Zero Day
Page 12
He stared.
He had never seen Yona so moved as when she looked at the ring on her finger.
He had saved up all year to buy this ring. The diamond was small, but he’d paid cash for it.
“We’re not promised tomorrow. You’ve heard the expression before.”
“My ankle monitor comes off in about ten months. After that, I get to travel.” Maybe even go home to the United States.
“A simple wedding won’t take long to prepare.” Yona pulled Kelvin to his feet.
“A spring wedding then.”
Yona nodded as she ran a finger across Kelvin’s lips.
Their kiss was short lived.
An applause interrupted their brief celebration.
“Congratulations!” Dmitri came up to them. His eyes were on Kelvin. “Very clever, Kel.”
“What?” Yona’s eyebrows rose.
“He popped the question before he told you about the other thing,” Dmitri said.
“What other thing?” Yona’s fists were on her hips now.
“Reuel is in custody.” Dmitri smiled.
“Seriously?” Yona’s head swung toward Kelvin so fast that it stunned Kelvin. “How?”
“You’ll have to ask the CIA and FSB, but I doubt they’d give you great details,” Kelvin said. “Just thank God it’s all over now. We’re safe now.”
“Reuel. After six years.” Yona exhaled.
“He was hard to find,” Dmitri said. “He had plastic surgery and moved to Brazil. He went off the grid. Never left the house he stayed in. If not for the reward money, no one would ever have known he was there.”
“Brazil.” Yona seemed to be deep in thought. “Why did the CIA and FSB go after Reuel?”
“It’s part of the deal he made with them.” Dmitri pointed to Kelvin.
Kelvin sighed. “I’m just glad they came through. I help them. They help us.”
He didn’t want to go into details, but it had taken longer for the Dario and Leonid to do their part of the bargain than it had for Kelvin to help them solve their problems.
“The Gulfstream is fueled,” Dmitri told Yona.
“Yes, sir. Could you give us a minute?” Yona asked.
“Sure. Don’t take too long. I’ll wait for you in the garage. I’m leaving for the airport in twenty minutes with or without you.” Dmitri walked away. “Thank you, Kelvin!”
“You’re welcome.” Kelvin was sure the elderly man could still hear him.
Yona turned to Kelvin. “So you asked me to marry you before you told me about Reuel’s capture.”
“I wanted to be sure you’re marrying me for the right reason.”
“For you and not for what you do. Of course.” Yona smiled. “We’ll talk some more when I get back.”
“I’ll pray for your safety. And for the team’s too.”
Yona smiled. “Don’t worry. Just make sure you take care of our cat.”
Our cat. “Will do.”
Poor Mordecai was thirteen years old, and he could be nearing the end of his days on earth. He walked slowly, had stopped chasing rats, preferred to be pampered with soft canned food, and generally looked old.
Kelvin wondered if Mordecai was much older than he looked. After all, he had started out as a stray kitten before he’d moved in with Tereza.
Kelvin prayed that Mordecai would still be alive when Yona returned from her rescue mission, whatever that was. He had learned not to ask questions that he didn’t want to hear the answers to.
“Don’t get into trouble while I’m gone. I don’t want to wait another five years for you to get out of jail.” Yona reached for Kelvin. “I don’t want to have to explain to our future kids why their dad can’t tuck them in at night.”
“Future kids?”
“As many as you want.” And she gave him one long kiss for the road.
Key Bible Verses in ZERO DAY
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
I Timothy 6:10
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I John 1:8-9
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Galatians 6:7-8
The Next Book is ZERO BASE
Binary Hackers Book 3
In the last chapters of Zero Day, we hear about a rescue mission that is hush-hush and would take three months.
As with all things in real life, adjustments have to be made. Dmitri ends up not going, and he is replaced by a CIA Protective Agent who is looking for his missing asset. Stay tuned for what happens next.
Zero Base (Binary Hackers Book 3)
JanThompson.com/zerobase
Subscribe to Jan’s mailing list to be notified when this book is released.
JanThompson.com/newsletter
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to my Georgia Press publishing team for keeping up with my writing schedule.
With God-given eyes for copyediting details, Lenda Selph is my patient proofreader extraordinaire. I appreciate her and thank God for her invaluable hard work.
Additional copyediting was provided by Dori Harrell. Thank you very much.
I am grateful to God for my husband and son for their support and encouragement.
And I’ll always remember my beloved mother and my late father for having instilled in me the love of reading and writing from a very early age. I miss my father here on earth, but I will see him in heaven some bright day.
Most of all, I am eternally thankful to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to save me from my sins and rose again from the grave to give me eternal life. Without Him, I can write nothing.
Jan Thompson
John 3:16
Books by Jan Thompson
Romantic Suspense & Beach Romance
BINARY HACKERS (Near-Future Inspirational Romantic Thrillers)
Book 1: Zero Sum
Book 2: Zero Day
Book 3: Zero Base
Books 4-6: Coming soon!
PROTECTOR SWEETHEARTS (Christian Romantic Suspense)
Book 1: Once a Thief
Book 2: Once a Hero
Book 3: Once a Spy
Books 4-9: Coming soon!
