Chapter 8

"I see I've missed all the fun. Your call went to voice mail, but it recorded enough details for me to locate you before disconnecting. Smart move mentioning Nightshade. It's a popular place." Seb looked down at Lane crumpled on the sidewalk at Alexis's feet. He was unconscious. For now.

There was no telling how much damage Alexis had inflicted with the ear clap he'd witnessed as he ran toward her. Despite what you read on the Internet; it wasn't a reliable move. A carotid slap was more effective. He'd show Alexis the move later.

Alexis looked at Seb, her face a sickly yellow in the light shining from the lamppost. She was in shock.

She bent and picked up the high heel lying on the sidewalk, oblivious to the blood smeared along the wicked-looking stiletto heel. It explained the blood soaking the front of Lane's pants. She slipped her foot into the shoe. Seb would ask her for details later.

Right now, he needed to get her out of there. The people across the street were watching them. Her back faced the businesses across the road, but Seb didn't know if they'd observed the altercation between Alexis and Lane.

He dropped the cell phone he'd taken from the guy with the broken leg onto the ground beside Lane and crushed it with his heel. Seb had gone through the contacts. There'd been four. Lane's and the three men. The burner cell had been purchased for tonight's job. It held no secrets and provided no information on who'd hired the men.

Seb wrapped his arm around Alexis's waist and guided her down the sidewalk. "We need to leave before someone wonders what happened and wanders over. We don't need a good Samaritan helping Agent Lane by describing us to the police."

"There was an awful lot of blood." Her voice shook as they walked away from Lane.

"I wouldn't feel bad," Seb said, picking up their pace. He didn't know how long it would take for someone to cross the street and check out Lane. "What he intended to do to you was worse."

Alexis shivered. "How did you find me?"

"One of the guys following me was extremely helpful," Seb smirked. It would take the two men a while to make their way out of the lane and get help. They were out of the picture. It was the guy who'd followed Alexis that was the wild card. "I borrowed his cell and a couple of text messages later found out Lane had spotted you."

What he hadn't found out was where Lane had sent the third guy. The response to his text had been vague.

I'm taking care of something.

He'd pushed it and sent another text.

It ended with stronger language than mind your own business, but communicated the same idea.

It worried Seb what the something might be.

His cell phone dinged with a text message alert as they reached the end of the block. Seb waited until they crossed the street and were halfway down the block before he pulled it out of his pocket. He didn't slow their pace.

I don't know who you met with, but the GPS on Special Agent Bernie Lane's cell phone says he's in his Miami apartment. A detective I know on the Miami police force is on his way to the Lane's place. I'm sending you the photo the FBI has on file.

As he finished reading the text message, Seb's cell dinged again. He tapped on the screen. The pudgy-faced man in the photo bore no resemblance to the man they'd left unconscious and bleeding on the sidewalk.

He passed the phone to Alexis.

She looked at the photo. "Who's this?"

"Special Agent Bernie Lane," Seb replied as she handed the cell phone back.

Unless the guy lost a lot of weight since that photo was taken, your detective friend may have a problem. Tell him to contact someone here and ask them to check out the man lying on the sidewalk across from Nightshade. Alexis took care of the guy. Once he comes to, he won't be walking far.

Javier texted one word. Ouch.

Seb chuckled and slid the cell phone into his pocket.

"We'll head back to Sunset Key. They won't expect us to leave for Miami tonight," Seb said as they continued along the street, alert to any movement in the shadows surrounding them.

I'm taking care of something.

The third man was a loose end, and loose ends bothered Seb.

It was time Seb found out what Alexis was hiding. He wasn't buying her insistence on needing a second opinion from the University of Miami professor and researcher. There had to be someone in Europe capable of checking her findings.

Her claustrophobia would have made her hesitate before deciding to fly, but Seb knew she was forced to fly for business events. According to Finlay, Alexis only flew business class. She doped herself up and slept the entire flight. The airlines were aware of her problem and took care of her during the flight. Someone always met her when she landed.

Sailing across the Atlantic to evade the men following her in Paris was extreme, even given the events of the past day.

"Why the sailboat? Why didn't you fly? Finlay would have made sure one of us met you at the airport."

"It would have been impossible to hide my destination from the men following me in Paris."

"There were other options. Joe could have encrypted the research data, and you could have emailed it to Butler." Seb said, continuing to dig. "A video conference call would have been easier than three weeks at sea."

Alexis didn't answer, and Seb pulled her into the shadow of an enormous tree at the end of the block. When he turned her toward him, she looked down at the ground.

"Alexis," Seb growled. "What's going on?"

"Dr. Butler may have engineered the virus."

Seb stared at her. What the hell was she thinking? She wanted to meet with the guy who might be responsible for all of this.

