Grace hadn’t known it was possible to be this tired. Exhaustion had ceased to describe her weariness when she landed in Arizona. Yesterday she had taken a shuttle from Grand Central Station to La Guardia and finally taken an evening flight to Phoenix.
Nine hours in the airport trying to get comfortable sleeping on the floor had been woefully insufficient, and boarding her plane to Grand Junction had ultimately been a relief. She supposed she would have ended up with a backache even if she hadn’t been fifteen weeks pregnant, but her growing abdomen hadn’t helped matters, and she worried that the stress of the past day and her lack of sleep would adversely affect her babies. Thankfully, the seat next to her had been empty, and she had managed to sleep on the hour-and-a-half flight.
Her stomach grumbled, and she popped a handful of almonds into her mouth. She refused to think about how much money she had spent at airport restaurants and snack bars in an attempt to get the nourishment she and her babies needed.
Wearily, she made her way outside. As promised, her grandfather was waiting in his old pickup truck when she stepped out of the airport. The truck bed was full, and he was pulling a trailer, a tarp tied over the contents to keep them protected from the elements.
He saw her coming and climbed out, circling to the passenger side to greet her.
All of the weariness, fear, and emotional turmoil spilled out the moment Grace’s arms encircled him.
His voice was gruff when he asked, “Hey, what’s this for?”
She couldn’t speak, her throat closing up, her tears fighting to get free.
He pulled back and looked at her, one of his calloused hands brushing a tear from her cheek. He looked around. “Where are your bags?”
“This is all I have,” she managed to say, nodding at her backpack.
Without another word, he pulled open her door and waited for her to get in. As soon as he climbed behind the wheel, he reached across her, opened the glove box, and fished out a packet of tissues. He handed it to her and started the engine.
“Go ahead and get the tears out. When you’re done, you can tell me what’s going on.”
Leave it to her grandfather to give her the no-nonsense approach. With permission to let go of her emotions, her tears subsided, and she took a deep breath. “A lot has happened over the last couple days.”
“We have better than a two-hour drive ahead of us. Might as well start at the beginning.”
“I’m not sure what the beginning is.”
“How about you tell me why you missed your plane yesterday.”
“I guess that all started when I left my cell phone at home,” Grace said. As she relayed the events of yesterday, she felt more and more like she was living in some kind of alternate reality. Yet two questions still remained: Why were those men looking for her? And why hadn’t she heard from Devin for the past seven days?
* * *
Devin declined Fai’s dinner invitation on Saturday night. The last thing he wanted was to go out to dinner with a bunch of coworkers, especially since he still hadn’t received any confirmation from Chee or Ghost that Grace was okay. Not knowing where she was had every nerve in his body humming.
He knew Chee would disapprove of his decision to stay home tonight, but he couldn’t do this anymore. He wanted out, and he wanted out now.
Devin had played along with Chee’s plans all week, but he knew he couldn’t keep it up. He hadn’t signed up for undercover work, and now it was time for him to make it clear to his superiors that he was done being their puppet. He certainly didn’t have any interest in sitting around like bait.
If no one had made a move on him in the past few days, it was unlikely anyone was going to.
Perhaps someone intent on robbing him had drugged his drink. If Ghost hadn’t come along when he had, Devin’s wallet might have disappeared along with his phone, but at least he wouldn’t have this overwhelming sense of dread that the Chinese government was watching his every move.
He sat at the kitchen table to eat the leftovers he had warmed up from dinner the night before. He had taken only two bites when a knock sounded at the door.
Devin stood and debated briefly whether he should disable the listening device. Realizing that whoever was listening would notice if the room went silent after a knock sounded, he ignored that instinct and crossed to the door.
He expected to find Chee on the other side, but instead he found Fai. “Fai. What are you doing here? I thought you went out with everyone else tonight.”
“May I come in?”
Though his instincts told him to deny the request, Devin nodded. “Sure.” He stepped aside and waited for Fai to pass. He offered him a seat with a wave of his hand, and as soon as they both settled onto the couch, Devin asked, “What can I do for you?”
