Page 33 of Secrets Beneath the Waves (Beach Read Thrillers #2)

CHAPTER

ELEVEN

Iranian Ministry of Intelligence

Tehran

The dimly lit office reeked of stale cigarettes and frustration. The high-ranking Iranian intelligence officer sat behind his oversized metal desk, and his fingers drummed an impatient rhythm on its worn surface.

“One man dead,” he muttered, his voice low and venomous. “And still no sign of this woman.”

His piercing gaze fell on the map spread across the desk, detailing the Cayman Islands with precise markings.

Every lead, every contact, and every failed attempt to locate Jamie Austen's daughter was documented in red ink.

Each failure was a thorn in his side, a blemish on his otherwise impeccable reputation as someone who got things done.

The assistant director of intelligence leaned back in his chair and exhaled sharply. “How hard can it be to find one woman on a small island?” he hissed to no one in particular. His men, stationed outside the office, knew better than to interrupt him when he was in this state.

His phone buzzed on the desk and jolted him out of his thoughts. He snatched it up as his mood shifted to one of anticipation. The caller ID displayed a single, cryptic word: Contact .

He answered on the second ring. “Speak.”

The voice on the other end was nervous and spoke in a distinct American accent. “I have information.”

The director’s free hand balled into a fist. “You’re late. I expected something a few days ago.”

“These things take time,” the contact replied coolly. “But I think you’ll find this worth the wait.”

“Go on.”

“Ellie Austen is planning a scuba diving trip on Saturday.”

The director’s lips curved into a slow, predatory smile. “How reliable is this?”

“Very. I’ve confirmed it.”

“Good. If true, then you’ll be rewarded accordingly.”

“Speaking of rewards . . . we need to discuss additional payment for this information.” The mole’s tone had shifted slightly. A hint of greed seeped through his otherwise professional demeanor.

The director’s smile vanished, replaced by a cold glare directed at the empty room. “We’ve already paid you. Double.”

“That’s not good enough,” the contact said, his voice firm. “This information is time-sensitive and precise. I’ve gone to considerable risk to secure it, and you’re not the only one who’d pay for it.”

For a moment, the director said nothing. The silence stretched, taut as a wire. Finally, he spoke. “Fine. But if this information is false, you’ll regret it.”

“It won’t be,” the contact said confidently. “You’ll see.”

The line went dead, leaving the director staring at his phone. Slowly, he set it down and leaned forward, his hands steepled in front of him as he considered his next move.

He picked up another phone, a secure line, and dialed a number from memory. The call connected almost immediately.

“It’s me,” he said curtly. “You have new orders. The girl will be scuba diving on Saturday. Find her. It shouldn’t be hard.”

The voice on the other end responded with a quick acknowledgment before the line disconnected. The director leaned back in his chair as a rare flicker of satisfaction made him smile.

Finally, the pieces were falling into place. This time, there’d be no mistakes. Jamie Austen’s daughter wouldn’t slip through their fingers again.

Friday morning

Ellie’s stomach churned with nervous energy as she tied her hair back into a ponytail and adjusted the gun strapped to her lightweight dive suit. Hidden in the suit were two knives. She hoped she didn’t have to use any of the weapons.

All the details were in place. She’d gone down to the marina early that morning to make sure everything was in order. She’d rented a twenty-eight-foot speed boat because she wanted something fast.

Matthew stepped out of his car right on time, dressed in his usual confident demeanor. He smiled as he approached the boat. She took his gear from him and set it on the boat as he stepped in from the dock. A quick kiss on the side of the lips sent a pang of regret through her.

The thought of killing Matthew pained her heart, even if he was the mole.

“Ready for an adventure?” he asked, his voice light, but with a tension Ellie couldn’t ignore. He pointed at her gun. “Are you expecting trouble?”

“Always,” she replied as she forced a smile. “I can’t be too careful.”

Her voice sounded steadier than she felt.

