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“Only that they would move her further from our reach.”
“She will not let them take her out of the game. Her value is greatest behind the computer. Everything else is a distraction. We shall drive her back to her real work.”
“Yes, sir.”
Bakr set the phone aside as the aircraft rolled to a stop. As the stairs were lowered, he draped his heavy wool coat over his arm. The cool day was balmy compared to the snow he’d left in New York.
He might come to enjoy the south, if he could find a place free of the general population. Space, solitude, and control were highest on his personal agenda. Of course, once the queen restored the money and information his nephew had stolen, he could safely live anywhere.
He realized with no small shock he would miss the queen when the game was over. His mind immediately started reviewing other entertaining options as the rental car pulled to a stop.
It might be fun to sell off Morcos Construction in small, liquidation-priced chunks. He turned the idea around, assessing the pros and cons, but just the thought of the potential uproar put a small smile on his face.
With a bit of creative accounting, he could bankrupt them while maintaining control of the major financial and intellectual assets.
A few months of living on a depleted income would bring his family begging him for his ideas and assistance.
First, the queen. There would be plenty of time to plan the next game.
Chapter 16
Evadidn’tthinkshe’dmet a better man—on either a professional or personal level—than Carson Morris. She wasn’t sure how he managed to know just what to do or say to make her feel better, but she was grateful that he kept doing it.
She wasn’t used to feeling fragile. Despite doing most of her work in a room with more computers and gadgets than people, she’d always felt like an integral part of a strong team. Bakr’s tactics were working; distracting her with worrisome stunts and isolating her.
It was a game. She didn’t have to like it; she just had to find a way to win it.
“Any sign of the sedan?”
“They’re probably already at the range.”
“Because you cleared this with Ross,” she said, remembering.
“He scares me,” he said with a theatrical shudder. “No way I’d run off with his prized tech guru without giving him a head’s up.”
“Right.” She took a long, deep breath, pushing aside the details stashed on the flash drive. Nothing she could do about it now and as enlightening as it had been, it hadn’t unlocked anything new about that night.
When would she remember what Bakr thought she knew? What Abe needed her to know?
Without that memory, and without Bakr in custody, they couldn’t use information on the flash drive to take him down. When she got back to the FBI set up, she’d enlist their resources and see what they might do together to get her brain to cooperate and resolve this damned situation.
“You’re okay to shoot?”
She rubbed her shoulder. “As long as we’re not firing an AT-4.”
His lips twitched. “Deal. I only brought the revolver and my department-issue nine-millimeter.”
“Sounds like plenty.”
“You’re okay between the ears?”
“That’s fine too,” she said, tapping her temple.
It became apparent as they checked in that Carson was a regular here. She gave herself a mental shake. He was a sheriff’sdeputy.Of course he’d be a regular at the local firing range. When they were directed to a lane outside, the bite of winter air and tang of spent ammunition cleared away her mental cobwebs. She hadn’t done any qualifications outdoors since leaving the Army. Already she felt better, more centered, by the physical focus required to do things right here.
With the ear protection looped around her neck and eye protection propped on her head, she loaded the cylinder and flipped it back into the gun with a grin. “Revolvers are the best,” she said as he checked his clip.
“For six rounds.”
