Page 104 of The Bachelor Spy
And at the top, in different ink—fresher—two entries:
WR/EN/MO/NT/GO/ME/RY/EV/IE ID/EN/TI/FI/
ED/EL/IM/IN/AT/EF/AL/CO/NF/OL/LO/WE/DT/
OH/AV/EN/SB/RO/OKE EL/IM/IN/AT/EI/FN/
EC/ES/SA/RY
Evie’s blood ran cold.
Wren. Her code name. The one only British Intelligence should know.
And her real name too. As she’d suspected. Likely given by her brother.
Pain knifed through her middle. Another betrayal.
And Blake’s code name was there too. Falcon.
And she’d marked them both for elimination.
Rivers knew. Not just suspected—knew.Perhaps she didn’t know Evie Montgomery was Helen Gale or Falcon was Stephen Blake, but this new information dangled much too close to identifiable. How much more had the woman discovered?
Evie’s hands steadied by sheer force of will and turned to the next page.
In the same code, she read of officers’ names and military tactics. Usual weapons used by such men. Current placements.
All listed in order for the enemy to know weaknesses. Strategies.
Here’s my proof.
She photographed the list from multiple angles, ensuring every name, every notation was captured. The small camera clicked softly—once, twice, three times.
Then she refolded the papers exactly as they had been, returned them to the false bottom, sealed the compartment, and placed the bag back beneath the bed at precisely the same angle.
She couldn’t risk Rivers discovering the intrusion. If the woman suspected someone had been in her room, she’d bolt immediately.
Or strike first when there were too many vulnerable people within this house to risk danger.
Evie stood, swept the room with one more glance to ensure nothing was disturbed, and moved toward the door.
Her hand was on the knob when she heard it.
Footsteps.
Quick, purposeful.
Coming down the corridor directly toward Rivers’ room.
Evie’s mind raced through options. The window was too small. No closet large enough. No second exit. The bed wouldn’t conceal her—Rivers would see her immediately upon entering.
The footsteps grew louder.
Blast.
“Oof!“ came a decidedly male voice, followed by the heavy thud of something hitting the floor.
Evie carefully peered through the crack in the door to find Blake sprawled on the corridor floor with Nurse Rivers standing over him, her expression caught between alarm and annoyance.
