Part 4

Chapter 46

SPOV

Recovering from that kiss I looked up into Ranger's face, just to be sure that I'd heard him right. His smiling face was all that I needed to see for the weight that I'd been carrying to fall away. Standing me on my feet Ranger gently washed my face with a soapy cloth before he picked me up and took me back upstairs to the bedroom. Once there and with me propped up against his chest I knew he would have questions for me, I suppose that I owed him the answers.

"How do you know?"

I wasn't too sure where to start so with a shrug of my shoulders decided to start at the beginning.

"Looking back, I think I started to feel a bit ill when we left the island. I put it down to nerves and the fact that we were so worried that someone had found us. Lizbeth said that maybe I'd had too much sun and was overheated. Then at Miguel's, I put it down to what had happened at the barn, being drugged and transported how I was. I still didn't feel right on the boat but the last thing I thought was that I was pregnant. I'd had an IUD fitted months ago. Then when we were with Coral and her friends, I woke up that first morning feeling nauseous and was throwing up when Coral found me in the restrooms. She handed me a bottle of ginger beer saying that was what her sister drank when she was pregnant"

I paused to take a breath remembering that time with Coral. At first, I'd been adamant that I couldn't be pregnant but wasn't sure who I was trying to convince the most, me or her. She'd gone through all the symptoms I might have if pregnant, and when she told me that she worked in a shelter for teenage runaways, I started to listen to her.

"We went into town where Coral bought a pregnancy test. Of course, when it came back positive, I went into total panic. I couldn't explain to her the relationship that we had or that you had always stated your opinion about not wanting kids, but it was where the IUD was that worried me the most. Coral took that seriously and she called a doctor that she knew who worked with pregnant teenagers. What with being drugged and then taken to that barn I wasn't sure how to feel and was worried sick in case the baby had been hurt. Having an IUD still inside me could have caused so many complications and made me ill and injured the baby. I ended up having an ultrasound with that doctor. There was no sign of the IUD, but I was definitely pregnant"

I'd been scared shitless when I'd returned to the van. Scared because I couldn't deny it, I had a frigging photo of it, but most of all I was scared at how Ranger would react. I loved him so much but knew that me being pregnant would have him putting distance between us. Hadn't he done that to Rachel? And did I want to be a kept woman, living on handouts from a father who might or might not want anything to do with it. That was what was breaking my heart

I'd told myself that he didn't know yet and everything would be just the same for a while. I could be loved by the man that I needed, but going back to that camp I couldn't push the thoughts out of my head. I couldn't act as though nothing had happened, that I wasn't pregnant. I'd felt so alone for those few hours with Ranger, so scared as to what would become of me. The idea of being away from him was breaking my heart piece by piece.

I moved away from Ranger and leant over to pick up the bra that I'd been wearing the day before. I pulled a piece of folded paper from inside the lining of the cup and handed it to Ranger, before leaning back onto him. I watched as he unfolded the paper and stared at the image. Okay it wasn't exactly clear, but it was obvious as to what was there. His finger traced the outline of what would have been the baby and I saw how he smiled, hell I could swear that his eyes misted up.

"Beautiful, Babe"

Then he was bending over me and pulling my top up. I was expecting him to start fondling my breasts which I wouldn't have objected to, so when his mouth pressed down onto my stomach and started to press gentle kisses on it, it became obvious what had his attention.

"Mi hermosa bebe. Se bueno para tu madre"

As I kissed the top of Ranger's head and ran my hands through his hair I felt as his kisses moved down my body. As he looked up to me, I nodded my head, as though to say that yes, it was okay for him to continue. He was gentle, yet passionate, caring but arousing and as lay on top of him afterwards I felt deeply loved and wanted.

It was nearly 10 o'clock when we eventually left the bedroom. Having showered together I was surprised at the array of toiletries in the cabinet of the bathroom and was keen to find some clean clothes. I wasn't disappointed when I opened the closet. There were clothes for both of us in all different styles and colors. Casual wear, beach wear and what could be seen as work wear, yeah, we both had black cargos, boots and T-shirts. I could only think that this was Hector's doing. Shorts and a strappy top over a bikini was what I felt was appropriate.

"Do you want the guys to know?"

We were in the kitchen area looking through cupboards for something to eat when Ranger asked me that.

