Chapter Eleven

"T ake her to the basement." He ordered once the husband and wife had been successfully subdued. "If you want to see your husband and son again, you'll cooperate."

Her distraught eyes held her husband's while two of his men forced the woman down the steps.

The husband fought against the men holding him in an attempt to get to his wife. "Let her go. If you hurt her . . ."

"That will depend on your cooperation," he told the man. It had been unfortunate that his team's stolen vessel had drifted off course amidst the strong winds and had run ashore in the rocky shallows near Breakers Island. The vessel had broken apart. The pieces swept out to sea. They'd been forced to swim ashore. Though everyone had survived, there would be no way to leave the island. When his team had picked up her signal again after a period of silence, he'd given the command to act. His men had procured a boat and headed after the signal. He'd hoped to have good news by the time the boss arrived.

Only that hadn't worked out.

When the boss called demanding to know what was going on, he'd told what happened. What should have been a chance for him to redeem himself in the boss's eyes had failed miserably.

The boss insisted on being brought to Breakers immediately. At that point, there hadn't been any choice but to involve others. It had been a stroke of luck that the couple was visiting the island. Not so lucky they'd let their son take their boat to the mainland.

After a few threats the problem was solved.

"Call him again. And if you try to warn him, you'll all die."

The fear on the father's face confirmed he believed every single word.

◆◆◆

While getting answers on how they kept finding her was critical, a part of her hated the thought of seeing her ring broken apart. Silly really. Her heart believed Daniel wouldn't want her to risk her life because of it. He'd loved her too much.

"Hang on. I think I have some tools in the basement." Declan excused himself.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Boone had seen what she couldn't hide.

"No, but if it helps us discover how they keep finding me, then Daniel would want me to."

He smiled down at her, and she felt a little unbalanced. Something she hadn't expected to happen was taking place, and Ellie didn't know how she felt about it. Her heart softened with each smile from Boone. She felt safe with him, and she hadn't experienced that feeling in a long time.

Eli watched something on his phone screen. "Bad news. The storm is gaining strength." He looked up at them. "They're predicting a direct hit on Breakers. We need to get this place ready."

Declan returned, and Eli updated him.

"We'll be safer in the basement. I have some leftover hurricane supplies down there from the last one that came through," Declan said. "While this isn't a hurricane, it's best to treat it the same to be safe. We should have a few hours to prepare. Hopefully, long enough to enjoy that delicious-smelling stew before it hits." He brought out a flashlight and held it close to the ring, examining the facets.

"What is that spot?" Ellie asked. Never in a million years would she have thought something might be hidden inside her ring.

"I'm not sure." Declan looked to Ellie. "Has this been out of your sight for any amount of time?"

She told him about keeping it hidden while on a mission.

Boone frowned. "What about with Daniel? Any idea if anyone might have been able to get to it before he gave it to you?"

She thought back to what Daniel told her. He'd been so nervous when he'd proposed. "He told me our director Gideon went with him to pick it out."

"Gideon? Wait, is that . . . ?"

"Gideon Broder. He's the director of Mossad. Gideon was much more than that to both Daniel and me. He was like a second father. Daniel told me Gideon held onto the ring until he was ready to give it to me."

Eli quickly typed something on his phone and drummed his fingers at the slow response. "Here it is. I thought I'd read something about this. Gideon Broder is the opposing candidate for prime minister in the next election."

"You're kidding." Ellie had stopped keeping up with her former country's news because it was too painful. "I had no idea."

Declan managed to get the emerald free of the band. He held the stone up close to the light. "There's definitely something in there. To get it out, I'll need to smash the emerald."

The last part of her life with Daniel would be gone. She fought back emotion and cleared her throat. "Do it."

Boone squeezed her arm. "I'm sorry."

She nodded because it was hard to speak over the lump in her throat.

Declan found a small hammer in his toolbox and placed the emerald on the table. It took three tries before the emerald fractured and something tiny fell out.

"What is that?" Eli leaned in closer as did Boone and Ellie.

She recognized it right away. "It's a microscopic zip drive. It's usually accessible with a special reader that can be plugged into a phone."

Declan lifted the device into his palm. "I think I have a reader that will work." He dug into his laptop bag and found the small device placing the drive into it and attaching it to his phone. "This might take some time. Usually getting access to the drive itself is a challenge. Who knows what we'll find once I'm past the first hurdle."

"Whatever is there, it isn't how they're finding me. That's an information drive. We used them a lot. There's no GPS in it."

Boone swung her way. "I hadn't thought about that. You're right."

They were back to square one.

She was convinced whatever was on the drive would hold answers about why Daniel died.

Outside, the wind slammed into the house with growing force. Windows shook.

