Page 46 of Renegade
“How long after the CIA agent visited was your husband’s accident?” I ask casually.
“Let’s see…he came on a Wednesday, just a few days before you girls came.” She nods toward Gemma. “You and your friend came the following Saturday. Steve died later that day. I remember being so grateful that he got to see your friend before he died. It was so important to him that he give her the necklace in person and thank her for her brother’s sacrifice.”
We spend another hour talking about her husband—his work in Mexico and Afghanistan, his ordeal with the terrorists—but there is nothing that would explain why the U.S. government decided to send in a highly trained special ops team that included Navy SEALs and a CIA operative to save him. But there’s one thing I’m convinced of. Steve Morris was telling the truth about the CIA agent shooting Liam, and it got him killed. And whoever’s behind it thinks McKenzie knows too. I’ve got to find the necklace and the guns before it’s too late.
“You want to stop for dinner before we get back to the hotel?” I let my hand brush over Gemma’s long, jeans-clad leg as I turn to talk to her at a stoplight. While I can’t wait to get my hands on her, I also know that once we get to the hotel, I’m not going to want to leave. I need to process everything we learned this afternoon before I can fully devote myself to her. And I intend to savor every moment of my last night alone with her.
“What time is it?” She pulls her phone out of her back pocket and then looks up at me. “McKenzie has texted me three times. She says Noah needs to talk to you ASAP.”
I gun the engine as the light turns green. “I guess that settles it.”
Back in our room, Gemma pours us each a glass of wine as I conference in McKenzie and Noah and put the phone on speaker. After the initial pleasantries—mostly between the girls, who act like they haven’t talked to each other in ten years instead of four weeks—Noah tells me their news.
“We’ve been hanging out here trying to find out if anyone else saw Liam, and yesterday we hit pay dirt. Some local guy who takes people out occasionally to dive a less accessible part of the reef agreed to take us, and it turns out he took Liam and another guy diving a few weeks before Liam died. He remembered a lot about them, and when McKenzie told him she was his sister and he’d died in the line of duty, he agreed to tell us everything he knew.
“You and Liam were close, right, Walker?” Noah asks me.
“Like brothers.”
“Did you know all of his friends?”
“Most of them. The team hung out together most of the time. Of course, some of the guys have families they spend time with when they’re home. Why?”
“Liam was here with a guy I don’t think I know,” McKenzie interjects. “I thought maybe you might. He said he was on the tall side, brown hair, hazel eyes, or maybe blue, he couldn’t remember.” She sighs. “Not much to go on, I know. The dive master didn’t know his name—both he and Liam paid for everything in cash—but Liam’s friend did give the dive instructor a card for a club he goes to in San Francisco a lot. It’s a…um…personal kind of club.”
What the hell is she talking about? I glance at Gemma. She shrugs.
“What kind of personal club? Like Sam’s or Costco?” I ask.
I can hear Noah’s chuckle. “It’s a BDSM club called the Dominion. It’s in San Francisco.”
I whistle softly. It’s about fucking time we got a break.
“The Dominion is on Liam’s bucket list,” McKenzie chimes in excitedly. “I thought it was just because he wanted to visit a club like that. But it’s actually a clue! This guy must know where the guns are. And get this. No one uses their real name at this place. You know what his nickname is?”
“The Cock of Gibraltar?” Gemma guesses.
McKenzie giggles, and I realize I’ve missed that. She’s always borne the weight of the world. Noah is good for her. “Good guess, but no,” she says. “It’s Valor.”
“Shut up!” Gemma says. “Isn’t that what the design on the necklace Dr. Morris gave you from Liam represents?”
“Exactly. I feel like we’re getting close. We need to go to the club.”
“We’re already on it,” I interject. “Since it was on Liam’s list and it’s in San Francisco, I made a contact and Gemma and I managed to get invited to a private party there tomorrow night. It’s their annual party, and usually only for members. If this Valor guy is going to be there, it will be tomorrow night.”
“I can’t believe we’re finally starting to get close,” McKenzie says. “Maybe Noah and I should meet you in San Francisco…”
“You can’t get here before the party,” I reason. “Just sit tight. We’ll know more then. The guns may be in Malaysia. Hopefully this Valor guy will be able to tell us.”
We promise to call them as soon as we get back from the club, and then I ask what I’ve been waiting all night for. “McKenzie, the guy who kidnapped you from the hotel room when I went downstairs to get you some food. What did he look like?”
“Dark hair. Body like a runner—kind of long and lean. He had kind of a creepy, dead vibe about him.”
“Did he have any sort of accent?”
“Yes. He had a definite northeast United States accent. Really nasally. Boston, maybe. Why?”
“I’m pretty sure he visited Dr. Morris three days before you and Gemma did. Right before Dr. Morris died.”