“I believe there is much we can do for each other,” Fai said. “I have a business proposition for you.”
“The markets are all closed. I would have thought you would want to take a break from work for the weekend.”
“This business has nothing to do with the markets.” Fai’s eyes met his with an intensity Devin hadn’t previously noticed. “You are uniquely suited for this particular situation.”
“What situation is that?”
“I have friends who are interested in a certain flow of information,” he said. “I understand you have a unique access to information.”
“What are you talking about? You have just as much access to information as I do.”
Fai reached into his suit jacket pocket and drew out two sheets of paper folded lengthwise.
“Does this look familiar?” He set the top paper on the coffee table and smoothed it out.
Devin leaned forward and looked at it. A copy of his job offer lay before him, his signature at the bottom.
“Where did you get this?” Devin asked. “And why do you have it?”
Fai’s only response was to smooth out the second paper he held beside the first. Again a photocopy of a job offer lay before him, and again his signature was at the bottom. This time, however, the seal of the Central Intelligence Agency was emblazoned on top.
“Is this a joke?”
“As you can see, the signatures match,” Fai said calmly. “And as you can see, I know where your allegiance lies.”
Devin reminded himself that he had been expecting this, waiting for it even. That reminder didn’t manage to calm his pounding heart. “What exactly is it that you want from me? If you believe that document is real, you could take it to the authorities and have me deported.”
“I know it’s real.” The corners of his lips curved up ever so slightly, but rather than resembling a smile, the motion looked purely evil. “And if you want to see your precious Grace again, you’re going to help me.”
Ghost was right. Grace was his heart, and his one true vulnerability.
“I don’t know how you heard about Grace, but you should know we broke up last week. I haven’t seen or heard from her since then, nor do I expect to.”
“I know what you said, but we both know that isn’t the truth.” He leaned back on the couch and pulled out a thin cigarette. As though he was very much at home in Devin’s apartment, he pulled out a silver lighter and lit the tip. He blew out a stream of smoke before he continued. “Grace tried calling you a few days ago, and an e-mail followed the day after that. The contents made it sound like you are still very much a couple.”
“I never got an e-mail from her.” Devin forced his muscles to remain relaxed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“We intercepted it. I’ve been screening your e-mail for weeks.”
“Then you should know that I don’t have any women e-mail me except those we work with.” Devin stood. “And why would you be screening my e-mails? Isn’t that against the law here? Or is it only in the United States that people are entitled to privacy?”
“When you work in intelligence, there is no privacy.” He took a drag on his cigarette and blew out another stream of smoke. “It’s all an illusion.”
“I don’t know what your game is, but I think it’s time for you to leave.”
Fai didn’t move. “I believe we were discussing your wife.”
Devin felt his face pale.
“My government has been watching you for a long time.”
The implied threats against Grace rattled Devin to the core. How could this man possibly know of his marriage when most of his friends and extended family didn’t even know about it? He reminded himself to respond. “Why would anyone want to watch me? I have nothing to offer you or anyone else. I’m a financial analyst. That’s it.”
“And a spy.”
“I only finished graduate school a few months ago. What is it you think makes me so valuable to you?”
“You are more connected than you know.” Another drag. Another puff of smoke. “I understand your father has a business trip to Tokyo in a few weeks.”
“My father?”
Fai stood and crossed to the dinner table. He extinguished his cigarette by dropping it into Devin’s water glass. “Grace is safe for now. I believe she will remain that way if you take some time with your father. I’m sure it will be very informative for us both.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You don’t have to.” He took a step toward the door. “And, of course, you know that I expect this conversation to remain between us. Your wife’s life depends on it.”
He pulled open the door, stepped into the hall, and closed the door with a quiet click.
Devin dropped onto the couch and stared at the empty room. Was Chee lying to him about Grace being safe? Or was Fai lying about her being in danger? Why would Fai care about his father’s business trip? And what was he supposed to do now? He couldn’t spy on his own country, but what would happen to Grace if he didn’t? What would happen to his father if he did?
Dropping his head into his hands, he offered a silent prayer to whatever god was listening to help him know what to do and to keep Grace safe and protected no matter what.