Page 37 of Secrets Beneath the Waves (Beach Read Thrillers #2)

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

Later that evening

The marina was shrouded in hues of orange and pink. The sunset painted the water in brilliant, shifting colors. Inside his sedan, Iranian operative Abdullah Huda sat motionless. His hands gripped the steering wheel as if it might anchor him against the tide of his growing anxiety.

His neck hurt from the tension. Hours of staring off into the vast expanse of the Caribbean Sea had taken its toll. He had parked in the farthest corner of the lot, his view unobstructed but his position discreet.

The target, the woman, had arrived hours ago, accompanied by another man. Since then, there’d been no sign of her or the two men he sent out earlier to eliminate her.

His phone sat on the passenger seat, its dark screen reflecting his mood. He resisted the urge to glance at it again, knowing no updates would magically appear. The men he trusted to complete the mission were overdue, and the silence stretched his nerves taut.

He had seen missions fall apart before, but this felt different, worse.

In his country, failure wasn’t an option, and the possibility of it threatened to crush him like a meteor falling from the sky. Finally, he gave up, grabbed the phone, and dialed. The line buzzed twice before a familiar voice answered in Farsi.

“It’s me,” he said, his voice low and steady despite the storm that brewed inside him. “The men haven’t returned. The target returned alive. Something’s wrong. I think . . . I think they might have failed.”

The voice on the other end let out a tirade of expletives.

Huda held the phone from his ear and prepared himself for the rapid questions he knew were coming.

He answered each one with curt responses.

His gaze stayed locked on the marina’s shadowy docks as the sun had finally set, and he had lost all hope that the men would return.

When the call ended, he set the phone down and exhaled sharply. He was told in no uncertain terms to find the girl and kill her. If he failed, his entire family would pay the price. Sweat dripped from his brow as he began to formulate a plan to find her. Which wouldn’t be easy.

They’d been looking for her for weeks. He was beginning to believe she had left the island until they got the tip that she was scuba diving. When would they ever get a better opportunity than today?

In retrospect, he should’ve gone after the girl himself rather than leave it to the other imbeciles. Regardless, what’s done is done.

In a way, this was better. He liked to work alone, and now he could take matters into his own hands.

The moment of calm was short-lived.

A flicker of movement drew his attention to the passenger side window. He turned his head sharply. His heart jolted as adrenaline surged. The silhouette of a figure loomed just beyond the glass.

Before he could react, a blinding flash of light filled his vision. His world exploded into darkness. A sharp, searing pain was the last sensation he registered before everything went dark.

Later that night

Ellie sat in the dim light of her rented villa. Her fingers hovered over the phone. The faint sound of waves crashed against the shore and drifted through the cracked window and did little to calm her nerves.

The events of the day replayed in her mind like a broken record: killing the two men, the close call with the sharks, the third man she shot through the car window. Luke’s piercing questions.

Finally, she dialed. Her father, Alex, picked up after the second ring. “Hi, honey. How’s your tan coming along?”

She wasn’t in the mood for frivolous banter, but knew she had to endure it before she could get down to the reason she called.

“I already had a tan before I came down here,” she stated. “When was the last time you had a tan line, Dad. The last time I saw you with your shirt off, I had to put on my sunglasses.”

“Hi, Ellie,” Mom said, clearly excited to hear from her. She’d see how long that lasted. “He hasn’t been outside since we bought that patio furniture ten years ago.”

“The sun gives me wrinkles,” he said.

“Don’t let him fool you,” she said. “He’s got more wrinkles than Hercules.”

Hercules was their pet bulldog.

Her dad deftly changed the subject. “It’s late, Ellie. Are you okay?” he asked.

“Define okay.” Ellie tried to keep her tone light, but the burden of the day hung in her voice. Her parents were perceptive and would notice it immediately. “I’ve had better days.”

His voice turned teasing. “What happened? Did Luke forget to kiss you goodnight? Or maybe he did. And it wasn’t very good.”

Ellie groaned. “Not funny, Dad.”

“Oh, come on. You’re on a tropical island with three eligible bachelors. Most people would kill to be in your shoes.”

“Speaking of killing . . .”

Dead silence on the line.

“Someone did try to kill me today,” Ellie said, in her most serious tone. “Three people, actually.”

Her mom was the first to speak. “Who tried to kill you?”

“I’ll get to that. First, I need to ask you something. Dad, have you . . . did you look into the three guys I’ve been seeing?”

Her dad hesitated. “You told me not to.”

“I changed my mind. I want you to do a complete check on them.”

He laughed. “I already did.”

Ellie let out a groan. “Dad, I told you not to!”

“And I specifically ignored you,” he replied. “It saves us time now. You’re welcome.”

Ellie pinched the bridge of her nose. “Fine. What did you find out?”

“Why the sudden change of heart?” he asked. “Last time we talked about this, you said you didn’t want me poking around. Now you want to know what I found.”

“Because I don’t trust them,” Ellie confessed. “All three of them have given me reasons to think they might be the mole.”

“Interesting,” he said. “Well, you can rest easy. They all checked out. Nothing suspicious.”

Ellie saw the frown on her face in the mirror across from her bed. “What about Mark?”

She heard papers rustling. She could envision her dad sitting at his desk with a file folder on each of the guys within arm’s length.

“Mark,” he said, “grew up in the Cayman Islands. His father’s a police officer. His mother died when he was young.”

A pang shot through her heart. She didn’t know about his mother, and he never said anything. It might explain why he never wanted to talk about his childhood.

