Page 27 of Nica (Texas Boudreau Brotherhood #17)

“Someone obviously added a little something extra to your booster shot to make you nauseous. I’d bet that’s when they implanted the tracking chip, because you wouldn’t be paying attention to somebody putting a hand on your shoulder, maybe offering you comfort while you were being sick.

Would’ve been easy enough to inject the tracker without you noticing.

” Mike’s fingers paused over the keyboard.

“This chip is sophisticated, Gabe. We’re not dealing with some disgruntled patient or random stalker.

This is organized, well-funded, and whoever did this is extremely patient and is playing a long game. ”

Gabe’s phone rang, the caller ID showing an international number. His heart sank before he even answered, because he had a feeling he knew who it was and why they were calling before he even answered.

“Dr. Summers? This is Dr. Elisabeth Hoffman from the World Health Organization.” The woman’s accent was crisp, professional, and apologetic. “I’m calling regarding our recent offer of the field director position in Geneva.”

“Let me guess,” Gabe said, his voice hollow. “You’re withdrawing it.”

“I’m afraid so. We’ve received several concerning communications regarding your qualifications and your departure from Stanford University. While we haven’t verified these claims, the nature of the allegations requires us to—”

“What allegations?” Gabe’s free hand clenched into a fist. “What exactly are you being told?”

There was a pause. “Claims of misconduct, drug use, medical malpractice in the death of a patient, as well as inappropriate relationships with colleagues. The emails contained documentation, and though we haven’t had time to authenticate the—”

“None of it’s true.” Gabe’s voice cracked with frustration. “Dr. Hoffman, I’m being harassed by someone who’s trying to destroy my career. The FBI is investigating—”

“FBI?” Mike looked up sharply and held out his hand for the phone. “Gimme that.”

“Dr. Hoffman, please hold on a moment.” Gabe handed it over, watching as Mike’s expression grew grim during the brief conversation he had with Dr. Hoffman. When Mike hung up, his jaw was tight.

“She’s agreed to hold off on any final decisions for seventy-two hours while we investigate further,” Mike said.

“But Gabe, whoever’s gunning to take you down is escalating.

The emails to WHO weren’t just accusations; they included documents that looked authentic enough to fool a preliminary review.

Obviously forged, but we have to prove that, and it’ll take time. Time we don’t have.”

“How is that possible?”

“Someone with serious resources and connections. The kind of person who can get their hands on Stanford letterhead, maybe even hack into databases to create false records.” Mike closed his laptop and looked directly at Gabe. “We need to talk about protection for Nica.”

The mention of his wife’s name sent ice through Gabe’s veins. “She’s with her mother at the bakery in town. There’s a deputy sheriff stationed outside watching them. I made sure she’s never alone.”

“If they’ve been tracking you for months, they know your routines, your habits. They know exactly when you leave for work, when you come home, when Nica goes to the school library or the grocery store. They know her work schedule. They know everything, Gabe.”

The full horror of the situation crashed over him.

His enemy hadn’t just been watching him—they’d been studying his entire life, learning every detail about the woman he loved.

The flowers at the school, the journal quote, the man Nica had seen following her—it was all connected, all part of some elaborate psychological torture.

How much more had this monster done to his wife and Gabe hadn’t known, hadn’t realized?

“We have to get her out of town,” Gabe said, already reaching for his phone to call her.

“Wait.” Mike caught his arm. “If we move too fast, if we change patterns too dramatically, they’ll know we’re onto them. We need to be smart about this.”

“Smart?” Gabe’s voice rose. “They’re stalking my wife, Mike. They’ve invaded her privacy, her sense of security. How much smarter do we need to be?”

“Smart enough to catch them.” Mike’s tone was steady, professional.

“Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to set up surveillance on your apartment—undercover, a team I’ve worked with in the past—Nica won’t even know they’re there.

We’re going to clone your tracking signal and use it to draw whoever’s doing this into the open. ”

“How?”

Mike smiled grimly. “We’re going to make them think you’re going somewhere they can’t resist following. Somewhere isolated where we can control the situation and finally get our hands on them.”

Gabe felt a chill that had nothing to do with the outside temperature. “You want to use me as bait.”

“I want to end this before it gets worse.” Mike’s expression was serious. “Because it will get worse, Gabe. People who go to these lengths, who have these kinds of resources, they don’t just stop. They escalate until they get what they want or until someone stops them.”

“What do they want?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out.” Mike opened the car door. “But first, we need to make sure Nica is protected without alerting our stalker that we’re onto them. Can you think of a reason to suggest she visit her family for a few days? Something natural, not forced?”

Gabe thought for a moment, his mind churning through possibilities.

“Her sister-in-law’s been having problems with her pregnancy.

Nica’s worried about her. Because Dane and Destiny live in the foreman’s house there on the property, it won’t seem strange to the rest of the town if Nica stays at the Boudreau ranch for a few days. ”

“Perfect. Encourage her to go. Make it seem like your idea—maybe tell her you have to go to some out-of-town lectures or medical meetings, and you’ll be too busy with work to give her the attention she deserves if she comes with you.

Tell her you’d worry if she’s alone while you’re out of town, and you’ll feel better if she’s at the ranch, where they have good security.

It won’t be too big a stretch, because you will be busy.

” They climbed back into the car and Mike started the engine. “How good an actress is your wife?”

“Why?”

“Because if this plan is to work, we’re going to need her to play a very convincing role when the time comes. The question is whether she can handle knowing the truth about what we’re up against.”

“She managed to keep our marriage a secret from her parents for three months. I think she’ll be able to handle whatever you need.

Nica’s as anxious as I am to find this person and end the harassment.

I won’t lie to her, never again. I’ll convince her to go to the ranch, but she’ll know exactly why she’s there.

I promised her no more secrets. And don’t worry, she’ll play her part, because she wants to end this as much as I do. ”

As they drove back toward Main Street, Gabe stared out the window at the familiar streets of Shiloh Springs.

Somewhere in this small town, or perhaps watching from a distance, someone had invaded his life so completely that they knew things about him he’d forgotten himself.

Someone who had turned his career into a weapon against him and was now threatening everything he held dear.

The tracker in his shoulder felt like it was burning, a constant reminder he was being hunted. But Mike was right—now that they knew about it, the hunted could become the hunter.

He just prayed they could move fast enough to protect Nica from whatever came next.

Mike’s phone buzzed with a text message. He glanced at it and his expression darkened.

“What is it?” Gabe asked.

“My contact at the Bureau just ran the serial number from your tracking chip.” Mike’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel. “It’s military grade, Gabe. The kind of technology that’s supposed to be classified, and not available for sale to the public.”

The implications hit like a sledgehammer. Whoever was doing this had connections that went far beyond what they’d imagined. This wasn’t just about his career or his past at Stanford—this was something much bigger, much more sinister and dangerous.

And Nica was smack dab in the middle of it.