"From what I can tell through the weather reports, this first thunderstorm moving our way is going to be a monster. We'd better get this place ready for the storm," Declan told them. There's a propane stove downstairs. I can't imagine we'll have to put sandbags out to keep the cabin from flooding, but I have some if needed."

"Has the cabin flooded before?" Boone asked with growing concern. They were some distance from the water.

"Not during the last couple of hurricanes," Declan told them. "Best to be prepared, though. We can transport the stew and then gather the supplies we need."

Boone carried the pot while Ellie and the men brought down the dishes and utensils they'd need to eat.

Once the stove was going to keep the stew warm, Declan pointed them to the boards they could use.

He placed the small drive into the reader and set it on the table. "As much as I'm itching to dive into this and see what's on it, we'd better get this place secured."

Working together to bring the boards up from the basement, it took less than an hour to cover the windows and secure the doors .

"That should do it," Boone dusted his hands and scrutinized their work. "Let's get downstairs and see if we can crack that drive."

Ellie bit back a scream when the lights flickered as they made their way down.

"We shouldn't have to worry about them going out with the generator," Boone told her.

Ellie checked on the stew. Almost done. Upstairs, the wind continued to grow in strength. She claimed the chair beside Boone and watched Declan sit back in his seat, shocked. "I'm into the actual drive itself but it's encrypted. This might take some time." He turned the phone Ellie's way. "Any idea what type of program is used?"

She studied the screen before telling him no. "Sorry, that's not one of our programs. I would've been able to help you otherwise."

Declan nodded. "No problem. I'm going to send this to my laptop. I have several programs to crack encryption installed on it."

"The current problem remains. We don't know how they're finding us." Eli voiced his concerns aloud.

She rubbed the back of her neck. "There's nothing else from my past. The ring was it."

"Everything okay there?" Boone asked when he noticed her massaging her neck.

"I'm fine." She told him about the injection spot that had gotten infected. "It's a constant irritant." Even more so than the bullet scar. The beatings she'd taken through the years.

"Got it loaded on my laptop," Declan announced. "I'll run it through all the programs. Hopefully, something will work." He waited until the first decoding program was going before he joined their conversation and asked, "You've changed your name to something that isn't close to your former ID?"

Ellie confirmed she had. "More times than I can remember. I went underground to get my IDs."

"Do you think someone you went to for help could be giving the enemy your information?"

She thought about it for a second. "I don't think so. When I first changed my name, I went to a former contact who dealt in illegal identifications, but even if they somehow found out about him, that was half a dozen name changes and a long time before I came to the US."

Boone crossed his arms. "I can't imagine there are a lot of illegal ways to get IDs. Did you do any online?"

"A few. But I covered my tracks. I don't think they could have found me."

"Maybe not, but with technology changing so quickly and with spy technology always shifting, it's possible there was a way." She could tell from Declan's expression that it was a longshot. "This may take hours. I'm going to check in with my family and JT." He stepped away.

"I think I'll get in touch with Sashi too. See how the weather is holding up on Hope Island." Eli stood.

When it was just her and Boone, she rubbed her neck again, a habit she'd gotten into when stressed.

"Is that injection spot bothering you again?" Boone noticed the tic.

"Sort of." She lowered her hand. "It's also a nervous habit."

"Let me have a look."

She shook her head. "I'm okay. Really."

He gathered her hand in his. "I know it's frustrating. We'll figure it out."

Ellie tried to hold onto Boone's confidence, but hers was fading again. "You said Gideon is running as opposition to the current prime minister?"

"That's right. It was announced a few weeks back." He searched her face. "You didn't know."

"No. I stopped keeping up with things from my homeland. It's too painful." She remembered Boone mentioned the Israeli prime minister's upcoming visit. "Why is Prime Minister Mizrahi coming to the US anyway?"

"There's a peace summit taking place at Camp David. He'll be in attendance, and I believe several Arab leaders."

"Syrian?" She asked on a hunch.

"No. We don't have diplomatic relations with Syria."

All the wind went out of her sails. Ellie couldn't let go of the Israeli prime minister being in the US. Was it a big coincidence?

Gideon would report directly to the prime minister. She told Boone as much.

"There could be a connection." He typed something into his phone. "Looks like all the dignitaries will be arriving this weekend."

Declan came back. "If the storm keeps on course, it might graze Hope Island, but they won't get a direct hit like we will."

Ellie shivered. "Nothing's changed on that course?" With everything going on, having to worry about risking their lives in a storm was the last thing they needed.

"Not so far. It's still some ways out at sea." Declan checked the laptop. "But it's moving fast."

Boone told them what he and Ellie had discussed.

"I agree with you. Finding the connection won't be easy."

