Page 51 of The Spy
16
FIONA
Kade lookedat Zeke with surprise in his eyes. It made me suspicious.
Zeke cleared his throat. “I, uh, messed with his phone yesterday and was able to remotely activate a location tracker, so provided he hasn’t destroyed it, we should be able to find out exactly where he is.”
I stiffened and removed my arms from around Zeke’s neck. “You’re tracking him?”
“Yes.” He sounded hesitant, perhaps sensing my mood.
I looked him in the eyes. “Is there a particular reason why we didn’t follow him last night?”
He looked steadily back. “My team had instructions to monitor his whereabouts. They know exactly where he’s been since we left the yacht. If he went anywhere that raised alarm bells, they would have alerted us. We needed to rest last night. There was no point in following him then. The whole point of a tracker is that we don’t have to tail him in person.”
I gritted my teeth. I could see where he was coming from, but I was sick and tired of being kept in the dark. Especially when Kade’s surprise led me to think he assumed Zeke had told me this already.
“Is there a reason you didn’t let me know about this yesterday?”
He shifted his weight, seeming uncomfortable for the first time. “You have a lot riding on us proving that your ex stole the Monet. I thought you’d insist on following him even though, as I said, it wouldn’t have achieved anything.”
My jaw was beginning to ache. “So, what you’re saying is that you knew I’d have a different opinion from yours, and you didn’t want the hassle of having to discuss it with me.”
“Fi.” Zeke cupped my face, and I was surprised to realize that his signature rings were missing from his hands. Perhaps he’d lost them in the lake last night. “I’m sorry you’re upset, but it was the best tactical decision to make.”
“You kept me in the dark.” My voice was thick, and I felt like crying. Once again, someone had proved they didn’t trust me. I thought we’d turned a corner after yesterday, but actions spoke louder than words, and Zeke’s were telling me not to rely on him to treat me like an equal.
“I’m sorry.”
I could hear his remorse, but I also got the impression that if he had a do-over, he wouldn’t change anything.
“Don’t be upset.” Kade sounded pleading. “You know I can’t handle sad women.”
I rolled my eyes, but on some level, I knew that however upset I was, it wouldn’t move us forward. If I wanted to nail Bergen, other things were more important than my hurt feelings.
Zeke’s phone rang. I got off his lap and sat on the sofa while he answered.
“What’s up, Ellie?” he asked, then tapped at the screen.A moment later, Ellie’s voice filled the room. She was one of Zeke’s best people, and I’d always liked her.
“The auction was canceled last night,” Ellie said. “After the scare with the ‘police,’ they headed back to shore and went their separate ways. Rene and Claudette Laurent have already booked flights back to France. They leave in a few hours.”
“What about the Monet?” Zeke asked. He caught my eye, and I got the impression that his putting this call on speaker phone was an apology for the things he hadn’t told me. It wasn’t enough, but it was a start.
“There’s a rumor about someone holding private viewings of the stolen Monet for anyone who was at the auction and missed out on the chance to see it,” Ellie replied.
“Do those rumors tie back to Bergen Cole?” he asked.
“Unfortunately not. It’s all very vague. There are no names directly linked to it at this point, and there’s no viewing address or means of contact either, but we’ll keep looking.”
“Thanks, Ellie. Let us know as soon as you find anything,” Zeke instructed.
“On it, boss. Talk later.” She hung up.
Zeke faced Kade and me. “We should check Cole’s current location and see if he’s been anywhere that would make a good storage location.”
“Yes.” I was relieved to know we’d actually be doing something to make progress. What point was having the ability to track Bergen if we did nothing with it?
“Kade, did you bring my laptop?” Zeke asked.
