pocket, she thought about ways to contact Cooper instead. If she didn’t make contact soon with a believable, if false, story, the taskforce and their leader would go looking for her, and that would add to her and Cal’s problems.
She snapped her fingers. Upstairs, she’d noticed a laptop in the office. No one knew she was here, and Emit’s computer couldn’t be traced to her. She could use the laptop to send a message to Cooper saying she was sick and needed a few days off. If Tephra was tracking any of Cooper’s transmissions—phone, email, texts—and was able to follow the IP address back to this address, he’d hit a dead end. Bianca would be long gone with Cal, on her way to Sacramento, and there was no one here to be in danger from her visit.
On the kitchen wall, the landline rang again. Great .
As it continued to blare, Bianca grabbed two of the bags she’d loaded with food and hustled them out of the kitchen to set them by the door leading to the front driveway. She went back for the cooler of water, Maggie following on her heels, tail wagging.
The answering machine clicked on. This time when the message was done, the caller spoke.
“Cal Reese,” a man’s gravelly voice said. “Seems like the rumors are true. You’re almost the caliber of SEAL I was.”
Bianca froze in mid-step. The voice was American, and carried a slight Boston clip. She’d never heard it before but didn’t need her memory to tell her who the caller was. Her analytical brain knew.
Rory Tephra.
Oh God . How had he found them?
“Pick up the phone, Reese.”
Bianca’s fingers trembled as she reached for the island’s counter to steady herself. I’m going to die.
Her hand found the Glock and she pulled it out of her waistband. But not without a fight.
“You’re not an easy man to track down,” Tephra said. “No Facebook account, no cell phone, no credit cards. Hell, you don’t even own a goddamn car. Interesting. I suppose you’re a paranoid bastard like me.”
Here, the man laughed, like this was all good fun.
Next to Bianca’s leg, Maggie whined.
“So here’s the deal, Reese. I got a job to do. A job involving your old lady. I know your character well enough to know you’re going to get in the way of that, so take this as a courtesy call. You get in my way, you’ll end up swimming with the fish. Nothing personal. I’m doing my duty to our country.”
Duty? How was it that killing her was an honorable thing?
Righteous anger swelled in Bianca’s chest. With her free hand, she grabbed the handset off the wall, lowered her voice and spoke. “Why are you after me?”
There was a slight pause from the other end. “Well, well. The object of my affection. Hello, sweetheart.” She heard the smile in his voice. “How’s the cheek?”
She needed answers, and although it scared the beejesus out of her to talk to the assassin bent on killing her, he was the one person who had those answers.
Keep your voice calm. Don’t let him know you’re shaking like a leaf . “Who hired you?”
“Aww, now, come on. You know I’m not at liberty to say. But look, since you’re the wife of a fellow SEAL, I’ll keep it simple. Walk outside to the boat dock and I’ll make it a quick and merciful death.”
She slapped a hand over the phone’s receiver and pinched her eyes shut. Do. Not. Hyperventilate!
Run , all her instincts screamed. She wanted to. Fear was a powerful motivator.
Yet, deep down inside, a fresh rush of anger stabbed at her, making her want to rip the phone from the wall. She was about to die and she didn’t even know why.
Holding the phone out away from her face for a second, she took a couple of deep, shaky breaths, her heart racing. Her right hand squeezed the Glock hard enough to turn her knuckles white. Where is Cal ?
Didn’t matter. He wasn’t here and Tephra was.
Bringing the phone back to her mouth, she crouched near the refrigerator, keeping clear of the windows. Maggie watched her
She snapped her fingers. Upstairs, she’d noticed a laptop in the office. No one knew she was here, and Emit’s computer couldn’t be traced to her. She could use the laptop to send a message to Cooper saying she was sick and needed a few days off. If Tephra was tracking any of Cooper’s transmissions—phone, email, texts—and was able to follow the IP address back to this address, he’d hit a dead end. Bianca would be long gone with Cal, on her way to Sacramento, and there was no one here to be in danger from her visit.
On the kitchen wall, the landline rang again. Great .
As it continued to blare, Bianca grabbed two of the bags she’d loaded with food and hustled them out of the kitchen to set them by the door leading to the front driveway. She went back for the cooler of water, Maggie following on her heels, tail wagging.
The answering machine clicked on. This time when the message was done, the caller spoke.
“Cal Reese,” a man’s gravelly voice said. “Seems like the rumors are true. You’re almost the caliber of SEAL I was.”
Bianca froze in mid-step. The voice was American, and carried a slight Boston clip. She’d never heard it before but didn’t need her memory to tell her who the caller was. Her analytical brain knew.
Rory Tephra.
Oh God . How had he found them?
“Pick up the phone, Reese.”
Bianca’s fingers trembled as she reached for the island’s counter to steady herself. I’m going to die.
Her hand found the Glock and she pulled it out of her waistband. But not without a fight.
“You’re not an easy man to track down,” Tephra said. “No Facebook account, no cell phone, no credit cards. Hell, you don’t even own a goddamn car. Interesting. I suppose you’re a paranoid bastard like me.”
Here, the man laughed, like this was all good fun.
Next to Bianca’s leg, Maggie whined.
“So here’s the deal, Reese. I got a job to do. A job involving your old lady. I know your character well enough to know you’re going to get in the way of that, so take this as a courtesy call. You get in my way, you’ll end up swimming with the fish. Nothing personal. I’m doing my duty to our country.”
Duty? How was it that killing her was an honorable thing?
Righteous anger swelled in Bianca’s chest. With her free hand, she grabbed the handset off the wall, lowered her voice and spoke. “Why are you after me?”
There was a slight pause from the other end. “Well, well. The object of my affection. Hello, sweetheart.” She heard the smile in his voice. “How’s the cheek?”
She needed answers, and although it scared the beejesus out of her to talk to the assassin bent on killing her, he was the one person who had those answers.
Keep your voice calm. Don’t let him know you’re shaking like a leaf . “Who hired you?”
“Aww, now, come on. You know I’m not at liberty to say. But look, since you’re the wife of a fellow SEAL, I’ll keep it simple. Walk outside to the boat dock and I’ll make it a quick and merciful death.”
She slapped a hand over the phone’s receiver and pinched her eyes shut. Do. Not. Hyperventilate!
Run , all her instincts screamed. She wanted to. Fear was a powerful motivator.
Yet, deep down inside, a fresh rush of anger stabbed at her, making her want to rip the phone from the wall. She was about to die and she didn’t even know why.
Holding the phone out away from her face for a second, she took a couple of deep, shaky breaths, her heart racing. Her right hand squeezed the Glock hard enough to turn her knuckles white. Where is Cal ?
Didn’t matter. He wasn’t here and Tephra was.
Bringing the phone back to her mouth, she crouched near the refrigerator, keeping clear of the windows. Maggie watched her
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