Page 108 of Secrets Beneath the Waves

Shortly after, Jamie and Alex took Fuller down, dismantling everything the CIA Director had built and reclaiming what he had stolen from them. Paul had nothing to show for his loyalty except a reassignment and the bitter taste of broken promises.

He had a lot of sleepless nights for several years. Constantly looking over his shoulders concerned that Jamie and Alex might learn of his duplicity.

They never did.

So, Paul had to adapt. When the Russian oligarchs came calling again years later, he was ready to listen.

The money was too good to ignore. Feeding secrets to the Russians via the Iranians had never sat right with him, but it had been a necessary conduit. Iran was the go-between. He couldn’t give the information directly to the oligarchs. Nothing could be tied back to them.

So, Paul would travel to the Cayman Islands and meet a passenger from a cruise ship. Hand over the information, then enjoy a week in the sun.

It had worked for years, and Paul had built himself a comfortable future. He had accumulated more than four million dollars stashed away in a Cayman account under an assumed name.

A lifeline. An escape route. Someday, he planned on retiring in Cayman.

Then he made the mistake of going after Jamie Austen’s daughter.

It had been an impulsive move, driven by old resentment. Jamie and Alex had cost him his future once, and when he approached the Iranians about Ellie, it had seemed like an opportunity to right old wrongs and pocket another million dollars.

He should have known better. He should have let it go.

Now, it was too late. The Iranians had played their cards and failed. Ellie had dispatched all of their men, like ticks off a dog, and that was no accident. She wasn’t just lucky. She was trained, methodical, and ruthless like her mother.

When the Iranians went after Ellie, Jamie Austen would know that someone had betrayed them. If she ever found out that Paul had put the hit on her daughter, he was as good as dead.

While he had the money, it wasn’t worth it. His life had been turned upside down. He couldn’t eat or sleep. Was constantly looking over his shoulder. Each time the Iranians failed to kill Ellie, he felt the noose tighten around his neck.

Paul left CIA headquarters and parked his car at a location near his office. He took out his encrypted satellite phone and dialed the Assistant Director of Iranian Intelligence, who answered simultaneously with the first ring.

His heartbeat thudded heavily in his chest as he took the phone off speaker and brought it to his ear. The voice on the other end was cold, livid, and didn’t even bother with a greeting.

“My man in Cayman is dead! Shot in the head in the marina. And the other two?” A pause, a sharp inhale. “They went out on a boat to kill Jamie Austen’s daughter and never returned. They disappeared off the face of the earth like a vapor of smoke from a cigarette.”

Paul gritted his teeth. He had known this was coming, but hearing it aloud made his stomach churn. “I warned you,” hesaid, forcing his voice to remain steady. “I told you she was as good as her mother.”

“I want my money back!” the director spat, venom laced in every syllable.

“Why?”

“The girl is still alive.”

“That’s not my fault. I give you the intelligence. If your men screw up, that’s on them.”

A string of curses flew through the line, sharp and biting. Paul clenched his fist as the director unleashed his fury.

Paul’s grip tightened on the phone. “If you think threatening me is going to change the situation, you’re wrong. The girl is still alive because you sent amateurs after a trained killer.”

Threats followed, dark and explicit, the kind that sent a shiver up his spine. The director didn’t make idle warnings. Paul knew that all too well. While he was a valuable asset to them, he was still an infidel and despised by the Iranian simply because he was an American.

He needed to diffuse the situation.

“I have more intelligence for you. I know where the girl will be this Saturday night. I expect the same price.”

“No! You’re not getting another dime from me.”

A response he hadn’t expected.

“I’m not giving it to you for free. Like I said, others will pay for the information.”