"I said may. I couldn't hand everything over to the authorities without being sure I was doing the right thing." Alexis looked up at him, her eyes wide, haunted circles. "Just hinting he could be involved in something like this would destroy his career."

"Start explaining." Seb wasn't moving until he'd heard the whole story. There was more to this than worrying about the professor's reputation.

Alexis blinked back tears as she explained how difficult it had been attending university at fifteen and how he'd taken her under his wing. When she'd finished her story, Seb wrapped his arms around her and drew her close.

Her body sagged into his, exhausted from sharing the irrational guilt she'd carried all these years for the research grants that had suddenly disappeared when Alexis changed the focus for her master's degree. She blamed herself for the man's career stalling and then fizzling out.

Anger burned deep in Seb. He'd met men like the two university professors. They'd both used her. She'd been too young and na?ve to recognize it.

Hell, she was still na?ve. Seb would be lying if he didn't admit it turned him on.

If Butler had been as invested in Alexis as she'd thought, he would have encouraged her to explore new interests and find her niche.

"He's desperate to make his mark in the scientific community before he retires, but I don't believe he'd ever resort to something like this," Alexis said, her head resting on his shoulder.

The professor was a self-centered jerk. Claiming to have discovered a way to destroy the algae and clean the infected water would garner him worldwide attention. It would be the grand finale to his career that he was looking for.

Handing the dry box and its contents over to the authorities would be the easiest solution, but Alexis would have to share her suspicions of Butler's involvement. She was right. If he wasn't involved, the scandal would be enough to taint his name.

Alexis would forever feel responsible for ruining the man. Seb couldn't let that happen.

Seb tipped her chin up, and she blinked. He couldn't tear his gaze away from her violet eyes, almost black in the tree's shadow.

She swallowed, and he lowered his eyes, staring at the pulsing hollow at the base of her throat.

The ding of a text alert shattered the silence and the moment between them.

Seb kissed the top of her head and stepped back. He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. It was Javier.

They found Lane in the hallway next to his bedroom. He was shot in the back three times. No struggle. A half-packed suitcase was on the bed. The Miami detective figures he let the perp in.

It fits. The shooter shows up. Lane knows the guy and tells him they can talk while he finishes packing. The shooter follows him. Lane wouldn't have seen him pull out the gun.

I haven't heard from Auclair. I'm waiting on a call back from our contact at the Pentagon. Watch your back.

"We have a problem," Seb said, as he shoved his cell into his jeans pocket. "The Miami Police Department just found the real Special Agent Lane dead in his apartment."

Alexis said nothing as he took her hand and led her to the corner. They walked in silence for several minutes before she spoke.

"They were willing to kill an FBI Agent to stop me." Her voice was tense and her face was set in a hard line. She shook her head. "That requires a certain level of ignorance or unwavering self-assurance that no one will uncover your identity."

"As well as the funds to make things happen," Seb added. If you dangled enough cash, there was always someone eager to do whatever was required.

"I should have handed the dry box over to the authorities in France." Alexis stopped and looked up at Seb, her face grim. "I've placed everyone in danger. We need to go to the naval air base and hand everything over to the authorities. It's the only way to end this."

Alexis was wrong. Knowledge of the virus's existence posed a threat to whoever was behind the scheme. They were all in danger.

If the FBI had been compromised, they needed to assume other agencies had been as well. That included the naval air base. They'd need to rely solely on Shadow Defense's resources.

If Alexis was right and Butler wasn't involved, the university professor might help them identify the people responsible. If he'd created the virus… Butler would reveal the identities of those involved in the conspiracy. Seb could be very persuasive.

"We can't take the chance whoever is behind this doesn't have someone watching for us at the naval air base or has paid someone to look out for us." Seb continued to head back to Sunset Key. "We'll leave Sunset Key tonight. The full moon will make it easy for us to navigate. There's a small town close to Miami where they won't expect us to dock. We can rent a car and drive up the coast."

"Maybe Agent Auclair could help us. We could pass everything to him. You and Javier trust him."

"Javier hasn't been able to contact him. We're on our own."

"I was so sure I'd slipped away unseen that I didn't bother thinking about the consequences of asking Finlay for help. I've placed everyone at risk." Alexis let out a huge breath. "We should anchor the catamaran and take the dinghy in. No one will connect the dinghy to the catamaran. Though the rental place will ask for ID and a credit card."

"I'll have Javier set up the rental. He'll work around it." The sooner they got out of Key West, the happier Seb would be.

"Look." Alexis lifted her arm and pointed.

An orange glow colored the sky over the rooftops in the direction they were headed.

Seb now knew where Agent Lane had sent the guy from the coffeehouse.

The catamaran was on fire.