Page 17 of A Gathering Storm

“He’s spinning this to be our fault to explain why we’re the only ones who mentioned the Israel attack before.” Eva had known Kirkpatrick was dangerous, but she had no idea how dangerous.

“With us broadcasting what happened in Israel, he couldn’t ignore the questions any longer. He took it upon himself to put the blame on us and the president. We make the perfect fall guys, and he’ll continue to spin things in that direction.” Cole blew out a weary sigh. “We need all of our people here as soon as possible.”

Eva caught sight of Moshe standing outside the war room. “Excuse me,” she said, and she hurried out to speak with him. “What’s wrong?” The worry on his face scared her.

“I used the burner phone you gave me to contact my parents as you asked. It’s bad, Eva. Armed men showed up at their home. They ran out the back door and went to a friend’s, but it won’t be long before they find them.” Moshe was barely able to speak. “I told them to leave the house immediately and go somewhere private and call me back. They need our help, Eva. I brought this on them. We have to do something.”

“Just a minute, Moshe.” She turned toward the door where Cole had stepped out into the hallway.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

Eva told him what Moshe had said. “We need to get them out of there, Cole.”

He agreed. “Let me talk to James and see if we have some supporters in England who can take them to a safe location.” He looked to Moshe who joined them. “We’ll protect them, Moshe. I promise.”

Chapter Six

“Give us a moment, Moshe.” With the world and his thoughts spinning out of control, Cole squeezed his wife’s hand, and the two returned to the room where his team was working at a hectic pace to bring their fellow men and women home and stay one step ahead of Kirkpatrick’s deadly threats.

He stopped beside James who was still watching the press conference. “Who do you have in England that is trustworthy?” He quickly updated James on Moshe’s family situation.

“We have several supporters outside of London. If we can get your people there, they’ll be safe.”

“They don’t have transportation. You’ll have to go to them.” Eva told him about Moshe’s parents.

James rubbed his chin as he considered the problem. “I know someone I would trust with my own life. He’s a little unconventional but a good man.” He hurried over to his computer where he kept all the names of contacts around the world. Cole and Eva followed.

“His name is Gabriel Unger. He’s a former M16. I’ll need a contact number.”

Cole motioned Moshe into the room. “How can we reach your parents?”

Moshe recited a number, and James plugged it in. “That’s my father’s cell phone.”

“Good. Tell him someone will be reaching out to them soon.” James gave Moshe the name of his friend. “Have them stay out of sight, and they cannot tell anyone what’s happening.”

Moshe nodded and placed the call.

“I’m going to check on Sadie and stay with Moshe and Athalia for a while,” Eva said.

He cupped her shoulders and brought her close. “I love you.” So many things he wanted to share with her. More than anything he wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her. Tell her all the things he’d kept in his heart through the years, but the timing was bad. He prayed for normalcy to return where they could live out their days as husband and wife. Bring up Sadie the way she deserved with both parents. Still, his heart told him that time in history had passed.

“I love you, too.” She touched his face tenderly, and then she and Moshe left the room.

Cole heaved out a heavy sigh. The last update they’d received from Michael was that the team had reached the location of the doctor who was doing his best to treat Susan Lancaster’s injuries. But they were serious, and she wouldn’t be traveling anywhere soon. Which meant the president was in Iowa along with Kevin. Still the president had found some kindred souls in Michael’s team and they would be safe for the time being. “Do we have news on Abby and Brookes yet?” he asked Jordyn who had been in constant contact with Sebastian.

“Nothing yet. Let me check in.” She dialed the number and placed the call on speaker.

Exhaustion settled over Cole like a dark cloud. With so many working pieces in play and the latest news from Kirkpatrick turning ominous, he feared that the team’s ability to travel beyond the compound was evaporating, which meant they’d be effectively forced to stay at the compound unless they could find another location nearby.

“This is Sebastian,” A confident male voice answered the call. Victor and Kinsley joined the conversation.

“Jordyn here, Sebastian. What’s happening there?”

“We have your people and we’re on the move. We ran into a bit of a problem.” He explained about the attack though short-lived. “Both of your people appear to be fine despite Brookes’ gunshot wound. There was a problem though, and I’ll let Abby tell you about that.”

Shuffling noises filled the space and then Abby’s voice replaced Sebastian’s.

“Something strange happened while we were at the airport. Daniel Pamphili showed up.”

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