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He was still pissed at himself for the royal fuckup, though. He didn’t know how he was going to explain it to his handler. That was going to be an awkward call he could live without making.
They anchored the boat and hurried back to the Fairmont. Daniel continued to stew, and Edward was grateful for the quiet so he could think.
Getting into the agent’s room was easy with the keycard. It looked like Kevin Jones had been taken against his will while unpacking. Clothes were strewn over the bed, a lamp lay on its side, and the suitcase on the floor was overturned, spilling its contents all over the carpet. Daniel stood back, leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his chest, watching as Edward quickly and carefully sifted through everything he found. There were no weapons in the room, but he assumed the man had one on him when he was taken. There was also no damn laptop. No paperwork. He wanted to close this fucking assignment and start forgetting about ever meeting Daniel Hendricks.
On the table closest to the sliding glass door that opened to the balcony, he found the only thing of true interest in the entire room—a hastily written note.
Ohla Barcelona
6.6
18:45
That was three days from now. And he knew the Ohla. It was a swanky, modern hotel in the Gothic District of Barcelona. It was likely the scheduled meeting was to take place in one of the restaurants there.
It was a damn good lead. Strange for a trained agent to leave such a thing out in the open, but Edward guessed he’d been taken right after writing the note. Luckily his captors failed to notice it.
Turning back to Daniel, he pointed at the man. “Stay here.”
Daniel glared at him but didn’t move from his spot against the wall, while Edward stepped out onto the balcony where he could keep an eye on Daniel while he made the dreaded call.
Large ferns took up half the space, and he pushed one of the annoying long leaves aside as he stared into the room at Daniel. The blue sky and beautiful stretch of beach seemed to be mocking him now. The place had been a dream just twenty-four hours earlier. He knew he’d never be able to step foot in Bermuda again without seeing leaf-green eyes and a sweet smile.
His handler, James, answered on the second ring. “I hope you’ve got good intel.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to snap back that he could have done with some much better intel to start this damn assignment, but he kept it to himself.
“Saudis took us off the boat. They’re dead and so is the rogue agent. The man I found here yesterday was not the right one.”
James was silent for a beat and Edward held his breath. “What the fuck! How the hell did you make a mistake like that?”
“You wouldn’t believe how much they look alike.” Scrubbing one hand across his face, he filled him in on what had happened. “Now I have this guy who could be the agent’s doppelganger and a note for a meeting in Barcelona in three days.”
There was silence on the other end of the line for several long moments; then James sighed. Never a good sign. “We’ll use the wrong guy.”
Edward’s blood ran cold. “Have you lost your fucking mind? This is just an innocent civilian! He’s only caught up in this because he looks like the wrong damn person.”
“You say he looks identical to our guy?”
Edward paced away from the door to the edge of the balcony railing, fighting his way through palm leaves. He turned back quickly, half expecting to find Daniel gone, but the man was still there glaring at him. “Exactly like him. It was uncanny.”
“Then we’ll use him. Tell him to do it for his country.”
“You don’t know anything about this guy, and you want me to what? Cart him off to Barcelona?”
“We can’t miss this meeting. It’s the best lead we have. Yes, that’s exactly what I want you to do. What’s his name? I’ll work on checking his background now.”
“Daniel Hendricks. He says he’s an accountant from Cincinnati. Works for a company called Ward Security. You can use the shit picture you gave me as his physical description.”
“Give me a moment, this shouldn’t be too hard.”
Edward watched Daniel through the window as he paced on the balcony. The man stood stiff and silent in the room, still obviously furious. Edward couldn’t believe his boss wanted to use an unknown.
“Well, lookee here,” James muttered half under his breath. “Your accountant isn’t just an accountant. He used to work for the FBI.”
“Are you shitting me?” Nothing, absolutely nothing about how Daniel had handled that situation screamed trained agent.
“I’m not. He’s got dual degrees in accounting and criminal justice. He was a forensic accountant for them, but his background check is impeccable. He’s perfect for what we need.”
