Page 69 of A Touch of Frost
I paused for a second.
“What happened in Romania?” I asked. “Maybe something you can tell us could help with what Frost and the others have coming.”
“Romania?” Paul curled his lips upward then pressed them into a tight line. “Romania was just a cover. I’m sure you know that already.”
I nodded. “Did you even go to Romania?”
“Yeah.” Paul replied. “Then flew me somewhere else. I’m not one hundred percent on this, but I’m pretty sure I was drugged.”
“As in drugged, drugged?”
Paul nodded.
“We’re gonna have to get you a complete physical once we get back state side.”
“For sure. They flew me from Romania the same night. I’m not sure where to. There was a man, middle eastern who needed surgery from a gunshot wound. I knew immediately he wasn’t one of ours. The truth is, for the first time since I became a doctor, I questioned my oath.”
“Why is that?” I asked.
“They didn’t have to tell me this man was evil.” Paul explained. “I mean, they lied to their own military and kidnapped a doctor. You don’t do all those things unless what you’re up to is nefarious.”
He had a point.
“They wanted me to continue working for them—like they had given me a choice to begin with. I told them to go fuck themselves. I mean, I was going to die anyways. There was no way they were letting me go—and I knew that. Next thing I knew, I was being used as a punching bag and then being slowly starved to death. These men were supposed to be our protectors.”
“Well, people disappoint us all the time.” I picked up a fork and pulled my plate in front of me. “Anything that could help us?”
Paul offered a helpless, one shoulder shrug. “They never really talked much around me. I supposed that was something to let me think they weren’t going to bury me alive in the backyard. Whenever they took me places, I was always—wait a minute.”
“What?”
“I remember listening at the door after the surgery,” Paul said, slowly. “They were talking about offshore bank accounts. They were afraid of the money being discovered so one of them was suggesting moving it around.”
“Off-shore accounts…” Dropping my fork, I grabbed the laptop from the living room and called Tex on video chat.
“Jesse?” Tex asked, squinting to look at the screen. “Um—what’s going on? You okay? Do you want me to get someone to you?”
“I’m okay.” I told him. “This is my brother, Paul.”
Paul waved at hi.
Tex merely offered a tip of his chin in greeting.
“Listen.” I was busy typing away. “Paul told me that Striker and the others were talking about off-shore bank accounts. They say you’re the best…”
“A challenge, Jesse Ackert?”
I groaned. Being called Ackert was beginning to hurt my very soul. “I get the feeling challenging you is a bad idea.”
“But you’re going to do it anyways because you like living on the edge.” Tex wiggled his brows suggestively.
I smirked. “Something like that.”
Tex laughed. “I’ll start digging. It will take some time.”
“Also, can I ask a favor?”
“Sure.” Tex replied. “What’s up?”
