Page 39 of Innocent Target

She laughed as he kissed her again, but she thought perhaps he would, and she found she didn’t mind. James was throwing out all her preconceived ideas about family life and replacing them with healthy ones she found she wanted too. But first, they had to rescue Abbie and Beth from the Henchmen, and come hell or high water, she’d make sure they did. That stubborn part of her personality would always remain. Plus, she wanted this to end happily for the man who held her in his arms, because her happiness was now tied to his.

Chapter Twenty-One

Being in the dark was almost as difficult as waiting. James died a little inside when he allowed himself to think about his sister and niece. He had to remind himself that for their sakes, he needed to keep his mind sharp and emotionless. Their survival depended on it.

Imari was deep in her research but had sent some interesting information for them to start looking at. Nick, Ian, Mercy, and James assembled at the kitchen table, all eyes on the laptop screen. On it was a map Imari had sent them, cross-referencing all the places Rao had been since he’d arrived in Florida with Hull’s locations and some of the more influential members of his MC.

North Florida was dotted with specs of color and only a few cities or towns hadn’t been checked by the two men in their search for Bethany.

After countless minutes of examination, Nick was the first to sigh in defeat. “Come on. Look at all the places they’ve checked and they still haven’t found your sister.”

Mercy seemed to agree. “Yes, but what I see are the places between those dots. What if she’s hiding in one of those?”

Logically, what they were stating was true, but didn’t make James feel any better. So, he was apprehensive when Ian leaned forward.

“I think Mercy has a good point. When we searched for fugitives, we started with the normal avenues, such as what Hull and Rao have done. When that didn’t work, our next step was to dig more into the person’s past, their habits. What has your sister been up to in the last few years?”

James wished he had more to offer on that. “Bethany was always an unruly child, unpredictable but sweet. I think she trusts people too easily and it’s probably why she fell into Hull’s clutches.”

Mercy slid her hand onto his knee, and he gladly accepted it. Having her by his side made him stronger, steadier.

“James, we’re responsible for our own actions. We can’t wallow on what-might-have-beens, we can only move forward and do our best to rescue her. And we will.”

James nodded. “Our last few calls were brief. The last time I had an actual conversation with her was a little over a year ago. She was having diving lessons and couldn’t shut up about it. It was the first time I’d heard her so enthusiastic about anything, so much so I thought she’d finally found the one thing that would turn her life around. I guess she met Hull not long after that.”

Mercy’s grip tightened on his hand her blue eyes sharp. “Do you know where she had those lessons?”

With a frown, James tried to recall the conversation. “I don’t know. I think she was on the East Coast but was vague regarding where she was. Which isn’t surprising. Our parents were on her case about settling down and not wandering aimlessly around, and Bethany withdrew, even from me.”

Nick turned the laptop in front of him and flexed his shoulders, cracking his fingers. “I may not be as amazing as Imari but I can research better than any other member of the team. Watch me.”

James appreciated his enthusiasm, even though he knew for a fact that Nick wasn’t in the top three computer specialists in the Agency.

After many groans, a few curses, and countless hair raking, Nick finally hissed in victory. “I started by checking for any payments made to dive schools and dive excursion companies from Maine to Florida. Nothing. She must’ve used cash or a cloned card. Then I checked her first name with diving companies on the east coast. And I found multiple pay stubs in her name from a dive place near Richmond Hill, Georgia, called Deep Blue Excursions. Not only did she learn to dive there, but it seems she worked for them too. From what I could see, she was there for almost six months.”

Ian nodded. “Bingo.”

Mercy smiled. “I’m pretty sure your sister is as friendly and outgoing as you are, James, which means she probably formed a bond with the people there. If she were in trouble, she’d go to them. And what better place to hide than on a boat?”

James felt a tingle down his fingers. “So, we’re heading to Georgia?”

Nick scrunched his face at the screen, not answering for the longest moment. “Did you know that Deep Blue Excursions has an office here in Daytona Beach?”

“What? How do we know if Bethany went to Georgia or stopped at Daytona?” Frustration threatened to rise in him, but Mercy offered a solution.

“Well, we check the pay stubs. I’m sure that whoever is running Deep Blue would use Bethany on one of their charters, keep her on the water as much as possible. Maybe they aren’t using her real name, but I’d check for a female constantly working on those charters.”

Without answering, Nick turned the screen back to himself and started typing.

Ian gave a friendly punch on Mercy’s shoulder. “That’s my girl and her bright brain. I knew I saw potential in that stubborn blonde head of yours.”

Mercy laughed and punched Ian’s shoulder too, lightening the mood with only that beautiful sound.

Far from being distracted, Nick ignored them, grumbling to himself, his tall frame hunched over the keyboard as if he were about to jump behind the metal frame.

“Got it!” Mercy and Ian jumped at Nick’s outburst. “Daytona. Marie Smith. Just appeared in the books, and since she’s started, she’s been on every charter they’ve had. I’m pretty sure that’s your sister, James.”

At last, he had a direction. Turning to Mercy, he winked. “Wanna go on a boat ride? Always wanted to see you in a bikini.”