Chapter 32

CHAPTER 32

Durango

The moment I step into my house the exhaustion hits. We just flew back from a grueling assignment. And I don't just mean physically. Moose and Axel were with me, and let's just say Moose is still upset he was accused of possibly killing one of our targets, Damien. I tried to explain to him that it was Harding who thought he was a suspect, not us. But he's still bitter.

It didn't help the team dynamic. Fortunately, we were simply doing a bodyguard assignment for a band, and there really weren't any threats. Normally, we wouldn't take on something like that, but Reed is friends with the band's manager and offered our services.

The only thing they needed to be saved from were the high-pitched screams of their middle school-aged fans. Well, that and some drama amongst themselves. Between the band and Moose, I'm happy to be home.

On the ride from the airport, I texted Willow to let her know I'm back and would love to see her tomorrow night. Honestly, I don't want to wait that long, but I refuse to treat her like a booty call, which is what it would look like if I went to see her tonight.

My phone buzzes, and I smile, certain it's Willow. But it's not.

Trip: I saw you just got back. Have you seen the latest on Tyler Bentley?

I stare at the message, and then I call him. "You saw I just got back?"

"Axel didn't mention it? He asked me to keep an eye on your place in case Tyler had any associates who came back. I hacked into your security cameras. No one has been around."

"Thanks. I think."

He laughs. "Don't worry. I won't be hacking in again unless you ask me to."

"That's good. And no, I haven't seen anything new about Tyler since you told me he was dead."

"Here, I'll send you the link."

It leads to a news story. I scan it quickly. The police found the video on his computer where he names two men, and apparently, it has been shared on social media.

"The police shared it on social media?" That doesn't make sense.

Trip laughs. "They claim they didn't. Their official statement is they are looking for a leak who may have shared it."

I have a sinking feeling that maybe Willow or Samantha did. If anything is traced back to them, they could be in danger again.

"Have they arrested Hyde yet?"

"No," Trip says. "Looks like he was forewarned about the video, and he left the country."

"Thanks for the update. And thanks for keeping an eye on my place."

"No problem," Trip says. "But before you go, there's one more thing."

I rub my temple, hoping it isn't about Tyler.

"Harding asked me to look into some things for her," he says.

Well, that's surprising. "I thought she had her own guy."

He laughs. "She does, but she wanted to keep this check outside the CIA because she wasn't sure who was involved."

"Is this about Damien?"

"It is. And she told me to pass the information on to you. She asked me to tap into some video cameras. I don't know the details except I'm supposed to send you a photo and tell you it's Natalie. I'm sending it now. I need to go. Hope it all makes sense."

"It does. Thanks again."

I end the call and check his message. The photo is slow to load. It's a still from a video and a bit grainy. The woman has brown hair and is wearing a black coat and a dark-green scarf. She's familiar, but it doesn't look like Nancy, from what I can see. The woman's head is turned, and I can only see part of it.

Durango: Do you have any photos of her face straight on?

Trip: No, she looked down the entire time.

I stare at the photo one more time, but I don't glean anything new. I yawn and decide to go to bed.

After I brush my teeth, my phone rings. I hope it's Willow. It's not. Harding. Calling me at night. This can't be good.

"What's up?" I answer.

"A lot. Can you come in? Same place as last time?"

I yawn again. "Tonight?"

"Yeah." It doesn't even phase her that I might be tired. But in her defense, she probably doesn't realize I was on an assignment.

"All right. Give me twenty."

I go straight to the kitchen and make coffee. I'm going to need it.

When I get to the CIA's office, Harding is waiting outside.

"Hey, we brought Nancy in, and she had a lot to say."

I frown. "Nancy's here in the States?"

She shakes her head. "No, Davis brought her in for questioning in Belarus."

"So, why did you need me here now?" I ask impatiently.

She leads me to the green room. It's not at all what I expected. It really is just a plain room with green walls. Inside, there is a desk with a computer and a large monitor. The monitor shows Nancy sitting at a table.

