Page 109 of Secrets Beneath the Waves

“Let them! How do I know that you didn’t tip off the girl? My men aren’t amateurs. I highly doubt she could get the best of all four of them. You betrayed me. All I can say is you should sleep with one eye open from now on.”

Paul sat in the vehicle, stunned.

The silence on the other end was chilling. He almost preferred the shouting to the low, seething, ominous breathing.

Then, abruptly, the line went dead.

Paul set his phone down carefully, but his hands still trembled. His entire body felt electric with anxiety. He leaned back in the seat, staring at the CIA building in the distance.

He was in freefall now. If Ellie Austen or her mother found out the truth, he was dead. If the Iranians got to him first, it wouldn’t be any better. Either way, he had just made himself the most hunted man on both sides of the war.

He decided right then and there to disappear.

The plan had already been in place long before any of this happened. He would go to Cayman, drain his account, and vanish into Russia. He had cultivated enough relationships over the years to ensure a soft landing. The Russians wouldn’t turn him away. Not after everything he had given them and the pile of papers he intended to exchange for asylum.

There was one problem though. Ellie Austen was in Cayman.

That fact gnawed at him. It complicated things, but there was no alternative. He had no other way to access his money. Not from here. The only way out was through. He just had to be careful.

The plan was to arrive quietly, avoid any unnecessary movement, go to the bank and withdraw his money, and be on a flight to Russia before anyone even knew he was there.

Ellie didn’t know him. His supervisors wouldn’t be suspicious. He had been vacationing in Cayman every year for the last ten. At least that’s what his coworkers believed.

Paul toyed with the idea of selling the intel he had on Ellie to another source, but it wasn’t worth the risk. The danger outweighed the reward. He was done playing games. He had already pushed his luck too far.

In one moment of suicidal insanity, he had considered acting on it himself. Take matters into his own hands and kill the girl. He knew where she’d be on Saturday night. He had checkedLuke’s calendar, the CIA officer who had been getting close to Ellie.

Bioluminescent Bay. Snorkeling.

He had planned to give that information to the Iranians and use it to his advantage, but they rejected it. It seemed foolish. She’d be easy to kill in the dark of night.

Why couldn’t he show up in the darkness and kill her himself?

Because somehow she’d get the best of him. He didn’t know how she managed to kill four Iranian terrorists, but that was the mystique of Jamie Austen. Almost a superhuman ability to win every fight. Every battle. Jamie had been on the front line for more than thirty years, and no one had bested her. Apparently, her daughter had it as well.

He wasn’t foolish enough to think he could somehow do it. Now it didn’t matter. Let someone else deal with her.

He shoved his thoughts aside as he went home and packed a single bag. Essentials only. Called the airlines and booked a one-way flight to Cayman. He wasn’t coming back.

At the airport, he moved like a tourist, blending into the steady flow of travelers. No calls, no emails. Nothing that could be traced. He kept his head down, his mind focused on the destination.

Every so often, he caught himself glancing over his shoulder. Was that man at the café watching him? No, just a businessman sipping coffee.

Probably.Paul exhaled quietly, willing his nerves to settle.

In a few days, he’d be out of reach.

In Russia. Safe.

No one could find him there. Not the CIA. Not the Iranians. Not Jamie Austen.

Or so he hoped.

CHAPTER

EIGHTEEN

Paul Dietrich steppedoff the plane and into the familiar heat of the Cayman Islands. The salty air clung to his skin as he adjusted his sunglasses and walked toward the small terminal. He instinctively flinched, almost anticipating a bullet coming out of nowhere and ending the misery that was his fear of Jamie Austen and her abilities.