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CHAPTER EIGHT

C allan followed Alyssa into the living area, pulling his phone from his pocket, and settled on the desk chair.

Alyssa sat catty-corner to him. Her cheeks, pink with embarrassment earlier, had paled. Her eyes were wide and fearful.

He’d do anything, anything to get her out of this. But how?

“Go ahead.” He nodded to the cell in her hand. “Put it on speaker.”

She bent over her phone.

“Wait.”

She looked up, eyebrows lifted.

“I don’t know what you believe.” Was he really going to do this? Now that he’d stopped her, he could see no way out without looking moronic. And anyway, the idea had occurred to him—and probably hadn’t come from him. “Would it offend you if I prayed about it real quick?”

Surprise jolted her back straight. “Uh. No. That would be… Go ahead.”

Callan held his hand out, and she slipped hers into it.

He wasn’t in the habit of praying with people, certainly not at work. Certainly not in situations like this. To be fair, it wasn’t as if he had ever been in a situation like this—staying in a fancy boutique hotel with the one woman he’d never been able to get out of his head.

Her hand felt just right, nestled in his grip.

He prayed for Alyssa, asking God to give her wisdom and words and safety and guidance.

After he said, “Amen,” Alyssa’s head stayed bowed. So he kept his mouth shut, figuring she was asking for something she hadn’t wanted to say aloud.

He liked that.

Was she a Christian? He hadn’t known her well enough to ask before, but the way she prayed now made him wonder.

Just keep her safe, Lord. And me. And…and help me keep my head on straight.

Because as much as Alyssa meant to him, he had Peri to think about now. His daughter needed to be his top priority.

Alyssa looked up. “I’m ready.”

He released her hand and turned on his voice recorder before setting his phone on the coffee table. “Go ahead.”

She dialed.

The phone rang twice before Ghazi said, “Charles Sanders.”

“Charles, it’s Alyssa.” Her voice shook the slightest bit, and she cleared her throat, shifting away from Callan a little. “Sorry I missed your call.”

“It is early in the day. I realize it’s quite soon after giving you the assignment, but I’d hoped you might have a name for me.”

“Not yet, I’m sorry to say. I wanted to get that done ASAP,” Alyssa continued, “but it’s proving as difficult as I feared it would be. And now that Caleb is in town, I want to spend time with him. His job has him traveling so often.”

“I wasn’t aware of your engagement. And I noticed no ring last night.”

A ring! Why hadn’t Callan thought of a ring?

“We haven’t told our families yet.” Alyssa was good at thinking on her feet, which shouldn’t surprise him. “I’m not going to wear the ring until we do.”

“I’m sure they’ll be very happy.” The terrorist sounded perfectly pleasant and at ease. He was good at the deception game.

“I hope so. The point is, I’m not going to be able to complete this project for you. I’m taking some time off to spend with Caleb. It’s been a pleasure?—”

“Ah, well, that is a problem. I’ll need you to complete the task you’ve been paid for.”

Alyssa’s gaze flicked to Callan. “I’m sorry, but I really can’t take on anything right now.”

“I’m afraid I need that name. And I need your help with another project. Therefore, you will keep the money I’ve already transferred into your account, and I will pay you more?—”

“Even if I wanted to, Charles, I really can’t. I didn’t want to bring this up because…well, it’s not your problem. It has nothing to do with you at all. But my apartment was broken into last night. When Caleb and I got home from dinner, there were thieves there. They got away with some of my equipment, including the hard drive from my desktop, which stores my programs and private bots. I need those things to find?—”

“What are you saying?” For the first time in the conversation, Ghazi sounded rattled.

The man’s reaction confirmed Callan’s hunch that Ghazi’s men hadn’t been behind the break-in.

“Is the information you’ve gathered for me secure?” he asked. “Or has it been compromised?” Warning hummed in his words like power on a wire.

