Levi was pacing the hotel room until his leg hurt. He’d take a short break then start again.

  They had agreed to no phone calls. Tom would come and visit every other day and they would share info. Today was the day that Tom was set to come. Levi had been ready to call him yesterday, but had stopped himself.

  The information on the cave was vague, he knew. But it meant something, he could feel it.

  Tom entered the room. Mae ran into the common area and skidded to a halt. Tom looked between them.

  “She told you.”

  “You knew?” Levi fought the urge to be upset.

  “I knew she worked for the NSA but I couldn’t tell you because you were on the run. Distraction kills, remember? And, no phone. But you look like you need to tell me something else. So, who wants to share the news?”

  Mae started. She explained her involvement with OPAL and why she’d been following Levi. After she finished, Levi jumped in.

  “We think that Max hid the plans in a cave.”

  “Could you be more vague? There are well over 40,000 caves in the United States and there are over 10,000 in Tennessee alone.”

  Levi scratched his head. How did Tom just know that fact? Never mind, they needed to figure out the caves that Max knew. “Well, I thought you could look up where Walter Gram lived and cross reference it with nearby caves.”

  “Ah, yes, the real Max Cooper. I guess it is worth a shot.”

  Levi was itching to get to a computer or a telephone. He could do grunt work, but Tom was right that any digital signature might give them away.

  Tom had brought them more clothes and several bags of groceries. “I thought you might need a refresh of supplies.”

  “Thank you.” Mae grabbed an apple from the bag and immediately bit into it. Juice ran from it along the corner of her mouth. She snagged it with her tongue.

  Levi was having a hard time looking away.

  Tom cleared his throat, and Levi forced his attention back to him. “If you’re comfortable, I believe you should stay here until this is resolved.”

  Levi was too comfortable. At the moment, that was becoming his biggest problem.

  Mae groaned. “I don’t know how much longer I can be cooped up in here. Besides, the NSA and the FBI are probably looking for me.”

  “Oh, they are. Word from the soldiers group, we have an ex-law enforcement officer, is that all kinds of feelers have been sent privately about your whereabouts. They believe Levi here has kidnapped you or harmed you.”

  “Well, that’s great!” Levi threw up his hands. “What if one of the staff reports me, us? They’ve seen us walk in. And the one who delivers the food has seen us for sure.”

  “The staff has been informed, so you don’t have to worry.”

  Levi was worried anyway. If the staff got wind they were on the run, then one of them might try to sell them out to someone in the international group of assassins, as he was going to call them. It was just a matter of time before this room, the hotel, was no longer a safe option.

  They needed a viable strategy and soon.

  ****

  Ivan met the young man in the garage of the hotel. “You’re sure it is them?”

  “Yes, sir. They came in a few days ago wearing clothing that looked like it came from a recycle bin. The staff was told not to look at them or to speak to them.” The young man in hotel attire paused. When he spoke again his voice was lower. “Are they dangerous?”

  Ivan patted the young man’s shoulder. “You do not need to worry about that. We will take care of them.”

  “Wh-what about my money?”

  “Oh, yes, the money.” Ivan handed over a wad of bills. He’d thought of killing the young man. He could identify him later. But he’d decided not to. The boy’s mother had been Russian. He could detect a slight accent in the boy’s speech. Ivan had a different plan instead. “I have a proposition for you. After this is over, why don’t you come and work for me?”

  “I-I would like that.” The boy was flipping through the wad of cash, his eyes growing in size.

  Ivan slapped him on the back. “Good. You text me if anything changes. If they leave and don’t come back, and so on. I will do the rest.”

  The boy nodded as he walked toward the back door of the garage.

  He’d given Ivan the number of the room and the information that there were no guards present. The couple was trapped on the seventh floor. He would be able to sneak in and take the man or he could take them both if need be. He’d considered killing the lady, but he might need her for leverage. All he was being paid to get was the information on a device named OPAL. He wasn’t being paid for disappearing them, so he wouldn’t.

  But his crew did need a plan. Ivan didn’t do anything without a plan. The people he hired in the beginning didn’t seem to understand this and at least one plummeted to his death. Sad, really. Now he needed more people.

  He had an idea where to look, but he needed to be quick before the couple decided to leave the hotel. He didn’t have time to track them down again.

  Money for success, death for no success.

  He didn’t have many options.

  His confidence grew. It was almost over. This would be his last job then he was going home to his family. He would have enough to start the life he’d always dreamed of.

  Very soon he was going home.

  ****

  Mae ordered food while the men chatted about places the cave might be located. They made several calls to friends on Tom’s phone. When the food arrived, Mae answered the door. The young friendly waiter kept his head bowed and didn’t look in her direction.

  She thanked him, and he just nodded. He didn’t seem as nice as normal. The sense that something was wrong was sending chills up her spine.

  “Oh, is that the food? I’m starving.” Levi was always hungry so this was not news.

  “Did the waiter seem off to you?”

  “How so?” Levi crammed a roll into his mouth.

  “I don’t know, just, well he didn’t seem like himself.”

  “Maybe he has a cold.”

