AUBREY OPENED HER EYES and stared up at the ceiling, trying to figure out where she was. She started to sit up, but quickly lay back down when the room started spinning. She squeezed her eyes shut. Snippets of memory fluttered to the surface. She’d gone to meet her father, and he’d been late. Someone called her, told her there was a bomb in the hotel that would go off if she didn’t do what she was told. That something would happen to her father. And she tried to save him.
But there had never been a bomb. The distorted voice on the phone belonged to her father. When she found him in the parking lot, his anger was evident as he accused her of deceiving him—they’d agreed to meet alone, and instead, the place was swarming with FBI. Her response was automatic. She pulled out her weapon, intent on ending the standoff and handing him over to the authorities herself. But from that point, things quickly spiraled out of control. He grabbed a woman walking to her car and took her hostage. And in an effort to save the woman, Aubrey ended up here.
Light peeked through the window to her left. She scooted off the bed and looked out, suddenly understanding why the room seemed to be moving. In the distance was an oil rig. She was on a boat, surrounded by water.
He had to have drugged her. She had no memory of last night, and her body felt as if she had slept for days. She had no idea how much time had passed—except that the sun was up, which meant it had to be the next day.
She tried the door handle, expecting it to be locked, but it wasn’t. She stepped into the adjoining cabin, unsure of what to expect. Her father stood in front of a small stove, flipping pancakes like he used to on Saturday mornings before he left. She studied his familiar figure, surprised like she had been last night when she first saw him. His hair was completely gray now, and he’d lost at least ten pounds.
“How long have I been asleep?” She didn’t even attempt to keep the anger out of her voice.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s just after seven. I thought you might be hungry. I made blueberry pancakes, remembering they were one of your favorites.”
She glanced around the cabin, somehow feeling vulnerable that he would remember something like that. Irritated that he seemed to expect her to think this was all normal.
She looked at him, incredulous. “You kidnap me, drug me, and now somehow think that offering me pancakes for breakfast is going to make everything okay?”
“Of course not.” He started scooting the pancakes onto a plate. “And I’m sorry. I just needed time to figure out what to do.”
She took a step forward. “And this was your answer? Blueberry pancakes?”
He set the plate on the table. “Why don’t you eat them while they’re hot.”
She ignored the offer. “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on? You’ve put my life and Nana’s life at risk. Senator McKenna’s lying in the hospital with a gunshot wound, and Sean Christiansen is dead.”
“It’s more complicated than you’ve been led to believe.”
“Really?” She bit back the heated response on the tip of her tongue. “Because it seems pretty simple to me.”
“What do you think you know so far?”
“Basically, that both the Chinese and the Russians recruited you as an asset, and you’ve been selling government secrets to them for years.”
“Sounds like one version of the truth.”
One version? Really?
She struggled to stop herself from lashing back. Of course, she was about to hear his set of excuses. He’d always had them.
He poured two glasses of orange juice and put them on the table while another batch of pancakes bubbled on the stove. As much as she didn’t want to play into his hand, she’d missed dinner last night and was hungry. And there was no telling when this was going to be over.
She sat down at the table, poured the syrup, and took a bite. “Then tell me your version.”
“When Peter Cheng first approached me, I didn’t even realize what he was doing. I admit, I was tempted by the money they offered me, but one day you’re doing a professional favor for someone, and then before you know it, they’re asking you to steal classified documents for cash.”
He paused to flip the pancakes.
“I apologize for the theatrics,” he continued, “but I needed to talk with you. I’ve got two foreign governments plus my own after me.”
“The FBI is planning to charge you with treason.”
“But none of it’s true, Aubrey. And once I realized the feds were there at the hotel, I panicked. I figured the only way to talk to you was to get you out of there without getting arrested myself.”
“You took another woman hostage, then kidnapped me.”
“I never would have hurt either of you.” He dropped the spatula onto the counter. “Just like I didn’t kill Christiansen. I just went to talk with him. He was alive when I left.”
“Why go talk with him?”
“He had something I needed.”
“So you tried to blackmail him.”
Her father looked away. “You still don’t get it. I was out of options, but I am sorry. None of this was my original plan.”
She frowned at his excuses. “Sorry doesn’t go very far when over the past week I’ve been shot at and kidnapped all because of your actions. Even if you didn’t pull the trigger, you tried to force Christiansen to give you classified information—”
“No. This is why I wanted to talk to you and prove to you that I’m innocent, and the feds are wrong. I’m trying to figure out a way to stop this. I know I wasn’t the best husband and father, but I’m not a traitor to my country. Surely you wouldn’t think that of me, Aubrey.”
