Nasim suddenly bolted through the crowd, and she could no longer see him. “Goldilocks on the move.”
“Getting in a silver SUV. Run the plate, Cam.” Mack rattled off the license plate number. “Vehicle’s departing. So are we.”
She heard a car door slam and saw Sean pull out of their space. She watched them drive off, leaving her feeling vulnerable, and also feeling extremely thankful for Evan. She waited for anger over his behavior at the motel to surface.
It didn’t.
Not because of his apology, though that did help. But on the chopper ride, she’d given her conversation with Mack someconsideration. It was looking like Evan’s actions could be motivated by more than fear of someone dying on his watch. The kiss and his comment told her that much.
He would give his life for her for a myriad of reasons. His oath to protect others. His desire to do the right thing. That fear too.
And she would do the same thing. She would rather die than let him be harmed.
Oh, man.She had feelings for him too. Love? She’d never been in love. Sure, she’d had crushes before. But love? No. She’d never allowed herself to fall for anyone. Or maybe she had when she and Evan first met. Still, this achy, wonderful feeling had to be love. It could be nothing else. The thought left her breathless.
“Car’s a rental.” Cam’s voice came over the earbud. “I’ll track down the contract.”
“Brother Bear is on his way out the same door,” Evan said.
Kiley looked down the way and spotted Ibrahim. He wore jeans, hiking boots, and a tan T-shirt, making her wonder what he might be planning. “Got eyes on him,” she said.
A black sedan darted to the curb, and he tossed a small bag in the back, then climbed in.
Kiley jumped into their Corolla. “Black sedan pulling from the curb.”
“Got it,” Evan said.
He waited a beat before merging into traffic, hanging back so that Ibrahim or his driver didn’t spot them. As an ICE agent, Evan likely did his fair share of surveillance, and she was immediately impressed with his skills in tailing them without being discovered.
They trailed Ibrahim out of the airport, and Kiley gave Cam the plate number to run, then pulled up a map on her iPad to track their progress.
“Goldilocks headed north on Highway 99,” Mack reported.
“Brother Bear going the same way,” Kiley said.
“Brother Bear in a rental car too,” Cam said. “Working on getting both contracts now.”
The miles passed while Kiley kept her focus riveted to the black sedan, and as traffic thinned, Evan backed off even more.
“Goldilocks merging onto Highway 70,” Mack announced.
“Roger that.” Kiley looked at the map and then at Evan. “Looks like they’re heading to the dam.”
“Brother Bear remaining on Highway 99,” she told Mack and Sean. “Do you think Goldilocks’s driver made a mistake and missed staying on 99?”
“Maybe,” Mack replied. “Or maybe they’re both on the move as decoys to distract us from the real targets. Or they could know they’re being tailed and they’re splitting up to confuse us.”
“Nasim has to know he’s under surveillance and suspect he’d be tailed,” Evan said.
“Likely true for Ibrahim too,” she said, watching him take the dam exit and reporting his movements to the other team.
“I don’t like this,” she said to Evan as he followed Ibrahim down winding roads through the Oroville Wildlife Area.
Evan’s sharp focus didn’t leave the road. “He could simply be tasked with surveilling the area.”
“I hope that’s all they’re up to.” She leaned forward and watched as Ibrahim pulled into a launch area and drove straight toward the water.
Evan stopped their car where they overlooked the ramp running downhill toward the lake. Kiley quickly updated the others on their location.
