Chapter Twelve

E llie could tell Boone was trying not to show his concern.

"There's nothing we can do until the storm passes," he told her. "We should call JT and tell him we will need a way off the island."

"What brought you two out?" Eli asked as they all started back for the cabin.

"We heard a crash and were worried about you." Boone explained about the tree limb.

The rain picked up into a deluge.

"We need to get back to the cabin. There's nothing we can do here until the storm passes. We may lose phone service soon. I want to let JT know what's happening." Declan stepped back inside the house. The others followed. Eli and Boone secured the door.

"That should hold it." Boone double checked to be certain. "Let's get downstairs."

Ellie couldn't explain why but she slipped her hand into Boone's as they started down the steps.

Declan checked that the laptop hadn't hit on a program to decode the drive while Boone made the call to JT placing it on speaker.

The static on the line was so loud it was hard to hear.

"What's happening there? From the radar, it looks as if the brunt of the storm is closing in on your location. How are you all holding up? "

"We're fine." Boone told him about the boat being gone. "We have no means of leaving, not that it's possible with what's coming."

"I'll have a boat on standby. As soon as it's safe, we'll come get you all. Anything new on the program?"

Boone told him no. "We're waiting for something to work."

"Let's hope your software hits on something soon. We really need answers. Keep checking in with us. You're all in our prayers." The call ended. The silence left in its wake hung heavy with tension. They were stuck here on a small island with a storm barreling down on them and no way to escape.

Ellie rubbed the back of her neck again. The small knot was a constant reminder of the night Daniel died. A physical scar to match the one on her heart.

"Are you okay?" Boone had been keeping a close eye on her. She realized he picked up on her anxiety.

She dropped her hand. "I'm fine. Just a reminder from that night." She told him more about the knot. "I had an allergic reaction to whatever they gave me. It took weeks for the spot to heal."

Ellie's attention went to the Ruger that she'd placed on the table. "Wait, what about my gun?"

Boone didn't follow right away. "What about it?"

"They keep finding me. I never thought about them tracking me by some device until now. What if there is something planted in the Ruger?"

Boone held her gaze for the longest moment before he whipped toward his team members. "Is it possible?"

Both men had been listening. "Maybe, but it would be subject to a certain range as well as the weather." Eli picked up the weapon. "Do you mind if we take a look at it?"

Ellie shook her head. "Whatever you need to do."

Eli removed the magazine and ejected the round from the chamber. "It's been a while since I've had to take one of these apart. Let's see if I remember how."

Ellie slipped into the chair across from him. "It's pretty basic. I've had it apart before, and I didn't find anything, but I wasn't really looking for a tracking device."

Eli handed it to her and Ellie quickly dismantled the weapon.

"That was fast." Eli picked up the barrel and examined it closely.

Boone claimed the seat beside Ellie and touched the grip. "What is this?"

She noticed him looking at the manufacturer's emblem on the side. "That's the Ruger emblem. A bird then the R for Ruger."

He held the grip up for a closer look. "Yeah, but this one is different."

Ellie couldn't explain. She'd owned the gun most of her adult life. It was her weapon of choice for her career. The gun was never out of her reach.

Boone gently worked the emblem free to reveal a minuscule compartment. "There's something in here." He turned the grip over and something metal hit the table. He let out a low whistle, his attention capturing hers. "I'm guessing that's how they keep finding you." He held up the smallest tracking device Ellie had ever seen. It was smaller than the head of a pencil.

Declan and Eli both leaned over his shoulder. "I've never seen one that small," Declan told them. "As much as I'd love to dissect it, we need to destroy it. I'm hoping with the storm whoever is tracking you won't be able to pick up the signal."

Boone handed it to him, and he tossed it into the fire.

Ellie was stunned. "I can't believe it. I've taken the Ruger apart many times. I missed looking beneath the emblem. All these years, and it was right there with me."

"I'm surprised it held up for so long," Eli commented. "At least, we know we're safe for now. That gives us some breathing room to figure out what's on the drive and try to understand how it's connected to the peace summit taking place at Camp David."

Ellie couldn't believe it. She of all people should have realized they had some way of tracking her. She never thought to look at the weapon she carried. "I don't understand how they got the tracker inside the weapon. I hid it in my boot on the night of the attack. Not even Daniel knew I carried it."

