Chapter 6

"This is one of the best Key Lime pies I've tasted. You should have split the piece with me," Seb said as he ate the slice of pie intended for Alexis. There was no point in not eating it.

"I'm fine." Lane looked at him, bewildered and frustrated.

The guy had expected Alexis to accompany Seb to the restaurant and was figuring out his next move.

Seb couldn't put his finger on it, but his instincts said something was off. The lanky man looked the part and repeated the right lines, but it was like pieces from two different puzzles of a similar scene.

The guy was cocky. Not uncommon for the FBI, but this wasn't the illusion of superiority and being in control. Lane was smug, like he had insider knowledge he wasn't about to share.

If he wasn't an FBI agent, who was he?

"I won't insult you and ask if you're sure the two guys were following me." Lane motioned to the server to top off his coffee as Seb forked a mouthful of pie. "I'm well aware of your company's reputation."

Whoever this guy was, he was well-informed. Someone had also sent him Seb's photo. He'd glanced down at his cell phone as Seb approached the restaurant's outdoor patio before making eye contact. His credentials had looked like the real thing, but so did anything Vala created.

Lane paused while the server filled his cup and picked up the two empty pie plates.

"Sir?" she asked Seb, raising the coffee decanter.

"Please," he replied.

She quickly refilled his cup and moved to the next table.

"My partner and I kept the meet to ourselves," Lane said as he drank his coffee. "There was an incident last month and everyone is cautious, worried there's a leak in the department."

That would fit with Auclair's concern when his boss told him there was a change of plans. He was worried the meet with Seb and Alexis had been compromised.

Javier was also concerned. He'd even suggested leaving out the FBI and using their own resources to get Alexis to Miami.

Auclair didn't have a first name for the guy. A quick search had brought up four agents named Lane. It had disturbed Javier, and he'd pointed out the choice of name could be deliberate. Without a first name, they couldn't do a thorough background check on the agent before Seb met him. Javier would have to skim through what he could find on all four agents, looking for something that stuck out. It was a needle in a haystack situation.

In the end, Seb and Javier had decided the threat Alexis had uncovered merited the FBI's attention. If Lane wasn't who he said he was, Seb would find out who'd sent him.

Seb had texted Javier the agent's full name, Bernie Lane. He'd yet to hear from him.

"Where's your partner?" Seb asked as he worked his way through Alexis's pie. He could be wrong. Maybe someone with more experience than it appeared this guy had was watching their backs. There were still a few blanks that needed to be filled in before he'd trust Lane over his gut. "We could use his help with the guys on the street."

"He's waiting for us at the safe house, liaising with someone from the CIA," Lane replied smoothly. "I don't know if we'll be handing everything over to them or if this will be a joint effort. It's my boss's call. My job is to get Ms. Hayes to the safe house and debrief. Someone several pay grades higher will work out the next step."

Lane had just made his first mistake. He wasn't who he said he was.

None of them had known what they were dealing with until Alexis had filled in Seb on the way to Key West. Auclair's boss had decided to wait until they'd looked at the sample and the data on the USB drive before involving another agency.

"We need to take care of the guys in the street first," Seb said, observing Lane's reaction.

"I disagree. We get Ms. Hayes and lose them," he said firmly, his voice carrying the authority Seb would expect of an FBI agent. "I know my way around Key West."

"Ms. Hayes is safe where she is."

"Mr. Tremblay, you called us for help. We're helping." Lane was playing the role well, but that was all it was.

Seb watched Lane's eyes flick once again to the man leaning against the building next to the restaurant. A fine sheen had appeared on his upper lip. Lane wasn't as confident as he appeared. It was time to figure out who these guys were.

"I'm fine escorting her to DC." Seb rose, knowing the guy wouldn't let him walk away. "Tell your boss to expect us."

Lane's cell phone dinged before he could respond. He picked it up from the table, swiped the screen, and read the message.

"It's my partner. He wants to know where we are." Lane gave an exaggerated sigh and looked up at Seb. "Fine, we'll play it your way. Let's find out who these guys are."

Something had changed in the game. Lane had given in too easily. It wasn't the FBI way. Seb glanced across the street at the restaurant where he could see Alexis sitting in the window.

"You leave first. I'll follow." Lane inclined his head slightly to the guy who hadn't budged from his position beside the wall. "He's yours. I'll take care of the one across the street. We'll meet back here and get Ms. Hayes. Satisfied?"

Once again, Lane was saying all the right words, but Seb didn't buy it.

He answered with a brief nod and left the restaurant. The street ahead had been blocked off and was crowded with people dancing to a Caribbean steel band. It would be easy for Seb to slip through the crowd and lose his tail. Once he got rid of the guy, he'd go to the opposite side of the street and follow Lane.

Seb headed up the street and the guy leaning against the wall left his post to follow a discreet distance back. The guy across the street nodded to him and kept pace with Seb.

Their behavior confirmed Seb's suspicion. They weren't after Lane. It was Alexis they were after and expected Seb to lead them to her.

If he checked their cell phones, Seb was sure he'd find his photo in their picture folder. What worried him more was Alexis's photo would also be there. All they had to do was glance over at the coffeehouse and they would spot her. He should have left her with Maxwell and Daphney when Javier had informed him Auclair was no longer meeting them.

Seb slowed and pretended to check his cell phone as he waited for Lane to leave the restaurant patio. He inhaled a sharp breath as Alexis stepped out of the coffeehouse, tapping on her cell phone as she hurried down the sidewalk.

