had Fletcher’s “assistants” delved?
And what had they learned?
“Well?” Riley questioned. However, he didn’t just question. He took her by the hand and stood as if preparing to leave. “If you’re not going to help us, Doc, then we’ll have to find someone else who will. Come on, darling.”
Tessa stood, as well, wondering if they would have to fight their way out of here. If Fletcher was on to them, he wouldn’t just let them leave.
She watched Fletcher’s hand carefully. Bracing herself in case he reached for a gun in his desk drawer.
But he didn’t reach for anything. Fletcher motioned for Riley to sit back down. “Of course, I’ll help you, Mr. Tate. The background check was simply a square filler, and now that it’s complete, we can move on to the next square.”
Tessa hoped her sigh of relief wasn’t too audible.
So, they were in.
Whatever in entailed.
The doctor turned back to his computer. “I’ve gone over your wife’s lab results, and the best time for us to begin the procedure is three days from now. How does that fit into your schedule?”
Tessa looked at Riley. They both paused, pretending to think about it. And then both nodded.
“Good,” Fletcher concluded. “On the evening of the twelfth, I’ll send a car for you. You’ll be at the address you listed on your original paperwork?”
“Yes,” Riley and Tessa answered in unison.
It was an estate located in the heart of Dallas, just a few miles away. Their Justice Department agency, the SIU, had rented it for them to use to maintain their cover as the wealthy Tates. According to the latest intel report, Fletcher’s people had already gained access to the exterior of the property by posing as groundskeepers and had installed video-surveillance equipment in the back and side gardens. That meant any time Riley or she walked past a window, they’d need to play the part of the Tates.
“For the next appointment, you’ll be taken to a clinic where I’ll be waiting for you,” Fletcher continued. “I insist the location be kept secret. You’ll tell no one where you’re going. Please don’t let that alarm you. I ask this of all my patients.”
“Why all the security precautions?” Tessa asked, because she thought it was something any normal person would want to know.
The doctor drummed his fingers against his desk and eased his perfectly shaped mouth into another of those oily smiles. “There are those who object to the services I provide.”
A huge understatement, and not really a truthful one, but Tessa only gave him a sympathetic nod.
Fletcher returned the nod. “The clinic will be secure, and I’m certain all of us will be more comfortable in a secure location where we won’t be interrupted.”
Or arrested.
That was no doubt the real reason for keeping the clinic’s location a closely guarded secret. Since those medical procedures were illegal, Fletcher wouldn’t want to risk being caught while actually performing one.
“Before you leave today, we’ll need to do some blood work.” Fletcher then transferred his attention to Riley. “And for you, we’ll need semen. Your wife can accompany you to the private area of the lab to do the collection, but we do need the specimen inside the cup and not elsewhere.”
The doctor chuckled. Tessa and Riley added their own sounds of amusement, as well.
So, this was one of those “loving couple and all that” contingencies.
Riley brought her hand to his mouth and kissed lightly. When their gazes met, there was some mild humor in his eyes. “I’ll go solo for the collection. Having you in there with me would be a little too, uh, tempting.”
Relief washed through her. She was willing to do a lot to make sure this mission succeeded, but she truly hadn’t wanted to witness that.
“Will we be staying overnight at your other facility?” she asked the doctor.
“Absolutely. It might be several days before I can do the final surgical procedure with the modified embryo.”
A procedure that wouldn’t happen.
There was no way she could let things progress to the point where she was having actual surgery. If Riley and she didn’t have the evidence they needed by then, they’d have to come up with some excuse and get out of there. Surgery would basically immobilize her and make her highly vulnerable to just about anything Fletcher wanted to do to her.
Including murder.
“We’ll be able to take a tour of the facility first?” Riley questioned.
“No tours.” There wasn’t a shred of hesitation in Fletcher’s voice. “Again, for security reasons, I don’t even give out the address.”
Okay, that wasn’t the ideal scenario for an undercover ops, but it was what she’d expected. Now, at least, they were within days of identifying the location and getting inside it.
Not a bad start.
Fletcher reached across the desk and handed Riley a single sheet of paper. “That’s our agreement, which I’ll ask you both to sign. It spells out the issues we’ve already discussed.”
It also spelled out the fee. A hundred thousand dollars in advance, and it was to be paid with a cashier’s check to an unnamed representative who would be transporting them to the first clinic.
In other words, Fletcher was at least one step removed from the money trail. Ditto for the final payment. That was to be electronically transferred to a foreign bank account within six hours of the final medical procedure. And it was to be paid whether it was successful or not.
Fletcher handed Riley a pen. “If you agree, please sign at the bottom.”
Riley scrawled his fake signature and passed it to her. Tessa glanced over it. Not that she planned to object to anything and not that there was anything too specific for her to object to. The wording was vague—except for the payment part. Tessa signed it, as well, and placed it on Fletcher’s desk.
“We’re all set to go then,” Fletcher confirmed, returning his attention to her. “Once you two arrive at the clinic, you’ll immediately be prepped and tested for Phase One of Project Ideal Baby. After that, I’ll take you to the actual medical facility where we’ll be doing the remainder of the procedures.”
Tessa didn’t care much for those words, prepped and tested, especially when they were combined with the time frame of immediately.
Obviously, Riley picked up on it, as well. Their gazes met again. In the swirls of all of those shades of gray, she saw the same concerns that were no doubt mirrored in her own eyes. This was not a contingency they’d expected.
“What exactly is Phase One?” Riley asked the doctor.
Fletcher shrugged as if it were unimportant. “A simple artificial insemination.”
Tessa was absolutely sure she blinked.
She hoped that was her only visible reaction.
“Insemination?” she repeated. Not easily, either. “I thought there’d be some sort of egg harvesting?”
Which obviously would take longer than immediately.
In fact, egg harvesting would take weeks or even months. That’d give them more than enough time to search the clinic before having to come up with an excuse as to why they couldn’t have an in vitro, or any other procedure, done.
“Egg harvesting shouldn’t be necessary,” the doctor explained. “The insemination is a much simpler process. No anesthesia required, and it’s no more invasive than a routine gynecological exam.”
Fletcher