Page 80 of Storm Warning

“Those words are generic, why would you think he was the one?” Hawk asked.

“I’m not sure, but I think we’re missing something important. I just don’t know what it is.”

“Even if he was, that doesn’t mean anything more than he needs the information you have. It doesn’t change anything.”

“Fine. Maybe you’re right. Let’s go see John.” But she wasn’t all that sure she was going to share the location of the Tempest device with anyone until she talked to the top brass in charge.

Lord, open the doors. Close the doors. Lead us and guide us. Reveal the truth. Show me who I need to give this information to. In the hands of the wrong party, it could tilt the balance of power and change the future.

Finally, Hawk steered them into the hospital parking garage.

She wiped her palms on her jeans. Her nerves were getting the best of her. She’d already met this man and looked forward to seeing him in better health, but she was getting closer to sharing a lot of delicate intelligence she was never supposed to have. And ... maybe John wasn’t the right guy after all.

Hawk opened the doors to the main lobby for her, then together they headed to the north tower elevators. She suspected that Hawk was more than anxious to see his friend. In the hospital, familiar sensations bombarded her, reminding her of Germany.

I’m being watched.

We’re being watched.

She shouldn’t have expected anything less. While it could be a good thing that John had a protection detail—and, byextension, Remi and Hawk while there—that fact made her uneasy. Next to her, the tension rolling off Hawk increased.

They shared an elevator with an elderly woman in a wheelchair and someone—her daughter, maybe?—in her sixties pushing the chair.

“We’ll be there soon, Mom.”

Hawk and Remi stood behind them, giving them the right-of-way to exit the elevator first. She risked a glance at him. His jaw was working. What was he thinking? Was he second-guessing this plan to talk to John? Hawk had maintained this was their best option—tell the man everything and let him take it from here.

The elevator stopped. The doors slid open, and the daughter pushed her mother out. The doors whooshed closed again. These could be the last moments they would be alone before seeing John.

“What does the company he works for do, even as a front?” she asked.

“Conclave Assets. That was the name. He told me it’s an import-export business but a front for an intelligence firm.”

“And he didn’t mean a private investigation company. Did you verify that information? Do we know anything at all about it other than what he said?”

“I already knew he worked at the company, but I didn’t know it was a front. It has a website, I checked. This is what we know. We know that John is our best contact right now, and for no other reason than he already knows about the operation, and we can learn more from him. We’ve been over this.” Hawk shot her a sideways glance.

“You didn’t even know he was involved before. You can’t—”

The door whooshed open, and Remi said nothing more as they stepped out into the hall. She was letting her doubts take over. Cole was the bad guy here. Cole had abducted her.He’d abducted Jo. She needed to remember that. But there could be numerous parties after the information she had.

After studying the room-number signs, they headed toward a hallway that should take them to John’s room. Two men stood outside his door, deep in conversation using hushed tones. A man stepped out in front of them from a side hall and smiled. He wore an official-looking suit and had the air and haircut of a federal agent. “Mr. Beckett. Ms. Grant. Mr. Marshall would like to speak with you. He thought you might have gotten lost.” He gestured behind them. “I can show you the way.”

They allowed the man to accompany them to the room.

Looked like they were doing this. How much, or how little, should she tell John that she’d remembered? Very little. Nothing vital. She only needed one thing from him—to contact the person in authority over Operation Blackout.

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Hawk’s situational awareness spiked. This was a hospital. Nothing could happen here. Scratch that. Nothingwouldhappen here. John had a security detail protecting him. Cole wasn’t going to show up here to finish him off or to try again to get his hands on Remi.

He and Remi stepped into John’s hospital room, ushered there by a bodyguard.

Hawk’s heart pounded. He thought he’d prepared himself to see his friend again. Tubes were hooked up to him and monitors beeped away, and the sight slammed Hawk in the gut. He kept his composure. Made sure Remi was close by his side. Close enough to protect.

The wounded man’s eyes were closed. Was he sleeping after sending his bodyguard to get them? He suddenly opened his lids and looked around the room, his gaze finally settling on Hawk.

“John.” Hawk stepped closer and forced a smile. “You’re looking better than expected.”

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