Page 50 of Sam's Salvation

She winced as she got out of her chair. “Yeah. Can we try Asher when we get back to the hotel? The last time we talked, he said his program was nearly done with its analysis.”

Sam nodded. He held out a hand to her. She laced her fingers with his. They tossed their coffee cups in the trash and headed for the Tube station. A quick trip under the river to the stop by their hotel, and they were soon back in their room.

Audra sat on the bed, her legs outstretched. Sam pulled up the desk chair and sat as he dialed Asher.

“Yo. How’s the surveillance?” Asher asked when he picked up.

“Dull. Do you have anything? We need a lead,” Sam said.

“Not exactly.”

Sam glanced at Audra. Her frown matched his.

“What does that mean?” he asked.

“My program is nearly done. I know it’s taking forever, but I had to do some research. I fed it virtually every map out there, as well as the names of every known Irish mafia associate I could find. Another couple of days and I think I’ll have some results. Once it’s done analyzing all the data, I’ll feed it some more parameters to narrow down the options. We’re getting close. But I have a source for you. Someone who can hopefully get you some info.”

“Oh?” Sam sat a little straighter.

“Yeah. And don’t be mad—I’ve known this woman awhile. I didn’t tell you about her because I didn’t want to put her in an awkward position. But you’re right; we’re running out of options.”

“Who is it?” Audra asked.

“Her name is Jocelyn Richardson. She’s a cybersecurity specialist with SIS.”

Audra scooted forward, the expression on her face turning incredulous. “You know someone in SIS—someone trustworthy—and are just now telling us? We’ve been sitting here for four days waiting for my boss to do something!”

“I know. But like I said, involving Jocelyn puts her at risk. I didn’t want to do that unless we didn’t have another choice. You guys can’t stakeout Ms. Thompson forever. Jocelyn will understand.”

Audra huffed. Sam met her gaze. He didn’t like it either that Asher had sat on this, but he understood. He could see in her eyes that she did too.

“How do we contact this woman?” Audra asked.

“You don’t. I talked to her earlier today. She’s gathering intel on Thompson and your handler. When she has something, she’ll contact you. I gave her Sam’s number.”

Audra pressed her lips together.

Sam covered her hand with his. “Okay. We’ll continue with the status quo until then.”

“Sounds good. I’ll let you know as soon as this program spits something useful out. Keep me in the loop with what you hear from Jocelyn.”

“Will do. Thanks, Ash.”

“Yep.” Asher hung up.

Audra groaned and flopped onto her back on the bed. She covered her face. “If we’d known about her when we landed, we could have already moved on this. Instead, we’ve spent the last four days twiddling our thumbs.”

“His reasoning makes sense, Aud.” Sam laid a hand on her belly. “This woman is probably putting her career on the line to help us.”

She brought her hands down to cover his. “I know.” She sighed. “I’m just frustrated. I want answers!” She sat up and climbed off the bed to pace to the window.

He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “How about we relax tonight? No internet searches, no talk of the case. Let’s go to dinner. For a real date.” His heart thumped as he said the last few words. He wasn’t sure how she’d feel about making their relationship official. They’d shared a few kisses the last few days; she knew how he felt about her. And he’d slept with her in his arms every night. But they hadn’t talked about what it all meant for them as a couple.

She turned in his arms, resting her hands on his chest. He palmed her hips, holding her in a loose embrace. “Dating is not wise. Not at this stage,” she said.

“I don’t think it ever will be with us. But I don’t care anymore. It—we—are worth whatever struggles we have to go through to make this work. The way we feel—it hasn’t changed in ten years. That has to mean something. Right?”

She sighed and pressed her forehead against his chest. Lifting her head, she looked at him. “It does. But I—” She broke off with a quick headshake. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”