"I don't know"

I didn't. I mean I was still early on in the pregnancy so there was nothing that would be obvious for them to see. Okay, maybe I was more tired than usual, and my appetite wasn't as it had been, but did it make any difference if they did know. The part that worried me the most was the news getting out. I suddenly realized that it wasn't just me that I had to think about now, I couldn't be put myself into a situation that would harm my baby.

"They won't say anything to anyone Babe, but they will become even more protective"

I tried to raise one eyebrow but failed miserably. Hell, could they be more protective than they already were? Surely, I could still do things as usual, in fact the booklet that I'd been handed had said that exercise was good. The only part that was worrying me was my lack of appetite, I needed to find foods that didn't make me feel nauseous yet provided me with enough for the baby to grow properly.

As Ranger stepped to me and held me close, I had a feeling that he wanted to share the news, after all he was the proud father to be.

"Okay, but tell them not to fuss over me"

"Babe, that IUD, what did it look like?"

I pulled away from Ranger and looked at him wondering why the hell he would be asking that.

"It's just that, after that night we spent together in that cheap motel on our way to Miami, I found this weird looking thing in the bed when I was tidying up"

I knew that night had to have been when I'd become pregnant, there was no other instance in the time frame when it could have happened. I smiled at the memory of that night. Our love making had been passionate and at times rough and had lasted most of the night.

"It's a T shape supposedly with a chord attached to the bottom. The doctor said that it had probably slipped out"

Especially if my partner was long and large, dislodging it, and to be honest I had never considered checking up there to make sure the chord was still dangling down. Who would want to do that? From the look on Ranger's face, I was pretty sure that he'd found it but wouldn't have known what it was and to be honest it didn't matter now. Hell, how many times had we made love whilst we were on the boat? It was just waiting to happen, it was meant to be, it was fate.

I jumped at the sound of the toaster ejecting my bagels and went over to collect them. Eating them dry wasn't an option in my opinion but I fancied the idea of the honey that was sat in one of the cupboards. It made me wonder who had brought the food that we had, especially as there looked to be a selection of tastycakes and cookies in the cupboards. Ranger poured me some fresh orange juice into a glass before taking his bagel over to the table. We sat quietly as we ate, and I can honestly say that my stomach felt settled for the first time in ages. Maybe it had been all of the worrying that had made me feel so ill.

Once we'd cleared the dishes, I was keen to take a look around where we were. When we'd arrived, it had been too dark to see anything and to be honest I was too stressed out to take any notice. The sun was shining, and the heat hit me as I opened the door. I'd been cool inside the house so maybe the air conditioning was running. It seemed that Ranger wanted to take a look around as well because he took my hand and led me to the right walking along what looked like a drive. I was surprised at how much grass there was and at how green it looked, in fact the whole place looked to have been kept in immaculate condition.

As we left the drive and walked over a small bank of grass the view of the sea greeted me. I stopped to fully appreciate the beautiful color before realizing that there was a small, sanded beach area. A wall encircled a section of water giving a protested area for swimming and there were loungers and umbrellas dotted around. I was hoping that Hector's Wi-Fi would be strong enough to reach out here. As we continued another building came into view. It was one story and smaller than the main house.

"The men are sleeping there and in the small building that we passed as we came out of the main house. There's also a docking area with a building on the other side of the beach"

Continuing our walk around that smaller building I think my eyes bugged out. I was looking at a swimming pool, big enough to do some serious swimming but with a round area that looked ideal for sitting in. Splashes from the pool caught my attention and I watched, who I thought was Ram, doing lengths.

"There's a tennis court beyond those trees and then the causeway that leads onto the main road"

The place was certainly beautiful and private with the advantage of easy access onto the road and probably more secure than the Whitehouse if I knew Hector.

"Buenos días"

Came from behind us so turning I finger waved Hector as he stood at the entrance to the building that was next to the main house. That was where we went to next, it seemed it was time to get serious and get down to work. Walking in after Hector had me shivering at how cold the room was but with all of the computers and equipment running, I supposed it was mainly to keep them cool. I was so busy looking at the scenes of the island on the screens that I missed Ram and Lapira coming inside. I found myself stood in front of Ranger facing the three men with no idea what was going to be happening next. Ranger placing his hand on my stomach seemed to be the visual that Hector latched on to.

"Nos estás diciendo que tienes novedades?"

