The Blonde Identity: A Novel

But even she had to admit it seemed to be going pretty well. She’d contacted Marc and Anthony and explained their situation. And, sure, maybe she hadn’t explained everything, but it’s amazing what people will believe if you use phrases like National Security and Top Secret and “the Romeo and Juliet of Covert Operations.” They’d been all too happy to oblige.

Then she’d simply had to send the texts and set the stage and think of all the ways this could go horribly, terribly wrong. Because that was her best chance of making it go right.

Or so Zoe told herself as she stood there, shivering, and trying very, very hard not to vomit.

Him

The cable car they found in the restricted section wasn’t so much a cable car as it was an open, metal cage, loaded with rebar and equipment and supplies, but there was still plenty of room for a notorious Russian mobster, two goons, one moron, and a hostage.

Sawyer could actually feel the air getting colder and the wind blowing harder as they rose, and by the time they made it to the top, the air was frigid and snow swirled around them like a tiny, nonstop blizzard. That had to explain why there were no workers milling about and the equipment all sat, abandoned and covered in ice.

Part of the peak had been blasted away and a huge building was growing up in its place, as if sprouting from the mountain itself. It was a marvel of stone and steel, but it was far from finished, so Sawyer wasn’t sure what to expect as they set out, searching for Zoe.

She wasn’t in the half-finished room at the top of the stairs. She wasn’t on the wide platform that overlooked the sweeping vista. As they walked across the uneven ground, Sawyer fought against the bad feeling that was growing heavy in his stomach. Because, with every step, they got closer to the railing. With every step, he remembered the look on Zoe’s face when she said, You’re just like your father and hurled herself into the abyss.

Surely she wasn’t going to try that again? Because, this time, they were much, much higher and Kozlov was much, much angrier, and there was no darkness now. Just a thick cover of clouds filling the air and threatening snow.

“I am out of patience.” Kozlov was giving Sergei a look that said this looks like a good place to dump a body when a voice cut through the cold, thin air.

“Hello! Hi there! Excuse me!”

Zoe.

The clouds seemed to part as Sawyer inched closer to the railing and the voice that was saying, “Welcome to the hostage exchange!”

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There was an iPad on an easel by the railing and Zoe’s face was staring back at them. Smiling. Safe. He almost fell to his knees in relief because Zoe was safe. And, most of all, she was far out of Kozlov’s reach. He just hoped she stayed that way.

“I hope everyone had a good trip? Didn’t get too cold on the cable car? I started to tell you to wear layers, but I didn’t want to overstep. This is my first hostage exchange. How am I doing?”

“You are out of time,” Kozlov told her. “Where is my drive?”

Sergei pointed his gun at the back of Alex’s head, then shifted a little, like he didn’t want to get brains all over him by standing downwind.

“Now, now. We’ll get to that,” Zoe said calmly. “Fun fact: Did you know they have cameras all over that construction site for people to watch the progress and for safety protocols, and, well, I won’t bore you with the details? Just . . . smile. You’re on camera! Now we’re not broadcasting live, of course. But the footage is being stored on three clouds even as we speak. Which is ironic because we’re actually in a cloud right now—how cool is that? I thought—”

“Zoe!” This time Alex was the one who snapped.

“So here’s how it’s going to work.” iPad Zoe put on her serious face. “You are currently on Mount Fratello, which, as you know, is in Switzerland. But did you know the mountain actually straddles the Italian border and there’s an almost identical peak on the other side? And, well, surprise! That’s where I am! See? Yoo-hoo! Over here!”

“Did my sister just say yoo-hoo during a hostage exchange?” Alex sounded like she wanted to die of embarrassment—like maybe she was going to turn around and beg Sergei to pull the trigger.

But Sawyer was spinning, searching the foggy sky for the familiar figure on the other side, waving from a construction site that was a mirror image of their own.

