Page 95 of Betrayed

“How’s it feel?”

I ran my tongue over the small piece of plastic attached to the top and outside edge of my back tooth. “Weird.” Suddenly, I had a million questions. “Will it fall off? What happens if they find it and try to remove it? Will they break my tooth?”

“Slow down.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “It should stay on as long as you don’t chew on that side, and don’t clench your jaw.”

Panic rose in my throat.

“Don’t worry. We plan to get you before dinnertime.”

Some of the tension left my shoulders, but my stomach didn’t get the memo. It was full of butterflies.More like killer bees.

Max looked at the door, “I want to warn you, without AJ hearing.”

My lungs forgot how to work as the bees in my stomach went crazy.

“I meant what I said about them being thorough in their search. I’m sure you noticed his reaction when I mentioned it.” She waited for me to nod. “He’ll probably have to watch them do it.”

He wouldn’t handle that well.

“What can I do?” I didn’t want him doing something stupid, like getting himself killed, because he was mad some jerk was touching me.

“Try not to react.”

That sounded impossible. “What do you mean?”

“Try not to flinch or show any emotion. AJ will blow a gasket if he thinks they’re hurting you. They might not intend on hurting you, but they won’t hesitate to kill him if he steps out of line.”

I gasped, clutching the counter for support.

Max reached out to steady me, saying, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so blunt.”

“It’s okay.” I appreciated her directness, even if I didn’t like the news. I straightened to my full five-foot-two and asked, “What else can I do?”AJ can't die because of me.

“Keep being brave,” she said. “And comply as much as you can. Remember, they need you, so it’s not in their best interest to hurt you.”

Her words weren’t as comforting as she seemed to think they were. “We won’t be far behind you.” She glanced at the door. “We should go back before Janerek bangs on the door.”

I laughed. It sounded ridiculous, given all that was going on, but it was all I could do. In the last twenty-four hours, I’d not only come to expect his protectiveness—I realized I liked it.

I feel safe with Andrew. “Let’s go.”

Back in the conference room, Doug tested the tracker before turning it back off. AJ and Max helped me back into my vest, making sure all the wires were hidden. Which seemed silly if they wanted them to be found.

“You okay?” Andrew asked.

“As okay as I can be,” I answered with a soft smile, hoping to reassure him. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Max said—don’t let him see you react.

I don’t know if I have it in me, but I’ll do everything in my power to make sure AJ doesn’t have a reason to get himself killed.

John issued orders as we filed into the lobby. Jamie and Jaden would leave first and watch us from rooftops. Jack would ride with John and they'd follow us. Doug and Maxwell would drive together, making sure they stayed within remote control distance to me.

My life is an action movie. One I didn’t want to see, let alone star in.

“AJ will drive you to the first site, where you’ll get instructions on the meetup location. They’ll expect our non-compliance, but we won’t be too obvious.”

“If we’re only getting information, why does everyone have to go?” I asked.

“One, it may be a trap.” I felt AJ’s grip on my hand tighten. “If they think you’re not well protected, they may try to take you.” I looked at Jack, who was clenching his jaw and fists so tight I expected them to break. “Two, they probably won’t give you, us, a lot of time to get to the exchange site,” Jamie said.

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