Page 25 of Sam's Salvation

“What?” Ford asked.

“We might have a problem. Vegas PD found a body near that park early this morning. No ID, but male. They estimate late-thirties. Dark hair, about six feet tall.”

With wide eyes, Audra met Sam’s gaze. “Oh, hell.”

“Oh, hell is right,” he said. “If that’s Theo, who’s the man in the black sneakers?”

Eleven

“Audra, do you know where Theo was staying or what kind of car he drove?” Asher asked.

“A silver Honda sedan. I don’t know where he was staying. We always met in public places.” She glanced at Sam again. A concerned frown pulled his brows down, wrinkling his forehead. Audra balled her fingers up, so she wouldn’t reach out and try to smooth them away. This was the downside of asking Sam for help. Her attraction to him. She needed to maintain her composure so she could think. Sam was a distraction she didn’t need, and she was rethinking involving him. Except if she left, she didn’t know where else to turn. She didn’t trust her boss now. There were other people in the SIS she could go to, but no one she knew well enough to be certain they wouldn’t pass her concerns on to someone else.

Asher hummed.

“He’s busy again,” Dean said. Audra could hear a smile in his voice.

“Don’t mock my process,” Asher commented. “It gets results. I’m going to try to track his movements through the city. See if I can at least get a neighborhood where he was living. Audra, send me that file.”

“I will as soon as we hang up.”

Sam picked up the phone. “We’ll go through it here too. See if anything jumps out at her.”

“Sounds good,” Asher said.

“If you need anything, call,” Ford said.

“We will.”

“Keep us posted.” Ford ended the call.

Sam opened his web browser and passed the phone to Audra. “Here.”

She took it and stared at it for a moment. The screen wavered in her vision. She blinked hard and rubbed one eye.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” She wasn’t, but she was well enough to do what needed to be done. Her head hurt and she felt like she was swimming through a thick fog. Blinking again, she tapped the screen and typed in the address for her private server. After logging into it, she opened another window and pulled up the email account she kept that no one else knew about. “What’s your friend’s email address?”

Sam told her, and she typed it in, attached the files, gave him the password to access them, then hit send. “There. It’s sent.” She logged out of everything, then handed Sam back his phone.

He pushed it back to her. “Open the files.”

“Oh. Right.” She logged back into her server. Her brain was still struggling. “Sorry. My brain’s a little slow today.”

“Don’t apologize. I know how it feels.”

Something in his tone made her look at him. A sad understanding lit his gaze. Suddenly, his difficulty with words made more sense. Something had happened to him in the ten years they were apart.

She opened the first folder on the list. “You want to talk about how you know?” She sent him a glance through her lashes.

His expression closed. “Not really. One day, I’ll tell you. Right now, let’s focus on you.”

“I’d rather not. Talking about other things helps distract me from the fact someone tried to kill me.”

“You’re a spy, Aud. The possibility of death comes with the job.”

She let out an inelegant snort. “That doesn’t mean I’m not still rattled. You were a SEAL. You can’t tell me it didn’t bother you to get shot at.”