SAVANNAH SWEETHEARTS (Christian Coastal City & Beach Town Romance)
Prequel: Ask You Later
Book 1: Know You More
Book 2: Tell You Soon (Romance with Suspense)
Book 3: Draw You Near
Book 4: Cherish You So
Book 5: Walk You There
Book 6: Love You Always (Romance with Suspense)
Book 7: Kiss You Now
Book 8: Find You Again
Book 9: Wish You Joy (Christmas Year Round)
Book 10: Call You Home
VACATION SWEETHEARTS (Christian Travel Romance)
Book 1: Smile for Me
Book 2: Reach for Me (Romance with Suspense)
Book 3: Wait for Me (Romance with Suspense)
Book 4: Look for Me (Romance with Suspense)
Book 5: Pray for Me
Book 6: Care for Me
Book 7: Cheer for Me
SEASIDE CHAPEL (Christian Small Town & Island Romance)
Book 1: Share with Me
Book 2: Step with Me
Book 3: Sing with Me
(More Books to Come)
Subscribe to Jan Thompson’s mailing list for book news:
JanThompson.com/newsletter
Binary Hackers
Like more suspense with your Christian romance? Like to read suspense thrillers? If you’re looking for clean near-future romantic suspense wit
hout compromising the Christian faith, these books are for you.
From USA Today bestselling author Jan Thompson come these inspirational near-future cyberthrillers combining technothriller and romance, starting with Binary Hackers that feature computer specialists living at the edge of cyberspace, where they have to juggle being law-abiding truth-telling Christians while carrying out their assignments by any and all means possible.
The Binary Hackers series is set in the same story world as Jan’s other books, and characters from the other series may make cameo appearances in this series and vice versa.
JanThompson.com/binary
Book 1: Zero Sum
Book 2: Zero Day
Book 3: Zero Base
(More Books to Come)
Protector Sweethearts
Private investigator Helen Hu and her associates specialize in searching for missing persons and hunting for lost treasures. Join them in their adventure suspense around the world in USA Today bestselling author Jan Thompson's Protector Sweethearts, a series of Christian Romantic Suspense with a side of mystery. Protector Sweethearts is a spin-off of Savannah Sweethearts and Vacation Sweethearts.
JanThompson.com/protector
Book 1: Once a Thief
Book 2: Once a Hero
Book 3: Once a Spy
(More Books to Come)
Savannah Sweethearts
Welcome to the new south! From USA Today bestselling author Jan Thompson come these clean and wholesome, sweet and inspirational Christian romances set on the romantic beaches of Tybee Island and in the coastal town of Savannah, Georgia.
Meet a group of multiracial and multiethnic churchgoing Christians who love the Lord, work hard in their careers, and seek God’s will for their love lives. Against a backdrop of ocean, sand, and sun, these inspirational romances showcase aspects of the human need for God and for one another. Have some tea, settle in a comfortable reading chair, and enjoy these sweet celebrations of faith, hope, and love in Jesus Christ.
JanThompson.com/savannah
Prequel: Ask You Later
Book 1: Know You More
Book 2: Tell You Soon (Romance with Suspense)
Book 3: Draw You Near
Book 4: Cherish You So
Book 5: Walk You There
Book 6: Love You Always (Romance with Suspense)
Book 7: Kiss You Now
Book 8: Find You Again
Book 9: Wish You Joy (Christmas Year Round)
Book 10: Call You Home
Vacation Sweethearts
Travel with our friends from Savannah, Georgia, to the coast and to the mountains. Cheer them on as they celebrate the immeasurable grace and undeserved mercy of God through Jesus Christ.
The Vacation Sweethearts novels are a spin-off of Jan’s Savannah Sweethearts series, and fans will recognize familiar faces from Riverside Chapel, a church in the coastal city of Savannah, Georgia. In fact, we might even visit the beach town of Tybee Island from time to time to visit old friends and beloved families...
The collection begins with Smile for Me, the story of Byron Moss and Tina MacFarland, spending their summer on the Caribbean islands of the Bahamas where the water is blue and hearts are warm…
JanThompson.com/vacation
Book 1: Smile for Me
Book 2: Reach for Me (Romance with Suspense)
Book 3: Wait for Me (Romance with Suspense)
Book 4: Look for Me (Romance with Suspense)
Book 5: Pray for Me
Book 6: Care for Me
Book 7: Cheer for Me
Seaside Chapel
The novels of Seaside Chapel blend women’s fiction with contemporary Christian romance to celebrate the grace of God and hope in Jesus Christ.
Visit Jan’s favorite beach town of St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, where our friends live and attend Seaside Chapel, a little church by the sea known for its beach weddings and fair shares of love and life. As these Christians grow in their knowledge and understanding of God, they are tested in their spiritual maturity, their relationships with others, and their love lives. Share their heartaches and healing, and cheer them on as they celebrate faith, family, and friends. Inherently, the human nature is such that we have in our hearts a need for the Lord, for His salvation, sustenance, and sanctification.
Enjoy the music of the orchestra and hymns of the church, as well as follow the lives of the residents of this southern coastal town where the past and present intersect…
JanThompson.com/seaside
Book 1: Share with Me
Book 2: Step with Me
Book 3: Sing with Me
(More Books to Come)
About Jan Thompson
USA Today bestselling author Jan Thompson writes clean and wholesome contemporary Christian romance with elements of women’s fiction, Christian romantic suspense with an air of mystery, and inspirational international thrillers with threads of sweet Christian romance.
Raised on a tropical island in the eastern hemisphere, Jan now lives and writes in the western hemisphere. Her international background gives her a unique multicultural and multiracial perspective to her novels and books.
Jan graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and worked as a database programmer and information technology consultant for years before transitioning from writing software programs to her lifelong dream job of writing fiction books that she wants to read.
Jan’s books are for readers who love inspiring stories of faith, hope, and love in Jesus Christ.
Find out more about Jan Thompson:
JanThompson.com
Subscribe to Jan’s book news mailing list:
JanThompson.com/newsletter
For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.
―John 3:16