Opening the passenger door for her, he said, “Come on. If we hurry, we’ll have time to stop and get some food for the cabin before we check in.”
“Cabin?” Gracie asked as she got into the car. She thought back to the picture.
Rather than answer her right away, Nate shut the door and walked around the car’s rear bumper. He kept his eyes peeled on their surroundings the entire way.
Once he’d sat down and shut his door, he turned to her. “You trust me, right?”
“Yes.” There was no hesitation in her answer.
“Good. Then, you should know I’m going to do everything in my power to keep those men from finding you again. Starting with getting us out of the city and to a place I know you’ll be safe.”
“Okay.”
