Page 64 of Wired Target

The color which had been returning to Frank’s face drained abruptly away.His heart monitor began beeping a rapid, uneven tattoo.Sophie squeezed his limp fingers hard.“Rest easy, Dad.I thought you would be relieved to know.”

“I wanted her dead,” he ground out.“No longer a threat.”

“She is neutralized.The CIA will be coming to get her shortly.She won’t be our problem anymore.”Sophie kissed Frank’s big knuckles.“This is a good thing, Dad.”

“Okay then, if you say so.”The heart monitor began to even out.“It’s true that I didn’t want to kill her.She is your mother, after all, and I loved her once.”

“Exactly.I knew that,Pa.”Sophie used the Thai honorific.“You did what you had to do.”

“And I’m still alive because the woman I killed wasn’t her, and didn’t use poison,” Frank said.He pulled his hand away from hers and stroked his bedclothes restlessly.“Your mother is evil, Sophie.”

“I know.”

“What does it say about me, that I loved an evil woman?That I allowed her to use me, to extract secrets from me, for years?”The monitor began beeping again.

“Dad, it’s okay.Take some deep breaths.It’s all in the past.”Sophie modeled breathing gently in through the nose, out through the mouth; he followed her example.Gradually they both calmed.

When the ambassador’s vitals had stabilized, Sophie spoke again.“I don’t think Pim Wat was always evil.Shewasalways different; maybe she didn’t react to things the way other people did, and her depression was real.She changed over time, as we all do, got worse if you will.And she’s exceedingly good at what she does.She deceived not only you, but everyone around her.Yes, it hurts to have been a fool, to have been betrayed at such a deep level ...but in the end, we prevailed.”Sophie held Frank’s gaze, staring into eyes that were darker brown and more deep-set than hers, but the same shape.“Now that Pim Wat’s been caught, we can move on with our lives.Begin living again.With any luck at all, she won’t ever make it out of Guantánamo Bay.McDonald is eager to—do what he does.”

Frank shut his eyes and gave a brief nod.He took and squeezed Sophie’s hand.Moments later he was asleep, his breathing evened out and deepened, his body gone slack.

“How is he doing?”A whisper from the door.Kate Smith, the very tall, blue-eyed brunette who had overseen Frank’s Secret Service security detail for years, addressed Sophie.

Sophie stood up, gesturing for Kate to come in.“He’s resting peacefully.He’s expected to recover, and he just had a transfusion.”

Kate entered the room and gave Sophie a hug.“I’m so glad!But you look wiped out.Why don’t you go home and get some rest?I’ll sit with him.”

Katie would look after her father as well as Sophie could have; she could head home to her children and look in on Connor too.Sophie briefed the other woman on recent events and then took her leave, as Kate sat in the seat Sophie had vacated and picked up Frank’s hand.

Gratitude swelled Sophie’s heart; she wasn’t going to lose any of the men she loved today.

37

Day 10

Lei leaned forward in the seat of her flight to Maui, gripping the armrests as she gazed out the window.Swooping in a large turn to head into the wind as it landed, her Hawaiian Airlines plane bumped and bounced in the usual strong headwind of the Valley Isle.

Used to those conditions by now, Lei ignored the stressed-out reactions of the other passengers.She enjoyed the sight of the turquoise sea trimmed in white foam, the towering, sculpted curves of the Pali headlands and Haleakala, and the patchwork of fields that covered the waist of the figure eight shape of the island’s central area.

Sophie’s face flashed into Lei’s mind—the toll of the last few days had been evident in the circles under her friend’s eyes and the dull tone of her skin—but still, Sophie was a fighter.She’d handled the shooting and crisis outside her gate that had culminated in an intruder attack on Armita with remarkable poise and clear leadership.“You’ve come a long way, baby,” Lei muttered.“All those men hop to it when you tell them to, including Connor.”

Seeing her friend with Connor and witnessing the strong bond between them had washed away the last of Lei’s concerns about the mysterious cyber vigilante tech genius Sophie had chosen.The man clearly adored Sophie, enough to give up his powerful position as the Master of the Yam Khûmk?n in Thailand—and his vigilante activities, too.

If he was pardoned, all would be well.

After Jake’s death, and all she’d been through with her awful mother, Sophie deserved a little happiness.

“Make that a lot of happiness,” Lei muttered.She was glad they’d been able to clear up the issues that had created a barrier between them, but Lei wouldn’t be surprised if secrets were an ongoing theme in her relationship with Sophie; strange people and events surrounded her friend.

Once the plane made its turn, it dropped rapidly and soon came to a bumpy stop on the tarmac.Lei glanced at the familiar gyration of the coconut palms around the airport with a smile and activated her phone, looking for a text from Abe Torufu.

Sure enough, her partner had sent her a note that he’d pick her up; they had an hour or so to get into position for the takedown of the egg sellers.

Lei’s pulse picked up.“Perfect.Just time to grab something to eat.”Her stomach rumbled loudly; she’d grabbed a granola bar from Armita on the way out of Sophie’s house but hadn’t had anything to eat since she and Jones grabbed burgers on the way there.

She texted Torufu about getting food.The big man was agreeable.Soon she was tossing her carry-on into the back of his truck.“Ichiban?”Lei asked, sliding into the passenger seat beside him.

“Sure.I want to get into position a bit before the time of the meet, though,” Torufu said.“I’ve already talked to airport security about access and backup support.The buy is going down at the interisland cargo area of the airport.Makes sense; it’s a lot quieter, with fewer people and security around.The eggs will be packaged for transport and will need to be passed off to the buyer from off-island.”

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