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“Exactly. They were in it too far. But Moira thought she could help. And then she found out the truth about Goldberg. He hadconnections in Italy, the same connections who were making Moira’s family miserable. He’d worked out a deal to get the sister and brother rescued, but her parents were doomed to a life of house arrest. Not prison, he reasoned, but they wouldn’t be allowed to leave. He tried to convince her it was the best he could do. And she broke up with him.”
“So that put her in danger too.”
“Yes, it did. She was still working out a way to get them all out, working with State Department officials in San Diego, people who worked with immigration issues, people more on her side and not the clowns in this town.”
“But that’s when she came back into my life.”
“Met you at a bonfire on the beach.”
“I remember that night. She came with someone else.”
“And went home with you. I know the story well. Not as well as you, I suppose,” he said as he blushed and peered at the tabletop.
“It was a rekindled romance. Old girlfriend. We knew each other from before. She knew my parents. I moved fast to close ranks around her this time, though, not wanting her to disappear again. This explains some of why I didn’t ask too many questions.”
“And then you were getting married. But an opportunity developed, and she had to go over one more time to finalize the details. I told her not to go. I told her to tell you about it, but she insisted she wanted this to be done in secret. She said she didn’t want to harm your career. She wanted to marry you with all her baggage swept away forever.”
“Still, she should have told me.”
“I agree. And funny this would come up while you were deployed, right?”
“I’ve thought the same thing.”
“Probably not an accident. So when the news hit that she’d been killed, I sat on all the stuff we’d dug up on these guys, things she’d forwarded to me. At first, when I didn’t hear anything, I kept pouring over all our research, following up on every lead we had, and everything was a dead end. Then, a few months later, I started getting anonymous emails, dumping information that I’ve since kept safely stored, about things we’d been working on. I got a buddy to identify where the emails were coming from, and her sister’s name, Lauren, came up. Not Moira, but Lauren. So I started looking for her. I thought perhaps Lauren was now doing Moira’s work.”
“And that’s how you found the both of them.”
“That’s about it.”
Dimitri studied Jordan out of the corner of his eye. He was a very unlikely ally. But what he may have lacked in tactical skill, he more than made up with loyalty. No one could bet the farm on him, but in a limited capacity, he could be useful. And he had the timeline locked into his memory. It was like getting a five-year advance planning team in place before the op—always a good idea but seldom available to him.
Jordan began again. “I want to help you bring her back. I’ll do anything you want. I’ve got this Italian source, a man we started working with before she left the last time. I know he can be trusted. I didn’t tell him Moira might be alive. He found that on his own.”
“Was the rescue staged?” Dimitri asked.
“No. They killed an Italian Civil Guard. It was a serious operation, and an Italian family was indeed killed, the farm burned to the ground, no survivors. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if Goldberg knows she’s alive or where she’s living. He nearly got booted over the incident, if you’ll recall.”
“He should have been.”
“Look, Dimitri, I’ve tried to be very careful. You’re the first person I’ve revealed this to, and I don’t want to go much outside the two of us.”
“But you can’t do this sort of mission without a Team.”
“And that’s why it has to be you that leads it, Dimitri. You have to vet the guys and build the team.”
“Why hasn’t she contacted me?” he said slyly. “Why not ask me herself?” He was fishing for honesty. Giving him a hook with bait.
“They’re in hiding.”
“Except you found her. That means anyone else can as well.”
“Which is why we don’t have much time left.”
“So does she know I’m coming?”
“No, but she said you would trust me and that I could trust you with the truth. She told me that before she left. She also said I wasn’t to believe anyone if someone told me she was dead. So whether it was a set-up gone bad or a planned operation to get them to safety, she’s alive. And she meant for me to get you involved. And yes, I’m surprised she hasn’t tried to reach out.”
“But you know she has.”
