Chapter Five

"I t's the house at the end of the beach." Ellie pointed to the small rental she'd found online.

Most of the other homes along this stretch of beach were sprawling and probably cost into the millions. The owner had told her the two-bedroom bungalow had been one of the original ones on Hope Island. He'd had offers from potential buyers but hadn't wanted to let go of the property that had been in his family for several generations.

"This is Myron Small's place, isn't it?" Boone asked as he parked the truck in the driveway.

Ellie turned in her seat. "That's right." How would he know this being a short-timer himself?

Boone seemed to pick up on her unanswered question and smiled. "He was the first case I helped with when I joined Hope Island Securities. He wanted assistance tracking down his brother's grandson. Myron's an interesting character."

Though Ellie hadn't met Myron in person, their conversations had clued her into that truth. Myron lived by his own rules even at eighty-eight. "He is. Were you able to locate the family member?"

Boone didn't respond. He was staring at the house with a deepening frown.

Ellie whipped toward it, a gasp escaping. The door stood open. Only slightly, but enough to confirm her worst nightmare had come true .

They'd found her. Again.

"I'm guessing you didn't forget to lock up." It wasn't really a question.

Ellie opened the truck's door, barely aware of Boone telling her to wait.

She registered the closing of his door before he came after her and grabbed her arm. "You can't go in there."

She pulled her free and pivoted his way, knowing his reasoning. What Boone didn't understand was she wanted to catch them. Wanted to use her training in interrogation to find out who killed Daniel.

"I'm calling the police," Boone said.

"No." She grabbed his arm. The word came out far too quickly.

His attention homed in on her face, analyzing every tic. "Why not?"

Ellie let him go. She had to think fast. "Because I may have left the door open after all." It was an out-and-out lie. As much as she'd perfected her skills at protecting herself, she'd gotten rusty at thinking on her feet. Too much time alone. "It's fine," she added before he had the chance to respond. "I'm fine. You can go now."

"Ellie, . . . if you're in trouble you can tell me." He waited while she tried to find a way to convince him otherwise. "I can help." He added to her silence.

"There's no trouble. As I've said, I'm fine. Thanks for the lift." She crossed her arms and prayed he wouldn't push.

After a long standoff, Boone threw up his hands. "Alright. You have my number if you need me."

She allowed herself a smile. "I do. And thank you."

Boone slowly turned on his heel and headed back to his truck, his shoulders hunched as if doubting his decision to leave her.

He got in and turned the truck around before slowly driving away, his headlights moving down the beachfront road.

She bent over and retrieved the Ruger she'd tucked into her boot and eased closer to the opening.

The men she'd seen earlier in town. There was no doubt in her mind they were Syrian assassins. Teams of them had been searching for her since Daniel's death. The only question was why?

As far as her former agency was concerned, Ellie killed Daniel to cover up her involvement with the Syrians. There would be no help coming from them. She was on her own.

The door squeaked slightly as she opened it enough to enter. Ellie froze. If they were waiting inside, she'd just alerted the intruders to her presence.

She stepped into the living area and set her bag, and the polo shirt Hank gave her to wear with the coffeehouse logo displayed across the top left of the shirt. Ellie listened. The only noise came from the waves crashing against the ocean. Without turning on lights, she moved through the small space searching each room. All were empty. The back door remained locked as she'd left it.

Relief weakened her limbs. She clicked on the kitchen light and looked around. Nothing appeared out of place. Same in the rest of the house. Had she left the door unlocked? The thought was ludicrous. Her safety routine was the one thing that never faltered.

If they had come inside, there would be nothing here to confirm her identity. She'd made sure of it. Through the years, Ellie had gotten good at traveling light. She had everything she needed about Daniel's death memorized. She kept the engagement ring tucked into her jeans pocket in a small jeweler's bag and the Ruger hidden away.

Myron had moved to Florida for the warmer weather several years back. He'd told her he rarely came back to Hope Island. On occasion one of the family members would come by to check on things, but the house hadn't truly been lived in for years. Besides, Myron would have warned her someone would be stopping by to check on the place.

