Emotion thickened his voice. "Losing him... it was like losing a brother."
Sabrina reached across the table, squeezing Henry's hand. The gesture was instinctive, born of years of trust and affection. Whatever Henry's role in all this, his grief for her father was genuine.
"Let's focus," Walker prompted gently. "What exactly are we looking for?"
They began methodically going through the files on the laptop, cross-referencing shipping manifests with financial records and surveillance photos. Sabrina found herself increasingly distracted by Walker's proximity. Every time she leaned closer to point at something on screen, her shoulder brushed his, sending sparks of awareness through her. Thesubtle scent of him—clean soap mingled with something uniquely Walker—filled her senses each time she moved.
"Here," she said after nearly an hour, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her fingers trembled slightly as the pieces began to come together. "Dad flagged these shipments specifically."
The manifests showed rugs being transported from Turkey to various locations throughout Europe and the Middle East. Each had been marked with a simple note: Contents verified.
"Those were the legitimate shipments," Henry explained. "The ones carrying authorized equipment."
Walker studied the patterns. "These destinations aren't random. They create a network—all within strategic distance of military installations or diplomatic outposts."
"You’re right," Henry nodded. "The communications equipment was designed to create secure channels in regions where traditional methods were compromised."
Sabrina scrolled to another folder labeled 'Discrepancies,' her heart racing as they got closer to the truth. "And these are the suspicious shipments?"
As she leaned forward to examine the files more closely, her hair fell forward, grazing Walker's arm.
His eyes met hers and attraction ratched up between them.
She smiled at him.
The side of his lip tugged up, then he turned back to the manifests.
The files contained more manifests, marked with red flags. Weights didn't match declared contents. Destinations suddenly changed mid-route. Financial transactions that didn't align with the official records.
"It’s true, someone was piggy-backing on the legitimate operation," Walker concluded, his voice rougher than before. "Using the same channels to move unauthorized equipment."
"Or worse," Henry added grimly. "We suspected they were selling the technology itself to hostile powers."
Walker leaned closer to the screen, bringing him closer to her. "These diversions started three years ago. Small at first, then escalating."
"That matches when Dad started acting differently," she said quietly, memories flooding back. "More cautious, more worried."
She opened another folder, this one containing surveillance photos. Many showed Henry meeting with various officials, just as her father had documented. But others showed different faces—some she recognized from her father's company, others complete strangers.
Then she saw it—a photo that made her gasp. "Robert," she whispered, pointing to a clear image of Walker's father meeting with her own. The sight of the two men, both now dead, sent a pang through her heart.
Walker's body tensed beside her as he studied the image of his father. "Where was this taken?"
"The lakehouse," Sabrina said, her fingers briefly touching the screen as if she could reach through to that moment. "They must have met there because they thought it was safe." The irony wasn't lost on her—the place of so many happy memories had also been the site of deadly conspiracy.
Henry nodded. "I think they were closing in on the Shepherd. Robert had tracked the financial angle while Frank followed the operational side."
Walker's jaw tightened. "That was time stamped two weeks before my father's death."
Sabrina moved her hand to cover Walker's where it rested on the table, his skin warm beneath her fingers. "Ohmygosh." Everything was connected—her father's death, Walker's father's"accident," the subsequent separation of their families. It wasn't coincidence; it was causality.
Walker turned his hand over, briefly squeezing hers. The simple gesture steadied her as Henry continued.
"And they both died before they could expose him."
"Yes." Henry's voice held decades of regret. "I was supposed to meet them that day at the lake. I was delayed—deliberately, I now believe. By the time I arrived, Robert was already gone, and Frank was making plans to separate your families."
Walker scowled. "So they separated us on purpose?"