Chapter Forty-Two

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

S tunned, knowing exactly what Serena was talking about, Jazz whispered, “The head of the Wren Project.”

“Yes.”

“Who is he? What’s his name?”

“Follow me. I’ll show you.”

They went to the closest board, and Jazz stared at the massive amount of information. Names, locations, and dates were connected with arrows. The biggest arrow led to one name.

“Lazarus? How do you know it’s him?”

“Remember that game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon?”

“Yeah. Everyone in the world is somehow connected to him via six people?”

“Something like that. Players pick an actor and then try to connect that person to Kevin Bacon via other actors in the most direct way possible. So say someone challenged you to connect Henry Cavill and Bacon. Cavill played Clark Kent in the movie Man of Steel , and Diane Lane played Clark’s mother, Martha Kent. Diane Lane was also in the movie My Dog Skip with Kevin Bacon.”

“Okay. So this is like that?”

“Yes, except this is more like Seven Degrees of Lazarus.”

“Show me.”

“Okay. Here’s where I got started, since this was our first encounter with WP. You remember Nora Turner, the senator from Ohio?”

“Yes.”

That name was one that no one at OZ would ever forget. Because of Turner’s incredibly selfish act, many people had died. Ash had almost been one of them. He had been the lone survivor of an attack that had seen a bunch of politicians and business people load themselves onto a helicopter and abandon the men who had been protecting them, leaving them to fight an army. Ash had spent years trying to expose and bring Turner down, and in the midst of doing just that, they had learned there was a larger, more heinous group of people behind the corrupt politician.

With Serena leading her, Jazz followed the path from Nora Turner through events and people until it ended with the name Lazarus.

“Okay, but who?—”

Before Jazz could finish, Serena said, “Follow me.”

Trailing behind her, Jazz saw all the connections as if she were watching a movie. Aubrey, Liam’s wife, had discovered the connection between her uncle and the Wren Project. The uncle and Aubrey’s cousin Becca were both dead because of WP. Through all the intel she had unearthed, Serena showed Jazz the trajectory of events that led once again to Lazarus.

In each case they had worked on that involved the Wren Project, including the connection Hawke had made with the Gonzalez cartel and even Eve’s family connection, Serena had uncovered the links. They were sometimes shorter than seven steps, but they all led to one person named Lazarus.

“Okay, those are four cases. What’s on the other boards?”

Serena pointed to one several feet away. “Remember that man and his wife from Michigan who were in Madrid for their twenty-fifth anniversary and were found dead, supposedly by murder/suicide?”

“Yeah. I remember thinking if they were going to do something like that, why go all the way to Madrid?”

“Yes, I agree.” She shrugged and gave a chagrined smile. “I keep a list of strange deaths and unusual events. Anyway, so far, I’ve been able to link Lazarus to at least sixty-two of them.”

Jazz stared in open-mouthed wonder at her friend. “Seriously?”

“Yes. He’s not doing the deeds himself, of course, but in each case, there’s a link where he somehow shows up in relation to them. I believe he is the proverbial snake we’ve been looking for.”

In awe of this amazing woman, she asked, “How on earth did you do this all by yourself?”

For the first time since they’d arrived, Serena’s expression showed the heartache that continued to haunt her. “I’ve had some extra time on my hands.”

Sean, Serena’s husband, had taken off about a year ago, and no one knew where he’d gone or really why. He’d given some lame-assed explanation, but no one was buying it. There was some other reason why he’d left his wife and Option Zero.

“I can’t believe Sean just up and disappeared like that, Serena. When he finally returns, he’s going to get an ass-kicking he won’t soon forget.”

“I found him, Jazz,” she said softly.

For a second, Jazz thought Serena was back to talking about Lazarus, but then she saw the tears streaming down Serena’s face.

“Sean? Where is he? When is he coming home? Have you talked to him?”

“He called me a few months back.”

“Why didn’t you tell us? What did he say?”

“He’s got some issues to work out. Some I knew about, a few I didn’t. I told him I would give him time, but…” She shook her head and then said, “He asked for a divorce.”

Her heart dropping, Jazz grabbed Serena’s hand. “No. I can’t believe he would do that. What did you say?”

“I told him that when I married him, I promised I would give him anything he asked me for, if it was within my power. I never anticipated this would be what he’d ask for, but I couldn’t say no.”

“I’m so sorry, Serena.”

Jazz was shocked when Serena turned to look at her. Instead of the sorrow she expected, she saw only peace.

“Don’t be. Sean is the love of my life.” Her brow furrowed as she continued, “Have you ever been with anyone that when you were talking to him, he actually listened to you? Like, really listened? He saw you for you? He got who you were and understood you on a level no one else ever has?”

Before Xavier, she would have said absolutely not. But she knew exactly what Serena meant. A man who not only loved his woman on a physical and emotional level, but also had a deep understanding of who she was beneath the surface and appreciated her for those things was definitely something to be treasured.

Not wanting to stray into her own personal experience at this time, Jazz nodded her understanding.

“That was Sean… That is Sean.” A glimmer of amusement lit her face. “I’ll never forget the first time we met. Back then, I was a frowsy-looking blond chick with thick, dark glasses. I’d spilled half my coffee on my white blouse that morning, and I was trying to wipe it off while I was walking. I rounded a corner and slammed into Sean. He grabbed me before I could fall, and instead of telling me to watch where I was going or ignoring me, which most men did, he spent ten minutes just talking to me.

“I didn’t find out until I went home that night that I had worn two different-colored shoes. I was a mess. But I’d met this handsome, gentle giant with a beautiful smile and a wicked sense of humor who actually listened when I talked and appreciated me, despite the mess I was that day. I don’t think I stopped smiling that night.

“He asked me out the next time we saw each other, and from that day forward, Sean Donavan was it for me.”

“You’re never going to give up on him, are you?”

“No, I’m not. He has my heart forever.”

“I’m glad you’re not giving up on him, but I still want to kick his ass.”

Laughing, Serena pulled her into a hug. “You may have to get in line. I think everyone at OZ has threatened the same thing.”

Serena pulled away, drew in a shaky breath, and then gestured at the board beside them. “So what do you think?”

“I think you’ve done some amazing work, but I have one big question.”

“Let me guess. You want to know who Lazarus is.”

“Yes. Do you have any idea?”

“Yes and no. A lot of what I know is conjecture. There’s chatter on the dark web, but it’s obscure and vague. I believe he lives in various parts of the world. I’ve tracked him to Portugal, Greece, and most recently Japan. I believe he has a daughter and a son-in-law. He keeps his circle extremely small.”

“Any idea what he looks like?”

“No. But I think I might be able to find him through his daughter. She lives in New York City.”

“Wow, and Ash doesn’t know about any of this?”

“Nope. You’re the first. So what do you think?”

“I think, thanks to you, we are finally going to get to cut off the head of the snake we’ve been hunting for years.”