Page 12 of The Saint

Her hands covered her face. “No.” Her knees turned to noodles. “No.”

One of the men grasped her by the elbow, half holding her up, half turning her away from Jonathan. “Take a deep breath, Ms. Stone.”

His hold on her arm pinched too tightly. The pain refocused her from Jonathan to the here and now. Maybe he didthat on purpose. Maybe he was trying to help. Her noodle knees regained their sea legs, and after a minute, he let go of her arm. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Wait—” Her chin snapped up. “What about Hailey?”

Both stared at Amelia as though she was supposed to tell them.

The man who had held her up asked, “Was she with you?”

“No.” Suddenly, the cold night air was hot and sour. Dread curled deep in her gut. She couldn’t take a deep breath. Her stomach revolted and threatened to be sick. A retching hiccup convulsed in her belly. “She was with Jonathan.”

One of the men shook his head. The other’s lips pinched.

“Yes. She was with him.” Panic threaded her dread. Glass shards tumbled in her lungs as she tried to breathe. “They stayed inside. Together. They told me to leave. To call the number. To get help.” Amelia turned back toward their house.It was good that Hailey wasn’t inside, wasn’t it?“She escaped?”

“Fleeing the scene is a possibility,” the quieter of the two said.

Both held her gaze with an air of suspicion. “Possibility” was said as though the chance of it was beyond what she could hope for.

“What else could it be? She was taken?”By Jonathan’s murderer? God…If Amelia had only run faster, if she hadn’t searched the street for trouble but had rushed into the Callaghans’ house, help would have arrived sooner. She’d been frozen in a neighbor’s driveway and then kitchen while someone took Hailey and killed Jonathan. Suffocating guilt pummeled her.

The man raised his shoulder. “We’re processing the scene. There’s only one thing we’re certain about: There’s no sign of your sister.”

Camden knew the phone wouldn’t ring again, and even if it did, the odds of the caller being related to the previous night’s call would be slim to none. The chance that he even intercepted one of the CIA’s calls was so slight that it would probably never happen again. He had no idea how many other phone centers could have picked up Amelia’s call, and while there was a problem with agents in danger, they would only call when they were up shit creek and grasping at their last shreds of hope. Still, he watched the phone intently as if he could will Amelia to call again.

“Cam, you don’t have to be here.” Amanda placed a coffee cup in front of him.

“It’s fine.” After Amelia called, he’d camped in the operation center in case she called again. He wanted to know what had happened and if everyone was safe. He wondered if Amelia had been reunited with her family.

His normal assignments didn’t attach an emotional component. If people were scared, that was fine, because Titan was there. They would swoop in and save the day. If they were in danger, again, all would be okay. His team would eliminate threats—job done. He could kick back with a beer and not think about the details of the assignment ever again.

This was different. It was a situation completely out of his control. Camden wanted to know more. He wanted details on the fallout. Amelia was safe. Help had arrived. That was important. But he wondered if the CIA agents had been able to help Jonathan and Hailey Dumont.

Camden had used Titan’s resources, not exactly with permission, and searched what was available in their databases—nothing. He turned to Google and learned she was a professor. He was a researcher. Neither looked particularly like a spy, but not everyone could be James Bond or Jason Bourne.

Camden sent a request for more information to Parker Black, the man who oversaw Titan Group’s global technology operations, but the request was unanswered. Either Parker was on assignment, or he was ignoring Camden. Either way, he shouldn’t have asked Parker.

Camden ran a hand over his face. He and bureaucracy weren’t great partners. Would Parker say something to their boss? Jared wasn’t in the business of wild goose chases and didn’t want anyone on his team playing the role of unnecessary hero. Maybe that was what Camden was doing. He certainly wasn’t supposed to stay on the phone and talk Amelia through the situation. Their orders were clear: Call for assistance if threats were deemed real.

The phone rang. He jerked back. Amanda and Shah paused their conversation. Another call for the second day in a row was an anomaly, if the last week had been any indication. He answered.

“Camden?”

Amelia’s voice washed over him. Hearing from her was confirmation that she was safe—but he’d already known that. There was more to the feeling, and he had no idea what it was—maybe concern or worry. He didn’t know why.

“Passcode?”

“We talked last night.”

Of course, he knew that. Still, he had rules. Not to mention, Shah and Amanda were watching. As much as he wanted to hear from her, as many questions as he had, she couldn’t just call. “Passcode, or I have to disconnect.”

“No, no, no. Wait,” she pleaded. “Please wait.”

Why was she calling? He drew a deep breath. Itcouldbe a test. But the means of tripping him up felt off. He wondered if Jared would screw with him like that. He checked his watch. It was almost the same time as she had called the day before.If only he’d checked to see if her local news had turned up any report in her neighborhood, then at least he could rule out if this was some kind of employment test. “Passcode, or—”

“Do you know how many times I’ve called this number until I was finally routed to you?” she asked.

He didn’t mean to smile. He turned his chair so that he didn’t face Amanda and Shah. “I have to hang up.”

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