Whispered Lies

His eyes twinkled in spite of her harpy tone. “Are you hungry?”

“Yes, but I probably slept past breakfast.”

Carlos waved at the flight attendant. She came right over, brilliant smile on her pretty face when she leaned down to hear him. She nodded and returned to the galley.

“What was that all about?” Gabrielle cringed at her crabby attitude, but the woman had been ogling Carlos.

And he seemed fine with it. Men.

“I asked her to bring you some food.” His mouth twitched, fighting a smile.

How could she fault any woman for ogling a man who looked that good in a black, button-down shirt and black jeans after flying all night?

She wanted to shrink and hide in the blanket. Mornings weren’t her best time of day. She rarely spoke to anyone before having a shower, tea, and breakfast.

She felt the need to apologize, but not to the person who had taken her prisoner. In a compromise with her conscience, she said, “That might improve my mood.”

“I’ve noticed.” The smile that broke free reached his eyes this time. Gorgeous deep brown eyes fringed with black lashes.

She couldn’t hold on to her anger in the face of his good nature and smiled back. “I’m sorry to be so grumpy. But I’m used to being alone in the morning. I normally have time to acquire a personality before I leave the house.”

Something she said drew an odd look through his eyes, but the fleeting expression vanished just as quickly.

The flight attendant brought her breakfast and nicely reminded Gabrielle she only had about ten minutes to eat.

“Merci.” Gabrielle finished quickly, handing her tray to the flight attendant on the last pass through before landing.

Other than popping a couple mints in his mouth from the tin he shared with her, Carlos remained quiet throughout the landing and changing airplanes to the one for Carcasso

But his eyes showed the lack of rest. Based on what she’d heard during the meeting, he hadn’t slept much in several days.

Gabrielle feigned sleep until Carlos dropped his head back and let his eyes close. She doubted he was ever in a deep sleep, but sensed he wouldn’t even try to rest when she was alert. She could tell he watched her constantly, even when he didn’t seem to be noticing her.

How would she slip away with him so vigilant?

Why did she feel so guilty about pla

But she had to find a way to leave because she doubted Joe would let her walk around with knowledge of his group even if she didn’t have a name for them.

When she escaped, Gabrielle had to disappear permanently.

“YOU’RE NEVER HOME when I am so why does it matter how much I’m gone?” Gotthard asked, regretting the call he’d made home. He should have realized his wife, Martina, wouldn’t see it as an effort on his part to stay in touch, but rather an opening to rag on him.

“I might not mind if I could find you once in a while.”

“You have my cell phone and I return calls when I can.” Gotthard used his Bluetooth so he could type hands-free, but this call would be short. No one at the BAD operations center made a call to anyone on a cell phone long enough to be traced, no matter if they were talking to their ninety-year-old grandmother.

“Why can’t I at least know where you are? What can be so top secret about working on the interior design of an airplane?”

“For one thing, the design is for another country, and number two, I signed a security agreement. I’d breach the contract by telling anyone, including you.”

“At least-”

“I’m sorry, Martina, but I have someone buzzing me. I’ve got to go. I…” Just say it. I love you. He wanted to, really, but…“Miss you. Talk to you later.”

Gotthard hung up, waded through a few moments of guilt, then returned to toying with the code from Linette’s postcard. He’d been sending messages out through a system he’d created that sent postings in several mixed forms to different blogs and electronic-board sites. He signed each message with Bee Happee at the bottom and included a code word in the text.

“What you got big guy?” Hunter sauntered into the IT center at BAD, located beneath the city of Nashville and co

“Not much new, except for this.” Gotthard turned and lifted several documents he’d printed out. “I’ve been cross-referencing names and found a common link between the three teens, Linette, and Gabrielle.”

Hunter took the papers and started reading. “What is it?”

“Look at the ancestry. There’s a D-ange-ruese notation showing up in each direct lineage of a firstborn or an only child. What I’ve found online indicates it’s a bloodline that might go back two thousand years.”

“Sounds like one of the zillion myths being peddled on the Net.” Hunter leaned down, studying the notations, then shook his head. “Damn Internet is the best and worst thing that ever happened to this world.”

“Myth or not, Amelia, Gabrielle, Linette, and the two other teens we can’t locate all have that designation in common plus they’re all either an only child or a firstborn. Mandy is the only exception, but it’s something.”

Hunter squinted his eyes in thought. “Huh. I’ve got friends in Europe who specialize in really obscure ancestry. Let me put some professionals on this.”

ONCE SHE DEPLANED in Carcasso

Was it her imagination or had he withdrawn from her?

He hadn’t joked or touched her u

Now she was thinking like a high school teenager, worried the hot guy in school didn’t notice her. Her cheeks heated at the memory of this hot guy ru

He’d noticed her, but not in a flattering way.

She pulled a carry-on bag Joe’s people had packed for her after she’d listed all the things she needed. How had anyone shopped that fast? Every item she’d requested had been included, no questions asked.

At the first ladies’ room they reached, Gabrielle moved out of the flow, but stopped short of the entrance when Carlos caught her arm.

Swinging a glare first at his hand, then at his face, she kept her voice low and didn’t soften the bite of a

The crowd noise swallowed a sound that accompanied the scowling curl of his lips. He took a breath, seeming to draw patience from that simple act, and leaned close when he spoke.

“I hadn’t pla

He drew her into his arms intimately, as if…to kiss her?

Gabrielle held her breath, all thoughts of the ladies’ room vanishing at the prospect of another kiss. She had no idea what had prompted this and would normally be worried over acting appropriately in public, but they were anonymous to this crowd.

One thought ventured to the surface. I might not get this chance again. She’d denied herself the simplest of joys over the past ten years. What was the harm in a kiss?

When he slid a hand around her back, she turned her face up to his, staring into eyes dark as charred whiskey. He paused and his gaze burned with something she was afraid to give a name. She swallowed, her breathing shallow and expectant.

Her skin rippled with anticipation. Want.

His jaw tensed. He glanced over her head and slipped a hand under the back of her sweater, raising a gasp from her when his warm fingers touched her skin.