“I’d rather keep you both in the States if possible. What about Cokabow?”
“Better. Thanks, Doc.”
“You’re sure about the necessity of this, Dutch?”
“One hundred percent.” He couldn’t explain why he felt so certain that no one outside of the K19 team should know where Malin was. It was all about him listening to his instincts. Everyone who did what they did for a living learned that paying attention to what their intuition was telling them kept them alive.
“There’ll be a brief waiting that outlines what little we’ve been able to find out when you’re able to access email,” Doc told him before ending the call.
Dutch returned to the seat next to Malin a few minutes later when Onyx opened the door of the aircraft. “Ready?” he asked.
She nodded and followed him off the plane.
“Where are we going?” she asked when they got to the tarmac and, instead of heading into the main terminal, Dutch followed Onyx in the opposite direction.
“Heliport,” he answered.
She didn’t question why, but he didn’t expect her to; it was common for the agency to provide helicopter transport from Reagan to headquarters.
Dutch was tempted to look at his email while they waited, but decided not to until he had a few minutes of assured privacy. If Malin happened to see what he was reading, the fragile peace that was between them may very well shatter.
“Hungry?” he asked, turning toward her and touching her neck with the tip of his finger.
Unlike on the plane, this time she flinched and moved away from him.
“I can wait,” she answered without looking at him.
“When’s the last time you ate?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Not the question.”
“Yes, it was. You asked if I was hungry.”
“And then I asked when you last ate.”
“Is it really important, Dutch? I’m exhausted, and I just want to go home.”
He nodded, wondering how she’d react once they got in the air and she realized she wasn’t going anywhere near home.
A helicopter would take them as far as Langley. There, they’d catch a transport to Shaw Air Force Base, and then another helicopter would transport them to Charleston, where they’d take a boat over to Cokabow Island. The totally private land was an asset of K19 Security Solutions, but the distance they had to go to get there meant they had another seven or eight hours of travel ahead of them.
“Be right back,” he said, not that she seemed to be paying attention to him. Malin Kilbourne had a hell of a lot on her mind, and soon, he intended to convince her to tell him exactly what.
* * *
“Where’d the other guy go?” Dutch asked Onyx.
“Don’t need him from here on out.”
“Who’s piloting with you?”
“Corazón.”
“Never heard of him.”
“Her.”