Page 8 of Wired Strong

“Connor took his houseman Nam and Nam’s wife Kupa back to the compound in Thailand. That place is so heavily armed that there’s no way anything less than an act of war could remove him from there. Just before they fled, he put Armita, Momi, and my dogs on a private plane back to Hawaii. And they were waiting for me when I got back.” Sophie’s cheeks flushed and she dropped her eyes. “I died a little bit that day, and came back to life when I found my loved ones at home. They’d have been taken to use against me if you hadn’t warned me, Pierre.”

Raveaux cleared his throat. “Don’t mention it again. What now?”

“I’ve decided to guard against the task force. I’ve arranged a meeting for us with my defense lawyer, Bennie Fernandez. He needs to interview both of us to determine if there are any conflicts of interest that might preclude him from being able to defend you.”

“Thank you.” He had heard the defense lawyer was one of the best in Hawaii. “But I am here on a work visa. I have few rights. I believe that I’m only still here in the United States because the team is still assessing if they can use me. Against you, and the man called Connor.”

Sophie met his eyes for a brief moment. “That’s why I want you protected.”

“You have my word that your interests will always come first with me.” Raveaux said it like a vow, each word precise and definite.

Sophie’s expression remained carefully blank. She consulted her tablet, fingers flying, and his phone pinged. “I just forwarded you the date and time of the Fernandez consultation. We’ll meet in this office since it’s easiest to control security. Now, have you had any further communications or threats?” She met his eyes. “I don’t want to come into work one day and find out that one of my most trusted colleagues has been deported, or worse.”

Raveaux shook his head. “Nothing, thankfully. I sent a communiqué to some of my old friends on the French police force and in Interpol, asking them to be on alert on my behalf.” He shrugged. “I felt better having warned some good people that I might be in need of assistance.”

“Absolutely.” Sophie fiddled with her stylus. “I’m taking my own security measures. In addition to hiring Fernandez, I’m moving in with my father every month that Momi and Armita aren’t here. I’m going to be seen with him as much as possible and take advantage of my position as his daughter.”

Raveaux’s conscience pricked—the ambassador was secretly working with the multi-agency team, and had been the one to try to recruit Raveaux to use Sophie to trap her friend Connor. Raveaux hadn’t told her of that a month ago because her grief over Jake was so fresh.Should he tell her now?

“In any case, that’s all I wanted to say.” Sophie stood up. “They must be watching you, so be very careful.” She walked over and sat down behind her desk, still carrying the teacup. “I’ll see you at the meeting with Fernandez.”

Raveaux stood up—clearly, their meeting was over. “Bonne chance, Sophie,merci.”

Chapter Seven

Sophie

Day 2, Evening

Sophie spotteda tail following her SUV as she drove home to the Pendragon Arches apartment after work. The surveillance vehicle didn’t break off until she turned into her building’s underground garage.

Her heart rate escalated—maybe she should pack tonight and go to her father’s apartment now, instead of the next morning as they’d discussed. She had no doubt she was being watched, every moment—even now as she let herself in and was greeted by Ginger and Anubis.

The dogs whined and jostled about anxiously as she packed her bags with just enough clothing and bathroom supplies to last the month. She’d return to this unit when Armita and Momi came back from her custody month on Kaua`i. Keeping Momi, a strong-willed toddler, on her schedule was challenging enough, without adding a new environment to the mix.

That thought reminded Sophie of the beautiful month she’d spent on Phi Ni right after Jake’s death. If only the three of them could return to that pristine white beach and beautiful house on the cliff overlooking the Gulf of Thailand with its picturesque atolls—but the island, though deeded over to her, had been seized by the Department of Justice, and its ownership was tied up in the courts.

Sophie turned to the dogs and made a hand signal. “Sit.”

Anubis, his sharp Doberman ears pricked, sat immediately. Ginger, Sophie’s yellow rescue Lab, had eventually learned the basics through two rounds of obedience school. Whining reluctantly, she lowered her plump hindquarters to the floor. Sophie tossed them each a small dog biscuit. “Ginger, stay. Anubis, patrol.”

Anubis leaped up and trotted off, following an established route of checking for intruders that Connor had trained him to do. Ginger remained sitting, whining low in her chest, intelligent eyes fixed on Sophie’s backpack duffel bag.

Anubis gave a short, sharp bark—his warning bark.

The front doorbell dinged.

Sophie frowned. She didn’t expect anyone at this time in the evening. She hit an app on her phone that activated a tiny security camera set over the door.

Two men in suits that bulged at the hip with sidearms stood in front of the aperture.Agents!They must have overheard her conversation with her father, and decided to pre-empt her move to his place. Because they’d followed her, they likely knew she was inside. The door was locked, but they might try to break in if she didn’t answer it.

Time to disappear.

Sophie snapped her fingers for the dogs, picked up her tightly packed duffel, and slid her arms into its handy backpack straps. She put her phone into her pocket and headed for the closet, leashing the dogs as she went.

Sophie opened the interior security portal in the back of the closet and walked both dogs through the opening. Early in her relationship with Connor, she’d discovered this secret entrance to an office he owned in the apartment next door. The steel-reinforced door closed soundlessly and was automatically concealed behind a rotating shoe rack filled with footwear she seldom wore.

Sophie stifled a sneeze as she exited Connor’s closet into his former bedroom, the dogs at her side. This secondary apartment was where the Ghost had really lived and spent time, but Sophie rarely used it. The lights were off and the air smelled musty.

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