“So a very dear friend of mine is building the world’s longest high-altitude glass-bottomed bridge,” iPad Zoe explained. “You’re going to be able to walk all the way from Switzerland to Italy through the air! Isn’t that cool? And terrifying. Personally, I think that might be a little terrifying, but—”

“She rambles when she’s nervous,” Alex said.

“Yeah. I know.” Sawyer nodded.

“Anyhoo . . .”

“Kill me now,” Alex mumbled and Sergei actually cocked the gun, so Sawyer pushed his arm down just as iPad Zoe’s voice wobbled and went darker.

“Let’s just say, I’ve learned a lot in the last few days, and the big takeaway is that you never really know who to trust. And you’re probably better off if you don’t trust anyone. Ever.”

It was like someone had shoved a knife through Sawyer’s heart—that’s how it felt to know that he’d hurt her, that he’d deceived her. That the one person in this world who really knew him was someone who still didn’t trust him and maybe never would.

“Sooooo,” Zoe drew out the word. “I can’t exactly trust y’all not to kill us if you get your drive first.”

“Did she just become spontaneously southern?” Alex asked.

“Yeah,” Sawyer whispered, “she does that.”

“And, Mr. Kozlov, you can’t trust me to actually deliver your flash drive once you hand over my sister. So, as far as I can tell, the only way for everyone to get what they want is for us to do this exchange at the exact same time.”

“How will we do that?” Kozlov actually sounded intrigued—maybe even mildly impressed.

“Oh, I’m so glad you asked.” Zoe might have clapped. She definitely beamed. She was riding the rush that happens when a plan comes together—right before everything falls apart. “Do you see that big pulley system to your left? They use it to send supplies from one side to the other. I’ll attach the flash drive on my side and you’ll attach Alex on yours. We both have emergency stop buttons, so if either of us tries to pull a fast one . . . we hit stop and no one gets what they want.”

Then she leaned closer to the camera, eyes narrowing, gaze burning. No one could accuse her of being a ditzy blonde—an imposter Alex—when she said, “I don’t care about your business or your crimes, Mr. Kozlov, so I don’t give one flying flip about your precious drive. I just want my sister back. Now do we have a deal?”

The wind blew and the snow swirled and there was no place on earth colder than that mountain when Kozlov said, “We do.”

“Awesome.” Zoe clapped again. “Alex, you’ll need to hook into one of those harnesses and backpack thingies.”

“Backpack thingies?” Alex sounded indignant. “Backpack thingies? Those are parachutes, Zoe.”

“Oh, I don’t know what they are. I just know they’re a part of the mandated safety equipment, and safety equipment is very important. So . . .” Zoe shifted the iPad so they could watch her drop the flash drive into a bucket and hook the bucket onto the cable on her side of the border.

Sawyer didn’t want to look at the screen, though. He wanted to look at Zoe—the real Zoe—but she was too far away, in another country, separated by an ocean of ice and snow and frosty air. She was gone. She was gone and he was never going to see her again, so he looked at Alex instead.

Alex who was staring back at him with eyes that weren’t quite Zoe’s eyes but might be the closest he’d ever see again. Alex whose hands were bound with zip ties. Alex who had been his partner and his friend—right up until the moment she stopped trusting him, but he couldn’t be angry about that, Sawyer decided. Because, otherwise, he never would have found her sister.

“Well?” Kozlov barked, so Sawyer reached for one of the thick nylon straps that dangled from the cable and hooked it onto Alex’s harness.

They were standing so close he could feel her shaking in a way that had nothing to do with the cold.

“Just . . . tell her . . .” That I love her. That I need her. That I want her and respect her and will never, ever deserve her and I’ll hate myself for that fact every day for the rest of my life.

“End this,” Alex whispered. “End this and tell her yourself.”

He felt the pressure of her bound hands as they slipped into the pocket of his jacket. He saw the silver flash of his favorite knife as she cupped it between her palms. And when Kozlov hit the button to set the cable in motion, Sawyer hoped no one could hear his heart stop beating as he watched Zoe’s sister drift over the edge.

“Tell her yourself,” Alex whispered again, then disappeared into the clouds.