Page 30 of Poison Evidence

Luke decided to exercise his right to remain silent. The man was the US attorney general, after all, and Luke was fairly certain handing Parker that parachute had broken several laws. He’d chosen not to read up on which ones, but he’d bet aiding and abetting were among the key verbs.

“Thank you for the information. It’s been invaluable,” Curt said.

“You’re welcome, sir.”

The line clicked dead. Undine stood, crossed her arms, and glared at him. “He’s going to order Ivy to work with Parker.”

He stood and wrapped his arms around her. “With good reason. If Ivy helps him find the AUUV, and a team of SEALs manages to rescue her, her technology,andthe AUUV, we’d dodge escalation with Russia over the fact that their spy abducted her. This could easily turn into Cold War brinksmanship all over again.”

“And Ivy’s at the center of it.”

She was stiff against him, so he ran his hand up her back. “I had to tell the truth.” She relaxed into him by slow degrees. “Ivy’s in danger, from the men who attacked the party, and others searching for the AUUV. There’s no one better to have by her side. Did you read the news reports of what he did to the party crashers?”

“I hope you’re right,” she said as she pressed her face into his chest. “Because it sounds like Curt is planning to gamble with Ivy’s life.”

Chapter Eleven

The problem with being at sea in the open ocean was the roar of the engine would cover the sound of Dimitri sneaking up on Ivy, should he decide to put the boat in cruise control and step away from the bridge.

No good captain would leave the helm while a boat was underway, but she had no way of knowing if Dimitri Veselov was a good captain or not.

She had no choice. This could well be her only opportunity to have unfettered communication with Mara. She settled on Dimitri’s bed, facing the stateroom door with her cell phone in her hands. He hadn’t confiscated her cell—why bother when there were no cell towers for at least fifty nautical miles?

Her satellite uplink had safeguards to prevent cell phones from connecting to the signal, but Ivy knew the hack for that. Linking an unsecure phone to the military’s ultra-encoded system would get her fired, but committing treason would send her to prison.

Sometimes in life, you have to make hard choices, but this wasn’t one of them.

In less than ten minutes, she was in. Her cell phone was live. She sent a text to Mara, as that would be least likely to be detected and trigger a shutdown of her hacked link.

Did you get the photo?

A reply came a minute later.

Curt here. Photo received. Do you know who he is?

She didn’t know why she hesitated for a moment before responding. She owed Dimitri no loyalty. He was a good lay. Nothing more.

Ivy: Yes. Dimitri Veselov, Russian. Says he’s former GRU.

Curt: Has he hurt you?

Ivy: Nothing but my pride. Didn’t suspect. Feel like a fool.

Curt: You aren’t the first to be fooled by him.

Ivy: You know of him?

Curt: I knew him under another name. Will pass Veselov identity to CIA and DIA. Has he told you what he wants?

Ivy: He’s looking for something in the Rock Islands.

Curt: Confirmed. Has he told you who he’s working for?

Ivy: No. He said he’s freelancing now. Wouldn’t name his employer. He’s forcing me to help him. Said he’d drop CAM in the sea and abandon me on an island if I don’t cooperate.

There was a long break between messages. Was Curt disappointed in her for not fighting back? Should she have chosen that fate and hoped she’d be found? Should she feel bad for cooperating? For not wanting to see the first CAM prototype destroyed?

Finally, her phone chimed again.