  Tom answered his phone. A frown crossed his face. When he hung up, he didn’t appear happy. “That young waiter just met someone in the garage. He was given a large sum of money.”

  “Oh.” Levi stopped eating.

  “He sold us out.” Mae said the words and looked at the door, shocked.

  “So it would seem. We need to get you guys out of here secretly. Maybe we can put someone in your place so he won’t know that you’ve moved. If guilt is keeping him from looking directly at you it should be easy enough to fool him with some agents.”

  “Are you suggesting that we tell the NSA and FBI what we know?” Levi blinked rapidly. He didn’t seem pleased with the idea.

  Mae didn’t know what to think.

  “I am. I’m going to reach out to a contact I have and let them know the situation so they can bring you two in and protect you. Now that we know what it is about and we can help them—”

  Mae’s voice rose. “No! You can’t. They want the weapon so they can use it. Max Cooper didn’t want that. He hid it so that Levi could destroy it. We need to follow his wishes. The weapon is too dangerous in the wrong hands. Point in fact that people are trying to kill Levi just because he may have information about the weapon.”

  Tom sighed. “Then what are we going to do? Without help you two are sitting ducks.”

  Mae drew in a deep breath. “I might have an idea.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  The instant Mae said she had an idea, Levi got nervous. She wasn’t good at fetching water, walking across rickety bridges, eating out of cans, or a thousand other little things. Planning may not be the best idea for her either. But he kept his mouth shut.

  “I think we can find the plans ourselves.”

  “We can?” Tom and Levi said the words at the same time.

  “Of course we can. I’m a computer analyst for the NSA, remember? I just need a secure network to work from.” She looked between the two of them expectantly, like Levi knew of a computer network she could use.

  “Starbucks?”

  “Be serious.”

  “The library?” He really had no clue.

  She rolled her eyes. “I was thinking more like a police station.”

  “Do we have any current police members in the group?” Levi looked to Tom for answers. He’d been a member longer than Levi.

  “We do, but I really don’t want you two walking into a police station. Levi shot a man in the park, remember? There has been footage on the television about that. Although he was exonerated with the local police, the public probably doesn’t remember that part.” He paused. “What about Heath? The officer from Amethyst Cove who is good friends with Leah’s family. He might be able to help us.”

  Mae clapped her hands together. “Okay, Tom, you contact Heath and ask him if we can come down to the police station and use a computer. I’m going to sit down and try to devise a code that might get me into the NSA without them knowing that I’m in.”

  “You’re going to hack the NSA from a police station?” Tom’s eyes widened until they couldn’t go any farther.

  “Well if you have another idea, I’m open to it. But the only information that I have on Walter is on my computer at the NSA. If I can access my own information, then I might be able to reason the cave that he had in mind.”

  Levi didn’t like the dangerous nature of this plan. And even though only two days had passed he’d completely forgotten about shooting Suit Jacket Man.

  He massaged his temples. There had to be something in his head about Max and what he liked. Think, Levi, think.

  He lifted his head and blurted, “What about Wichita, Kansas?”

  “What about it?” Mae looked confused.

  “Leah dug up some information on Max that said all his effects were sent to a group home in Wichita, Kansas.”

  Tom looked at his phone. “There are caves nearby.”

  “But those are commercially toured. He couldn’t have hidden plans in a place where it was easy for others to find and see.”

  Levi knew she was right. Max was obviously smarter than that. He began to pace. “Hypothetically, when you find one cave aren’t their often others nearby.”

  “Well, yes.”

  “Isn’t it possible, that he found a smaller cave or even a larger cave near one of the commercial caves and hid his plans there?” Levi thought he’d had stroke of genius, but Tom and Mae seemed to feel differently.

  “I think it is more likely that he buried it in a cave next to his home. Why would he travel all the way to Kansas to bury the plans and then join the military?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe because there was someone there that he cared about.” Levi thought it was at least worth a try. No, he wasn’t as smart as Mae with all her computer stuff, but he had survived pretty much everything life threw at him and he deserved a chance to prove it.

  Tom touched his arm. “Maybe you’re right. I’ll see about getting you two a rental car.”

  “That will be like an all day and half the night drive.”

  “It will but Levi has a point. His personal effects were sent there after he died. I would go to the group home and ask some questions. Maybe they even know of a cave that he played in. And while you two are gone, I’ll try to find out more from here. And I’ll attempt to get Heath on board for when you get back.”

  Mae finally gave in. Levi wasn’t sure if he was relieved or worried.

  ****

  Mae didn’t sleep well. Dreams of ways to hack her account plagued her. The alarm blaring had her eyes popping open. If they were getting on the road then she wanted to get started. The sooner she proved Levi’s theory incorrect the better off they would be. Then they could hack into her information from work and find the real answers.

  She jumped from the bed and dressed in jeans and a T-shirt that Tom had provided.

  Comfort.

  She needed to be comfortable for the long ride ahead.

  Why it bothered her that Levi was always right, she didn’t know. Did he have to be so good at everything? She felt like a useless failure.

