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Chapter Six
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“No one has seen them? That’s impossible. Myla is young, and they might be able to get her to go with them quietly, but Ziva? She’d have gone down kicking and screaming.” She might be tiny, but damn she’s no pushover.
“I agree with you. That leaves only one scenario,” Bennett said.
“Which is?”
“Ziva took Myla.”
Alex wouldn’t lie. That had crossed his mind, but only briefly. Ziva never would’ve risked Myla’s life like that. “That doesn’t make any sense. Ziva knows if Myla is caught running away, she could be put to death. Why would she take her?”
“Simple. Ziva is trying to protect Myla from you.”
Me? Oh, God.“She thinks I really—”
“I’d say so, since they’re both gone. Now, all we need to do is find out where Ziva would feel safe enough that she’d take Myla. Everything I found out about her so far says she’s a gentle, caring soul.”
You weren’t out on our date. She talked about prisons and death sentences. Or maybe she just saves that kind of talk for me. The me she believes deserves it.“Did you find out where she lives?”
“Yes, and she’s not there. I even found her family home. No one has been there in years.”
“Any friends or family?” There had to be someone who knew more about her than he did.
“She keeps to herself when she’s not working. I can guarantee she didn’t take Myla to the police station. That department is so deep in this mess; she’d have been a fool to go there.”
That puzzled Alex. Why work there if they’re so bad? Ziva became more complex as each moment passed. She was charming and beautiful, so being alone had to be a choice. Lack of friends also a choice. Working for the lion’s den is what threw him. Surely there were other options for employment.
“Bennett, what exactly did she have access to at the police department?”
“Records.”
That gave her the perfect place to gather information on what was happening. And how she’d known I was here. It would explain why she followed me from the airport. She knew who I was from the beginning.
“Are you sure she’s not something more for them?”
“Like what?”
“A detective.”
Bennett laughed. “From what you told me about her, she’s no detective or spy.”
“I may have been wrong. Thinking back, I might’ve been a bit distracted to have noticed a few things.”
“Great. We’re here in a hostile country with our lives on the line, and you’re too busy to notice if the person in the next room is friend or foe?”
Alex could hear the anger in Bennett’s voice, but it didn’t bother him. There were bigger things on his mind. I need to know they’re both safe.
“Bennett, you do a hell of a lot of bragging, so it’s time to deliver. I want to know where they are within the next twelve hours.”
Bennett laughed. “I don’t remember being on your payroll. You’ll have your answers. I’m just not sure you’ll like them.”
The call disconnected. Alex knew he’d pushed Bennett’s buttons. He needed to remind himself he wasn’t some hired guy. Bennett was going to be his brother-in-law, the father of his soon-to-be nephew or niece. For as much as he pushed, he had to ensure Bennett made it back to Boston, back to Zoey, safe and sound. He’s not any more expendable than Ziva or Myla. Not in Zoey’s eyes, and I can’t forget that.
Bennett could handle himself in any situation. If things became too hot, he’d bypass Alex in a heartbeat and call for backup. That knowledge should piss him off, yet Alex knew it wasn’t just his own ass he was protecting if Bennett made such a call.
The room phone rang. Alex was tempted to ignore it but doing so might bring a knock on the door instead.
