Page 68 of Grayson’s Challenge

“Thank you,” she murmured. “I needed that.”

Outside the cell, Gabriel was waiting for them.

“What did you get from him?” Grayson asked instantly.

“Not much, I’m afraid.” He cast them a regretful look. “He basically just confirmed what we already knew. Abel is behind the attack on the palace and the kidnapping. But Abel is too smart to give anybody more information than they need to execute his orders. Oscar didn’t know where Abel is hiding Cain and Samson. However, he did know that Abel is still in San Francisco.”

“So it’s a dead end,” Monique said, disappointed.

“I’m afraid so. Oscar might have been Abel’s second-in-command in New Orleans, but he’s not his right hand. There’s somebody else.”

“Somebody like Baltimore, his right-hand way back when?” Grayson asked.

“Yes, somebody like him. Though we know that Baltimore is dead.”

“Could he have faked his death?” Monique asked.

Gabriel shook his head. “I killed him with my own hands. He turned to dust right in front of me. No chance of faking that. Abel must have found somebody else whom he entrusts with his secrets. It certainly wasn’t Oscar.”

Gabriel’s cell phone suddenly rang, and he answered it. “Yeah?” There was a short pause. “I’m at HQ already. See you in a minute.”

Grayson cast him a curious look. “Everything okay?”

Gabriel suddenly grinned, and the scar on his cheek pulsed. “I’m gonna be a grandfather soon. Scarlet just went into labor. Ryder is on his way here with her. Maya is downstairs in the med center, probably taking a quick nap. Neither of us has been home since all this started.”

“Go, Gabriel! Take care of your family,” Grayson said. “We’re good here.”

“Thanks!” He turned, then looked back over his shoulder. “You guys should probably go see your mothers. They were asking for you. I think the worry is getting to them.”

“Will do,” Monique promised. She’d planned to check in with her mother anyway. Hug her. Comfort her. Assure her that they would find Cain and Samson, even if she didn’t feel such certainty herself.

Minutes later, she and Grayson were in Grayson’s Audi R8, heading toward the Woodford’s Nob Hill residence.

“You know what still baffles me?” Grayson said.

“What?”

“How Abel knew that your brothers were coming with the Stealth Guardians.” He cast her a sideways look. “They were prepared and had enough time to rig the palace so that they could douse them with dust to render the Stealth Guardians’ efforts to keep everybody invisible defunct.”

“It bothers me too. How did they know what to expect? What if Abel is watching our every move?”

“That’s my concern too.”

“Could it be that he’s bugging our phones? Or planted bugs?” Monique wondered.

“It’s a possibility.” Grayson pressed a few buttons on his steering wheel, and an instant later, Monique heard a ringtone.

Monique gave him a curious look. “Who are you calling?”

“Sebastian.”

“Hey, Grayson, what’s up?” Sebastian asked through the car’s loudspeakers.

“Hey, Sebastian. Do me a favor. Have the tech team run a scan of all our phones to see if any of them are bugged. Then call Zach and David in New Orleans and have them do the same on their end. And while those scans are running, drive over to my parents’ house and sweep the place for bugs.”

“You think somebody is bugging the place?”

“Yeah. Abel knew that the Stealth Guardians were helping Zach and David take back the palace. He couldn’t have known that unless he’d overheard our conversations.”