“I keep all my clients’ information on a cloud server. I did worry that there might be a trail on my desktop that led to the server, so I downloaded all the data—yours and that belonging to other clients—last night and deleted my account. It’s safe.”

There was a long pause.

Alyssa met Callan’s eyes, fear clouding her expression.

He nodded to tell her she was doing great.

“I appreciate how seriously you take security,” Ghazi said. “That tells me you’re the right person for my next job.”

“Thank you, but like I said?—”

“I like you,” Ghazi said. “I like working with you. I trust you. So you’re going to need to do this job for me.”

“Even if I wanted to, without my equipment?—”

“Whatever you need, I’ll provide for you. I have an office that I’ve filled with state-of-the-art equipment. Anything not already here, I’ll have delivered for you immediately. You can stay on site until you’ve completed the assignment. You’ll find this house quite comfortable.”

“I’m going to have to decline. But thank you so much for?—”

“Perhaps you’re not hearing me, Alyssa.” That warning tone was back, more overt than undercurrent this time. “I can’t take no for an answer.”

She pushed to her feet. “You cannot force me?—”

“Alyssa, let’s not throw around words like force . You’ve procured much information for me. If anybody were to look too closely into how you got that information, I assume they would discover that you’ve broken a few laws. And they might even discover that I’ve broken a few laws. By helping me, you would be considered an accomplice in those crimes. Since I’m not a citizen of this country, I would be able to relocate to a more hospitable nation. I suspect that would be harder for you, what with a family and a fiancé. But if you do one more job for me?—”

“One more,” she snapped. “And then one more, and then one more after that. Is that how this works? Are you blackmailing me?” The shock and outrage in her voice sounded legitimate.

“I’m encouraging you to act in your own best interest.”

Callan gripped her arm. When she looked at him, he mouthed, “Hang up. Hang up now.”

But she wrenched away. “And what am I supposed to tell Caleb? We have plans. I’m supposed to just back out, tell him…what? I’m being forced to work against my will?”

“You’ll come up with something. It will only take a few days.”

Callan reached for her phone, but she angled back, shooting a look.

Though she didn’t speak, he got the message.

Trust me.

The problem was, though Alyssa was quick on her feet, she wasn’t an agent. She didn’t know what she was doing.

He shook his head, hard. Stop talking.

She turned away, taking her phone with her.

What was she thinking?

“What do you want me to do?” she asked.

“We’ll discuss it in person.”

“Fine.” The word sounded as if it had been spoken through gritted teeth, but her anger made sense. “I’ll replace my equipment. Just let me know?—”

“I think not,” Ghazi said. “That will take too long, and since your apartment was compromised, I’d prefer you somewhere safe. I promise to protect you.”

Protect her? Ghazi was the dangerous one.

“Besides, knowing you,” the terrorist continued, “you’ll have the information we need by the end of the day.”

“I don’t like being dictated to.”

“I assure you, Alyssa, when you finish this task, I’ll be out of your life. I’ll pay you well for your work, and nobody ever need know what interesting tactics you’ve used to get my information. We both get what we want.”

She huffed. “You’re not giving me any choice. What’s the job?”

“I’ll tell you when I see you.”

She said nothing. And Ghazi didn’t, either.

Callan moved around the coffee table to get in front of her. He was nearly there when she spoke again.

“I’ll do it.”

He shook his head, mouthing, Stop. Stop!

But she added, “Caleb’s coming with me.”

Callan froze. What was she saying?

On the phone, Ghazi said, “It is not take your boyfriend to work day.”

“He changed his schedule to be home with me this week. We have things we need to manage. Look, Mr. Sanders…Charles.” She softened her voice with his name. “I don’t know anything about…anything you’re doing, and I don’t want to know. But when Caleb saw us together last night, he got the wrong idea. I’d told him I had a business meeting, but when he came in and saw me sitting with an attractive, charming man… It’s stupid. There’s nothing between you and me, but anyway.” She uttered a nervous laugh. “I’m embarrassed to say all this, but how am I supposed to tell Caleb I’m blowing him off to be with you?”

