Page 72 of Dead Drift

“Hey.” She cupped his face. “It’s going to be hard—I know that—but I really believe God will help you—help us—triumph.”

He did too, but at what cost?

29

Rowing back in the rising sunlight across the still morning bay, Luke longed for nothing more than to stay at the lighthouse forever with Kate. It could be their shelter from the world, their secret hideaway.

He might have to talk with Chris and see if she’d be willing to sell. He could easily handle living there, though he would require a quicker getaway vehicle than a rowboat, just in case . . .

Just in case . . .

He shook his head. It was ingrained into him. He was going to live the rest of his life this way—always watching his back, always alert for danger, even after Ebeid was stopped. But at least he’d be doing it at Katie’s side.

“Hey,” he said as they tied the boat back up to the pier. “I’ve got a brilliant idea.”

She smirked. “Brilliant, huh?”

“After I leave the Agency, I still want to work in law enforcement of some kind, so I was thinking . . . what if I came and worked with you?” Anticipation and a tad of trepidation streaked through him as he awaited her response.

“I’d love that, but do you really think you’ll feel fulfilled doing PI work after . . . ?” She gestured at him.

“I’d pretend to not know what that means, but I got ya.” He was highly trained. “But being at your side and doing what God’s called me to do—which is striving to see justice done, through whatever method or place that may be—is all the fulfillment I need.”

She laughed as he tossed their duffel in the trunk. “Well, you would definitely bring a new skill set to the office.”

Luke considered where they’d end up tonight—though, looking back at the water and the lighthouse it hid, he was seriously considering staying there again tonight. It was obviously off Ebeid’s and, it appeared, Lauren’s radar. And it was full of the best memories he’d made in years, thanks to Katie. He glanced at the ring, his ring on her finger, and smiled.

She caught his gaze and smiled back. “Where are we off to now?” she asked as they climbed into her car and he started the engine.

“Your office.”

She frowned. “Not Declan’s office?”

“I need to dig up some information on Ebeid, and that’s going to require your particular set of skills.”

“Hacking?”

“Exactly.” He winked, anxious to see her in her element. She’d been good with the computer back in college, but from how all the guys talked, she had garnered mad skills during his years away, and he couldn’t wait to see her in action.

He also needed to set up a meeting with Malcolm, needed to let him know that Lauren had gone off reservation. Malcolm had brought her in, but no way he’d ordered her to kill them. Even he wouldn’t go that far.

An hour later, Luke checked in with Declan to update him about what they were doing. Declan agreed that Katie’s work was best accomplished from CCI.

Declan and the team were combing through all the evidence recovered from the warehouse, searching for a clue as to where Bedan may have relocated. If Ebeid hadn’t had a backup location set up, they’d just gained a day or two while he configured and equipped one, but knowing the man he’d been tracking for nigh on a decade, he’d bet his life Ebeid had planned for all contingencies.

The clock was rapidly ticking down, and the threat was higher than ever.

“So what am I looking for?” Kate asked.

“Anyone close to Ebeid who was killed.”

“By . . . ?”

“Anyone related to the U.S. via a raid, bombing, accident, hit . . .”

“Okay, and by anyone close you mean . . . ?”

“A lover.”