Of all the outfit options, Audrey didn’t mind the one clearly designed for tennis. The dark gray tennis skorts, or whatever they were called, seemed more modest than most shorts on the market, and the light pink polo shirt was actually something she would wear to the lab. The best part, of course, was the cute and comfortable tennis shoes that never wobbled.
Lee didn’t say a word as they walked side by side down the long hallway in the sporting center. The same bodyguard followed ten paces behind them, so the silence wasn’t entirely uncalled for.
Neither one of them had been willing to try the carafe of coffee or the plate of fresh fruit and croissants waiting for them at the door in the morning in case it was poisoned. Other than the vegetarian snack she’d had on the balcony when they first arrived, she’d yet to eat anything substantial. Thankfully, she had half a protein bar in her purse. She’d never skipped so many meals before. No wonder Kendra had a smaller waist.
The lack of caffeine, though, would be her downfall. She often worked sixteen hours a day in the lab with the help of a steady stream of coffee. Her head tightened with warnings of an impending headache.
Last night still weighed heavy on her mind, and she pondered if Lee regretted bringing her along. The first thing on today’s itinerary was a stop at the veranda to pick up tennis equipment. They reached the outdoor deck overlooking a golf course, and a waitress seemed to be expecting them. “Mr. and Mrs. Kimmet, this way.”
She brought them to a table for three where a man in a short-sleeved lavender dress shirt and gray pants sat reading a newspaper. He seemed so relaxed and at ease as he glanced up and offered a friendly smile that she reciprocated. Finally. Maybe normal people actually frequented the resort, after all. The waitress pulled a chair out for Audrey and she faltered. What was up with all the sharing of tables?
Lee didn’t hesitate to take a seat, and a waitress brought over plates of eggs, bacon and toast and set them down, the steam still rising off Audrey’s fluffy scrambled and Lee’s over-easy eggs. Audrey’s stomach responded with a dull roar. They had skipped dinner entirely after the—
The waitress leaned over, her head in between Lee and Audrey. “I’ve been asked to inform our guests that after last night’s unfortunate event, all food will be tested by our security staff before being served. We were sorry to see you hadn’t enjoyed your fruit and croissants. From now on, you can rest assured all food and drink is safe.”
“Tested?” Audrey couldn’t imagine a lab that might handle such a steady influx of food and get results fast enough to keep the dish hot. Creepier still, they were noticing what they didn’t eat?
“They taste it, ma’am.”
She recoiled. It seemed so medieval. Someone was risking his life to make sure her food was safe? Lee picked up a fork without hesitation and shoveled a giant bite of food. He held up a finger for a second. “Tell me, how does the kitchen know what the wife and I enjoy?”
The waitress straightened. “Sir, our partner resorts keep preferences on file and share them with the Aislado Club. It’s part of your membership perks. Are there any changes you would like to make?”
Audrey gestured toward the ice water on her table. “Could you make a note we prefer water bottles?” Normally, she was very eco-conscious, but at least there would be one drink the bodyguards wouldn’t have to risk their lives to taste.
“Right away.” The waitress vanished.
“Since when do you like breakfast?” she whispered to Lee.
“When it’s more of a brunch,” he replied.
Audrey glanced at the man still reading his newspaper as if he hadn’t heard a word of the interchange. She picked up her fork and tentatively took a small bite of eggs. Her taste buds exploded with the light flavors of green onion and a variety of cheeses mixed into the fluffiest texture she’d experienced. It seemed like they should apologize to the man. After all, no one else was occupying the closest five tables. There seemed no reason to interrupt his—
“Sadly, our timeline was altered due to last night’s...interruption.” The man’s voice had a hint of an accent that Audrey couldn’t place. If there were other people nearby she would’ve wondered who spoke as he didn’t so much as move his newspaper. “Tell me how the Network would help your business.” Only then did he set down the paper.
Lee leaned forward, but the man held up a hand then pointed at Audrey. “Given the attention surrounding her last night, I want her to answer.”
Her heart fluttered. She grabbed a piece of bacon and stuffed it into her mouth. She tapped her lips and nodded as if to say, “Give me one moment.” Confident people did stuff like that, right? What if she messed up again and said something that instantly made him realize she wasn’t the real deal?
