Bound by the Red Thread

He looked at the couch and shook his head. If he sat there he’d want to go back into the bedroom and finish what he’d started in the shower, moving on to a repeat of what had just happened, and he wasn’t sure that was a good idea for either of them right now.

He opened his laptop and connected to his email program. Before opening his email, he sat back to think over everything that was happening.

He shouldn’t have made love to Nicole. Nothing good could happen. When the case was over and her son had been returned, she would go back to her life and he would move on to the next case, which could send him anywhere in the world.

The kind of life he lived wasn’t for men with a family. One of the founding partners, Jason Elder, had found his happy forever on one of the first cases the agency had accepted, rescuing a woman from human traffickers. Not only did Jason end up marrying the woman that had hired them, but they were also now expecting their first child.

Paul was realistic enough to know that it didn’t work out that way for everyone. He had no expectations that what he and Nicole had, could or would become anything more. They were just two people who needed each other in this time and place. If nothing else, they could comfort each other, and the sex was outstanding. That’s all it could be.

Paul opened his email, quickly scanning the list looking for the message he had been waiting for.

His contact in the Chinese embassy had replied to his inquiry. They had no record of the law firm Jin had used being registered to practice anywhere in the country. That meant that the paperwork Jin has sent Nicole wasn’t legal in China. Her visa had been restored.

Monty had done some further digging and found out the paperwork had never been filed properly in the United States. It seemed that the lawyers Jin has hired hadn’t done a very good job. Nicole could now hire her own attorney and file for full custody and divorce should she choose.

His contact had been able to restore her visa and there were no restrictions on her travel. That didn’t mean that Huang Peng couldn’t or wouldn’t try to restrict her entry into his province by paying off the officials there, but with his contacts in the embassy, they should be able to by-pass anything he tried.

Finally, the good news they had been waiting for. With her travel rights restored, they could now travel legally to China when arrangements could be made to retrieve Clifton.

It would still take some time. The paperwork could be expedited and with any luck, they should have the documentation needed to fly to China and retrieve Clifton within the month.

That meant he had a month left with her, approximate

ly. The smart thing would be to leave her alone, tell her it had been a mistake and break things off now, before it became more than it could be.

They were both adults. They knew how life worked. He didn’t want to have just a one-night stand with her though. He wanted more. He wanted to spend time with her and find out more about her. He wanted to see where this could go. What could possibly happen?

At the end of the month, then he’d decide. He’d give them until then. He could do that. One month.

11

“He’s pinging his IP all over the place. This guy gave me and Egghead a merry chase. We finally traced him. Not that it helped us. He’s using a burner phone and public Wi-Fi.” Monty told them at the daily briefing Darrall has set up in the safe house.

Nicole had been in the safe house close to ten days, and they were no closer to finding out who was stalking her. In addition to the phone calls, she now had emails, gifts, and letters. The emails had been delivered to her work and personal email accounts. The letters had shown up in her mailbox at the apartment complex. There had also been gifts left outside her apartment door.

The cameras Monty had installed captured perfect pictures. Pictures of a figure dressed head to toe in black, including the covering over their face.

Paul and the guys had tried to convince her that it was good everything was happening so fast. That would make the person easier to catch.

Nicole just wanted it over. She missed her home. She wanted Cliff, and she wanted to go back to her house. She missed her work, and she missed her old life.

She kept herself busy making plans for her future. A future for her and her son. She tried to be realistic, but was sure some things would be different than what she planned.

When—if—she got Clifton home, he would want to see his father and she didn’t want to deny that, but how could she work that out? She would be scared to send the boy back to China. No way she was going to go through that again.

Would Jin be reasonable? Paul and some of his contacts had put her in touch with some attorneys that were licensed in both countries, and she had filed for divorce. Jin was due to receive the papers in a few days, if he hadn’t already, and Nicole wasn’t sure she was ready for the fallout from that.

Paul had assured her she would be able to handle anything that happened, but she wasn’t sure. She was stressed to her limit.

“Tell me you have more than that,” Darrall replied to Monty’s statement.

Monty grinned and nodded. “I managed to track our stalker as he left Nicole’s apartment. He’s good, but I’m better. It took several hours and a couple of pizzas, but I managed to trace him to the rental car shop.”

“So, we know who he is?” Nicole asked, sitting up and finally feeling like they were getting somewhere.

“We know who he isn’t,” Monty replied, turning the computer so that everyone could see the screen.

They were meeting at the safe house and didn’t have the high-tech equipment that had been available at the Trident offices. That didn’t slow Monty down any though.