Page 41 of Covert Past

“I know someone we can trust to reach out to Gideon.” Boone told them about his contact within Mossad.

“With your permission, I think we need to give it a try,” JT said while Ellie hesitated.

Everyone waited for her to respond.

Fear trailed down her spine. What if she made the wrong decision? What if reaching out to Gideon brought everything crumbling around her.

“It’ll be okay,” Boone said softly and squeezed her arm. “I promise we are not going to let anything happen to you.”

She’d trusted him with so much alreadyand Boone had proved himself to be worthy of her trust. “Okay. Do it.”

Boone smiled as if realizing the battle she’d fought just to give her approval. “I’ll give my friend a call as soon as we’re finished here.”

She nodded and clutched her hands tight because they were shaking.

“Good.” JT told them they were about an hour out.

Declan explained about what happened with his friend. “There was something in Robert’s voice that didn’t sound right to me.”

Eli and Boone seconded his assessment.

“Let’s hope it’s just worry because of the storm. As soon as we get there, I’d say it’s a good idea if we go inside to make sure. Until then, keep your eyes open. This thing just keeps getting more bizarre.”

The call ended. Ellie felt as if the walls were closing in. Sitting still with so much up in the air became impossible. She stood and stretched out kinks from her shoulders then went to put on a fresh pot of coffee.

“You should try and get some sleep.”

Ellie turned at the sound of Boone’s voice.

The concern on his face was all for her. For the first time since she’d lost Daniel she had hope, and that scared her. Boone and the rest of the Hope Island Securities team were doing everything they could to get her answers. But what if the answers weren’t there to get? What if she was destined to spend the rest of her life on the run?

“I’m too keyed up.” She pointed to the coffeemaker. “The next best thing.”

He chuckled. “I get it. Caffeine and adrenaline were the only things to keep me going during many of my missions.”

She looked at him curiously. “Do you miss the adrenaline rush?” She hadn’t had the opportunity to miss being away from the spy game. At times, she’d think about what life would be like if she wasn’t running for her life.

“Sometimes,” he admitted while she poured them coffee. “For a long time after I left the service I couldn’t seem to settle down. It’s hard going from those kinds of life-and-death situations to being a civilian.”

“I can imagine.” She pointed to the living room. “Want to sit for a while?” The facts they knew kept swirling around in her head, not making sense.

She and Boone sat on the sofa. Ellie leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She listened to him speak about some of the things he’d witnessed while on a mission.

Before what happened to her, Ellie never really gave much thought to those caught in the crosshairs of the spy world. She focused on her target. Believed what she was doing would make her country safer. Now, it felt as if everything she’d once believed in was about to crumble around her.

“Do you ever wonder if it’s worth it?” she asked. The price for freedom and safety was high in cost in the lives of those caught in the middle.

Boone settled his head against the sofa and turned his face her way. “Every day.”

The pain she witnessed tore at her heart. Though not hunted physically, Boone would always be haunted by the things he’d done for his country.

She touched his cheek. “You did what you had to do.”

He closed his eyes and covered her hand with his. “I did. It doesn’t make it any easier.”

Ellie leaned her head against his shoulder. She didn’t want to try and define what was happening between them. She just wanted to sit here with him in this moment of peace knowing that for now she didn’t have to run.

He still held her hand. The voices in the other room faded into the background like the worries plaguing her mind. For this second in time, she knew peace.

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