Lee laughed, a giant smarmy smile on his face. “Well, she is the brains of the operation. I’m just here to enjoy the journey.” His blue eyes met hers, and she could see the encouragement in them. What had he told her last night? If she didn’t know what people wanted, try to mirror them. If she needed to mirror this man, she needed to act more confident.
Audrey swallowed the rest of the bacon and fingered the white tablecloth. She rolled the edge between her fingers. Fidgeting helped her think. “Our business is doing fine without you.”
The man’s eyes widened, and unfortunately, Lee’s did, too. But she couldn’t back down now. She took a shaky breath and continued.
“As you likely know, a couple years ago an intergovernmental organization called the Financial Task Force gave the United States the lowest possible score in many categories for its attempt, or lack thereof, to stop money-laundering and terrorist financing.”
Lee coughed as if food had gone down the wrong air pipe. “Honey, I’m sure he doesn’t need to hear a history lesson.”
The warning in his eyes was obvious. He’d mentioned once that she should avoid talking too much, but wasn’t that typical of lawyers? She’d read everything she could about money laundering last night until her eyes couldn’t stay open. “It’s okay,” she said. “I’m getting to my point. Out of thirty countries, to be given last place in this area made our law enforcement stop and take notice. So you can imagine how we’ve been under increasing scrutiny.”
The man nodded, and Audrey knew she was getting it right this time so she continued. “And while I feel my methods will withstand examination exclusive of fear of incrimination, my clients would feel safer knowing I had a vendor, such as your Network, to ensure the utmost privacy. It goes without saying that I would also be able to expand our reach. And as far as last night, you make enemies in this business. Competition is fierce.” Audrey glanced over her shoulder for dramatic effect before looking straight into the man’s eyes. “Perhaps if I had your Network, guards wouldn’t have to taste my food.”
The man’s gaze flicked over her face and Audrey’s stomach tensed so tight, she feared he’d seen right through her fake bravado. A grin finally cracked. Lee exhaled and leaned back.
The man pushed his chair back and stood. “We will be in touch, Mrs. Kimmet.”
“Should we wait? Are you going to be in touch here? Or do you mean at a later date?”
The man chuckled as he placed the newspaper underneath his arm. “Enjoy your tennis lesson.”
The moment he was around the corner, Audrey blew out a long breath. “I did it. Is that basically what Kendra would’ve done?”
Lee shook his head. “It was like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
Didn’t exactly sound like a compliment. “He said tennis lesson. He knows our schedule.” Maybe everyone in the so-called resort did.
“I heard.” Lee glanced at his phone and leaned forward as if to whisper something but instead studied the surroundings.
“What? What is it?” She tried to ask while keeping her lips frozen in a half smile.
“I’m trying to see where our bodyguard went. Ah, I’ve spotted him. After last night I’m pretty sure he’ll choose to stay with you. Stay here and if anyone asks I forgot something back at the room.” Lee jumped up and slipped around the corner before she could object, leaving her alone.
Where? Where did he spot their bodyguard? He seemed to have disappeared the moment the waitress brought them to the table. In the still quiet, she could hear waves crashing and seagulls in the distance, but the buildings blocked the view of the cliff. Behind her, the lush green golf course stretched to the bottom of the foothills. The view should’ve been relaxing, but instead, knowing this was a fortress for illegal business deals, she felt exposed and her shoulders continued to creep closer to her ears as she kept an eye out for Lee.
“There you are.” A woman’s voice reached her ears before she turned to find an elegant older woman, likely in her early sixties, with light blond hair and wearing an all-white pantsuit Audrey would have spilled ketchup on in the first hour. By the tone of the lady’s voice and the statement, Audrey assumed that her cover should already know this woman. Where was Lee when she needed him?
The woman took a seat across from her and pointed to the empty chair in between them. “Dining alone?”
“I’m sure he’ll be right back. Forgot something he needs before our tennis lesson.”
The woman fanned her mauve nails dotted with diamonds—possibly real judging by the size and sparkle—over the tablecloth. “I promised him one personal bodyguard, not two. I would think after last night he would take it seriously and stay by your side.”