The coffeehouse door opened again. A man turned in Alexis's direction and hurried after her as Seb's cell phone dinged with a text message alert. He didn't need to read Alexis's text to know what it said. Three men had accompanied Lane to the restaurant, not two. Seb was betting the third man had worked his way systematically through the shops, bars, and coffeehouses along the block, looking for Alexis while Lane was keeping him busy.

It would explain Lane giving into him so easily. The third guy had found Alexis.

She glanced behind her. The man following her had sped up.

Lane ran across the street, darting around people. He pointed to Alexis, and the man nodded.

Alexis turned her head toward the street and her eyes briefly met Seb's before she glanced over her shoulder. The man was gaining on her. She dashed toward the crowd dancing in the street and was lost from Seb's view. The third guy followed in her wake, not waiting for Lane.

He'd have to trust Alexis would make it back to Sunset Key. They needed answers, and there was only one way to get them. Seb was certain the two men still following him were sent to make sure he didn't leave the island alive. Two to one would seem like pretty good odds. They were in for an unexpected end to their evening.

It had been several months since he'd last partied in Key West. Seb knew he was gambling as he led the two men behind him away from the action on Duval Street to a quieter neighborhood.

Despite a continuous flow of tourists, not much changed on the island. The people born in Key West tended to stay. The islanders called themselves conchs.

His friend James was a conch. The tall African American ran a small tour company. The ladies loved him, and he was the only person who could drink Seb under the table.

Seb would be screwed if his friend had given up the single life and moved off the island. His plan hinged on James still parking his brightly colored tour bus at the end of a dead-end alley.

The two men following Seb picked up their speed to match him. He figured they'd wait until they were well away from the tourist area before making a move. It worked for him.

The man on Seb's side of the street crossed the road to join his buddy, trailing behind Seb on the opposite side of the street. They were making it easy for Seb. He'd prefer them together when he made his move.

A dumpster was parked in a driveway leading to a garage that had seen better days. Judging by the materials spilling onto the broken cement, the owners were tearing it down. Boards torn off the garage had been thrown in a haphazard pile, along with pieces of rebar.

Seb didn't have time to be subtle with these guys. He needed to find Alexis. She could only stay hidden among the crowd of dancers for so long before her claustrophobia would drive her to less congested areas along Duval Street where Lane and the guy following her could easily spot her.

He bent down when he reached the dumpster, pretending to tie his shoes. The guys stopped and waited. Seb was too exposed for them to make a move. They wouldn't take a chance at being spotted. If they knew the area, they knew the streets narrowed and ancient trees lined both sides. Their branches draped over fences, creating shadows that would easily conceal them while beating Seb to death.

The three-foot length of rebar lying on the ground beside his right foot was exactly what he needed. Seb held it against his leg as he stood, hiding it from view.

The street on the next block narrowed, and the two men behind Seb quickened their pace. So did Seb.

He turned into the alley on his right and smiled. The bus was parked at the far end, its nose facing a fence that ran the width of the street. Had it been daylight, the gate that split the fence in two would have been visible. It had taken Seb and James a weekend and two cases of beer to build that gate. Jame's home was on the other side of the fence.

Seb ran to the bus, keeping close to the fences on his right. The deep shadows the two men had counted on to keep their confrontation with Seb intimate and private hid Seb from their view. He slipped behind the bus as the men entered the alley.

They stood in the middle of the road, searching for Seb. After a minute, the taller of the two started walking toward the bus. His head moved from side to side, checking for a shadow that didn't belong. The second guy waited until there was several feet between the two of them and followed his friend, mimicking his actions.

The tall guy stopped when he reached the bus, kneeled and looked under the bus. Seb knew the end of the alley was too dark for him to see anything. The guy made a wide sweeping gesture to the space between the bus and the fence beside it. He pointed to the guy and then the middle of the road. It would take a complete idiot to not understand he was going to flush Seb out.

He crept through the grassy area between the bus and the fence. His buddy walked alongside the bus on the other side. Their timing couldn't have been better.

Seb swung the rebar as the tall guy rounded the corner of the bus. A sharp snap shattered the quiet night. Seb punched the guy in the face before he could scream. He dropped to the ground.

Seb pivoted, swinging the rebar gripped in his hand at the guy's partner, racing toward him. A second, louder crack split the air as the rebar connected with the man's thigh. Seb caught him as he fell to the ground, the rebar pressed against his throat in a choke hold. His scream was reduced to a garbled, guttural sound.

"You can answer my questions or die," Seb whispered, his mouth next to the guy's ear. "Your choice. It doesn't make a difference to me. When your pal comes to and sees your dead body on the ground, I'm sure he'll tell me what I need to know."

The guy bopped his head up and down.

"Who sent you?" Seb loosened his grip just enough to allow the guy to speak.

"The guy in the suit. A friend gave him our name. He paid us five hundred to follow you. Another five hundred when the job was done."

He was referring to Lane.

"What about the third guy?" They were local hired muscle and wouldn't be much help, but Seb would take any information he could squeeze from the guy.

"The guy gave us pictures of you and her. He was to check the places along the block and move out further if he didn't find her."

So far, Seb had learned nothing he hadn't pieced together himself. It wouldn't help him locate Alexis if they found her before he did.

"What's your friend's name?"

"Zeb."

"Pull out your cell phone."

The guy whimpered as he reached into the pocket above his broken leg. He held out the phone.

Seb traded his arm for the rebar and took the phone. "Password."

"123456."

"You're kidding me," Seb said as he typed it in. The screen unlocked.

Seb scrolled through the contacts. Zeb was there.

Where are you?Seb typed and then hit send.