The ride to the dive site was quiet, filled with occasional comments about the weather and the beauty of the sea. Ellie kept her gaze fixed on the crystal-blue water, rehearsing the conversation she knew she had to have with him.

“Where are we headed?” Matthew asked as they passed other dive boats clustered around the more popular sites and ventured farther into the deeper sea.

“It’s a lesser-known wreck,” she said. “Not many people come out here. I thought it’d be nice to explore something off the beaten path.”

Matthew nodded but frowned slightly.

Ellie forced a small smile. “Sometimes, it’s what’s undiscovered that’s more interesting. You know, live dangerously.”

Matthew studied her for a moment. “What’s going on Ellie? You have a gun on your hip. Now we’re going to a dangerous dive spot. Are you sure it’s safe?”

“As safe as any dive.”

He could obviously tell that something was different in her demeanor. Enough to make the air between them feel heavier.

Ellie turned her attention back to the open sea, keeping one wary eye on him. They were almost there. And soon, she’d get the answers she was looking for.

She brought the boat to a stop near a small island in shallower water. The ocean stretched out before them, a shimmering expanse of blue. The Cayman Trench was to the east of them and not that far away.

She busied herself raising the dive flag while Matthew dropped the anchor. He began unpacking his gear, but she didn’t join him. Instead, she took a deep breath and turned to face him.

“Matthew,” she began, her voice steady but firm. “We need to talk before we go in the water.”

He paused, his hands frozen mid-motion as he stopped adjusting his regulator. “I knew something was up. What’s on your mind?”

Ellie crossed her arms, trying to project confidence despite the pounding of her heart.

She had considered wielding a gun for the questioning but decided against it.

Matthew wasn’t much of a threat. He obviously didn’t have a weapon on him.

He was shirtless, and the upper half of his tight-fitting dive suit hung down over the lower half.

While he might have some hand-to-hand combat training, it paled in comparison to the ten thousand-plus hours she had under her belt.

Still, she watched him warily. More for truthfulness than anything else. He was probably CIA-trained to avoid detection, so she’d have to rely on her instincts to spot any subtle irregularities.

“You remember the day I killed the Middle Eastern man?” she asked.

He chuckled. “I think I remember that,” he said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“I texted you to come and help me.”

“Right.” He propped his foot on the seat and placed his left elbow on it. Looked at her with the curiosity of a cat.

“You came right away.”

“Ellie, what do you want to ask me?”

“You said that you were at your apartment, working.”

“That’s right.”

His eyes shifted. A sign of nervousness.

“No, you weren’t.”

“Why would you say that?”

“The timeline. It doesn’t add up.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, and a flicker of something passed across his face. Confusion matched with someone preparing to deceive was how she interpreted it.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb,” she said, her voice hardening. “You told me you were at your apartment when you got that text, but I know that’s not true. So why don’t you tell me where you really were?”

He hesitated, as he looked away. “Ellie, I thought we were going diving. This isn’t the time for this.”

“No!” she said sharply. “This is exactly the time. We’re alone, and I want answers. Now!”

She put her hand on the gun for effect. Matthew ran a hand through his hair. Another sign of deception.

“I was downtown,” he finally admitted, his voice low.

“Why did you lie to me?” Ellie demanded, her fists now clenched at her sides.

He looked up at her. His blue eyes met hers with an intensity that made her wince. If she was wrong and he was innocent, he might not forgive her for the harshness behind the tone.

“Matthew! I’m only going to ask you one more time. Why did you lie to me?”

“Because I didn’t want you to know that I was following you.”

“You were following me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I was worried about you, Ellie. And . . .”

“And what?”

He hesitated. Rocked back and forth on his feet, extremely nervous.

“Your parents . . .” He trailed off, swallowing hard.

“What do my parents have to do with this?” she asked roughly.

“They told me to keep an eye on you. Your dad said I was personally responsible for your safety. That if anything happened to you . . . I would pay for it. I was afraid that if I failed . . .”

