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“Ferante. Marc Antony Ferante.”
Surprised at not only the name but the ease with which Aubrey had shared the information, Ash said carefully, “Why do you think it’s Ferante?”
“A few years back, a young girl was kidnapped. She was trafficked all over the world. When she was finally rescued, she had blocked out most of her memories of her time in captivity. Most of the things she remembered were vague bits of information that didn’t help the authorities. She remembered being called No. 7, blue water like the ocean, and very tall trees. None of that information helped to narrow down who took her or where she’d been. However, she has a recurring nightmare that both her parents and her therapists have dismissed as symbolism. I disagree.”
“What was it?” Jules asked.
As Aubrey relayed the information about the eagle and her efforts to hunt down that image, Ash couldn’t help but be impressed. She was a thorough researcher. He was also concerned. Ferante was an extremely powerful adversary. If he knew she was on to him—and it was looking as though he did—then she was in extreme danger.
“If Ferante is behind this, how do you think he found out about you?” Ash asked.
“I don’t know, unless someone has been watching me all along. I would imagine my research has made more than a few people nervous.”
“And there could be alarms set up,” Jules added. “If you searched a site linked to Ferante, an alert might have been sounded. It’s easy enough to trace the IP back to the searcher.”
Aubrey nodded. “I’m careful about how I search, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have safeguards I haven’t considered.”
“What about the young victim who was rescued? Is it possible he’s had her watched?”
“Her family changed their names, moved across the country. They’ve taken every precaution.”
“What are you planning to do with this information?”
“I hadn’t gotten that far. I just zeroed in on Ferante a week or so ago, before I went to California. When I returned home yesterday, I realized someone had been in my house, but my research wasn’t found. Serena and Jazz showed up at my house today, and here I am.”
“I know you’re here for a rescue ride-along, but would you be willing to work with our researchers on Ferante? Share what you have, if we do the same?”
“I’m willing to do anything necessary to bring down any human trafficker, no matter who he or she is. And if he is responsible for Lawrence’s death, that’s even more incentive.”
“Excellent.” Ash stood. “If you like, Jules will take you to your room. Come back in an hour, and I’ll have someone show you around OZ.”
The relief on Aubrey’s face was telling. She needed time to herself, and he needed to do a couple more things before he allowed her access to OZ. Letting outsiders inside Option Zero wasn’t something he did lightly. He would never be stupid enough to put his people at risk of exposure without making absolutely sure the outsider could be trusted.
He pressed a key on his phone for Serena. “What’s up, boss?”
“How deeply have you dug into Aubrey Starr?”
“I’ve done a level three.”
Three was the same level of background check that government agencies conducted for their employees. It was the level OZ used for informants and off-site contractors.
“Start a four. Let me know if anything pops up within the next half hour.”
“That’s not a lot of time.”
“No, but it’ll give us a deeper layer than we have now.”
“We’ll get on it.”
“Jules took her to one of the guest rooms. She’ll be back in an hour for a tour.”
“I’ll see you then.”
With anyone else he’d worry he hadn’t give her enough time, but Serena ran her research unit with utmost precision. The chances of her having everything, including Aubrey Starr’s favorite brand of toothpaste in half an hour were good.
Jules walked back into his office, and his heartbeat did a skip. A normal thing when she appeared. Hard to believe how his life had changed in such a short period of time. She had brought sunshine when there had once been only darkness.
Standing, he walked around his desk and held out his hand. “What do you think?”