Ranger must have nodded his head because the next thing that I knew I was suddenly being lifted up and hugged by Hector. Sheesh, when did Hector become so friendly, normally the expression on his face told everyone to keep their distance, but I liked this Hector. Once Ram and Lapira had hugged me, congratulated us and fist bumped Ranger it seemed we were going to be getting down to some work.

"Estefania, there is a laptop for you with more sophisticated search programs on. I know that you have people that you want to find out more about"

I wondered if the programs might be similar to the ones that Ethan had provided for us at the beach in Belize. I hoped so because I knew how to use those and could remember some of the short cuts that he'd taught me.

"The system has been triple firewalled and looped around the world. No one, no matter how good they are should be able to link anything back to here. We'll use the system for secure calls as well"

I was surprised that it was Lapira giving us that information, I hadn't realized that he was that good with electronics, but I was pleased that Ranger had given him the chance to prove himself.

"I'll need to catch up with CJ and Santos. Do we have a secure line for that to happen?"

Hector's head moved slowly back and forth so I was assuming that maybe that wasn't going to be possible.

"Santos only communicates when he is miles away from the house. They have jammers set up in the house and he thinks that it won't be long before they find the surveillance cameras"

I looked to Ranger because I had no idea where Hector was talking about or where Les was.

"Sorry Babe. Hector told me last night after you'd gone to bed. Santos and CJ followed the men who'd latched onto them at the boat, back to Markovic's house outside Trenton"

I remembered Ellie saying that she was keeping surveillance on Markovic while I was with Ranger down in Miami, that was why she was there so quickly when the army vehicles were seen. That had another concern come to me, how did Ellie know where Markovic lived, I hadn't known. I tuned back into what was being said probably because I heard my name. Ranger noticed that I was preoccupied with something else

and I heard him whisper to me "Okay?" I nodded my head automatically then changed my mind and said "Something had me thinking"

"Steph, you know the most of what's been happening and who is involved. Those questions you posed when we were on the boat need answers. Why don't you decide who you want to follow up on first and then the rest of us can pick up the others"

I suppose it made some sense, because I was thinking that maybe the others would be better working on specific people.

"Stanley is ex-military, Ethan was as well and that Colonel"

"Raynor?"

Ranger quickly provided the name for me.

"Yeah, him. Maybe you'd have better luck looking at those three. I think Lapira, you might find more on Lukavic so that leaves Hector with Correll and I suppose Lizbeth. I want to look at Ellie"

Yeah, much as I hated the idea of it being her who was betraying us at least if I did the research then I'd know for sure. Of all the people involved I felt that I possibly knew her the best. Or did I?

I debated where to go to do my research and decided on one of the loungers close to the beach. Whilst the pool was sand free it was sheltered and the air felt stifling, meaning that it would be very hot. I wanted to be outside so with the sound of the waves lapping against the rocks and the gentle breeze making it bearable I sat in the shade of an umbrella. I was wearing a bikini under my shorts and strappy top in case I wanted to swim, thinking that would be an excellent way to exercise. Nothing more had been said about me being pregnant and I thought that the men would just ignore me and get on with their own thing. How wrong I was. Every hour one of them would turn up next to me with a cool drink and ask if I needed anything. I was sure they'd worked out some sort of rota.

I wasn't too sure where to start with Ellie because I felt that she'd told me so much about herself and if she was impersonating the real Elaine Cummings then she would have stayed very close to the truth. To do that she would had to have known Elaine very well, which begged the question that if the Ellie that I knew was an imposter then where the hell was the real Elaine and when had the swap taken place. The obvious answer to me was sometime during university, possibly at the end of her course. Another question was who of the two might have sent off for the original birth certificate from the adoption agency. Nah, I think Elaine did that and that was the catalyst for what followed.

I started by finding a photo of Elaine Cummings that had been used on her driving license. It was hard to say whether or not it was Ellie now with her short colored hair, so I went to Elaine's medical record next. Nothing stood out, hell the girl rarely had any health problems which to me seemed too neat. I found the local hospital that Elaine's parents would likely have used and used one of the programs that would give me access into the archived records and put in Elaine Cummings into the search.

I must have dozed while waiting for that to come up with something, because I was suddenly aware that I wasn't on my own. The sun had moved but then so had the umbrella and sat to my side was Ranger, laid out on the lounger that had been pulled up next to mine.

"How long have you been there?"

I asked, feeling embarrassed that I'd fallen asleep.

