Page 91 of Lethal Deceit

I drag my hand over my face. “What if they search her?”

“They won’t find the camera. It’s in a button in her shirt.”

Jake’s face darkens. “Unless they have an RF detector. Then we might have?—”

Adena glares at him, and he raises his hands, pulling a face at his lack of tact.

“Go get the SIGINT kit,” she barks.

Jake’s face creases in annoyance, but he exits, muttering as he heads back to retrieve the high-end signal intelligence gear Hightower brought with them.

“She’s inside, and we’re receiving,” Caleb says.

I’m so focused on her—and desperate to see Brooke—that I nearly miss the seat beside Caleb, my eyes already fixed on the screen. Caleb removes his headphones and turns the volume up on the laptop. I lean closer, every fiber of my being tuning in to hearing what Samantha could have to say in a situation like this.

The video is coming in at an angle. All I can make out is an olive-green blur, but it’s apparent they’re patting her down when we hear her protests coming through the mic.

“I’m not armed,” she says.

The green blur steps back, not far enough away from her that I can see his face, but we all hear his voice.

“How did you find us?”

“I didn’t. The Coast Guardsman spotted the boat you’re using. He figured out you were headed to the Glades.”

“Where is he now?”

“I don’t know. I stole his phone and ditched him in Miami two hours ago.”

An audible slap makes me grip the seat of the chair.

“Here… check his phone. His boss keeps calling him. He’s probably returned to the base before he loses his job.”

A smattering of Arabic fills the air, letting us know there must be others in the room. My eyes dart to the text translation.

“Go check on the street again.”

They’re not stupid. They know full well this could be a setup.

Samantha curses. “I have information that can help you and your cause. I know how to get access to places you couldn’t dream of.”

Caleb tenses. “What is she doing?”

“What she does best,” Adena says. “Make men think she can give them everything they want.”

I shake my head. “Not with these maniacs. They wanted her dead.”

Jake isn’t so sure. “If that was all they wanted her for, why not kill her the second she walked in the door?”

I eye Caleb, who shrugs his massive shoulders and gives me a pointed look. “We assumed they were shooting at her at the marina. Maybe they weren’t.”

I let out a grunt. “Why kill the owner of the yacht?”

Adena points at the screen. “Listen, and we might find out.”

Frowning, I twist back to watch the scene on the screen unfolding. Whoever it was who slapped Samantha steps back, and for the first time we get a clear view of the layout of the room she’s in.

She moves slightly, and the man’s face comes into focus. Dark beard, a prominent nose, crooked teeth, and calculating eyes that are penetrating even through the glasses he wears. His face remains impassive as he speaks in a heavy accent. “There is nowhere we can’t reach.”

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