Harding calls someone. "We're ready." She ends the call and pockets her phone. "Have a seat," she says to me.

There are two chairs in front of the monitor. We both sit. Agent Davis comes into view on the monitor.

"Let's pick up where we left off," Agent Davis says. "You said Damien planted fake papers for his wife?"

Nancy nods. "He put the papers in their kitchen where he knew she would find them."

"And what was on these papers?"

"Directions to where the weapons were located. It was fake, of course."

Agent Davis writes something down on a pad of paper. "And why would he give his wife fake directions?"

Nancy smiles. "To find out if she would betray him."

"Can you explain what you mean by that?"

"Damien suspected his wife was going to leave him. She needed money to do so. He wanted to know how far she would go. He had someone watching the fake location to see if anyone showed up."

Agent Davis leans back. "And did they?"

She nods. "They did. And when they discovered there was nothing there, they called Sylvia. That's what Damien's man told him he overheard."

"Once Damien knew his wife would betray him, what did he plan to do?" Davis asks.

Nancy sniffles and wipes her eyes. "He was going to leave her and marry me. He was so happy we are having a baby."

I cross my arms. "This doesn't feel right."

"I agree."

Harding pulls out her phone and calls again. Davis's phone rings.

"I'll be right back," she tells Nancy.

"Can you get her to take a pregnancy test?" Harding asks.

I can't hear what Davis is saying, but Harding smiles. Then Harding ends the call.

"They got a urine sample from her just before I first called.

Davis enters the room again and sits down. "Did you find out where the weapons are actually located?"

Nancy's eyes widen. "No. I didn't ask Damien details about his work."

"His work?" I scoff. "She told us he dealt with antiquities. But she just admitted to knowing he dealt with weapons when he set his wife up."

The agent doesn't say anything further as Nancy squirms in her chair.

"I knew he was doing something shady, but I did ask for details. He only told me about tricking his wife because he was so angry with her," Nancy says. "So angry that he got a message to the men she sold the weapon information to, telling them she knew the real coordinates." Nancy chuckles.

Davis leans forward. "Those men would come after her. Is that what he wanted?"

"He said she betrayed him, so he didn't care what they did to her."

Davis leans back again and crosses her legs. "It doesn't bother you that the man you appear to love could treat his wife so harshly?"

Nancy shakes her head. "No, he never loved her. It was an arranged marriage."

"Between a Belarus man and an English woman?"

Nancy doesn't respond. She sniffles again. "That's what he told me. He loved me. That's why he said he was leaving her to live with me. And why he gave me access to his bank account."

"A bank account? Have you taken any money out of it?"

She shakes her head. "Not yet. I was on my way when you grabbed me."

Davis cocks her head. "Which bank?"

Nancy snarls. "Why should I tell you?"

Davis stands up and leaves the room. A moment later, she comes back carrying a file.

"We ran an extensive search on all of Damien's assets, including his bank accounts. His wife, Sylvia, is listed on every single one. And as of yesterday, no other names are listed on any of the accounts."

Nancy's eyes go wide. "No, you're mistaken."

Davis continues, "And the balance on all the accounts as of yesterday was zero. Sylvia withdrew all the money. So, unless you have a different account…" Davis turns the papers toward Nancy, who scans them. She points to something on the page.

"It was that one. He never told me he shared it with her." She leans in to read. "There is no money left?"

"I'm afraid not."

Nancy sobs. "I spent a year with him! All for nothing!"

"Well, not nothing. You are going to have a baby."

Nancy's sobs turn into laughter. She wipes her eyes. "That son of a bitch lied to me about everything, didn't he?"

"I'm afraid so," Davis says.

"Good, now hopefully she'll be honest with us," Harding says.

She wipes her eyes as she straightens her back and sits up tall. "What do you want to know about him?"

"Where are the weapons hidden?" Davis asks.

"I will need a pad of paper and a pen," she says.

