Page 60 of Secrets Beneath the Waves

His fingers twitched toward the satellite phone, a brief urge to call back, to rescind the offer, to undo the damage. But he was too late. The money would be hitting his account within minutes, and once the Iranians had a lead, they wouldn’t let go even if he paid the money back.

Jamie Austen was a legend in the intelligence community, her name whispered with both admiration and fear. And if half the stories about her were true, and he knew they all were, he may have just signed his own death warrant.

He exhaled sharply, forcing logic over panic. No one would know he had anything to do with this. He’d covered his tracks well. And the Iranians wouldn’t reveal their source. Still, deep down, a chill settled in his bones. Because if Jamie Austen found out, it wouldn’t matter how well he hid.

If she found him, there’d be no deals. No negotiations. No mercy.

He knew what everyone else knew. She never left enemies standing.

CHAPTER

THREE

Three weeks later

Ellie staredat the phone in her hand, her thumb hovering over the call button. It had been three weeks since the chaos with Harrington, twenty-one days of frustration, making little progress finding the mole, even though she’d spent the better part of every day digging into the web of lies she knew the traitor was weaving.

The mole existed and she’d seen evidence of it. She didn’t know who he was yet.

But tonight wasn’t about any of that. She needed to talk to her parents for some semblance of normalcy. Well, as normal as their family could get.

Her dad had called a couple times, and she’d been negligent in calling him back. He wouldn’t be happy. She hit the button and waited, the familiar ringtone from the secure satellite phone echoing in her ear. Her dad picked up first, as was usually the case when she called.

"Well, well, if it isn’t my long-lost daughter, calling to remind me she still remembers her poor, forgotten father," Dadsaid on speaker, his voice practically drowning in melodramatic sarcasm.

“I’ve been busy, Dad,” she replied, rolling her eyes, something she learned from her mother, who sometimes did it so hard at her husband, he quipped on several occasions that her eyes were going to get stuck in the back of her head.

“Busy? Your mom’s been worried sick about you!” he exclaimed.

“I talked to Mom last week!” she shot back.

“What? Jamie! You talked to Ellie and didn’t tell me?”

“Hi, Mom!” Ellie called out, knowing full well her dad was about to launch into another dramatic tirade. At least, she had deflected his angst at her mom instead of her. If only temporarily.

Her mom’s voice chimed in from somewhere in the background, totally ignoring her husband’s accusation. “Hi, sweetheart! How’s the mission? Or should I say, the dating game?”

“Dating game?” Dad’s voice shot up an octave. “What dating game? Who’s dating? Is someone dating my daughter?”

“Yes, I forgot to tell you,” Mom said, her voice casual. “Ellie met a guy. They’ve been on a couple of dates.”

“What?” Dad practically roared. “We have a rule! I’m supposed to meet the guy before she goes out with him.”

“And how exactly is she supposed to do that?” her mother countered. “You’re in Virginia, Alex. She’s in the Cayman Islands.”

“I can be there in three hours!” he declared, sounding like he already had a flight plan ready. “If nothing else, I could talk to him on a video phone. I like to look your boyfriends in the eyes.”

“Stop it!” her mother groaned. “Just because she goes on a couple of dates with one guy doesn’t mean he’s her boyfriend.”

Ellie tried to laugh it off, but a pang of anxiety twisted in her stomach. “Well, uh, about that,” she said hesitantly. “Actually, I’m kind of . . . dating three guys.”

“Three? Three?” her dad exploded. “What are you talking about?”

“I didn’t know about the others.” Her mom’s laugh rang out. “This should be interesting.”

Ellie took a deep breath. “Okay, so there’s Mark. I met him at a coffee shop. He’s sweet, funny, and we’ve been on a few dates. I actually like him. He’s the one I told you about, Mom.”

“What’s his last name? Where does he work?” Her dad said. His tone was skeptical.