Page 31 of Duplicity

His brother really wanted to know? “You’re getting married. You’ll have kids one day. He’ll come after you.” Yet another way he was weak, not being strong enough to give up his family to keep them safe.

“So thisisabout my wedding.”

Simon clenched his teeth.

“You said you were fine with it.”

“Of course I’m fine with it! It’s a good thing.” Simon stood and paced to the window. Unbelievable that he had to reassure Pete this way.

“But you aren’t going to be my best man?”

“You haven’t asked me.”

“It was a given.”

“Then my answer is also a given.”

Cat said, “I need coffee. This conversation is confusing.”

Simon glanced at her for a second. Then he said to his brother, “I figured you’d ask me, so I was going to get this done before you set a date.”

“Date’s been set for months, bro. You’ve been ignoring that, too.”

At least Pete didn’t ask if it was about Lena. “I don’t want you getting married if it’s going to put you at risk.”

“Life is always risky. Not much we can do about it, but we can choose to be happy when we find it.”

And Simon was happy for him.

Pete glanced at the kitchen, then back at Simon. He came over and squeezed the back of Simon’s neck, their abbreviated version of a hug. Simon wrapped his arm under Pete’s and squeezed his shoulder from the back. They both let go.

“You never figured out where the threats were coming from?”

Simon shook his head. “Always from my network. But the kid is connected. I need to find the location where they host the server so I can shut it down for good.”

“So we flip him. Get some answers.”

Simon would’ve tried that if it had a guarantee. “We need a better plan than that.”

Cat trailed back in with two cups of coffee. She handed one over to Simon. Peter intercepted it and took a swig. “Good stuff.”

Simon took his cup from his brother. “You were leaving?”

Peter said, “There isn’t just one girl missing. There are more.”

Cat gasped.

“Sixteen-year-old local. Works at the movie theater, parents are on a two-week cruise. Pretty much checked out. Her friends are all over social media looking for her, trying to figure out what happened. There’s another, but it hasn’t hit the police radar. Just the local news feeds.”

Simon frowned. “This isn’t your mission.”

Peter said, “Go to work at the school today. Vanguard has your back.”

“And I have no choice?”

Peter shrugged one shoulder. Everything about it wasyou’ve got no choice. “Quit fighting. It’ll go easier.”

“Why am I always the one who has to get with the program?”

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