Qing answered his phone, irritated at the sound. Every time he had received a phone call over the past two days, the person on the other end had delivered bad news. His superiors would not be pleased.
He checked his caller ID, hope blooming when he saw it was his last remaining operative who could help him out of this corner he had been shoved into.
“Have you found him?” he asked without preamble.
“Your plan worked,” she said. “He’s in Colorado with his wife.”
“Excellent. How soon can you get there?”
“I’m already there,” she said. “And so is his father.”
“With his laptop?”
“Of course.”
“Perhaps we can salvage this operation after all. Tell me everything you know.”
“Right now he’s at the hospital with his wife. She just had twins.”
He pursed his lips in consideration. “Here’s what I need you to do.”
“Me?” she asked with a hint of panic. “Aren’t you going to send someone here to help me?”
“There is no one else. Jalen was apprehended by the authorities, and I can’t get another operative to your location in time.”
“In time for what?”
“To kill him. I want Devin Shanahan dead. We’re not giving him the chance to slip away again.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to give him one last chance to help us get a real look at his father’s computer?”
“He doesn’t deserve another chance. He has a laptop with him. I want it.”
She gulped before she said, “I’ll make sure I get it from him.”
“Let me be clear,” he said. “Devin Shanahan is going to die before the week is out. It’s up to you whether you will share his fate.”
Another gulp. “I understand.”
* * *
Devin’s footsteps broke the 3:00 a.m. silence as he paced back and forth across Grace’s room, baby Madeline pressed firmly against his shoulder as he patted her back. Apparently this burping thing was a frequent chore. Unlike her sister, Madeline tended to take her time before exhibiting such unladylike behavior.
The night had been a series of feedings, changings, and burpings, with an occasional hour of sleeping.
Devin hated to think what this whole parenthood thing would have been like for Grace had he not shown up when he did. This was harder work than anything he’d ever done. Except perhaps that chase through San Francisco. Give him a fussy baby over that any day.
Madeline finally burped, and Devin settled her into her bassinet. Immediately, she started to cry. Worried Madeline would wake her sister and Grace, he pushed the bassinet into the hall in the hope that the movement would help her settle. Sure enough, the crying subsided as they made their way past several rooms.
A nurse looked up from where she sat at her station, gave him a look of approval, and then refocused her attention on the computer screen in front of her. A baby cried from behind one of the doors, and Devin stopped long enough to ensure the sound wasn’t coming from Grace’s room. Once satisfied, he turned and started back the way he had come.
His phone rang, and Madeline let out a cry of her own. Devin quickly leaned down and patted her back. Trying to regain the peaceful silence from a moment before, he pulled the phone free and muted it, surprised to see Ghost’s number on the screen.
Devin hit the talk button. “Is everything okay?”
“Where are you?”
“I’m with Grace.” Devin used his cheek and shoulder to hold the phone in place so he could use both hands to push the bassinet. “Why?”
“An alert triggered when someone traced the GPS on your cell phone, and intel managed to intercept a call a few hours ago. Qing Lao put an extermination order out on you.”
Devin tensed. As though Madeline picked up on his negative emotions, she let out another wail.
“What was that?” Ghost asked.
“That was my daughter. Grace had twins early yesterday morning,” Devin explained. “I’m staying in the hospital with them.”
“Devin, the Chinese know where you are.”
“What?” The baby in the bassinet, Lydia and Grace in the other room—the possibility of them being in danger crashed over him.
“The woman Qing Lao was talking to said something about you being with your wife at the hospital and that she was already in Colorado,” Ghost said. “We believe the woman was Jun.”
Devin swallowed hard. The idea of Jun being involved still felt like some kind of alternate reality. Now this. Several seconds passed before he managed to voice his disbelief. “You’re telling me the woman who practically raised me has been tasked with killing me?”
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”
Memories of San Francisco, of the determination of the men chasing him, surfaced and took on new meaning. All of his efforts to protect Grace, and now not only was she in danger, but so were his precious daughters. “You have to help me protect my family.”
“Chee is heading your way, and we put out a BOLO on Jun. She’ll turn up, but Chee will stay with you until we’re certain she’s been apprehended,” Ghost said. “Are you armed?”
“Yes. I’ve kept my weapons with me since I got them in Phoenix,” Devin said, now grateful he had followed Chee’s instructions so closely. “When will Chee get here?”
“He’s already on his way to the airport and should be landing within the next couple hours,” Ghost said. “You should also know that Jun has been tasked with recovering your laptop. Apparently they know you’ve been studying your father’s data and our intel on their operations.”
“Jalen must have told them what I was working on.”
“That’s our guess. Unfortunately, he’s still not talking.”
“What do I do until Chee gets here?” Devin asked.
“I’ll put in a fake report about a possible kidnapping at the hospital. That will increase their alert level on your floor without raising any suspicions.”
“Then what?”
“When is your wife supposed to be released from the hospital?”
“Today.”
“If you had your phone with you at her house, they’ll know where that is too.”
“It was off when I first went looking for her. It’s only been turned on while I’ve been here.”
“In that case, turn it off, and reset the GPS blocker. Do you know how?” Ghost asked.
“Yes. Chee taught me.”
“As far as we can tell, that’s the only way they’ve managed to track you.”
“I don’t understand how they even identified the number,” Devin said.
“Maybe they figured out how to track it when you were in San Francisco.”
Devin reached the end of the hall and wearily leaned against the wall. “Will this ever end?”
“We’ll make sure it does,” Ghost said. “Fai Meng is no longer a problem. As soon as Jun is taken into custody, this ends.”
“What do you mean Fai isn’t a problem anymore?”
“The State Department decided to play hardball with the Chinese. They claim they didn’t know anything about his actions. In fact, they claim he isn’t even one of theirs.”
“He’s been disavowed?”
“And wouldn’t you know, he just happened to get picked up by the police in Hong Kong twenty minutes ago.”
“For what?”
“Remember that little altercation in the alley? The evidence is pointing to him as the gunman.”
“Wow. When the Chinese disavow their people, they really make sure they’re out of commission.”
“Which is great for us.”
“What about whoever was over Fai? I got the impression he was working for someone else.”
“Fai has been very careful not to leave an electronic trail that will connect him with his superior, but we’ve narrowed down the possibilities on that too. I should be able to confirm my suspicions shortly.”
“What do I do if Grace gets released before Chee gets here?”
“With a heightened alert at the hospital, I can make sure you get out of there without being seen. What’s the address to Grace’s house? I’ll have Chee meet you there.”
Devin gave him the name of the ranch.
“Hang in there. Like I said, it’s only a matter of time until we find Jun, and we’ll make sure your family stays safe until we do.”
“Thanks, Ghost. I owe you.”
“That’s what they all say.”