"Not long. I brought us some lunch"

A look at the small table at the foot of the chair revealed a selection of things to eat. There was fruit and what looked like yoghurt, yeah, that had me disappointed that it wasn't ice cream. Some sort of rice dish that had bits of veg in it and some cheese.

"It's yoghurt ice cream"

I could go for that, so I tossed some pieces of fruit in a bowl and covered it in the yoghurt ice cream. It actually tasted good, cool and fresh with the fruit complimenting the taste from the yoghurt. I tried the rice dish, but it tasted bland and dry to me, so I finished off by picking up pieces of fruit and cheese.

"Did you find anything yet?"

I asked knowing that it was probably too soon to know anything for definite.

"I started with Stanley and have been talking to people that might have known him. So far I haven't found anything to doubt him"

I was pleased as I heard that because of any of the people that I'd worked with, Stanley seemed the sincerest. Okay he was enthusiastic for what we did but more like a man who had suddenly woken up and could use all of his skills for something good.

"And you?"

"Working on trying to find a glimpse of the real Elaine Cumming"

That was the last that we said about the work that we were doing before Ranger moved over to my lounger and sat behind me. It felt relaxing just being sat together, I was comfortable with the silence and didn't fall asleep again, just content to listen to the water and watch across the sea whilst being held. It was a beeping sound that had me looking around for the source of the noise and I watched as Ranger leant over to the side and retrieved my laptop from under the chair. As he passed it to me, I sat forward and felt as he stood up.

"Time to get back to work"

Was all I heard because it seemed my program had finished its work and I was keen to see the results. As I read, I was thinking to myself that this was more like what I expected from Elaine's medical history. There had been a couple of visits as a toddler to the A & E department for a high temperature which turned out to be ear infections, something I remembered that Val's girls suffered from. Things were quiet until she reached the age of thirteen and then there were several visits while they tried to investigate a problem that she was having with her digestive system.

After lots of tests and a colonoscopy, poor kid, they thought that she was suffering from IBS. I looked that up on Google interested with the information that I found. Symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome included stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhea and constipation, that may come and go over time.

I saved my search and closed down the laptop as I tried to tease memories from my head. Memories of what we had eaten and whether Ellie had ever complained of any of those symptoms. Maybe that was why she tended to eat healthy and had taken on board the whole Holistic route, because stress was one of the things that could cause it. Was that enough evidence to suspect that Ellie wasn't who she said that she was? Was it possible that maybe Ellie had grown out of her intolerances? I wasn't convinced that what I'd found was enough and was determined to keep looking. The thing was that I'd always had that feeling about Ellie, that she wasn't who she was portraying herself to be. I'd put it down to her rebelling against her family, finding herself after she'd gone to university and maybe she had.

That was where I went to next, but I already knew the information which left me with nothing again. I checked to see who was in her classes, but no one stood out or even had my spidey senses tingling. Ranger had said that he'd spoken to people who knew Stanley, so maybe that was what I needed to do next, talk to people who had known Ellie. Facebook was my to go place but I knew that wasn't a good idea, so maybe Hector would know a way around that.

I collected my things together and walked around to the pool, a swim was definitely calling my name. I used the shower at the side and then braced myself to dive into the deep end. The feel of the cool water on my skin felt invigorating as I used my arms and legs to reach the surface. I was soon into my rhythm with my legs kicking behind me and my arms reaching ahead of me, pulling me through the water. As I reached the end I plunged down into the water and turned around using my feet to push me away from the wall and back up to the surface. I'm not sure how many times I repeated that but the sound of splashes beside me told me that I wasn't alone.

Looking to my side I saw Ram, swimming stroke for stroke with me. I knew he was going slow for my benefit and that he could swim much faster. I stopped at the end of pool, feeling that I'd definitely done enough.

"I didn't know you swam so well Steph"

I shrugged my shoulders thinking back to when I had first started to enjoy swimming.

"I used to swim when I was younger, but my mother stopped me. She said it was unladylike. Then with spending time living on the beach I decided to start up again"

"It's a good way to exercise Steph"

By now I'd climbed the steps with Ram beside me and picked up the towel I'd left on the chair. I smiled at him as he turned and returned to the water, and I decided to head up to the bedroom to shower and change. I was only going to lie on the bed and think, hell, I still had a towel around my body and one around my head.

The pillow being moved had me awake so maybe I could pretend that I had actually just been turning things over in my head. Somehow seeing the grin on Ranger's face, I didn't think that I was going to get away with that.

