Page 66 of Gwen's Delta
“There are two bedrooms. I’ll be staying with you, but we’ll rotate guard duty until this is over. I put your bag in the first one. There’s food and drinks in the refrigerator. You should be safe as long as you stay inside. Okay?”
“Yes. I got it. No going outside unless you say so.” Gwen turned around in his arms and looked up at him. Since they’d left Killeen, the lines in his face seemed a little deeper, and his eyes no longer smiled.
“Pretty much. I need to keep you safe. Do you need anything?”
“Water and the computer. Ever since you’d mentioned they’d probably email with the next steps, I’ve been worried. What if they sent one before we left, and I didn’t see it?”
“We’re setting up in the dining room now. You’ll be able to check in a few minutes. But remember, they don’t expect you to be here yet.”
“True, thank you. I mean it, Luke. Thank you for everything.”
His smile shouldn’t have sent shivers of desire down her spine, but it did. Then his kiss stole her breath away.
“We’re ready,” Zip said from somewhere behind them, and Gwen jumped.
“Easy, princess.”
“Sorry,” she said with a rueful smile. They were all so damn stealthy.
“Roe sent an update,” Woof said when they entered the dining room.
They’d set the table up like some kind of command center. There were five laptops and some other equipment she didn’t recognize. Then, she noticed the trunk placed against the wall. The lid was open, and it was full of weapons. No wonder she didn’t see any on the plane.
“Do you get crates of firearms in all your safe houses?”
“What?” Luke asked, then followed her gaze. “Sure, it’s part of the vacation package, ma’am.”
“That’s one perk I’ve never gotten,” she teased, trying not to let the sight of the weapons freak her out. There were more than she would expect for five men to need.
“I sure hope not,” Zip said with a smile.
“You can use this laptop while we’re here. This is the password.” Luke handed her a piece of paper with a sixteen-digit combination of letters, numbers, and special characters. They weren’t messing around with security, that’s for sure.
“Do I have to memorize this?”
“No, you don’t. But I bet you could if you needed to.”
She appreciated the vote of confidence, but she wasn’t sure. As she typed the password, her hands trembled, forcing her to start over more than once. Finally, she got the computer unlocked and typed in her email. It took longer to update than usual, but it was probably all the levels of security in the laptop.
After what felt like an hour but was probably less than five minutes, Gwen’s email loaded. And just as Luke predicted, there was a message from the same address as the proof of life. The time stamp was only from about an hour ago. Maybe they already knew she was in Cairo.
“They emailed me.” Gwen’s voice sounded wobbly. The team gathered around her. But it was Luke’s firm hand on her shoulder that gave her the strength to open it.
It is good you arrived before your deadline. Be at the Tamara Café, Abd El-Khalik Tharwat at 9 am. Place the bag under the table closest to the kitchen. Come alone. We’ll be watching. If you follow these instructions, we will return your parents to you unharmed. If you don’t do exactly as we say, the only way you’ll see them again is in pieces.
Thank God she was sitting down. As her mind absorbed the words, she trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes. Who were they? How could they do this to innocent people? The only reason her parents were in Egypt was to buy pieces of art to share with the world. They didn’t deserve this. No one did.
“You were right; they were watching the airport,” Woof commented.
“It’s what I would have done in their place. I’d hoped for more time,” Luke responded.
“I have to go alone. You saw their instructions,” Gwen murmured more to herself than anyone else.
“No, you’re not going alone. But it will look like you are. They’ll never know we’re there unless we want them to.”
“But if they…” Gwen shuddered at the possibilities.
“They won’t. Trust me, this is what we do. We’re ghosts.”
