Page 56 of Sasha’s Secret

“Their objective—what is it?”

Sasha wasn’t sure why he was asking such an obvious question, but she’d go with it. “Getting to Linzi—isn’t it?”

“Yes, ultimately they want that, but what do they need in order to achieve it? The right people—or person—in the right place at the right time.”

That added up, but she still wasn’t sure where Rocco was going with it. “Okay…”

“Brian’s the only one on the entire security team who has close protection experience. When I removed him from duty at the awards, maybe I also removed one of the key chess pieces. What better way to get him reinstated than by escalating the threats?”

“You’re saying Brian’s behind this? But why?”

Rocco shook his head. “Not Brian. At least, not on his own—he’s a blunt weapon, not the brains. If I’m right, I think he’s working with someone.”

“His father.” For Sasha, it was a light-bulb moment and a vindication of the uneasy feeling the head of security had given her for months.

“Keep it in the family. That would make sense.” Rocco swiped through the images again. “You know what doesn’t make sense, though?”

“What?”

“Look at the messages. The word play. Do you think either Frank or Brian is smart enough to come up with something so subtle?”

Sasha looked at the text again. “You’re right. Someone else must be creating them. Do you think it’s the person uploading them? The one with the technical know-how?”

“I think there’s a very good chance, but I’ve no idea who it can be. Frank and Brian are next-of-kin for each other in the personnel records, and I can’t recall seeing any other family members mentioned.”

Sasha couldn’t remember offhand, but she had no doubt Rocco was right in his assertion. “What can we do? We don’t have enough to take this to the police.”

Rocco’s mouth settled in a grim line. “That’s true, so we do the only thing we can—increase her security detail, of course.”

Another light bulb flashed. This could be the opening she needed. “Are you going to bring someone in from the outside to help out?”

“If I did, would it bother you?”

The way he asked the question was encouraging. “You do what you need to do. Keeping Linzi safe is the only thing that matters.”

“Agreed, which is why two things are going to happen. We’re going to bring in that extra help… and I’m going to reinstate Brian, just like I’m supposed to.”

“Is that wise? If we’re right—”

“If we’re right, we’ll have him exactly where we can keep an eye on him. If he doesn’t come with us, their plan is shot to pieces, which means they’ll likely improvise. If they go off plan, that’s when they’ll be at their most dangerous.”

There was an awful logic to what he’d said, so awful that Sasha didn’t really want to believe it. As a former member of the intelligence community, however, she had to. “Are you sure about all of this?”

“No, but it’s all we’ve got. It could be coincidence, my taking Brian off the op and the threats ramping up again, but like I said, I don’t believe in coincidence. Do I have your blessing?”

“Only if you can bring in help you can trust.” The last thing she wanted was for them—for Rocco—to have to fight on two fronts.

“I can.” He leaned toward her for another brief kiss. “If I’m right, it’ll be the kind of help we can rely on one hundred and ten percent.”

Relieved, Sasha nodded. She was off the hook. Rocco need never know what she’d considered doing. “Do whatever you have to. Linzi has plenty of faults, but she doesn’t deserve whatever they have planned for her.”

And if the messages were any indication, the mind they came from was truly vile and twisted. Sasha had seen plenty of sickening sights during her CIA career, but seeing evil such as this aimed at someone she knew personally was something else.

Rocco wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Gentle pressure at her temple was a fleeting kiss. “Everything will be okay, Sasha. I promise. I’m here to keep Linzi safe, and I will. Now,” he added, his tone lighter, “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for that swim.”

Sasha wanted to talk some more, but at the same time, she realized there was little more they could do until the extra help was confirmed. There was no point in putting a plan together if they didn’t have the resources to support it. And maybe some downtime would help both of them.

“So am I.” Just the thought of unwinding in the warm water was enough to ease some of the tension from her shoulders. “How do you feel about spending some time in the Jacuzzi as well?”