“No, Dad,” she said. “I don’t need backup. Just don’t call Garrett Sterling again, or anyone else in the State Department.”
Chapter 4
When Cate ended the call with her father, her face had paled, and her hands shook.
Draco gathered her hands in his. “What did he say?”
Cate slipped one hand free and started down the stairs again, moving quickly. “He called Garrett Sterling to tell him I was okay and in Zurich.”
Draco hurried to keep up. “And he is?”
“My father’s old friend who works at the State Department.”
“So?”
Cate stopped on a stair and turned back to look at him. “Marcus Calloway worked in logistics for the State Department. He’s not the top dog of anything. He had to have sign-off from someone higher up. Until we know who that someone was, I’d rather no one in the State Department, barring my father, know where I am.”
“Good point,” Draco said. “You think Garrett Sterling will be a problem?”
“He’s been my father’s friend for fifteen years. I’d like to think he’s not an issue, but loose tongues and all that...”
Draco’s gut tightened. Marcus Calloway had worked in the State Department before he’d disappeared. They had no idea how deep the corruption went. It could have only been Marcus, but Draco doubted that. Until they knew more, they needed to fly under the radar of the State Department.
As they reached the exit, Draco moved ahead and stepped out of Hotel Bieri. When he was satisfied no one was lurking, ready to attack, he moved aside and allowed Cate to join him on the sidewalk. He didn’t want a repeat of the night before when the taxi driver had taken off with Cate, and he’d been unable to do anything about it. The fact that someone had found Cate’s room so quickly and attacked her added to his wariness and anger that he hadn’t seen it coming.
Now, with word spreading back in the States, where Cate’s investigation had begun, the danger could increase exponentially.
“You’re doing that thing again.” Cate glanced at Draco as she walked alongside him.
He pulled his thoughts back to focus on her words. “What thing?”
“You got quiet,” Cate said. “You do that when you’re chewing on something.”
He frowned. “Just thinking.”
“Care to share?”
He didn’t want to burden her with his worries when she had her own.
“Rule Two,” she reminded him. “No lying, even by omission. Spit it out?”
“I’m not omitting, just thinking,” he said, his frown deepening. “Like you, I don’t like that Sterling knows you’re in Zurich or that he asked about your investigation.”
“I don’t like that my father told him I was here, but my father didn’t know it might be a problem.”
“He wouldn’t knowingly put you in danger,” Draco said. “He loves you very much. That’s why he placed that call. He was happy and wanted to let his friend know you were safe.
“Your father has proven he’ll do anything to keep you safe... and happy.” His lips twitched as he thought back over his and Devon Marsh’s private conversation at the restaurant. The man didn’t want his daughter hurt. Physically or emotionally. “That’s the beauty and the problem with people who love you. They can be a liability without realizing it.”
Cate shot a glance toward him. “Observation or warning?”
“Maybe both.”
They crossed a bridge over the river, moving from the medieval charm of the old town into the sleek modernity of Bahnhofstrasse. Trolleys rumbled past on rails. Shops didn’t sell strudel, knickknacks and magnets. Instead, they sold expensive watches, designer clothing, perfume, and purses that cost more than Draco’s truck back in Texas. The people weren’t tourists eager to experience the history, but businessmen and women hurrying to work or their next meeting, wearing suits and expensive shoes.
Cate stared at the sidewalk ahead, her brow furrowed. “It might not matter that my father shared that information. Considering?—”
“—someone obviously already knows you’re here.” Draco nodded and then shook his head. “I was thinking that as well.”
