Kept Secrets

by Traci Hunter Abramson

  Another horrific thought shot through her. Was Devin okay? Had these men come looking for her to deliver bad news?

  Logic surfaced, and she retreated back into the stairwell. If they had come to tell her something was wrong with Devin, they would have waited for her to answer her door rather than break in.

  At a loss as to their true motives, she considered her options until she heard two of their voices coming toward her.

  Afraid the men might be heading back downstairs, she went the other direction. She had just passed the landing halfway to the fifth floor when the door on the fourth floor opened. She couldn’t understand the men, but she could sense their frustration.

  Grace froze, afraid to make any sound.

  A discussion ensued below her, and ultimately two men headed back down the stairs.

  The stairwell now empty, she continued to the fifth floor. She didn’t have her phone so she couldn’t call for help. To get to her cab, she would have to walk out the front entrance, where the men’s car was parked. She also had no idea where they were now, except for the one who was still in her apartment.

  The weight of her backpack offered her another possibility for communication. Lowering it to the floor, she pulled her laptop free and powered it on. She slipped the backpack onto her shoulder once more and walked slowly down the hall while watching her laptop screen. When she didn’t find what she was looking for, she climbed to the sixth floor and once again walked the hall.

  This time her silent prayers were answered in the form of an unsecured Internet connection.

  She accessed the New York Police Department’s website and sent a message. Apartment break-in happening now. Three Chinese men, midthirties, dark suits, driving a black SUV. She then gave her address and submitted the message.

  Chapter 21

  Grace waited forty-five minutes before she finally ventured down the stairwell on the opposite side of the building from her apartment. She had no idea if the police had ever arrived or if the men in her apartment were still in the building. What she did know was that she was tired of waiting around and praying that she wouldn’t be found.

  She reached the first floor and cracked the door open wide enough to peek into the lobby. She didn’t see a police car out front, nor was the black SUV still present.

  The likelihood of the cab still waiting for her hovered somewhere between slim and none. She wondered vaguely if the cabbie had filed a complaint once he’d realized she wasn’t coming back. Grace emerged from the stairwell and turned away from the front entrance. The side door led into an alley she normally avoided at all costs. Today, she was grateful for its seclusion.

  Her heart was pounding as she turned toward the back of the building and used the maze of alleys to hide herself from view until she reached the next block. She raised a hand to hail a cab, grateful that she had to wait only a minute before one pulled up to the curb.

  “Where to, miss?”

  Grace looked at the clock on the dash. Her flight was scheduled to leave in less than an hour. Even if she could get to JFK in the next twenty minutes, she’d never clear security in time, and unfortunately, her ticket didn’t allow for changes. The image of the men in her apartment was enough to prompt her to alter her plans. “Grand Central Station, but I need to stop at a bank along the way.”

  The driver nodded and put the car in gear. He pulled into traffic, and Grace turned to look over her shoulder. She didn’t see any familiar faces behind her and hoped that would remain the case for the rest of her travels. She didn’t know who the men were, but she wanted to know why they were looking for her.

  * * *

  Feeling very much like a fugitive with no one readily available whom she could trust, Grace made her way to the bank of pay phones in Grand Central Station. The withdrawal she had made from the bank would give her traveling cash, but now she had to decide what to do with it. Her first call to the police department did little to ease her concerns.

  The officer who took the call confirmed that they had apprehended a man in her apartment. The only thing of hers they’d found in his possession was her cell phone, but instead of charging him, they’d let him go. The Chinese national had diplomatic immunity. Other than a report being filed with the State Department, nothing would happen to him.

  Not sure if and when she would be able to return, she called information and asked for the number for her company so she could let her boss know she might be gone longer than anticipated.

  “Anderson Enterprises, how may I direct your call?”

  “Helen Keswick, please.”

  “One moment.” The moment stretched out until the receptionist came back on the line. “I’m sorry, but she is in a meeting. May I leave a message?”

  “This is Grace Shanahan. I wanted to let her know I’ve had a family emergency and I may need to take a few extra days off.”

  “Oh, Grace. I was just looking for you.”

  “I beg your pardon?” Grace thought of the hundreds of people who worked in her office. She doubted the receptionist even knew her name, so why would she recognize her now?

  “A couple of people were looking for you a few minutes ago. I offered to take a message, but they left.”

  Grace closed her eyes. “Thanks for letting me know.”

  “One more thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The police were here looking for you too. Are you in some kind of trouble?”

  “No. They were probably following up on a report I sent in. Thanks for your help.”

  Grace hung up. The men at her apartment really were looking for her. The same question continued to flood her mind: why?

  Her imagination, fueled by the various television shows she had watched over the years, helped her consider how best to disappear from New York without being followed.

  She picked up the pay phone once more, this time calling a number from memory.

  “Grandpa?”

  “Grace? Is that you? I thought you were supposed to be on a plane right now.”

