Page 24 of Zero Hour

Pat’s pulse did an involuntary flip. “Can we get a copy of that report?”

“I’ll ask.”

The phone rang.

International call. Out of Colombia.

“Sorry, gotta take this.”

Both Anna and Blade left his office as he picked up. “We’re sending a team in tonight,” he told the CIA Regional Director. “They’ll arrive first thing tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll have a car waiting,” Axel replied. “Thanks, Pat. I owe you.”

Pat didn’t hesitate. “Any time.”

Axel had helped retrieve Izzy when she’d been taken off the coast of Mexico.

Izzy. His daughter.

He grimaced. She still didn’t know the truth. He’d almost told her at Christmas, but then Viper had proposed, and she’d been too damn happy for him to ruin the moment. So he’d kept quiet.

He ran a hand over his face. Astrid. Val. Both gone.

He had the worst luck with women.

But if he lost Izzy? Fuck, it didn’t bare thinking about.

Decision made. He’d tell her tonight.

His gaze moved back to the screen. Jasmine had set down her plate and pulled something from her pocket. A wallet. She slid out a photo—too small for Pat to make out—and stared at it. Her finger traced the image, and a tear slipped down her cheek. She wiped it away, kissed the photo, and whispered something. From her lip movement, he thought it was, “I love you.”

He stiffened. Who was in that photo?

Who did she miss? And why the hell was she still there when she could come and go as she pleased?

Pat stared at her for a long moment, then reached for the phone. “Anna, I want everything—everything—you can find on Jasmine McCarthy.”

CHAPTER 10

Jasmine was preparing dinner when the shouting began.

At first, it was a heated debate—nothing out of the ordinary—but it escalated fast. Amir and Riad were both hot-blooded, and she’d heard them argue before. But never like this.

She froze, the knife hovering over the cutting board. Moving carefully, she tiptoed toward the hallway, her heart pounding.

“You’re obsessed with her,” Riad was saying, his voice sharp with frustration. “She’s a liability. We should get rid of her. She knows too much.”

Jasmine froze. Were they talking abouther?

“She knows nothing,” Amir said dismissively.

“Don’t be a fool,” Riad pressed. “She’s living in your house. She knows the alarm codes. She hears things. How do you know she hasn’t gone to the authorities already?”

Jasmine’s breath hitched.

“Because if she had, they’d be banging down our door,” Amir shot back. “And even if she did tell them, what are they going to do? Come here and talk to us? Take us in for questioning? Then what? They’ll have to let us go. They have nothing on us. Nothing.”

She edged backwards, but a floorboard creaked, and she flinched.

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