Boone frowned. "Maybe they searched you before they put you in the box?"

Maybe, but she didn't buy it. "I had it concealed. It would have to be a pretty thorough search to find it, and I can't imagine they had that much time." It was the only explanation that made sense, and she couldn't let it go.

Declan's computer dinged, and he hurried over. "I've got a hit." His eyes widened. "This is something along the lines of what the NSA uses only slightly different. It may take the program a while to work through the difference."

Ellie latched onto the National Security Agency. It didn't add up. "Why would Syrian Intelligence be using an encryption matching NSA?"

"Maybe it wasn't put there by Syrian Intelligence," Eli said.

Ellie couldn't make the connection. "Then who? Daniel and I were there to meet with his contact within the Syrian Intelligence Agency that was believed to have gotten one of our agents to work for them. Daniel said his contact was working on getting the name of the traitor inside Mossad."

"It would stand to reason that Syrian Intelligence wouldn't want that cover blown," Boone said. "They probably blackmailed whoever this person is. They wouldn't want to lose that hook inside Mossad."

A disturbing thought occurred. "What if it was my own team who planted the tracker?"

All eyes were on her. Boone took up her line of thought. "You think this is Mossad technology used against you?"

"It's possible. Our tech department was working with some of the most cutting-edge technology for its time. What if the real mole in Mossad planted the tracker because he knew what would happen that night?"

Declan kept a close eye on the laptop as the decoding program continued to work. "What happened to the informant within Syrian Intelligence?"

Ellie told them what she'd learned from one of her contacts. " They found his body not far from the building where Daniel and I were to meet up with him. I'm sure he died before the attack on us."

"They were tying up loose ends," Eli said. "They probably figured out he was giving away secrets and tortured him until he gave up the name of who he worked with at Mossad and where the meet would take place."

Ellie appeared to have no doubt. "They killed Daniel because of something his contact might have told him."

"And they framed you because the rumor was out that there was a mole within Mossad. You made the perfect patsy," Boone said gently.

She shook her head. "I have no idea what Daniel might have died for. Or what is on that drive."

"Whatever it is, we'll figure it out." Declan glanced at his laptop. "We're about 5 percent along in the decoding process."

Even from the safety of the basement, the storm's rampage could be heard. Though there weren't any windows, for which Ellie was grateful, the rain battered down on their location hard enough to cause waves of concern.

"I'm going to check on the water level outside." Declan scraped back his chair, grating along Ellie's nerves.

"I'll come with you." Eli rose and followed his friend upstairs.

"I can't believe this." Ellie couldn't stay seated any longer. She stood and paced the room. "All this time they've had easy access to me. Why didn't they kill me from the start? If I'd died in that box, the truth would have died with me. I would have gone down as a traitor. The mole would be protected, and no one would be the wiser."

Boone stood as well. "My guess, it's whatever was hidden inside the ring—" Boone stopped speaking.

"What?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "Did you have the ring with you that night?"

Ellie didn't understand where he was headed. "No. I rarely wore it during work."

"Where was it?"

She had kept it in a safe deposit box whenever she was working. She told him as much.

"Under your name?"

"No." The confusion cleared away. "No, under an alias. I kept it there along with some money and an ID under the alias in case . . ."

He stopped beside her. "That has to be it. They needed you alive to get the ring's location. Whatever is on it is important to someone."

There was one flaw in his theory. "They tried to kill me, remember?"

"Or did they?"

"You think they wanted me to believe I was being set up so I could lead them to the ring?"

"It makes sense. Think about it. They didn't find the weapon you had hidden. That's a rookie mistake. You were supposed to escape."

"They shot at me . . . but it was only a shoulder wound."

"You're smart, Ellie, and you've been a spy for a while. It would have to appear believable."

"I see what you're saying, but they didn't follow me."

"Something must have prevented it. Maybe they were watching your place expecting you to show up there."

She told him about going to Gideon for help. "He was my mentor. He trained me. Gideon told me he couldn't help me. He left me out in the cold, and I've spent the last seven years blaming myself for what happened to Daniel." And wishing she were the one to die that night instead.