Callan’s heart was thumping hard.

She was selling a story, and she was doing it well. But would Ghazi buy it?

“You have a job to do,” Ghazi said. “A man who travels for work as much as your fiancé does should understand that.”

“Well, yeah. Probably.” She paced in front of the coffee table. Even when she walked toward Callan, she didn’t make eye contact. She was in the zone. “I get that you need me to do this thing for you, and I get that you probably even think you could…blackmail me or whatever.” A hint of humor laced her words now. “I’m sure whatever it is you’ve done, it’s not that bad. You’re a nice guy.”

Alyssa managed to acknowledge that Ghazi was a criminal and, in the next breath, brush that fact away as irrelevant.

She was eerily impressive.

Callan would need to stay on her good side. Well, if he could get on her good side.

“Caleb comes off as super confident,” she said, “but he can be insecure. And, I have to admit, if he told me he needed to go to some gorgeous woman’s home for a few days to do a job, I wouldn’t like it either.”

And there was a roundabout compliment, comparing Ghazi to the male equivalent of a gorgeous woman.

Masterful.

“It would be one thing,” Alyssa said, “if I could do this job at my apartment. Then Caleb could come over. He could do his thing, I could do mine, and we could be together. But after last night, my apartment doesn’t feel safe. I never get this personal with clients, but I don’t know what else to do. Either you let me rebuild my setup at Caleb’s place, which I can probably do in a few days, or you let Caleb come with me to yours.”

Only the sound of breathing came from Ghazi’s end of the phone.

Callan considered what this would mean for himself and his family. He’d promised his parents and Peri that he wouldn’t go into the field again, which was why he’d transferred to work in the Boston office. Now he’d be going back on that promise, taking on a field assignment that might be innocuous.

It probably wouldn’t be dangerous.

But, it could be more dangerous than anything he’d ever done.

His parents had agreed to keep Peri until he could figure out his life, how to be a single father. But Dad hadn’t been feeling well the day before.

Maybe Hannah could take her for a few days. Not that his sister didn’t have anything better to do, but if she could handle the overnights, then Mom and Dad could keep Peri during the day.

They’d figure it out. Peri loved his parents and his sister, and they adored her.

Callan was the one who didn’t belong.

Alyssa lifted her gaze and met Callan’s. She still looked nervous, but she’d managed to turn that to her benefit.

Callan nodded, trying to tell her silently that she’d done well, no matter what happened next.

“All right,” Ghazi finally said. “Your fiancé can come. But I take security very seriously. Please, make it clear to him that he’s not to tell anybody where we are, and he’ll be limited to certain areas of the house.”

“I’ll tell him. He’s got work to do, so as long as he can bring his laptop?—”

“Fine, fine.”

“Good. Give me an address and?—”

“I will have somebody pick you both up. Can you be ready in an hour?”

Callan lifted two fingers, already snatching his phone.

“Can you make it two hours?” she asked.

“Two hours. And the address?”

“We’re at a hotel. Let me just look…”

Callan turned his screen for her to see. He’d found a nearby hotel, and she read the address.

“My driver will meet you there.” The phone beeped.

She checked the screen, then checked it again before tossing her cell onto the coffee table.

She collapsed onto the sofa.

“That was perfect.”

Studying him through squinted eyes, she asked, “But?”

But worry churned inside him. “I don’t love that we’re going to walk into the man’s lair.”

Her eyebrows hiked. “Lair? This isn’t a comic book.”

“You’re right. It’s not. And he’s no fictional villain. He’s a terrorist, and we’re about to let him take both of us.” Maybe for the reasons the man had said. But maybe not. “There’s nothing about this that feels good to me.”

“Should I have refused? I don’t know how I could have.”

“He didn’t give you a choice. And now we’re going to have to go through with it. And pray the Lord brings us out the other side.”