“He told me his dad is a cop,” Ellie said. “He’s proficient with firearms which made me suspicious.”

“No red flags there. He probably would be if his dad’s an officer. Your mother taught you how to handle a gun before you were walking.”

“That explains a lot.”

“It wasn’t loaded,” Mom said.

“Mark went to the University College of the Cayman Islands,” Dad continued.

“He has a degree in architecture. Although, he doesn’t use it.

He works for an advertising firm. He has twenty-three thousand four hundred and seven dollars and twenty seven cents in his savings account and a couple of thousand in his checking account.

He pays off his credit cards to zero every month. His monthly car payment is?—”

“I got it. I don’t need all the details.”

“My assessment is that he’s not the mole, and he’s not good enough for you. If I had to choose between the three, though, I’d choose him.”

“That’s nice to know. I think I’ll make that decision myself.”

“Which one do you want to know about next?”

“What about Matthew?”

“Why do you ask about Matthew?” Mom said.

“I don’t know. I’ve caught him in a couple of lies.”

“Matthew is solid,” she said. “We trust him.”

“How do you know?” Ellie pressed.

“He passed my lie detector test,” Dad said confidently.

“Dad, I know how to pass a lie detector test. That doesn’t mean anything.”

“You don’t understand,” he countered. “My lie detector test is different. It’s foolproof. I sat a gun on the table next to the machine and told him I’d blow his brains out and throw his body out of an airplane, if he lied to me. Works every time.”

“I’m surprised anyone can even pass your test. I’m sure their blood pressure and pulse are through the roof. Isn’t that how you tell if someone is lying? If their vital signs change?”

“Nah. I look them in the eye. I usually know if they’re lying to me,” he said. “The point is, Matthew’s clean. You can trust him.”

“What did he lie to you about?” Mom asked.

“It’s not important.”

Ellie didn’t want to tell them anymore than necessary. She didn’t want him to get in trouble with her parents.

“Do you want to know Matthew’s credit score?” Dad asked.

“Save it for another time,” Ellie said.

“Luke’s credit score is the lowest. It’s —”

“I don’t need to know his credit score.”

“You do if you’re going to date him.”

“Dad!”

“By the way, how was your scuba diving date with Luke?” he asked casually.

Her stomach dropped. “How did you know about that?”

“It was on his calendar,” he said. “I told you I looked into them.”

Ellie’s mind raced. That piece of information sparked an unsettling thought. “Dad, how did you see his calendar?”

“It’s on his CIA computer.”

“Could someone else see it? Hack into it?”

“No one could hack into it. The server is secure.”

Ellie was disappointed that her theory was shot down that quickly.

“I suppose someone from the CIA could see it,” he added.

“Someone in our office?”

“Perhaps.”

Her mom’s voice turned serious. “Ellie, why are you asking this?”

She took a deep breath. “Because someone knew where I’d be today. They knew we were going scuba diving. And they sent men to kill me. I thought maybe Luke was the mole and set me up. Now I’m wondering if the mole saw it on his calendar and notified the three men to try and kill me.”

“Who are these three men?”

“They’re Middle Eastern. I’m thinking they’re from Iran.”

More silence on the other end. Her parents were like that. When it came to such serious matters, they became reflective. Analyzing every detail. Going through every possibility.

She took the time to do her own analysis.

Her dad spoke first. “None of the three guys you’re dating is the mole. They don’t have any money. Whoever is selling information to Iran is charging a lot for it.”

“That leaves someone else in our office.”

“I’ve checked out everyone in the Cayman CIA offices. I didn’t find anything suspicious.”

“Alex, could someone up here see Luke’s calendar?” Mom asked.

“They could. They wouldn’t even have to hack into it. The higher ups have access to everything. Luke’s phone. His computer. Where he’s been every minute of every day. Don’t forget that all CIA employees wear a chip these days.”

Years ago, the CIA embedded their employees with locator devices implanted under the skin.

That way, they knew where everyone was at all times.

Somehow, Ellie was exempted. Her parents had obviously pulled some strings.

She was embedded with an AJAX chip that her parents controlled.

That way if she was ever kidnapped or captured in the field, they’d know where to find her.

“If someone targeted you today, then it’s because you either got really close to the mole, or they know you’re our daughter,” Mom said.

“Matthew knows I’m your daughter,” Ellie said.

“He’s not dumb enough to betray us,” Dad said sternly. “He knows what would happen to him.”

“This makes me think the mole might not be in Cayman at all,” Mom said. “I’m beginning to think he may be here in Langley.”

“If that’s true, we have a bigger problem than a mole,” Dad said grimly. “Someone at Langley is selling out our family.”

“What happened to those men who tried to kill you?” Mom asked.

“Two of them are in the bottom of the Cayman Trench. The other one is dead in his car. At the marina. I have their cell phones. I killed a fourth one a few days ago.”

“I’m going to send you a link that’ll give me access to those phones,” Dad said. “I’ll also check your boyfriends’ phones and their computers.”

“I thought you said I could trust them.”

“No!” Both her parents said it in unison.

“I mean, as far as being the mole.”

“Honey, I don’t think you can trust anyone at this point. And Ellie,” Mom said, “if you need backup, say the word. Your dad and I are ready to come down there at a moment’s notice.”

She managed a faint smile. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll let you know if I need the help.”

As she hung up, Ellie’s mind churned. The pieces of the puzzle were scattered. Four men were dead. How many more people did she have to kill before this was over?

She still hadn’t killed the one that really mattered.

The mole.

He had to be next. She wouldn’t really be safe until he was dead.