let me go, have a heart. The whole time with his hands around Josh’s neck. His twisted way of telling me to keep my mouth shut, or Josh dies.”
“Shithead,” Nate said.
“Yes,” she agreed. “So that’s it. I’m in limbo. I have the flash drive, but I don’t have the key. If I could get it decrypted, I could destroy him and Sheldon both. But if I make any move against him, he’ll hurt Josh. So, nothing. I’m paralyzed.”
“Where’s the drive?” he asked.
She rattled a bauble that was attached to the zipper of her jacket. It was a Hello Kitty padlock, the kind a little girl might use to close a jewelry box.
“Right here,” she said. “Always with me.”
Nate was silent for a long moment. “Our best plan is to get Eric’s techs to decrypt the drive while we work on breaking Josh out of wherever Gil’s got him.”
She shrugged. “That sounds great. I fantasize about that every single night. But I don’t know where Gil is keeping him. It could be anywhere.”
“You’ve gone to the police?”
“Only that one time, with Willis,” she said. “I learned my lesson. I don’t want anyone else to die. The minute Gil gets the slightest hint of suspicious interest, Josh’s head is on the block.” She took off the glasses and rubbed her eyes. “I just don’t see any way out of this. Josh knows too much. Gil can’t let him go. Me being in the wind is the only thing keeping Josh alive, if he’s alive at all. When Gil finds me, we both die.”
“You’re not going to die,” Nate said forcefully. “Neither will Josh. We’ll get your brother back, and crush this radioactive cockroach.”
She gave him a wan smile. “We?”
“Yes, we,” he said. “Absolutely we.”
“You know, I can pay you for your help eventually,” she said. “And handsomely, too. Just not right now. But if all goes well, and I get my real identity back, I can—”
“Hold it right there,” he said. “This isn’t about money. And you know it.”
She gave him a tight, crooked smile. “Well, thanks very much for that. I appreciate it. But I do look forward to being able to pull my weight.”
The smartphone buzzed. It was Gina. He answered it. “Hey.”
“Good news, boss,” Gina said. “I found you a love nest. The Larsen Hotel and Mineral Springs. A historic hotel with a thermal bathhouse attached where railroad millionaires and steel tycoons of the nineteenth century used to take the waters with their wives or mistresses. Right on the Larsen River Canyon. Very romantic.”
“Gina…this isn’t actually a—”
“Plus, they have an excellent restaurant on site. Great reviews, famous chef, locally sourced food, blah, blah, blah. You can order from your room.”
“Sounds high-profile,” he said.
“Maybe, but you said someplace nice, which means there’s a woman involved, right? About damn time, if you ask me. I sent the location. You’re in the Astor Suite, which will be ready for you by eleven AM. Tell your friend that John Jacob Astor himself stayed there. It’s super-luxurious. You guys will love it.”
“We’re not going there to relax, Gina.”
“Phooey. All the more reason,” Gina said briskly. “You’re stressed, she’s stressed, life is short. Order every dessert on the menu so she can taste them all. They’re famous for their tortes. That’s layer cake for you pathetic types who don’t know cake. Good luck, Nate. You can thank me later.”
Gina closed the call, and Nate gazed at the phone in his hand, bemused.
“Who was that?” Elisa asked.
“My assistant, Gina,” he said. “She found us a place to stay. A spa resort hotel.”
“Sounds expensive,” Elisa said. “I’d rather find someplace reasonable.”
If he’d needed any more persuading to opt for the Larsen, that was it. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “I picked the place, so of course, I pay for it.”
“But why a luxury resort? A motel is fine.”
“I disagree.” He started the engine. “You could use some luxury right now.”
In less than twenty minutes, they were pulling up into the manicured driveway that led to the Larsen Hotel. He found a place in the back parking lot and went inside alone to check in. He came back with the key cards to where Elisa waited for him, still huddled low in the passenger seat of the Jeep.
He beckoned to her, and she got out of the car, glancing back over one shoulder, then the other. A gesture he’d seen her make many times.
Life goals: to see Elisa march across a parking lot bareheaded, barefaced, shoulders back, head