  “I was. I had some trouble getting to my flight.” She thought over the various flight schedules between Phoenix and Grand Junction and considered the passport in her backpack that still identified her under her maiden name. If someone was looking for her by name, maybe it was time to go back to being Grace Harrington. “When were you planning on driving up to the new place?”

  “I close tomorrow morning. I plan to head up afterward.”

  “Can you pick me up at the airport on your way? I should be able to get there by noon.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “We’ll talk when I get there.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, obviously concerned. “You take care.”

  “I will. I love you, Grandpa.”

  “I love you too.”

  She wanted to make one more call, but the time difference made it impossible. Instead, she found a quiet corner and accessed Grand Central Station’s free Wi-Fi. After logging into her e-mail account, she stared at the blank message and debated what to write. She opted for the truth.

  Devin,

  I don’t know what is going on, but some Chinese nationals broke into my apartment today, and I’m afraid to go back there. They stole my phone, so I lost all of my contacts. Please e-mail me back and give me your phone number. I’m worried about you.

  Love,

  Grace

  She read through the simple message, debating if she should give him more information on where she planned to go next. Her newfound paranoia kept her from revealing any more than what she had already written, so she pressed send. Once he e-mailed her back, they could talk on the phone, and maybe Devin could explain why those men had been looking for her.

  * * *

  “She got away.”

  “I already heard. Chanming was discovered at her apartment.”

  “What do you want us to do now?”

  “Keep an eye on her workplace. She may try to stay some
where else, but work will be her one constant.”

  “We had her phone until the police confiscated it. Unfortunately, that means we won’t be able to trace her location anymore.”

  “If we can’t trace her, neither can the CIA.” He considered. “Make sure there isn’t any way for the woman to contact Mr. Shanahan. If we can intercept any messages between them, he’ll never know for sure if we are the ones keeping her from him.”

  “And if we do find the woman?”

  “She will be our guest. Our sources tell us she is the key to getting what we want.”

  “I’ll keep you informed.”

  “See that you do.” He nodded. “And tell Liko it’s time to make a move. We can’t wait any longer. We’ve already missed too many opportunities.”

  “I’ll send the message.” He bowed and left the room.

  * * *

  Devin saw Chee sitting in his apartment and sent him a questioning glance before tapping a finger to his ear.

  “I disabled it.” Chee motioned to the seat beside him. “There’s something you need to know.” He drew a breath before giving him the news. “Grace is gone.”

  “What?” Devin couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t feel. “Define ‘gone.’”

  “She’s missing,” Chee clarified.

  Devin dropped onto his couch. “Missing but alive?”

  “Yes, she’s alive.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Chee nodded. “A couple of our Chinese friends showed up at her apartment yesterday. Apparently the police received a message that her place had been broken into. When the cops arrived, they found an intelligence operative still inside.”

  “Did he say why he was there?”

  “Unfortunately, he has diplomatic immunity and isn’t talking. The State Department is having him deported, but we aren’t going to get any information from him.”

  “You said there was more than one. Could the other one have found Grace?”

  “The message the police received came from Grace’s building. Around the same time the cops got to the apartment complex, two Asian men showed up at Grace’s work looking for her. We think she must have seen them coming and taken off.”

  “How would she know they were a threat? She doesn’t even know who I really work for.”

  “I don’t know. All I know is that the man they apprehended had Grace’s cell phone, but she was nowhere to be found.” Chee hastily added, “We were able to track her movements as far as Grand Central Station, and we know she stopped at the bank and withdrew over a thousand dollars.”

  “Travel money. She’s trying to get home.”

  “I just told you she wasn’t at her apartment.”

  “Not that home. Home to Colorado.” Devin stood and headed for his room. “I have to make sure she’s okay.”

  Chee followed. “Devin, that’s exactly what these people want you to do. They’re pressing buttons to see what will work. The best thing you can do is stay here. Act like you don’t have any idea anything happened.”

  He pulled his suitcase out of the closet and tossed it on the bed. “You told me she would be safe, and she’s not. How can I trust you to keep her safe now?”

  “We’ll make sure she’s okay,” Chee promised. “You stick with the story that she’s not part of your life. It’s the only way to make sure she stays safe.”

  “If I had known what I was getting myself into, I never would have agreed to this.” Devin dropped onto his bed beside the now-open suitcase. He blinked against his emotions and looked up at the man across the room. “My wife means everything to me.”

  “I understand.” Chee fell silent for a moment. “I’ll ask headquarters to do a search of the various transportation possibilities out of New York and the surrounding areas. They’ll make sure she gets to where she’s going safely.”

  “Thank you.”

  “As for you, get some sleep. You look like you’ve been run over by a truck.”

  “At this point, I think that would be less painful.” Devin watched Chee cross the room and reactivate the listening device. A moment later, the door opened and closed. Obediently, Devin walked across the room to make sure it sounded like he had just arrived. Then he shoved his suitcase back into his closet, dropped into bed, and wondered how many nightmares he would have to battle in his sleep tonight.

