Page 101 of Close Pursuit

“They don’t call it arareearth metal for nothing. And its uses are primarily military. You do the math.”

“Why do the Chechens need it? Are they building nukes and lasers?”

“Yevgeny Shishani’s financials don’t indicate he’s doing deals with his government. Quite the opposite, in fact. He’s said to despise the current regime in his country.”

“Then why is he mining this stuff? There must be money in it or he wouldn’t mess with it.”

“Iran.”

Zaghastan shared a sliver of border with Iran. It would be an easy matter to secretly mine samarium, pay locals to refine it, smuggle it across the border, and sell it to the Iranians, who were undoubtedly eager to lay hands on the stuff for their nuclear and missile programs.

“Until this very minute, we had no idea Shishani and company were possibly mining samarium. So why would he be trying to kill us here in the States, half a world away from his operation? It’s not like we have any proof. Wouldn’t men like my brother be a much more immediate threat to him? Why not kill Ian?”

Alex’s mouth twitched wryly. “Interesting questions you pose. Who, exactly, does your brother work for?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. He left the military about five years ago.”

“He could be working for anyone. For all we know, he could be a freelance mercenary.”

“Why does it matter?”

“It might help us figure out who else is poking around the Karshan Valley.”

“And poking around us,” she added.

He smiled at her. “How is it that everyone has so vastly underestimated your intelligence before now?”

She sighed. “I’m short and blonde.”

“And cute.”

“That, too,” she agreed. “If it makes you feel better, Uncle Charlie offered me a job after I spoke with him about you.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better at all,” he answered a bit sharply.

“Want me to ask Uncle Charlie about this samarium angle and see what he says?” she offered.

“Actually, I’d rather see how your brother responds to a casual mention of samarium mining.”

She laughed. “Right. We’re just going to drop that into a conversation about sports and the weather.”

He laughed with her, and her heart expanded. Were they going to find their way back to each other after all? It was really nice of him to look out for her like this. And he’d been nothing but sweet to her since he’d shown up at the hospital. He’d looked ghastly when he’d come into her room. Worse than any hangover, no matter how epic, could account for.

His cell phone rang and he glanced at it. “My lawyer,” he murmured as he took the call.

Ooh. Maybe there was news about the their application for long-term guardianship of Dawn. She glanced down at the list in her hand. One of these men was very likely Dawn’s father. It had better not be Ian, or getting stabbed would be the least of his problems before she was done with him.

Alex made a soft sound, almost like he’d been punched in the gut and all the air driven out of him. He said only, “I’ll be right there.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked quickly.

“My lawyer’s dead. Murdered. And some of his files were stolen.”

Foreboding roared through her. “Yours?”

Alex nodded grimly and disappeared into his office. She was alarmed to see him chambering a round in a pistol and holstering it as he emerged. “I’ve engaged the crisis security system. You’re effectively living in a fort. As long as you don’t let anyone in, you’re safe,” he explained tersely. “No one. Understood?”

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