"Sashi's going to take Dottie and stay with JT and Rachel," Eli told them. He cocked his head and listened to the storm. "It's definitely getting worse out there."

Ellie couldn't sit. Too many things were up in the air. "The stew should be ready." She went over and stirred it. Boone helped her spoon the thick stew into bowls they carried over to the table.

"Thank you," Declan smiled up at her. "I can't wait to taste this."

"It was my grandmother's favorite meal to serve on the Sabbath."

Once everyone was served, Boone asked if he could pray for them.

"That would be nice." Ellie squeezed his hand. He held onto hers while everyone around the table bowed their heads.

"Father, we thank You for your protection getting here, and we ask that You keep us all safe from the storm coming our way and from the danger Ellie is faced with. Give us answers, Lord. Help us figure out what's happening so that we can help her. So that she can have a life uninterrupted by danger. Amen."

Ellie was humbled by his earnest prayer. She'd never had someone pray over her before.

"Thank you," she whispered with a catch in her voice.

Boone held her gaze. The promise she saw in his eyes swelled her heart.

"This is good," Eli said, unaware of the emotions between Boone and Ellie. "What's it called again?"

She pulled her hand free. "Cholent. This recipe has been in my family for decades."

"Well, it's wonderful. Thank you for fixing it for us." Eli told her that Sashi had a similar dish. "I don't think it's as good, though if you tell her I said as much I'll deny it."

Everyone around the table laughed.

"There's more if you want it."

Eli went back for a refill.

"Once we're finished, I think I'll take a look at the boat and make sure it's secured enough," Declan told them.

"I'll give you a hand. Boone, you should stay with Ellie."

Once the meal ended, Boone helped her carry the dishes upstairs to clean.

Declan pried the board covering the door free. He and Eli went out into the storm.

Ellie finished washing the last bowl and poured the remainder of the stew into a container before washing the pot. Her fingers shook every time a gust of wind rattled the windows.

"Hey, it's going to be okay," Boone took the pot from her and set it down, then gathered her close. "Declan and Eli have been through several hurricanes before. They know what they're doing."

She leaned her head against his chest, a sigh escaping. "I know. It's not just the storm." She closed her eyes, listening to the steady beat of his heart against her ear while trying to fight this feeling growing inside of her whenever she was close to Boone. Her life was in chaos. She'd brought her troubles to him and others. Did she really think this time would be different? That the truth behind Daniel's death would be solved after so many years?

"It will be okay." He pulled back so that he could look into her eyes.

"How can you be so certain? I've lived with this for seven years, Boone. I'm the one my people believed killed Daniel."

"But you didn't. We both know this."

"After all the things you've seen during your time with the CIA, how could you have so much hope?" she asked him.

"Because I trust God and I know you."

When she would have pulled away, he held her there. "You are a good person, Ellie," he whispered, tugging her closer.

Tears filled her eyes. His blurry face swam before her. "I don't feel good. I haven't felt this way in a long time."

He tipped her chin back and brushed tears from her cheeks. "You've been thrown into something that no one should have to go through simply for some person's gain."

Was it that simple?

"I want it to be over. Whatever we find out, it's better than not knowing."

"It will be over. Soon."

She looked into his eyes and held her breath. He was going to kiss her, and she wanted that so much.

Boone lowered his head, his lips touching hers.

A sob escaped as she leaned into him and kissed him back. No matter what the future held, she would remember this moment forever.

What sounded like a crash coming from outside broke them apart.

Ellie's breathing was ragged, matching Boone's. "What was that?"

"I don't know. Stay here and let me check it out."

"I'm coming with you." She grabbed her weapon from where it was hidden. Boone pushed her behind him as they stepped out into the night. The wind screamed so loud it was impossible to hear anything.

Boone clicked on his flashlight and scanned the area. A small storage building nearby had a tree limb through its window.

Ellie bent over in relief. "We should check on Declan and Eli. The storm's really picking up."

The lightning frequency had increased. Seconds ticked by before the answering thunder confirmed the storm would strike much sooner than expected.

Boone hesitated. He was worried about her but gave in because of his friends. "You're right."

The wind almost blew them over as they walked. Ellie looped her arm through his, using his strength to stay on her feet.

As they neared the pier, Ellie spotted the two men, but something was missing. The boat. "It's gone."

Declan saw them coming and let Eli know.

"What happened?" Boone asked as they neared.

"I'm guessing the surges broke the ropes free," Declan told them. "There are some swells that have to be close to fourteen feet. If this keeps up, the dock will go next. The vessel's probably halfway out to sea by now. It took the rope with it, too. I've never seen anything like it."

"But it didn't damage the dock's pilings . . ." Ellie pointed out. Something else had done that. Or someone.