The knots in her stomach tightened. Aubrey frowned at the familiar technique. First the excuses, then the guilt . . . He’d always been a smooth talker. Trying to fix everything he’d broken with snake oil and empty promises. But she wasn’t ten anymore, and his lies weren’t going to work.
“So you weren’t planning to use me to get what you want?” she asked.
“You were okay with using me to get what you want.”
She pushed a bite around with her fork. He had a comeback for everything.
“I served my country for thirty-five years.” He flipped over the bubbly pancakes. “Do you think I’d suddenly become a traitor? I’m not plotting against this country. I’m working to take down the very same people the FBI is.”
Aubrey shoved her plate away, trying to swallow the nausea. He couldn’t be serious. How in the world was he able to rationalize that selling secrets to China and Russia made him a hero? On the other hand, she couldn’t miss the sincerity in his expression. Surely he didn’t really believe what he was doing was the right thing. Or maybe he’d lived with the lies for so long he’d started to believe them.
What she did know was that she wasn’t ready to believe him.
“The FBI has evidence that you’re involved in selling secrets,” she said. “Secrets that compromise national security. If you’re innocent, then why not simply go to them and tell them the truth?”
“Because secrets were sold.” He pressed his lips together, hesitating. “I just wasn’t the one who sold them.”
She looked up and caught his gaze. “What are you talking about?”
“Rachel and I had been married about two years when I first realized that someone had hacked into my computer. I spoke with Rachel about it, but she denied it. Of course I wanted to believe her, but she was the only one that had access to it. That’s when I started digging into her past.” He turned off the burner and rested his hands on the counter. “I found out that she was born in Russia and eventually, I found out that she was put here in the US to help identify potential targets that could be used as assets for her government. That she was a Russian spy. And she was stealing classified information from me.”
The news took Aubrey by surprise. Not that she’d ever liked or trusted Rachel, but she’d always seemed more like the victim. If what her father was saying was true, she’d managed to play them all.
“From the look on your face, it’s clear that’s not what she told you.” He stared out the window at the ocean. “By the time I figured out what was going on, she told me that there was plenty of evidence stacked up against me, that the feds would arrest me if I tried to turn her in. I decided at that point I didn’t want to just take down Rachel, but the entire ring.”
“You can see how it looks to the feds.”
“Yes, but I had to have solid evidence before I turned her and her cohorts in.”
“And the Chinese?”
He leaned forward. “I figured I could take them down at the same time. Don’t you see?”
“If you didn’t feel that you could go to the FBI, why didn’t you go to one of your bosses and tell them what was going on?”
“Because I didn’t have enough evidence to prove my innocence. And I knew that the Russians and the Chinese were watching me. I had to gain their trust. Going to someone in the CIA would have destroyed everything. Don’t you understand? If anything, I’m a hero, Aubrey. All I need is a little more time. I’ve sold them a few bits of intel, nothing that really compromises anything, and in the end, I’ll have enough to bring them down. What they’re accusing me of is exactly what I’m trying to stop. And why I can’t take a chance that the FBI and your Agent Shannon will ever believe me.”
“His name is Jack,” Aubrey said.
“Whose?”
“Agent Shannon.” She looked up at him. “His name is Jack. He was my best friend growing up.”
“I thought he looked familiar.” Her father grabbed a fork and sat down across from her with his plate of pancakes. “I remember going to one of his basketball games, then out for pizza. You guys seemed inseparable.”
“Jack would listen to you. And if what you are saying proves to be true, he’ll help you.”
“I don’t know if I can take a chance, especially now that Christiansen is dead. I’m sure they’re looking for a way to pin his death on me as well.” He pushed a bite around with his fork. “You might not believe this, but despite everything that’s happened, I only have one regret. And that’s you and your mother.”
She waited for him to continue.
“I honestly never meant for things to end this way between us. Or between your mother and me. I loved her, you know. In fact, she was the first woman I ever loved, and probably the last as well.”
She heard his words, trying to read his face. Could she really believe he regretted what happened? Regretted leaving his family and trying to find happiness somewhere else? She still wasn’t sure.
She glanced at the packed bags sitting on the floor. “Why did you really bring me here? Why did you need to talk to me?”
“Because I need your help, Aubrey.” He looked up and met her gaze. “I need you to help me put an end to all of this.”