“What does your bag look like?”
“Gray. Rolling. Like everyone else’s, apparently.” She laughed without humor. “I should have bought something distinctive. Lesson learned.”
Movement at the edge of his vision made him turn.
Mags Winston was standing near the storage-room door, arms folded, watching them. She smiled, then turned and walked away.
Huh.
Dakota grabbed his bag and headed back toward the restaurant. The soup would be ready, and Jayden was waiting.
But he filed Mags and Lily away into the what-if category.
He found his soup waiting on a tray and carried it back to the room.
Jayden hadn’t moved.
Dakota set the tray on the bedside table—soup, tea, crackers, everything the kitchen had suggested for a cold—and stood over her for a moment, watching her breathe. The room was warm, the fireplace in the living area casting flickering light through the open doorway. Outside, night had fully fallen, the vineyard hills invisible now except for the distant glow of other buildings.
She looked so small in that enormous bed. Vulnerable.
He pulled the blanket higher over her shoulders, then stepped out onto the terrace.
The night air held a crisp coolness rife with the scent of eucalyptus and distant woodsmoke. Stars twinkled overhead, more than he’d seen in years—the benefit of being far from city lights. The pool glowed softly below, its surface still and reflective.
Dakota pulled out his phone and dialed.
Ham answered on the second ring. “Status?”
“I’m in Hunter Valley. Embedded with the tour group. Still tracking leads.”
“Wine country? What’s going on, South? The summit is in less than a week. I need more than ‘tracking leads.’”
“I’m aware of the timeline.” Dakota kept his voice low, conscious of the open windows and thin walls of vacation properties. “I recovered my materials. The Opera House schematics are secure.”
“Good. Now, tell me about the rifle components? Who do they belong to?”
“I don’t know. Still hunting that.” He didn’t mention that the bag had gone missing. For now.
A pause. Dakota could hear Ham thinking, running scenarios, calculating probabilities.
“We’ve got new intel,” Ham said finally. “Logan from the Caleb group passed it along this morning. The assassin is confirmed to be traveling with a tour group bound for Sydney. Professional, experienced, deep cover.”
“Our group.”
“Probably. There’s more. Profile suggests the operative is using a gender-neutral name. Something that doesn’t immediately identify as male or female. Makes it harder to track, harder to filter.”
Dakota’s chest tightened.
Jayden.
The name surfaced in his mind before he could stop it. Jayden. Gender-neutral. Could be anyone.
“Dakota? You still there?”
Cover protocol. The channel was open. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Gender-neutral name. Got it. Anyone else on your radar?”
“We’re cross-referencing tour manifests now. Should have more by tomorrow.” Another pause. “You sound distracted. Everything okay?”