  Chapter 22

  Grace hadn’t known it was possible to be this tired. Exhaustion had ceased to describe her weariness when she landed in Arizona. Yesterday she had taken a shuttle from Grand Central Station to La Guardia and finally taken an evening flight to Phoenix.

  Nine hours in the airport trying to get comfortable sleeping on the floor had been woefully insufficient, and boarding her plane to Grand Junction had ultimately been a relief. She supposed she would have ended up with a backache even if she hadn’t been fifteen weeks pregnant, but her growing abdomen hadn’t helped matters, and she worried that the stress of the past day and her lack of sleep would adversely affect her babies. Thankfully, the seat next to her had been empty, and she had managed to sleep on the hour-and-a-half flight.

  Her stomach grumbled, and she popped a handful of almonds into her mouth. She refused to think about how much money she had spent at airport restaurants and snack bars in an attempt to get the nourishment she and her babies needed.

  Wearily, she made her way outside. As promised, her grandfather was waiting in his old pickup truck when she stepped out of the airport. The truck bed was full, and he was pulling a trailer, a tarp tied over the contents to keep them protected from the elements.

  He saw her coming and climbed out, circling to the passenger side to greet her.

  All of the weariness, fear, and emotional turmoil spilled out the moment Grace’s arms encircled him.

  His voice was gruff when he asked, “Hey, what’s this for?”

  She couldn’t speak, her throat closing up, her tears fighting to get free.

  He pulled back and looked at her, one of his calloused hands brushing a tear from her cheek. He looked around. “Where are your bags?”

  “This is all I have,” she managed to say, nodding at her backpack.

  Without another word, he pulled open her door and waited for her to get in. As soon as he climbed behind the wheel, he reached across her, opened the glove box, and fished out a packet of tissues. He handed it to her and started the engine.

  “Go ahead and get the tears out. When you’re done, you can tell me what’s going on.”

  Leave it to her grandfather to give her the no-nonsense approach. With permission to let go of her emotions, her tears subsided, and she took a deep breath. “A lot has happened over the last couple days.”

  “We have better than a two-hour drive ahead of us. Might as well start at the beginning.”

  “I’m not sure what the beginning is.”

  “How about you tell me why you missed your plane yesterday.”

  “I guess that all started when I left my cell phone at home,” Grace said. As she relayed the events of yesterday, she felt more and more like she was living in some kind of alternate reality. Yet two questions still remained: Why were those men looking for her? And why hadn’t she heard from Devin for the past seven days?

  * * *

  Devin declined Fai’s dinner invitation on Saturday night. The last thing he wanted was to go out to dinner with a bunch of coworkers, especially since he still hadn’t received any confirmation from Chee or Ghost that Grace was okay. Not knowing where she was had every nerve in his body humming.

  He knew Chee would disapprove of his decision to stay home tonight, but he couldn’t do this anymore. He wanted out, and he wanted out now.

  Devin had played along with Chee’s plans all week, but he knew he couldn’t keep it up. He hadn’t signed up for undercover work, and now it was time for him to make it clear to his superiors that he was done being their puppet. He certainly didn’t have any interest in sitting around like bait.

  If no one had made a
move on him in the past few days, it was unlikely anyone was going to.

  Perhaps someone intent on robbing him had drugged his drink. If Ghost hadn’t come along when he had, Devin’s wallet might have disappeared along with his phone, but at least he wouldn’t have this overwhelming sense of dread that the Chinese government was watching his every move.

  He sat at the kitchen table to eat the leftovers he had warmed up from dinner the night before. He had taken only two bites when a knock sounded at the door.

  Devin stood and debated briefly whether he should disable the listening device. Realizing that whoever was listening would notice if the room went silent after a knock sounded, he ignored that instinct and crossed to the door.

  He expected to find Chee on the other side, but instead he found Fai. “Fai. What are you doing here? I thought you went out with everyone else tonight.”

  “May I come in?”

  Though his instincts told him to deny the request, Devin nodded. “Sure.” He stepped aside and waited for Fai to pass. He offered him a seat with a wave of his hand, and as soon as they both settled onto the couch, Devin asked, “What can I do for you?”

  “I believe there is much we can do for each other,” Fai said. “I have a business proposition for you.”

  “The markets are all closed. I would have thought you would want to take a break from work for the weekend.”

  “This business has nothing to do with the markets.” Fai’s eyes met his with an intensity Devin hadn’t previously noticed. “You are uniquely suited for this particular situation.”

  “What situation is that?”

  “I have friends who are interested in a certain flow of information,” he said. “I understand you have a unique access to information.”

  “What are you talking about? You have just as much access to information as I do.”

  Fai reached into his suit jacket pocket and drew out two sheets of paper folded lengthwise.

  “Does this look familiar?” He set the top paper on the coffee table and smoothed it out.

  Devin leaned forward and looked at it. A copy of his job offer lay before him, his signature at the bottom.