Game of Dust and Ashes (Book Two in the Covert Operations series)

Five

So, I perched myself in a sand dune and waited for one of the boys to look over. It didn't take long. When he did, I sent him a flirtatious smile and a tiny wave. Not a minute later, he was tapping the guy next to him on the shoulder and nodding my way. It took a few minutes for the news of a pretty girl watching the boys play football to reach my brother but when it did Wes looked over with interest.

I saw the moment his expression went from confusion to relief. He tensed like he was going to run over to see me but I shook my head tightly and got up from my seat. I left the beach, heading up to a secluded bench a little way's away from my brother's friends. I didn't want anyone overhearing or witnessing in any way our pending conversation.

Three and a half minutes after I'd walked away, a heavy body thumped down next to me. Wes's expression was a mixture of alarm and happiness. He stared at me for a long moment, azure eyes bright with unshed tears, and then released a tense breath. I could see he wanted to reach out and touch me, as if to make sure I was really there, but neither of us wanted to risk bringing attention to ourselves, even by random passersby. Even so, Wes moved his leg so that it was directly against mine and I released a deep sigh of contentment. This was where I belonged. Home, with my family.

"You're home," he said. His voice only slightly wavered. "Does that mean—?"

"It's not permanent," I said quickly and both of us heard the disappointment in my voice. I loved my job at the GCCO, but I missed my brother. I hadn't realized how big of a void he'd left in my life since I'd willingly left him behind a second time. "But something happened and it was too important for me not to come. Lia and Max are here too. They're talking with Malcolm and Grace."

Wes swallowed thickly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. But I'm not here about me. I'm here about Daniel."

"Daniel? What about Daniel?" Even though it had been well over four years, the pain was still clear in his voice.

I took the photos from my pocket and slid them across the bench towards Wes. I waited until he'd picked them up and started to thumb through them to say, "Those were taken in Manhattan three days ago."

Wes stared down at the photographs of Daniel in dumbfounded shock. "How?"

"We're still working on that part."

"Daniel's alive," he breathed. "I can't believe it. It's been so long."

"Too long," I agreed. "There are still a lot of things we don't know but I thought that you needed to know the truth. Daniel's alive and we're going to do everything we can to bring him home."

Wes ripped his eyes away from the photographs and stared at me with his azure blue eyes that I'd missed so much. "I want to know everything."

I nodded. "And I'll tell you everything but first why don't we take this conversation somewhere more private? Once we get back to your house I'll tell you everything that I know."

Nimbly, I rose to my feet and started walking back in the direction from which I'd come. Wes waited a few moments and then started to follow, keeping a careful, measured distance between us. He even went back to the beach for a bit, saying goodbye to his friends and giving me time to get well ahead of him. I'd trained my brother well. If anyone had been tailing me, they would have assumed the obvious, a young woman to stop and flirt with a cute guy. No one would even have known we were related unless they had direct access to my past history.

There were no tails that I could pinpoint but in my field of work it was better to be overcautious. The alternative was death.

When I walked into Grace and Malcolm's home, I could hear muffled crying coming from the kitchen. I found the Ortiz's, Lia, and Max there, gathered about the kitchen table. Lia and Max looked up as I entered the room but Grace and Malcolm didn't lift their eyes from the photographs laid out in front of them.