She saw the genuine fear in his eyes. She could see her dad saying that. Threatening him.

“I thought if I told you the truth, you’d be mad at me, so I said I was at my apartment.”

“I am mad at you. For lying. If we’re going to work together on this mission, I have to be able to trust you.”

“I know. I screwed up.”

“You’re not my babysitter!”

“You’re right. You can take care of yourself.”

Ellie glared at him. Her mind raced as his words hung in the air. Was he telling the truth? It seemed like it.

There was something raw in his expression—fear, maybe even regret—but Ellie couldn’t ignore the nagging voice in the back of her mind. She wanted to believe him. She needed to believe him. But she’d been trained to trust actions, not words, and every instinct screamed at her to remain skeptical.

“I don’t know if I can trust you,” she said, her voice quieter now but no less firm.

Matthew flinched, as though her words were a physical blow. “Ellie, I’ve always had your back. You know that.”

“Do I?” She said as her gaze narrowed. “Because from where I’m standing, all I see is someone who lied to me. Someone who might still be lying to me.”

“I didn’t mean to—” he began, but she cut him off with a sharp shake of her head.

“I don’t care what you meant,” she snapped. “What matters is what you did, not why you did it. And now, I don’t know if you’re telling the truth or saying what you think I want to hear. How do I know that you’re not the mole?”

His eyes widened in disbelief.

He stepped closer, his hands raised in a placating gesture.

She put her hand on the gun again. He stopped in his tracks and took a couple of steps back.

“Ellie, please. I swear—on your parents, on everything —I’m not the mole. You have to believe me.”

Her heart hitched at the second mention of her parents, but she forced herself to stay calm. “That’s the problem, Matthew. I don’t have to believe you. Not anymore.”

The truth was that she did believe him. His words rang true, and she didn’t see any signs of deception. Ellie felt a pang of guilt, but she pushed it down, refusing to let emotion cloud her judgment.

She reached for her dive gear.

“Let’s try to make the best of the rest of the morning,” she said.

Her fingers trembled as she began to work on her equipment. She adjusted the dive mask and regulator, trying to shake off the lingering tension.

They suited up in silence.

The coolness of the sea matched her emotions as she slipped beneath the surface, and the problems faded into light and shadow.

The wreck loomed below like a ghost from the deep, its jagged edges cloaked in coral. Ellie jumped as a shadow moved behind her. A fish, she told herself. But every flicker of movement kept her wanting to reach for the knife strapped to her thigh.

Matthew swam ahead, his movements smooth and practiced. Ellie followed, so she always had him in her sights. They explored the wreck together, pointing out schools of fish and hidden nooks in the structure.

For a moment, it almost felt normal, like they were just two people enjoying an adventure. But the undercurrent of tension remained, a reminder that nothing about this situation was as simple as it seemed.

When they finally surfaced, the sun was higher in the sky, its warmth a stark contrast to the cool water. They swam back to the boat, and the sound of the waves filled the void between them.

Their relationship was different now. Might not ever be the same again.

As Ellie pulled off her mask and looked at Matthew, his expression was still fraught with concern. Whatever he was thinking, he kept it to himself. And for now, so would she.

Ellie felt a range of emotions. Relief that she didn’t have to kill Matthew. Anger at him and her parents. While they all had her best interests at heart, the sooner they realized that she wasn’t a kid anymore, the better.

Her mind shifted to tomorrow.

Luke.

He was the more likely suspect. She’d seen him hand an envelope to a cruise crew member.

“Are we good?” Matthew asked when they arrived back at the marina.

She shook her head. “This is my mission. I call the shots. Not my parents. If you can’t handle that, leave. I don’t need the distraction.”

“It’s understood. It won’t happen again.”

Still, Ellie couldn’t shake the doubt that clung to her like her diving suit. Matthew might be innocent, but she wasn’t ready to bet her life on it. Not yet.