Page 84 of Poison Evidence

Ian returned to the upper chamber and studied the computer. It was shut down, which meant only Ivy could start it. He’d pack it up and bring it to her. They’d use it to find Veselov before he found the AUUV and made his escape.

Ivy was the key. To the AUUV. To Veselov. And to Zack.

He needed to call Luke, the CIA, FBI, and his boss to tell them all what he’d found in the cave. But he had one other call he needed to make first. He stood under the largest skylight in hopes of making a connection and dialed the number on his satellite phone.

Cressida answered on the first ring. “Well?” she asked, the single word as anxious as he felt.

“Sorry, honey. Zack got away.”

“We knew that was likely.” He could hear the disappointment in her voice.

“True.” His gaze fixed on the trail of blood. “The good news is he bled. A lot. And Ivy said it was a head wound.”

“Well now, there’s a reason to celebrate.”

Ian smiled. “He’s still here. He’s after CAM and the AUUV. We’ll get him.”

“You will. But protect Ivy. She comes first.” Cressida paused. “Is Veselov—?”

“Gone.”

“If what you suspect about their relationship is true, that’s going to crush her,” Cressida said.

Ian fixed his gaze on CAM and the drone. “I just hope she’s right about him. Because Dimitri Veselov would make a dangerous enemy.”

Ivy woke in stages, logic being the last thought process to come online. Disoriented, it took her a moment to grasp the concept of hospital room. Well, really more medical clinic, and a small one at that considering Palau’s population was lower than that of her outer-beltway hometown in Maryland.

Her arm was numb, as though it didn’t exist. Surgery, she remembered. To remove the bullet, clean the wound, and set the bone. They’d used a general anesthetic in case they needed to use metal pins to connect the bone.

She looked toward the man sitting in her visitor’s chair. Luke Sevick. She’d told him and Ian as much as she could before the surgery.

“The break was relatively clean,” Luke said. “But they did have to rebuild the break with metal reinforcement.”

She offered up a weak smile. “Please tell me they gave me bionic parts.”

He smiled back. “Sadly, no. Your arm is splinted for now. The doctor said they won’t cast it until after the swelling goes down in a day or two.”

“Thank you. For staying with me. I know you wanted to go with Ian.”

He tilted his head to acknowledge her thanks. “Zack Barrow escaped.”

She’d feared that, but she had another concern. “And Dimitri?”

“He wasn’t in the cave either.”

If she wasn’t drugged from the surgery, she might feel more pain—or even relief—at that statement, but as it was, there was a veil that separated her from really feeling. “And CAM?” she asked. She doubted any drug could mask the pain she’d feel if Dimitri had taken CAM.

“Ian found both CAM and the drone in the cave.”

A tear spilled down her cheek, but her brain was too fuzzy to quite understand why. Happy or sad, she didn’t know.

“If you have any idea where he’s gone, Ivy, you need to tell us. There are things about Dimitri you don’t know.”

“He told me you were friends. That he trusts you.”

Luke’s lips flattened. “I no longer trust him.”

“Is it true he was the other man on the Osprey? He helped you that night?”