Death by Denim by Linda Gerber

intelligence sources tell us that he is still searching. He has identified the city, but so far the Mulos have managed to stay hidden. Even our operatives haven’t been able to find them.”
    Mom bristled. “You have people looking for them?”
    “For protection only,” Caraday soothed. “Once we discovered that The Mole was gathering his forces, we knew he must be closing in.”
    “So he’s baiting us,” Mom murmured, sinking back onto the chair. “He wants us to lead him to the Mulos.”
    “No,” Caraday said, “He wants your daughter to lead him to the Mulos.”
    Mom flinched, but she didn’t deny it.
    “Why me?” I asked.
    Caraday shrugged. “The Mole has a psychopathic profile. No remorse. No conscience. Manipulative. Callous. Pathologically egocentric. You and the Mulo boy have vexed him ever since you captured his assassin on your island.”
    I closed my eyes, trying to blot out the memory. A Japanese assassin named Hisako had followed Seth’s family to our island. She was the one who had killed Bianca. She had nearly killed my dad. Seth and I were only doing what we had to do to protect our families. Besides, Hisako had come after us, not the other way around.
    “We . . . didn’t mean to ‘vex’ anyone,” I said weakly.
    “Add to that the insult of unmasking his two top men within the Agency,” Caraday continued, “and he wants more than just revenge. He wants satisfaction.”
    I felt like a giant hand had closed around my chest. I couldn’t breathe. The Mole wanted Seth and me dead. And then he would kill Seth’s family. And probably my mom. The hand squeezed. I’d seen what The Mole could do . . . or rather, what his minions could do. And although I had known since the showdown with his henchmen in the Cascades that I was on his hit list, it had never seemed completely real to me. Not even while Mom and I floated around France, as invisible as ghosts. But now I knew he knew where I was and suddenly it became very real. Undeniably so.
    But why give us a month’s warning?
    Then it struck me. “Wait! You got the date wrong.”
    “What?”
    “The dates. You said 0706, right? They write the day first here, not the month.”
    Caraday’s eyes widened. “Of course. He didn’t mean July sixth, he meant June seventh.”
    “What day is it?” I asked.
    “June sixth,” Ryan said.
    Cold fear snaked down my back. I turned to my mom. “Do the Mulos have a phone? Can we call them?”
    She shook her head. “No phones,” she said quietly. “Too dangerous.”
    “Then we have to go warn them!”
    “I’m glad to hear you say that”—Caraday leaned across the table and took my hand—“because we have a plan that will help us do just that.”
    My brows slid downward. “You already have a plan? But you just found out where—”
    She waved my question away. “As soon as we ran the tests on the fabric, we knew that Varese was significant. A signal. And now”—she nodded to my mom—“we understand why. Our suspicion has been confirmed. A special team has been gathering, ready for my word. With you on board—”
    Mom drew an indignant breath. “You’re not suggesting that Aphra go to Varese!”
    Caraday leaned back in her chair. “That’s exactly what I’m suggesting. The Mole won’t be able to resist. And as soon as he reveals himself—” She slammed her hand onto the table.
    “Oh, no. You will not use my daughter as bait.”
    “She’ll be safe.” She fixed my mom with a challenging look. “Just as safe as young Mulo was when you dangled him in front of The Mole’s men in Cardiff.”
    “What?” I looked from Caraday to my mom. “What is she talking about?”
    Mom shook her head. “Nothing. It doesn’t have anything to do with—”
    “Your mother,” Caraday interrupted, “instructed Seth Mulo to draw his father’s captors from the house when he delivered that ring so that the Agency could capture them. Sounds like bait to me.”
    I leaned away from my mom. “You