She wasn’t the only one. A man in a suit materialized seemingly out of thin air from one of the shadows near a pillar supporting the portico. If the woman promised the bodyguard, did that mean she was the head of security or, more likely, the owner of the resort?
The woman nodded approvingly at the man in recognition. “Brilliant, isn’t he? You’d never know he used to be Secret Service.” The woman laughed at Audrey’s surprised reaction. “Well, not for our country. Anyway, he chose wisely staying with you, seeing as you’re the one with the target on your back.”
“Excuse me?” Audrey leaned forward. “Is that confirmed?”
“Your drink last night was definitely poisoned. In fact, it was the only one. I’m told Sylvia took the liberty of enjoying the drink meant for you. Any ideas why she would do that?” Her eyes narrowed. This was no friendly chat.
Audrey fought the impulse to ask what the police thought. Lee was right. This wasn’t the type of place that called in law enforcement. She forced herself to pick up the last strawberry on her plate with the knowledge that every movement, every expression, was under scrutiny. “Sylvia was more thirsty than I was. She helped herself. You should know she always gets what she wants—wanted, that is.” She popped the berry in her mouth and looked away, as if bored.
“She certainly did. Anything you need to tell me, Mrs. Kimmet?”
The jig was up. The lady knew. She had to. She was onto Audrey the same way Sylvia had been. The small of Audrey’s back grew damp with sweat despite the gentle breeze tickling her neck. “Is there...anything else you want to know?”
Lee tucked the phone into the pocket of the ridiculous white tennis shorts. The resort itself was a bit of a maze with buildings and cottages dotting the grounds, but he found success. Not only was he able to follow the Masked Network CEO back to his cottage, he was also able to snap a photo—albeit far away. He’d return when the man was sure to be away and search his cottage for evidence.
He rounded the corner to find the bodyguard had moved from his previous position and was behind the shoulder of Octavia Morillo, the director of the resort. How’d Audrey land herself in danger already? He’d left her alone for all of four minutes, and trouble had already descended.
He quickly crossed to the table. “Sorry about that, love.” Lee leaned over and bent to kiss Audrey’s cheek but actually whispered, “You okay?”
She smiled and blinked rapidly. He didn’t find the reaction comforting. Lee turned to address Octavia. “Any news?”
The woman’s lips formed a straight line as she nodded. “I was just telling your wife we believe she’s the target. I need to nip this in the bud. Inconveniences like this can’t become habit. I guarantee such things don’t get in the way of business...and pleasure here. I can’t afford to have that reputation tainted so I’m hoping there’s something you can tell me before I need to take drastic actions.”
Lee didn’t like the implied threat. He leaned back. “I’m pretty sure every guest here has enemies, Octavia. If my wife is in danger, I expect you’d have a better chance of figuring out which one of our competitors is targeting her. You also pride yourself on knowing everything there is to know about your guests, am I right? And I thought there was only one way in and out of this resort so surely no one could’ve sneaked in underneath your radar. I’d hate to see that reputation get hurt, as well.”
Octavia pursed her lips and met his stare. She inhaled and smiled at both of them. “Of course. I’ll leave you to your itinerary, but should your business here finish early, please know I’ll be happy to prorate your week.” She flashed a tight smile and left, prompting the bodyguard back into the shadows.
“What’d I miss?”
“I think she suspected I’m not Kendra just like Sylvia did.” Her voice shook.
“I shouldn’t have left you alone, but—”
“No, you shouldn’t have.” She exhaled. “I needed you. Did you really forget something?”
Her words hit him at the core. She needed him? His hackles rose, but he knew enough not to act on the irritated feeling until he could sort things out logically. “I followed our contact back to his room. If I’m able to get in there and gather enough evidence to take him down, maybe he’d work out a plea deal and take down the Network himself.”
Her eyebrows drew close together. “I thought the plan was to get the phones with actual access granted to us. Isn’t that the best real shot at taking the Network down?”