A second agent walks into the room carrying both. The agent also hands Davis a piece of paper.

"What were the coordinates you tried?" Nancy asks.

"That isn't relevant," Davis says.

"It is. You had the right numbers, just in the wrong order. Damien did that on purpose. He thought it was so brilliant."

Davis takes the paper and writes something. "Here are the coordinates we have." She hands the paper back to Nancy.

Nancy stares at it and then writes something below. "Here is the correct location." Nancy pushes the paper across the table back to Davis.

"Why would Damien give you the correct location? Didn't that put you in harm's way?"

She sighs. "We were supposed to meet there. But he never showed up. That's when I tracked his phone and found you all in the woods."

Davis stands. "I'll look into this." She grabs the paper and pen and leaves the room.

Nancy slumps back in her chair, staring at her hands. The woman doesn't appear sad. It's something else. More like determined. I hope it's determined to tell us Damien's lies.

Harding's phone rings. "Do you believe her?" Harding asks when she answers. She puts it on speakerphone.

"I do. The new coordinates place the weapons on the edge of a forest. I'm sending a team to extract them now. I'll let you know what we find. Oh, and that paper I was handed stated the pregnancy test came back positive. She's telling the truth about that, at least."

The call ends, and Harding smiles. "This might be almost over."

"Why did you need me to come in tonight?" I ask.

Harding frowns. "I thought Nancy might say something that contradicted what Damien told you. But it looks like that wasn't an issue. And now we can wrap this one up."

I cross my arms. "Wrap it up? But what about finding who killed Damien?"

She shrugs. "Not sure it matters. We get the weapons back, and we can close this case."

"What about Sylvia? If Nancy is right, someone will kill her because she gave them wrong information."

Harding nods. "Very possible, but that isn't my case."

"Can't you call someone to check on her?"

Her brow arches. "You seem very concerned about Sylvia. You like her or something?"

"No. I just…" And the memory hits me. I pull up the photo Trip sent me earlier. I try to visualize all of us after we rescued Damien that night and then picked up Rover and Sylvia. As soon as the photo loads, I'm certain. "The scarf." I knew it was familiar. "Sylvia was wearing a dark-green scarf the night we saved Damien."

Harding's brow shoots up. "You're right." She steps next to me and stares at the photo. "It is hard to tell, but this could be Sylvia with a brown wig and black coat like Nancy. But she told the guys her name was Natalie."

"Similar name. Maybe we'd think the guys got it wrong?" I scratch the back of my neck. "So, Sylvia was trying to frame Nancy, and these men grabbed me because Sylvia believed I had the real location of the weapons. This means Sylvia is behind my kidnapping."

"My guess is while she might not speak Russian, she understood Damien was sharing numbers with you. And what numbers would he share? The location," Harding says.

I stare at the monitor even though it's off now. "We're missing something. If Sylvia were behind it, how the hell did she find me in Brooklyn?"

"That's a good question. When we left Belarus, she was in custody," Harding says. "So, she couldn't have followed us. Perhaps Moose said something about Brooklyn."

I hold up a hand. "Don't even go there. Moose is a good guy and had nothing to do with any of this."

"He seems to be. I'm just spitballing how Sylvia would have found you," Harding says.

"We will have to find her and ask," I say.

"Have at it," Harding says. "I'm afraid that's not part of my assignment."

I stew on that idea for a moment. "But what if Sylvia comes after me again?" I ask.

Harding shakes her head. "If she comes after you again, call me. Otherwise, unless she gets between those weapons and me, I'm not dealing with her. And once we retrieve the weapons, she'll have no more interest in you."

"She goes free?"

Harding tilts her head. "If you're concerned she'll come for you again, you can stay here. We have a room with a bed."

While I am exhausted, I just want my own bed at this point. "Thanks, but I think I'll go home." I walk toward the door.

"Durango."

I turn back.

"For what it's worth, I don't think she'll come after you."

I nod and walk out of the building. I hope she's right.