Page 3 of Wired Target

Sophie narrowed her eyes at Pierre over the rims of her sunglasses in a chastening squint.Raveaux hadn’t asked one question, nor made any comment, about her relationship with Connor since she’d returned from her extended leave on Phi Ni.She’d been waiting for her reunion with her ex-boyfriend to come up.

One corner of Raveaux’s stern mouth tucked in.“Don’t worry.I’ve moved on.Heri Leede and I are dating.”

“That’s good.She’s a fine match for you.”Sophie released a breath, glad to put this awkward moment behind them.Raveaux had wanted to be more than friends since she’d met him; it was a bittersweet relief that he’d accepted her choice.

They dug carefully, removing pieces of semi-burned garbage and driftwood from the hole.Sophie felt something larger, flat, and long.She brushed the sand away.

“Look at this, Pierre.”Sophie had located a molded plastic handle, halfway melted.She drew a short, lethal-looking, rust-covered machete out of the hole.“I think we found our murder weapon.”

Raveaux got his phone out to call Kamuela.“No signal, but I picked up a voicemail from a blocked number.”He frowned.“Can’t retrieve it.We’ll have to call at the parking lot.”

“Let’s go.”Galvanized by the discovery, Sophie bagged the two items in a couple of paper evidence bags she’d had the foresight to bring.She swung her loaded backpack on and broke into a jog, enervating heat weariness dropping away.

Raveaux caught up, and they soon reached the parking lot where they’d left the white Security Solutions SUV.

When Sophie took her phone out, she too showed a blocked number.She listened to a short message from Connor asking her to call back immediately.She held the phone up for Raveaux to see.“Your call is probably Connor trying to reach us, too.It’s likely about Pim Wat.”

Raveaux’s expression was carefully blank.“Should we call him back first, or Kamuela?”

“Let’s get on the road to somewhere with a better signal.You call Kamuela while we drive, then let’s return Connor’s call together and see what he’s concerned about.”

“Bien.”

They got into the company SUV, taking a moment to refresh with bottles of water.Sophie turned on the vehicle while Raveaux called Kamuela to report their discovery.Hot air poured over them as the air-conditioning labored.

“Good work, you two.Can you bring the possible evidence in to the station?I’ll meet you in the entrance area.I’d like to log the items into evidence right away,” Kamuela’s voice was rough with urgency after he’d listened to Raveaux’s description.“I’ll reach out to the District Attorney and schedule a meeting so we can clarify a legal process.Since this is an animal-related crime committed by humans, we need more direction on what to prioritize as far as building a prosecutable case.In the meantime, can you meet with your anonymous client and get more information?By then, we’ll have plenty to discuss about the Moli Massacre and we can pull together a team meeting.”

“Will do.”Raveaux ended the call.

Sophie pulled the SUV into a convenient gas station and parked.“Let’s reach out to Connor here, then take the evidence over to the HPD station.”Sophie plugged the address of the downtown Honolulu Police Department location into the car’s navigation system, barely taking a moment to notice the pretty tropical plantings around the gas station, and the comings and goings all around them.

Her heart rate had spiked since listening to the terse message from Connor.

He had to be calling about her deadly assassin mother.After all these months without a trace of Pim Wat, Sophie’d almost begun to relax and hope that the threat of retribution her mother had promised was over.

Raveaux had listened to his message as well.“Connor asks me to call back, too.Says it’s important.”

“Has to be about Pim Wat.No other reason he’d reach out to both of us like this.”Sophie put her phone into a holder that held the display screen upright on the dash.“Let’s use video.Ready?”

“Always.”Raveaux’s dark brown eyes twinkled; he almost smiled.Someday he’d smile more, and she hoped she’d be there to see it.

Sophie pressed an auto-programmed button to reach her lover, the mysterious cyber vigilante and Master of the Yam Khûmk?n in Thailand.As she listened to the pulse of signal for Connor to pick up, her gut clenched with both dread and anticipation.

Raveaux didn’t look at the screen of the phone as it pulsed, ringing somewhere in a faraway jungle fortress; he gazed at Sophie’s face.

She drew the eye, always, with something more than beauty.The ragged line of a scar earned on one of her cases bisected a high, tawny cheekbone and disappeared into her hairline, serving as an arrow pointing to her large eyes and full mouth.

Right now, those eyes were bright, and her lips pursed in a half-smile—she was eager to see the mysterious man in Thailand.

Not Raveaux, her loyal friend and colleague, godfather to her children.

Pierre Raveaux had lied.

He hadn’t moved on from loving her.

But if Sophie knew how he felt, she’d distance herself, and that he couldn’t bear.

“Sophie!”Wreathed in a smile, joy radiated from Connor’s handsome face like sunlight as his image filled the screen.

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