  And someone was trying to kill him. She wanted to protect him because she felt like it was partially her fault.

  She yawned behind her hand as she exited her room. Tom entered the main door and Levi stood from the couch.

  Tom held out keys and Levi opened his hand and caught them in his palm.

  “I brought you one of my extra cars.”

  Levi frowned. “Are you sure?”

  “Yup. Cheaper and already has insurance. Plus, it needs the exercise.”

  “What car am I looking for?” He studied the keys.

  “Mustang, silver with a black strip.”

  Levi nodded.

  “Leah is in the van with the boy waiting on me down the street. I have to look like I came out of a store.” Tom patted Levi’s shoulder and cast a furtive glance at Mae. “You be safe.”

  Mae nodded in his direction.

  “Packed in the car are extra essentials. Snacks and drinks are in a separate bag and a cooler. The car has gas and I put a gift card inside for gas and other things.”

  “Tom—”

  Tom held his hand up. “Levi, Leah was in charge of all of this. You can thank her later.”

  Levi turned away but not before Mae saw tears coat his eyes.

  Tom whispered something to him. Levi sniffled and rose to his full height while nodding.

  “Here is the address for the hotel I secured in Kansas.”

  Levi took the paper and placed it in his pocket.

  Mae left and went to the restroom. She leaned over the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. How had this become her life? She should be home knitting a sweater for her cat. If she knew how to knit or had a cat.

  She used her hand to fluff her hair. The shirt that had been provided hugged her curvy frame. After this journey she might not need a diet. All this running was helping, apparently.

  When she returned, Tom was gone. Levi still stood in the middle of the room rubbing the keys back and forth with his thumb.

  In his free hand he had a foil-wrapped item. “Breakfast.”

  “Oh.” She took it. “Thanks.”

  “You ready to get started?”

  “Coff—”

  He handed her a cup from a low table. Steam slipped through the tiny drinking hole.

  “Thank you.”

  “No problem. I guess we’re ready now.”

  “Guess so.”

  She followed him to the garage. He used the fob and hit the lock doors button. A silver sports car’s lights flashed.

  “I guess this is our ride. Fancy.”

  “Tom is generous.” Levi ran his fingers over the hood as he moved toward the drivers’ side door.

  They entered the car and settled against the warm leather interior. Mae settled her bag on the seat behind her then rubbed her palm along the edge of the seat. “Soft.”

  Levi placed her bag in the back seat next to the snack bag then reached around and buckled in.

  “I guess were ready to roll. Kansas, here we come.” Levi backed out and pulled out of the garage into the afternoon sunshine.

  A pair of sunglasses was in the door next to her. She slipped them on. Levi put on a classic rock station. She felt cool as they drove out of the city and into the open.

  Fears melted away as they ate up the miles. Maybe this could be a fun adventure after all.

  She could dream.

  Chapter Twenty

  Occasionally, Levi glanced over at Mae. She looked cute in the reflective sunglasses. She’d pulled her hair up in a ponytail exposing her lovely neck.

  He wished he could pull her close and kiss her. But their relationship was purely situational.

  She might slap him.

  Although she hadn’t the last time, so it might work.

  “You think we could pull over for a break?” She squirmed in the seat.

  “Sure.” He allowed his thoughts of a long lingering kiss to fade to the back of his mind as he started looking for a rest stop.

  A truck stop came up and he pulled over. She jumped from the car before he put it in park. He cocked his brow, but slowly climbed from behind the wheel, pulled the gas lever, and prepared to get gas. Leah had truly thought of everything. She probably felt bad because she hadn’t been able to find out about Opal when he’d been in the hospital.

  Levi had been entirely too hard on her. She had tried. She’d done more than most. Now she was still trying. She was the epitome of a Christian. One he aspired to be.

  Hopefully, Tom would tell Leah that she could never have found Opal no matter how hard she tried. Levi would need to apologize and thank them for many things when he returned home.

  Once the gas tank was refilled, he pulled closer to the building and climbed out. He put one hand in his pocket and gripped the cane with the other as he attempted to saunter slowly into the building. Truckers were milling around waiting on their turn to shower. As he used the restroom, several numbers were called.

  After exiting the restroom, Levi began to look for Mae. That’s when he saw him. From the corner of his eye, he saw a guy in a suit. He stood out like a sore thumb amongst all the travelers.

  Levi lowered his hat farther over his eyes and moved closer to the front door. As soon as Mae exited the bathroom, she headed toward a wall of drink coolers until she caught sight of Levi. He widened his eyes and tilted his head toward the suited man and she smiled and moved closer to Levi.

  Outside, she mouthed, “Did you see someone?”

  He nodded.

  They entered the car slowly so as not to draw attention and he started the engine. Gravel slung behind the car as they pealed out of the lot and turned the sharp curve onto the highway.

  Suit Guy exited the building close behind them and jogged to a large black SUV. The driver behind the wheel gunned the motor and headed their way.

  Levi made it onto the Interstate and put his foot to the pedal as fast as he dared. If they were pulled over by the police that would not help them. He needed a plan to lose their newest followers without gaining new ones.