Page 109 of Once a Hero

“By the grace of God, I survived. Your sister called for help.”

“Sounds like something she’d do.”

“However, when I was inside Molyneux’s organization, she had hollow eyes, looking over her shoulders all the time. Drugged out or something.”

“Sin will find you out.”

Jake was surprised at the verse that Benjamin just cited. “Numbers 32:23.”

But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.

“God is my guide.”

“Same here.” Jake thanked the flight attendant for the roast beef sandwich.

“Let’s pray that God will protect my sister and that we will all return alive.”

“How about we pray now?” Jake asked. “I need to thank God for my food.”

“Go ahead.”

And so Jake did. Except he got carried away praying for Beatrice. He choked up a little when a fleeting thought raced through his mind, the thought that his suspicion might be wrong, that Molyneux would not spare her adopted daughter, and that he might never see Beatrice again.

Jake wondered if he could carry on if that happened.

And that was the moment he knew he had fallen deeply in love.

“Please, Lord, let Beatrice be alive and well,” Jake whispered with his eyes shut. “Let her know that we’re coming to get her. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

“Amen.” Benjamin looked up. “She knows we’re coming.”

“How?”

“We’ve discussed potential scenarios over the years,” Benjamin explained. “And the last thing she did—the Trojan horse brooch box—might be a lifesaver.”

“Wow. Romans 8:28.”

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

“You know your Scripture,” Benjamin said.

“Does that mean you’ll treat me like family?” It was worth a shot. Jake waited.

“Nope.” Benjamin frowned again. “Like I was saying, the fake brooch box might have arrived in Molyneux’s web, and finding it might take us to Bee.”

“You’re thinking that the brooch box and Beatrice might be at the same location.”

“We know from Molyneux’s activities the last couple of weeks that she’s firing all cylinders to get to the Amber Room—or what’s left of it. That means she’s closing in or she has leads. Either way it also says that she’s running out of money. When was the last time you heard of a terrorist attack attributable to her?”

“Not in at least six months.”

“Exactly. Ever since many of her income streams dried up due to governments clamping down on her activities, she has been increasingly desperate.”

“You’ve been following the news.”

“I have to. She’s a danger to all of us.”

Jake nodded. However, the problem remained. “What if you’re wrong about where the brooch box is?”

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