"Dinner is nearly ready downstairs and it's my turn to keep watch tonight"

The word, nearly, played in my mind so seeing as Ranger was going to be up all he night then I wanted him now. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him toward me, teasing and tasting at his lips. As the kiss deepened, I felt the cool air across my skin and his hands working their magic on my breasts. As his mouth replaced his hands, I felt soft butterfly kisses move down my body, smiling when he spent longer over my belly. The orgasm that rushed through me was fierce and powerful, but I wanted more. With my legs around his hips, I pushed on his shoulder, flipping him over onto his back with me straddled over him. Okay, I know he could have stopped me, but he didn't, he was giving me what I wanted. I blamed the hormones for how I continued, the feel of his skin under my hands becoming an addiction that I needed to sate. The way that he filled me enticing such wonderful feelings that I was afraid that I couldn't get enough of him.

I was laid down across Ranger's chest, my breaths coming hard and fast, was when I summoned up the courage to look up at him. I was almost feeling embarrassed at how I had behaved, almost, because that orgasm had set every nerve in my body on fire. I felt a little hoarse with my cries for more and my shouting to tell him what I wanted, but it was worth it.

"Sorry, I think I got a bit carried away"

I whispered hoping that he wasn't upset with me.

"Babe, you can get carried away all you want as far as I'm concerned"

"It's the hormones"

Was my only defense. I was aware that my breasts were a little more tender than usual so maybe being pregnant heightened what I was feeling. Who knew, I certainly wasn't complaining.

Just when I thought we'd finished I felt myself being turned onto my back. This time it was slow and sensual, with gentle caresses and intimate kisses. His movement was slow and loving yet it heightened my sensitivity even more. I felt at one with this man as though he were touching my heart when he pushed deeper inside me. Sounds were quiet and murmured with affirmations of the love that we felt for each other so as our orgasms rolled through us it was as though we were being bonded together.

I could have spent the rest of the night laid in his arms, feeling safe from everything around me but knew that we'd have to move soon, especially when my stomach grumbled.

"Time to feed you Babe"

I rolled off him, sighing at the loss of his touch as he moved away from the bed but decided not to join him in the shower, knowing we'd be even later going downstairs to eat.

"The guys aren't downstairs eating, are they?"

Shit, I couldn't face them if they were. I certainly hadn't been quiet during our first session of making love.

"No, we're eating out on the decking"

I muttered a thank you before wondering where the deck was. I had to admit that I'd missed seeing that.

I went to bed alone and woke up alone though from the rumpled sheets I didn't think it was all me that had managed to make such a mess of the bed. It was as I got up from the bed that my stomach began to roll, so ended up spending the next fifteen minutes wrapped around the toilet. A shower did nothing to quell the unease and I even contemplated going back to bed. Once downstairs I made my way to the decking area in the hope of finding someone there. Four sets of eyes watched me as I sank down onto the whicker couch and curled my legs underneath me, the smell of whatever they were eating making my stomach turn.

The screens that had been closed to keep out any insects the night before, were now open but even the gentle breeze didn't help how I felt. A glass appeared in front of me so looking up I became aware that Hector was in front of me.

"You don't look so good Estefania. Here, try this. Ginger is supposed to help and maybe some dry crackers might be worth trying"

The ginger turned out to be tea and I had to admit that an hour later after consuming several crackers I did feel more myself. Hector stayed with me, working on his laptop while Ranger was catching some sleep after his turn of being on patrol, so maybe I did have a restless night on my own.

"Hector if I wanted to look at a Facebook account, how could I do that?"

Remembering where my thoughts had taken me the previous day. Instead of answering me he walked over with his laptop and sat down beside me.

"Who are you looking for?"

As I said Elaine's name Hector was opening up an app and entering her name. Moments later I was looking at Elaine's Facebook page. With the laptop now on my knee I scrolled through the last posts seeing that the last time Elaine had posted anything was just before she'd left the country. It was a vague post that simply stated that she was off on an adventure with several comments underneath that hoped she had a good time. Finding her friends, I started to go through them, being more interested in ones who had been on the same course as her. One name piqued my interest, a boy named Danny O'Sullivan, so I minimized the Facebook page and opened up the search program.