“Yes. But given the events of the past twenty-four hours, I don’t think we should risk staying here any longer than necessary. We might still be able to call the mission a success. In fact, I think we should skip the tennis lesson. You feign illness and we go back to our place. I can stake out the guy. You don’t need to be involved.”
She clasped her hands together, fidgeting, as if her thumbs were in a war. “That doesn’t sit right with me.”
“I can get around the bodyguard. I’m sure of it.”
“That’s not my concern. Though he seems a bit of a magician to me. It’s just...” She inhaled. “When your friend... Before he died—”
“You mean Adam?”
Audrey worried her lip. “He specifically told me ‘not the first one.’ I’ve been running that over and over in my mind. What if he was trying to warn you that the first one isn’t the CEO?” She twisted in her chair and gestured all around her. “Think about how many hoops the Network makes their prospective clients go through to get here. You had to make sure you developed a relationship with a high-level criminal—”
“Shh. Don’t use that word around here.”
She winced and lowered her voice. “My point is you had to have established yourself in the right circles both with the type of clientele that goes to places like this and with the type of organizations who use the Network. It’s all a preventative to keep law enforcement—”
“Shh—”
She held up a hand. “It’d probably save time if you just listed all the words I’m not allowed to say.” She tapped her index finger forcefully onto the table. “My entire career revolves around searching for patterns and problems and solutions. I spend all day, every day, gathering data and analyzing it. I’m good at it. So when I tell you—”
“Gathering and analyzing are worth nothing if they don’t lead to decisions and action,” Lee said. He didn’t need her telling him how to do his job.
“But what if they’re waiting for you? You’d be failing a test if you try to take him down now. Maybe it’s one of those lieutenants. Isn’t that what you called Adam? Are all higher-ups in those types of organizations called that?”
He sank back in his chair and looked around. It’d taken years to get to this point. Years of being stuck in a deep cover that he hated. Sure, there were perks like the most amazing plate of eggs he’d ever tasted, but as much as he hated to admit it, she was probably right. The Network had never been infiltrated because of all their precautionary measures. “I don’t want to leave you in the position to get grilled by Octavia or any other guest.”
“So don’t. Stick by my side until it’s obvious we’re in.”
“The thing is Kendra and I never stayed side by side. We always went separate ways, had our own goals and agendas. It’ll seem a bit odd.”
She put a hand over her eyes like a sun visor. “I’m sorry I’m not as good at this as Kendra. The way I see it, we convince them we’re either celebrating our business future, or we convince them we’re on a second honeymoon of sorts.” Her cheeks flushed ever so slightly.
Lee grabbed her hand and gave a light squeeze. “I think I can do that.”
The slight blush flamed. His phone vibrated with the preset alarm. “Let’s start with our tennis lesson.” He grabbed both rackets with his other hand and they strode down a long paved pathway until they reached the freshly painted courts. At each corner of the chain-link fence a tree provided shade while rose bushes lined the four sides.
A man in white shorts waited at the side bench. Audrey offered him a grin that would be out of character for Kendra. “You must be our instructor. We’re a few minutes early, I think. The Kimmets.”
Lee fought a groan. He really needed her to stop being so...nice, especially since the instructor seemed to think this gave him permission to lavish his attention on Audrey. Lee supposed it never bothered him if a man paid attention to Kendra, but for reasons he couldn’t really explain, when the instructor moved to physically “correct” Audrey’s serve, Lee held up a hand. “Maybe you could instruct us from the sidelines while we play?”
Wrong move. His apparent jealousy only made the instructor smile more. “Of course.” The man strode to Lee’s side. “I suppose now is the time to tell you I’m not really an instructor.” He shrugged as he held up a smartphone enclosed in a hard-shelled case. “I do enjoy helping a beautiful woman, though.”
Lee fought the urge to punch the smug man in the chin. Instead, he clenched his jaw for a moment and smiled. “So why are you here?”
“You need to decide on your three-word distress code. This code will erase all data if needed.”
“Oh.” He’d assumed that the three-word thing was the same for everyone on the Network. Three words. That was easy, but being on the spot his mind blanked. “Um...”
The man turned to Audrey. “How about you, sweetheart?”
Her eyes widened. “I don’t know.”
The man flung his head back and laughed.
