Page 57 of Defenseless
Kara shot him a doubtful look. “I’m supposed to sit around and think about our dad?”
Ethan shook his head. “We’ll go for a walk, and we can talk along the way. You can let the memories flow. You were just complaining about sitting around. This will get you out of the house—so to speak—and out of your head a little.”
Sabina recognized the look on Kara’s face. She was debating whether to be offended by Ethan’s comment about getting out of her head. In truth, Sabina was the one who usually needed that reminder. Kara was more of a go-with-the-flow kind of person.
To Sabina’s surprise, Kara nodded. “As you said, it might not come to anything. But at the very least, I’ll get a walk out of it.”
“Let me know if you think of anything,” Tess said.
“Of course,” Kara replied. A few minutes later, everyone filed out of the room. Kara and Ethan turned toward the stairwell that would take them to the closest exit. Chad and Sabina trailed behind her team as they walked to the cyber lab. The operatives peeled off to go do whatever it was they were going to do. Probably planning how to assassinate Kevin Jacobs. Not that she thought they would, but as Colton was so fond of saying, it was a good training exercise.
They were ten feet from the lab when Chad’s phone rang. Sabina paused as he pulled the device from his pocket and looked at the screen. “Stella,” he said. She nodded, knowing he’d need to take the call in the privacy of his office. Lifting the device to his ear, he answered as he walked to his domain.
Joining the others in the cyber lab, Sabina went straight to her computer and powered it on. This was her first time leading a team, and it was a little disconcerting how many tasks they’d taken on, leaving her with little to do. She trusted them to do their jobs, and didn’t want to duplicate efforts, but what was left for her?
Leaning back in her chair, she idly watched her screen as it went through the safety protocols and scans that she’d installed. What was something she could bring to the table that was uniquely hers?
She drummed her fingers on her desk and considered the situation. The only thing really left to dig into that she—and her sister—might have special insight into was the whereabouts of her father. Kara was taking her walk, giving her mind the space and serenity to think about it. That was one approach, but it wasn’t one Sabina thought would work for her. She liked nature as much as the next person, but it wasn’t what got her thinking.
But something else did.
With the beginnings of a plan, she smiled and logged in. After navigating through a few systems, she found herself in the records department of the courts for Fayette County, the county in which Lexington was located. Only it wasn’t the files on her mother’s murder she sought. No, she was looking for records from twenty-four years ago. The year her parents divorced.
It took her thirty minutes to find the file she was looking for. And after that, she disappeared down the cyber rabbit hole. At some point, Chad texted her to let her know he was taking care of a few things in his office. So lost in the trail she’d picked up, she’d only responded with a “K.”
She picked and poked her way through database after database. With each new lead, adrenaline pulsed and coursed under her skin. Not a burst, but a slow flow that gained strength with each fork in the trail she took. From court records, to planes, to hotels, to banks, to real estate sales, she was closing in on her father.
And then she found him.
Leaning back in her chair with a grin, she just about jumped out of her skin when Chad’s hand came down on her shoulder.
“Everything okay? I’ve stopped by a few times, but you were so focused, I didn’t want to interrupt.”
She glanced at the clock on her computer. She felt as if she’d traveled the world, but only four hours had passed.
She smiled up at him then tugged him down and pressed a kiss to his lips.
“Whatever you found must be exciting,” he murmured, lingering a little longer.
She considered jumping into his arms and celebrating a little more, but she pushed the urge down. Instead, she gestured to her computer. “I found him.”
“Who?”
“I know where he is!” Kara exclaimed, bursting into the room with Ethan on her heels.
“São Paulo!” the twins said at the same time.
Kara drew to a halt beside Sabina. “You figured it out, too?”
Sabina nodded then gestured to her computer. “How’d you figure it out?” she asked.
“I didn’t know for certain,” Kara said, leaning forward to read the information on the screen. “But I remembered him talking about Brazil a lot. About how it was a good place to hide. It was always in the context ofotherpeople hiding away—mainly the nazis. But as I started to remember those conversations, I also started to remember little things. Like how his voice would change when he talked about the country and how one day, I saw him looking at travel brochures for São Paulo. Like I said, I wasn’t certain, but it seemed like somewhere he’d go.”
“And he did,” Sabina said, motioning for everyone to gather chairs and take a seat. Once they were circled around her, she brought up the image of a stark white modern villa. Set in a lush landscape in a high-end neighborhood, the house was large, bordering on a mansion, with a pool and a tennis court.
“Is that where he’s living?” Chad asked.
Sabina nodded. “I was able to trace his movements from Lexington to here.” She pointed to the house. “I started with the day he and my mom signed the divorce papers. It was done in person, so I knew he was still stateside that day. From there, I searched flight records, then hotels, banks, etcetera, until I found this. He purchased the house five years ago, and as far as I can tell, still lives there.”