It seemed that Danny had found a job as a crime scene tech, so armed with a contact number and address I went in search of Hector who had quietly disappeared. I found him in the attached building working away at one of the computers, but he'd obviously seen me enter because he sat back in his chair waiting for why I was there.

"I'd like to make a phone call"

Hector never answered, never asked why, instead he stood up and retrieved a phone that was on top of the desk and passed it to me. I wanted to make this call somewhere quiet so was soon back on the decking area inputting the numbers.

"Hi Danny. It's Elicia here"

I waited, hoping he didn't actually know who Elicia was.

"Do I know you?"

"Maybe. I was the year below you at uni, but I've been trying to get in touch with Elaine. I thought she'd be back by now"

"Elaine? No one's heard from her, not since she landed that ace job. Hell, everyone was hoping to do something that, working for the government was the dreams of all of us"

"I know, I'd hoped she could give me some tips on how she did it"

"I think that they have to want you, not the other way around. Sorry kid, but that seems to be how it works"

"Oh well, thanks anyway"

Finishing the call, I sat digesting that information. Did it help any? I wasn't too sure. A government agency could be any of many, that was assuming that what Elaine had told people was the truth. I tried to figure out the ramifications of what I'd learnt. If Elaine was working for some agency, then what had they asked her to do? Plus, there was the whole issue of who knew about it. Had they asked her to work undercover but to uncover what? Then the thought of the rogue FBI agent came to mind. What if she'd been set up by that person?

I felt Ranger near me before he even appeared at the doorway, man, he looked so handsome as he walked into the room. His hair was wet, and it seemed that he'd shaved making me ask myself if I preferred the dark and dangerous look or the clean and mysterious look.

"Babe, you're looking at me strangely"

I smiled as he gathered some bagels onto a plate and sat down next to me.

"I was trying to decide which look I preferred"

Okay that totally confused him. I thought that he was actually unaware of how he could change his looks and the effect that they had on people, then again maybe he wasn't because he would use those looks to suit what he was doing. I needed to get my head back on course because the overriding feeling of being turned on started to coil deep inside me. Not the time and place.

"I found something about Elaine Cummings that was totally unexpected. A friend of hers told me that she'd landed a dream job working for the government"

That sure as hell shocked Ranger and with his bagel half way to his mouth he just looked at me, a frown marring that beautiful forehead.

"The government? Did you find out which agency?"

Stop looking into his eyes! Sheesh, everything about him was sending goosebumps down my skin. Oh yeah, he'd asked me a question.

"Err, no. I mean it could be legit or it could have been a setup"

The frown was still across Ranger's forehead, so I reached over and with my fingertips smoothed out the skin, mmm, so soft.

"Babe"

I stopped looking at him, averting my eyes from his face and took a deep breath to calm myself down.

"Whichever way you look at it, Elaine was the one way to reach Markovic. Say the government knew what he was up to, then they might use Elaine as bait for him to say where the detonator was. Once they have it then they'll know where the EMPs are and deactivate them. Or they could use Elaine to attract the rogue FBI agent to reveal who he was. Then again maybe it was the rogue FBI agent who approached Elaine and if he was working with Lukavic then they'd pretend to have kidnapped Elaine in order to get their hands on the detonator and EMPs"

I turned around with a smug smile on my face as though I'd just solved a mystery, only to have Ranger looking at me with one eyebrow raised.

"Care to say that again Babe?"

I opened my mouth and then quickly closed it as I tried to repeat the gist of what I'd said, only to realize that I couldn't.

"No"

A kiss on my head didn't really make me feel any better.

"Don't assume anything until we have the proof"

Did I mock salute him, you bet ya I did. Was I moving off the couch like lightning, yeah I was. I was literally saved from being caught by Ranger when Hector walked through the door, and I hid behind him. I wasn't sure what surprised Hector the most, me giggling or Ranger chasing me, but it gave me the opportunity to escape through the door. I ended up on the beach area so slipped my sandals off and walked into the water thinking through what I'd heard this morning from Danny and what that might mean. I knew what Ranger meant, not to jump to conclusions without the evidence to back it up. I started to walk along the edge of the water, enjoying the feel of the fine sand under my feet and the cool water splashing up to my knees, and to be honest it helped to clear my head.

Finding out that Elaina was the original Elaine Cummings didn't really help with anything. Knowing that she'd told her friends that she'd got a job with a government agency didn't help either. It still didn't answer my original question, had she been the one to betray me. How the fuck was I going to find that out?