Page 29 of Covert Past

When the boss called demanding to know what was going on, he’d told what happened. What should have been a chance for him to redeem himself in the boss’s eyes had failed miserably.

The boss insisted on being brought to Breakers immediately. At that point, there hadn’t been any choice but to involve others. It had been a stroke of luck that the couple was visiting the island.Not so lucky they’d let their son take their boat to the mainland.

After a few threats the problem was solved.

“Call him again. And if you try to warn him, you’ll all die.”

The fear on the father’s face confirmed he believed every single word.

???

While getting answers on how they kept finding her was critical, a part of her hated the thought of seeing her ring broken apart. Silly really. Her heart believed Daniel wouldn’t want her to risk her life because of it. He’d loved her too much.

“Hang on. I think I have some tools in the basement.” Declan excused himself.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Boone had seen what she couldn’t hide.

“No, but if it helps us discover how they keep finding me, then Daniel would want me to.”

He smiled down at her, and she felt a little unbalanced. Something she hadn’t expected to happen was taking place, and Ellie didn’t know how she felt about it. Her heart softened with each smile from Boone. She felt safe with him, and she hadn’t experienced that feeling in a long time.

Eli watched something on his phone screen. “Bad news. The storm is gaining strength.” He looked up at them. “They’re predicting a direct hit on Breakers. We need to get this place ready.”

Declan returned, and Eli updated him.

“We’ll be safer in the basement. I have some leftover hurricane supplies down there from the last one that came through,” Declan said. “While this isn’t a hurricane, it’s best to treat it the same to be safe. We should have a few hours to prepare. Hopefully, long enough to enjoy that delicious-smelling stew before it hits.” He brought out a flashlight and held it close to the ring, examining the facets.

“What is that spot?” Ellie asked. Never in a million yearswould she have thought something might be hidden inside her ring.

“I’m not sure.” Declan looked to Ellie. “Has this been out of your sight for any amount of time?”

She told him about keeping it hidden while on a mission.

Boone frowned. “What about with Daniel? Any idea if anyone might have been able to get to it before he gave it to you?”

She thought back to what Daniel told her. He’d been so nervous when he’d proposed. “He told me our director Gideon went with him to pick it out.”

“Gideon? Wait, is that . . . ?”

“Gideon Broder. He’s the director of Mossad. Gideon was much more than that to both Daniel and me. He was like a second father. Daniel told me Gideon held onto the ring until he was ready to give it to me.”

Eli quickly typed something on his phone and drummed his fingers at the slow response. “Here it is. I thought I’d read something about this. Gideon Broder is the opposing candidate for prime minister in the next election.”

“You’re kidding.” Ellie had stopped keeping up with her former country’s news because it was too painful. “I had no idea.”

Declan managed to get the emerald free of the band. He held the stone up close to the light. “There’s definitely something in there. To get it out, I’ll need to smash the emerald.”

The last part of her life with Daniel would be gone. She fought back emotion and cleared her throat. “Do it.”

Boone squeezed her arm. “I’m sorry.”

She nodded because it was hard to speak over the lump in her throat.

Declan found a small hammer in his toolbox and placed the emerald on the table. It took three tries before the emerald fractured and something tiny fell out.

“What is that?” Eli leaned in closer as did Boone and Ellie.

She recognized it right away. “It’s a microscopic zip drive. It’s usually accessible with a special reader that can be pluggedinto a phone.”

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