There were family photos scattered around the house. Ellie had memorized each one's location. How many there were. And what position they were placed in.

That's when she saw it. A picture of Myron and all his kids, grandkids, and great grandkids in the living room was just a quarter of an inch askew. Enough to confirm her fears.

Someone had been inside the home.

Syrian Intelligence? Her people? A new threat she wouldn't see coming?

When she'd gone to Gideon for help, he'd told her Daniel's death had been confirmed and she was their prime suspect. As director, he'd have no choice but to dispatch all Mossad's resources into bringing her in. He'd pulled a weapon and tried to call for assistance. Somehow, Ellie managed to overpower Gideon and tie him up. She'd bought herself time but knew they'd keep coming after her. Mossad agents wouldn't stop until they found her . . . or confirmed she was dead by the enemy's hand.

She'd kept out of sight while quietly doing what she could to investigate Daniel's murder. Ellie understood why her people wanted her captured, but why the enemy? What could she possibly know that would cause them to spend seven years seeking to silence her?

Over the years on the run, she'd racked her brain, searching for the missing piece that would explain why "that night" had happened. She'd gone over every single second of the night Daniel died as well as the days before and the few details she knew about the contact within Syrian Intelligence. Nothing made sense.

A noise at the rear of the house jolted her back to the moment. Had they returned?

She swung toward the sound, weapon drawn and ready to shoot. Over her accelerated heartbeat, nothing but quiet could be heard. Yet she hadn't imagined the sound. Her hearing had become attuned to anything out of place. A habit from her days with Mossad she couldn't break. A breath later she heard it again. Something rustling around near the garage set her nerves on edge.

Ellie eased through the front opening without making a sound, each footstep carefully placed. At the edge of the house, she flattened herself against the structure and pulled in a breath before peeking around.

Nothing moved in the shadows. The rustling sound was joined by a snort of some type.

Ellie continued to move forward until she reached the garage. She zeroed in on the location of the noise. Near the front of the garage facing the ocean. Ellie covered the space between the house and garage in two steps. Reaching the front, the sound of snorting was joined by what sounded like digging. Digging?

She counted to three and charged into the open. The sight of a potbelly pig rutting near the place where she kept her garbage can was so unexpected it took several seconds to register. A spotted piglet. Here. As she approached, the animal spared her a glance before continuing its rutting, confirming the animal wasn't afraid of people. A pet perhaps?

"What are you doing out here?" As she reached the pig, it became clear it was young. The animal was muddy and unkempt. So, maybe not a pet. "Are you hungry?"

The pig snorted and bobbed its head as if to say yes.

Ellie holstered her weapon, the threat inside taking back place to an animal in need.

"Come with me." She started for the back of the house. After she'd taken a few steps, Ellie glanced behind to see the pig following. This was about as unexpected as her getting a job at a coffeehouse.

She opened the back door and waited for the pig. Once inside, Ellie relocked it and then did the same to the front. Before she had time to return to the kitchen, the female pig had shadowed her into the living room.

Ellie had no idea what pigs ate but she'd brought some artisan bread at the bakery recently. She tore off a couple of pieces and placed them on the floor. The pig sniffed then gobbled them up.

"You were hungry." Ellie gave the animal more and then poured water into a bowl. She grabbed a kitchen towel and wet it, intending on getting some of the mud off the pig.

An engine grew louder as it neared the road in front of her place. This was the last house down this way. No one would come this far by accident .

Ellie snatched her weapon and killed the kitchen light. She eased toward the front windows. A set of headlights flashed across the house. Ellie ducked back. The vehicle stopped out front. A door opened and slammed shut. One person. Was it the same person who came here earlier?

From the kitchen, the pig snorted as if voicing its concern.

Ellie waited for the driver's next move. She had weapons stashed all over the house. If they came for her, she'd fight with everything she had to live.

The knock took her by surprise. Most assassins didn't knock. She wasn't taking any chances. Maybe someone was lost. If so, they'd leave after a minute.

