Page 29 of Undercover Savior

“You’re right.”

“Look. I’ll say again that the best course of action is for you to be honest with Sullivan. Not only for her sake, but for yours too. You’re wound tighter than I’ve ever seen, Ash.”

He wasn’t wrong, but before I could say anything else, we heard the door open and saw Tag approach. He appearedagitated in contrast to his usual unflappable demeanor, making my anxiety increase.

“What’s happened?” I asked.

He handed me his mobile. On the screen was an alert about a tracking device, something his security picked up and mine had not.

“Let me see that,” said Con, grabbing the phone from my hand. “This is one of mine.” He looked between Tag and me.

“My first question is, was it intentional?” Tag asked.

“Of course it wasn’t,” Con responded in a raised voice. “If it had been, it would’ve been by consensus.”

“What are you thinking?” I asked when he continued studying the screen.

“The only person who makes any sense whatsoever—again—is Periscope. She could’ve placed it with Sullivan’s things after you took her from the parking lot.”

I concurred and said so. “But how did she get her hands on one of your devices?”

“Damned good question, and one I intend to get answers to. I’ll meet up with the two of you later,” he said when Gus pulled up behind Tag’s SUV. “Perfect timing,” he muttered, getting in the passenger side and motioning for our friend to turn around.

“I’ve put the two of you in the east wing, and Sullivan is set up on the network,” said Tag once they’d driven away.

“Which Con and Gus will monitor?”

“Affirmative.”

“Were you aware Con is tracking Periscope?” I asked.

“I was not. However, I’m not surprised, and based on this”—he held up the mobile Con had returned to him—“its implementation is timely.”

“Too timely?” I wondered out loud, hating that my instincts were questioning a man who was like a brother to me. “What’s he up to, Tag?”

He looked off in the distance. “I wish I knew.”

Once we were inside,I excused myself to the east wing and went in search of Sullivan. On the way to our rooms, I noticed her in the library.

“How goes it?” I asked when she raised her head.

“Not much new with Tower-Meridian. I feel as though I’ve been away from the investigation for days rather than hours.”

“Perhaps I can be of assistance.” My suggestion was to gauge whether Con was right about Sullivan’s lack of trust in me. She hesitated, which I’d anticipated.

“How much do you know about Eric Weber?” she asked.

“Admittedly, not much outside of his public persona.”

“Enlighten me.”

I grinned. She was testing me, and rightly so. “He runs a global shipping and logistics company, which is well known for its philanthropic endeavors.”

“Such as?” she prompted.

“Humanitarian aid and medical supply distribution as well as emergency response services and refugee support. They’re also big in agricultural equipment and infrastructure development.”

“All of what you’ve said is true, at least according to their well-publicized mission statement.” It was several seconds before she spoke again. No doubt she was carefully weighing what she could or would divulge. Finally, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly as her eyes met mine. “Let me give you some insight as to how everything you mentioned provides a plethora of smokescreens to hide what he’s really up to.”

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