Page 67 of Stuart Woods' Golden Hour

She told him about the message.

“A film festival?” He frowned. “Why would Teddy Fay have anything to do with a film festival?”

“He might not,” she said. “But it’s something I can check.”

He thought for a moment, then nodded. “Agreed. But there’s also something else I need you to look into.”

“Of course.”

“That was Dieter on the phone.” He gave her a sanitized version of what had happened in Venice, portraying it as a job for a client. “He got a photo of an unknown man who tried to cause some problems. I’ll forward it to you as soon as I receive it, and I want you to find out who it is.”

“I’ll do my best.”

He eyed her. “I pay you very well for what you do. I expect results. Is that understood?”

“Of course.”

“Good. I’d rather not have to replace someone who had as much potential as you did.”

“Did?”

He smiled but said nothing more.

That’s when it hit her. As far as Braun was concerned, her job was for life, and it was up to her how long either would last.

“I understand,” she said.

“That’s a good girl. Now hop to it.”

She left as fast as she could without actuallyrunning.

24

The sun was already shiningwhen Teddy woke on Thursday morning. Today would be a Mark Weldon day, which is why he had spent the night in Mark’s suite.

Since there would be a food component to the activity he and Tessa would be participating in, he ordered a light breakfast of fruit and yogurt and then took a quick shower. By the time his food arrived, he’d turned himself back into Mark Weldon and donned a stylish yet relaxed outfit.

He checked his email while he ate. Both Lance and Rick had responded to the photos of Owen Pace’s kidnapper. He opened Lance’s first.

Who’s your source?

Teddy’s answer was a short and sweet:Nice try.

Rick’s email read:

This is fantastic. I’ll run them through the system and will let you know if we get any hits.

Not having to wait for Rick, Teddy logged onto the CIA system and checked the results of his own search. Hits had come back on all four men who’d been with Pace.

The two men propping him up were former Russian special forces personnel who had transitioned to freelance mercenary work. The driver had a similar story, though his military service had been in the U.S.

The man in the front passenger seat—the same man Vesna had chased the previous evening—was identified as a German national named Max Gruber. Gruber had bypassed the traditional military route and had gone straight into mercenary work.

All four men had been working for Horne Solutions when it had been taken over by Braun, and it was assumed they had remained.

Teddy was about to see what information the Agency had on Braun Logistics when someone knocked on his door.

When he looked through the peephole, he saw Lizzie standing in the hall, scrolling through her phone.

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