"Ellie?"

She immediately recognized Boone's voice, relief weakening her limbs. Why was he here?

"Come on, I know you're in there."

She placed the weapon on a bookcase and unlocked the door.

Boone stood before her. "Anything wrong?" His attention was on her face as if seeing things even a trained Mossad agent couldn't hide.

"No, nothing." A complete lie, but she was holding onto her fa?ade.

He came inside, and she stepped back, putting distance between them. Ellie slammed into the bookcase, her injured ribs sending currents of pain down her side.

Boone reached out to steady her but she stopped him while holding onto her injured side. "I'm okay. I fell a few weeks back and bruised some ribs." A flat-out lie that he probably didn't buy. Thankfully, Boone didn't push.

The pig in the kitchen came to investigate. The little darling stopped next to Ellie and looked up at Boone as if to challenge his presence.

"Who's your friend?" He eyed the animal with a crooked grin.

"I don't know. She showed up here tonight. I think she's someone's pet."

"More likely she came from the illegal petting zoo that was in town a few days back. They were shut down. The owners left in the middle of the night. Word around the island was they were squatting in one of these vacation homes. No doubt, your neighbor's place. They probably kept the animals in the garage and out of sight. I'm guessing this little cutie got left behind intentionally."

Ellie's heart went out to the creature. She'd been abandoned by her people as well. "I'm not sure what to do with her."

Boone shrugged. "You could call animal control."

"And have them put her down? No way. I'll keep her before I let that happen."

He leaned over and petted the pig's head. "I don't blame you." Once he'd straightened, he frowned. "Though it makes me wonder if she was left behind in the house how she'd get out."

An uneasy feeling slithered into the pit of Ellie's stomach. Myron told her she'd have this stretch of beach to herself. All her neighbors' places were summer homes, and with summer ended, they'd have left the island by now.

He looked around the place. "Doesn't look like they did any damage."

Ellie squared her shoulders. "I told you I left the door open."

Boone stopped her before she could build on the lie. "You didn't leave it open." Ellie bit her bottom lip and waited for him to continue. "I realize I haven't known you long, but I gather you're not the type to leave anything unchecked. You would have made sure the doors were locked before you left."

The challenging look he gave her demanded she deny it. She couldn't.

"I used to work for the CIA," Boone said quietly.

Immediately Ellie's guard flew up. A spy. She mentally tried to determine the threat to her safety.

"I've seen a lot of things during my time with the Agency. Enough to spot someone running for their life." He waited for her to deny what she couldn't. "What's going on, Ellie?"

She couldn't tell him . . . could she? She hadn't shared her ugly past with anyone. If she spoke the words aloud, would he condemn her?

"It's best that you don't know. You can't help me."

He stepped closer. "Try me. I won't judge you, I promise. I've done some awful things during my time with the CIA. Things I can't take back. I've killed."

Ellie flinched at the declaration, giving too much away. She balled her hands into fists. The truth was on the tip of her tongue. Could she say the words? Was it possible there might be a light at the end of this dark tunnel she'd been traveling down for so long?

"You were once intelligence, correct?"

Her expression froze in place, her breathing labored.

"Not CIA or any of the US intelligence agencies. I checked."

"You had no right." The protest came out half-hearted. There would be no record he could find of her time with Mossad. No information on her crimes.

He shrugged. "You're right. I didn't do it for any other reason except to help you. I've been where you are. Where it feels as if you're all alone."

Tears were close, and she fought them back. "I am alone. I've lost everything." The words slipped out before she could stop them. What was wrong with her? What was it about Boone that broke through her defenses?

"Someone you loved died?"

She crumpled to the closest chair and covered her face as the tears she'd fought so hard to hold back refused to be denied.

One sob escaped, followed by another, until she was crying in earnest. The first time she'd actually allowed herself to shed tears since that night.

Boone knelt beside her and gently gathered her close. Ellie tensed, half expecting pain, rejecting the human contact that she'd craved for so long. When the pain didn't come, she leaned into his embrace and allowed herself to be human for once.