“No, that’s not our three words,” Lee said. He could just imagine someone on the tech team accidentally saying that and the evidence being wiped.
“I’ll give you one more shot.” The man jutted his chin forward. “Well?”
Lee opened his mouth.
“Need three words,” Audrey mumbled, her forehead wrinkled in thought.
The man winked at her. “And we’re settled here.”
Lee groaned. “Need three words?”
“I didn’t mean for that to be it.” She cringed. “Look at the bright side. We won’t accidentally say it,” she whispered.
Unless someone on the team was doing a crossword puzzle. “Are we officially on the Network?” Lee asked. “We haven’t discussed expense.”
The man raised an eyebrow in response. “Everyone who gets on the Network can afford to pay.” He tossed the ball to Audrey. “We’ll be in touch.”
The guy strode out of the open gate and kicked the door closed on his way out. The fencing made a loud clang as the latch slipped down the pole upon impact. Lee thought he heard a soft electronic hum, but it must’ve been his imagination.
Audrey bounced the ball against her racket and caught it. “One step closer?”
“Maybe you should pray this is the last step.”
She tilted her head and studied him. “Do you pray?”
“I can honestly say I’ve never really felt like I needed to, but you led us in the hospital and it seemed to work.”
“I’m not a spiritual expert by any means but I know it’s not a formula guaranteed to work. Maybe you’ve been in the exclusive luxury circles too long because I’m pretty sure you can’t mutter a prayer and expect God to act like a butler carrying it out.” Her eyes widened. “Wait. Why did you think it worked? Have you heard something?”
“Yes. After our incident last night, I sent a coded email to my supervisor. He said he had good news for us.”
Her eyes bulged. “Kendra’s fine? She’s awake?” Her smile managed to be brighter than the sun.
He laughed and looked over her shoulder to make sure the bodyguard was still out of earshot. “I assume that’s what he meant. We have an encrypted call this afternoon. You’ll get a couple minutes to talk to her yourself.”
Audrey flung her arms open and enveloped him in a hug that took him off guard. “Thank you.” She kissed his cheek and backed away.
Lee fought to keep from touching his cheek. He didn’t do it to make her happy; he needed answers about Kendra’s side gig as Sylvia’s money launderer, and he thought Kendra could give Audrey tips on how best to act like Andrea Kimmet.
What was even more worrisome, the short reply in the email from his supervisor indicated that Lee was the only one left out of the loop in regard to the separate mission with Sylvia.
Audrey stared at him as if waiting for more. “And,” he said, “I’m starting to think you were right. The Network is doing this in stages.”
“To see if you take the bait and bring in law enforcement too soon?”
He nodded, but Audrey’s smile proved contagious. “Don’t you see?” She dropped the tennis ball from her hand and bounced it between the racket and the court rapidly. “This is good news. Things are finally starting to go as planned. For all we know, Sylvia ordered to have me killed and didn’t realize her orders included poisoning my drink. Poetic justice.”
Lee wanted to match her energy and optimism, but in his experience, nothing in covert operations was ever easier than expected. The good food, the clean air and the promise of finally getting to speak with Kendra, seemed to have pulsed pure energy in Audrey’s veins. She practically bounced in rhythm with the tennis ball. She caught it in mid-bounce and pulled her racket behind her back. “I’m glad that guy admitted he wasn’t an instructor. I actually think my serve is pretty decent.” And in one smooth motion, she threw the ball upward as her arm swooshed diagonally across her body.
The racket’s speed made a whistle through the air and made contact. The ball soared right past the entire court and straight into the hole in between one of the chain links. Audrey’s crestfallen face shifted rapidly into a giant laugh, and Lee, despite his frustration, couldn’t help but join her.
“Maybe you’d be better at golf.”
Her eyes were as wide as her smile. “I know, right? That’s a hole in one.”
A sizzling sound interrupted their banter followed by a giant pop as the tennis ball exploded and the green fabric, flaming, wafted down to the court floor. The bodyguard sprung into action, rushing toward the gate.
“Stop!” Audrey shouted, holding a hand out to him. “Don’t touch that fence. I think it’s electrified.”