Page 93 of Everything We Found

James was already approaching as she got out, as were the two suits who’d been parked in the car behind him. FBI, she guessed. When he reached her, he towered over her. He’d always been tall, taller than Thomas since he shot past him in high school. But his frame was leaner than what she remembered compared to his brother, especially now that Thomas had been taking care of himself. A short beard covered his jawline and, she suspected, more scars. But the tropical print shirt with green palms against a black background and the loose linen pants he wore threw her off.

“Not the look I’m used to seeing on you,” she said, tossing a version of his words back at him. The corporate executive of the past was gone.

His mouth twitched but didn’t curve into a smile. “Been a long time, Nadia.”

“Too long.” She offered her hand to shake but he tugged her into a hug. The nostalgic scent of him made her chest tighten with years of accumulated guilt.

“Wish it was under better circumstances,” he said close to her ear.

“Same.” She broke the embrace quickly, uncomfortable with the false familiarity between them. They weren’t friends, not anymore. Not after everything. Her eyes tracked the man and woman who had joined them. “Who are they?”

James turned to the two agents. “These are Special Agents Simone Carter and Dan Kovacs. They’re with the FBI.” Hegestured at her. “This is Nadia. She’s looking for my brother, so she’ll be riding with me.”

“Already told you. Not keen on that, James,” said Simone, a woman about Nadia’s size with light brown hair and a small scar above her right eyebrow. She extended her hand nonetheless. “Nice to meet you, Nadia.”

“Dan,” the broad-shouldered man with a swimmer’s build introduced himself, shaking her hand firmly.

“Nadia.” She met his eyes directly. “Why aren’t you keen on me riding along?”

“Instructions explicitly stated ‘come alone,’” Dan replied, his tone making it clear he didn’t appreciate the civilian tagalong.

“You already said we’re not being followed, which is why you’re here right now,” James countered. He turned to Nadia. “Otherwise, they’d be tracking me from a distance with the rest of the circus.”

“Who’s all involved?” she asked, looking between the agents and James.

“Enough, and we’re all trained professionals,” Simone said. “You have no need to worry.”

“DEA surveillance teams are keeping a wider perimeter around us and the NSA is tracking our progress through satellite imagery and traffic cams,” James clarified when Simone’s answer told Nadia nothing useful. “She’s involved. She needs to know what you told me,” he defended when Dan glared at him, clearly of the opinion James had said too much.

Some of the tightness around Nadia’s lungs eased. If James was right about them heading to the same location as Thomas, they had considerable resources backing them up. Thomas should have been working with the FBI and DEA instead of charging into danger alone. But Kane had destroyed his trust in the feds, possibly beyond repair.

“We should get on the road,” Dan said with an impatient edge in his tone. “We have a long drive tonight, and you don’t want to fall behind their schedule or they’ll be suspicious.”

“Where are we going?” Nadia asked.

“We received updated coordinates right before you arrived,” James said.

“Wait—they changed the coordinates?” A cold weight settled in her stomach.

“So far they’ve sent new coordinates every time he texts he’s arrived at a given destination,” Simone explained. “He makes it to one, they send him somewhere else.”

Nadia thanked whatever providence had Nick reach James when he did. The timing couldn’t have been better for her to meet up with him. She never would have found Thomas on her own.

“Where are they sending you now?”

“Phoenix,” James answered.

“Arizona? That’s a good ten hours from here.”

“Twelve,” Simone corrected.

“We aren’t flying? Why?” The idea of spending twelve hours in a car while Thomas faced God knows what made her want to scream.

“I was instructed to drive this leg,” James explained.

Nadia cupped her hands over her mouth and nose, trying to control her rising panic. So much could happen to Thomas in that time. He could be tortured. Killed. The weight in her stomach was bruising. It flipped violently at the thought.

James seemed to understand her fears. His eyes—so much like Thomas’s that it physically hurt to look at them—softened with sympathy. “We’ll find him.”