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.“The biker at the Pantheon,” I said, looking at Luca.“It was him! He wasn’t going for Mrs.Jennings, he was going for you.But he almost took you out!”Taj inclined his head at the gunman.“We passed a message.”“I didn’t see you give him anything,” said Sophie, “and I was looking right at you.”“Me too,” added Kevin.I narrowed my eyes in disbelief.“I didn’t see anything.”“A few hand signals were enough.A wave, two fingers held up, a sweep of my arm indicated the time and place for the next move.”I stared at him, incredulous.“You told him all that by waving arms and fingers?”Taj sighed, exasperated.“Come on, Bec, haven’t you learned not to leave evidence? A note can be found if it’s not destroyed.I don’t leave anything behind that I don’t mind others finding.Not on paper—and never electronically.E-mail and electronic searches can be traced, even if it’s erased.You of all people should know that.”“Yes,” I grumbled.The misadventure with Dean Harding seemed a lifetime ago, but it was going to haunt me forever.“I had Ortiz put an antenna in your room and wear one on her to trace your movements and online activity.When she borrowed your phone, she planted a bug.I knew where you went, what you did, who you talked to.” He chuckled.“Nice handle, Cap’nCrunch.”He got me there.He really was a master.I felt the blood rush to my face.“But what about people—they can be evidence too,” I insisted a little desperately.Taj looked at Ortiz and Luca.“True.You can’t eliminate all risk from a situation, but you can do your best to minimize it—involve as few co-conspirators as possible, pay them outrageously well, and have something on them to guarantee their continued loyalty.”I never would have thought not to trust Ortiz.“Some things I had to do myself.” He moved his fingers like he was rubbing something between them.I gasped.“Mrs.Jennings’s cape! When you touched it, you stuck the GPS on it!”Taj’s gaze settled on me.“Very good.”“You were going to take her there, at St.Peter’s,” I said, dumbfounded.On holy ground, in front of the Secret Service, tourists, the Swiss Guards, schoolchildren.It was so bold I could hardly believe it.But something had gone wrong.“I try to plan for all contingencies, but we couldn’t account for her taking the cape off—and still less it being stolen.Ortiz had the tracker.When it started beeping like crazy, she assumed that my friend here had taken Mrs.Jennings, and tried to send the other agents on a wild goose chase.We followed the signal, and when we found the cape, Mrs.Jennings obviously wasn’t with it.That light-fingered punk messed up everything.”I turned to Ortiz.“Why? Why do you help him?”“Is it money?” Kevin asked with a sneer.And here I thought Kev was Mr.Materialism—but I guess even he had moral limits when it came to treason and kidnapping.Ortiz didn’t answer, only pressed her lips into a hard, thin line.“Don’t be too hard on her,” Taj said.“Ten million dollars buys a lot of loyalty.”In the right place outside the US, Ortiz would be set for life like a rock star with that kind of money.Kevin cursed at her as he struggled against the ties, making them tighter.“Stop jiggling or you’ll cut off your circulation!” I snapped.My mind ran through possible scenarios.It looked like Taj meant to trap us here and then disappear with Mrs.Jennings.If they were going to kill us, they would have done it already, not waste time tying us up.Taj might not have wanted to hurt anyone, but I wasn’t anxious to see what he’d do if he became desperate.I thought about what happened to Parker.Did she just get in the way or figure out Ortiz was involved?Wait.Ortiz would have known all about Mrs.Jennings’s schedule, so Parker wouldn’t have been mistaken for the First Lady.Taj wanted Theresa Jennings, obviously—but he also must have wanted Parker out of the way.She was Secret Service too.It would have been very risky having her in control.Get rid of Parker … and Serena was next in line.It made sense that she would fill in on such short notice, no one could have expected Candace to show up and take over.“Is Serena part of this?” I asked, desperate to know that I’d figured it out.“She bought the cables to access the car’s computer.She put them on her expense report.”“Stupid woman.” Taj shook his head, a look of disgust on his face.“When you get out of here, make sure you tell Candace that Serena was more than willing to help us remove Parker Phillips as editor-in-chief of Edge so that she could replace her.” He chuckled.“She had no idea that Parker was an operative, or what the ultimate plan was.”“This would have been a whole lot easier with Serena in charge of the magazine,” said Ortiz.“She was manageable.But then Candace Worthington showed up.” She sneered at me.“And of course, let’s not forget our Juliet.Nothing slows you down, not even being sideswiped on the way to the hospital.”Luca’s lips twisted up wickedly.“It was just a little scare.I could have done worse.”Taj shrugged.“We still achieved our objective.”Taj, Ortiz, Serena … all scum.One good thought occurred to me, though.I didn’t see Dante here.That could mean either he wasn’t involved, which I fervently hoped, or he was somewhere else, maybe waiting with a getaway car.The whole “I can’t stand to look at you” posturing between Taj and Dante could have been an act.At this point I didn’t think I could trust anyone.“You don’t have to do this, Agent Ortiz,” Mrs.Jennings said from her corner.I guessed she was trying to remind Ortiz she was sworn to protect and defend, but I didn’t think Ortiz was about to have a change of heart, throw her life in with ours, and miss out on all that cash.“It’s not too late to make things right.” She didn’t plead, but seemed to speak with real concern for Ortiz, as if she understood why the agent would take money to help Taj, for whatever he was trying to accomplish.Ortiz’s eyes flickered, then she took her gaze to Taj.He crouched down next to Mrs.Jennings.“Ortiz will do as she’s ordered.She’s too well paid not to.And there’s no going back for any of us now.” He frowned.“Tell me, Mrs.Jennings, why your government doesn’t pay whatever it must to ensure that those closest to you and your husband remain loyal?”“Some things should transcend money,” said Mrs.Jennings.There was no desperation in her voice, only sad disappointment.“We all have to make choices.Ortiz knew what she was doing,” said Taj, rising and dusting off his pants.Ortiz and who else? There was still one unexplained factor.The Man.Was Taj just not telling me about him? Was that his plan B? Not wanting to inadvertently give away any info, I kept my mouth shut.Last time I rushed into action I was hopping down the wrong rabbit hole, and this tea party wasn’t so pleasant.The Man fit in here somewhere.“Come.” Taj helped Mrs.Jennings gently to her feet
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