“Why don’t you ask him yourself at the end of next week?” Caspian said.
“Next week?”
“We’re all meeting at my parent’s place to celebrate my mom’s birthday, remember?”
“Of course,” Liesel said quickly, though it was obvious that, with everything going on, it had slipped her mind. “But why don’t you tell me now?”
“Hearts United financed Nelson’s new project in Kenya,” Caspian said. “Entirely.”
“Doesn’t mean he isn’t crooked,” Liesel said.
“Right. But I think you need to—”
“What?” she snapped back. “What do you think I need to do? Say it.”
Caspian paused, aware that he had to choose his next words carefully. But there was no point in sugarcoating them too much either.
“I think it’s possible the Sofie we saw tonight wasn’t the same woman you once knew. She let you believe she was dead, for God’s sake. Who does that to her sister?”
Liesel blinked at him. “What are you saying?”
“She disappeared for years, only to resurface in Kenya. She admitted to us she took out one of Dolores Araujo’s bodyguards.”
“Yes. To protect me!”
“I don’t disagree,” Caspian said gently. “There’s no doubt in my mind Sofie loved you very much. What I’m saying is that logistics officers aren’t trained to take out bodyguards. And there’s the fact that Sofie had access to intel about you very, very few people had.”
Though there wasn’t much light in the room, Caspian could see that Liesel’s eyes were brimming with tears.
“I know,” she whispered. “I ... I just don’t know what to think anymore. I feel ... lost ... betrayed. And so damn stupid.”
Caspian crossed the room, sat next to her, and wrapped his arms around her. For a beat, she resisted, but then she melted into him, clutching his shirt.
“So, what now?” she asked moments later, her voice muffled against his chest.
“Now? Now we sleep. We’re safe here. At least for tonight.”
Liesel took a long breath, then said, “I need a hot shower first.”
Caspian watched her walk toward the bathroom. Once she had closed the door behind her, he returned to the window. He scanned the parked cars, looking for anything remotely suspicious, but none of them had moved since he’d arrived.
His phone chirped. It was Ranger.
“How’s Liesel?” she asked.
“Holding together,” Caspian said. “She’ll be fine.”
“We think we found the Azimut,” Ranger said.
Caspian cocked his head to one side, his curiosity piqued. “Where?”
“Anchored about a nautical mile south of Cabrera Island.”
Cabrera was a small rugged island that was part of a national park roughly twenty-five miles south of Palma. It was known for its steep cliffs and crystal-clear coves. The island was largely undeveloped and uninhabited, which made it the perfect spot to lie low or stash someone you didn’t want found. But it was a popular boating destination, so the Azimut wouldn’t have gone unnoticed forever, but it had likely bought whoever was on board some time to deal with Hobb.
“Do you want us to go check it out?” Caspian asked.
“It’s not that I don’t want you to, but I can’t get you transportation until morning. Every charter operation in Mallorca is closed.”
