Page 63 of Deadly Sights

CHAPTER 26

THEY TRYING TO KILL YOU, GIRL!

Nadira

Kids’ faces of various ages, ethnicities, and genders stare back at me. They mock me for being unable to solve the riddle I left behind. Sometimes they implore me to find the answer before it’s too late. When they peer at me that way, I wonder if the clock I’m running against is mine or theirs.

One positive of looking through the files is bits and pieces of my memory are beginning to form a tapestry, a sort of early Christmas present. Assignments and conversations with some of my handlers paint a picture of a highly prized student. The instructors in charge of training us for combat and intel gathering selected me for the toughest jobs, passing up older kids who lived at the orphanage longer. I was infamous. If not for Julian and Chloe, I would have been a loner.

“You need to eat.” Julian places a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me and raises my head for a kiss that isn’t long enough for my taste.

When he pulls away, I grab his neck, and he slackens, ceding control of the kiss to me. I sip from his mouth, loving the way this big man becomes putty in my hands. He has the strength and skills to overpower me but prefers my dominance. And his submission is so delicious. I moan into his mouth, reluctant to end the kiss, but knowing I’ll make time for us later.

With a grudging sigh, I separate our lips. His hooded eyes and the heat underneath have me reconsidering. I glance at the time on my phone. Eight o’clock. “You’re slipping.” I smile and squeeze his arm. “I didn’t realize I’ve been here since five and haven’t eaten. Thank you.”

“Getting anywhere?” He sits beside me but faces the computer.

While I’ve been busy searching for the connection between the kids, Julian immerses himself with tracking down the headquarters for a shadow organization that keeps its leaders’ identities as secret as the operations they handle.

“Not where I need to get. How about you? Have you heard from Jason?”

“No, but whenever he checks in, I’ll trace his call.”

“Could he have left you a message at your cover home?”

“He hasn’t.”

I sit back and study him, dissatisfied with his responses.

He sighs and pulls up a live feed of a house I haven’t been to. Then he pulls up video files and plays them at four times the speed. “You’ll notice I’ve gotten a lot of visitors since my sabbatical. Jason isn’t among them, and none of them leave anything behind.”

I glare at Julian’s glaring omission. “Except for a hidden camera or two.”

He shrugs. “There’s nothing in that house anyone can trace to this address. Anything personal in there is a misdirection and will lead them nowhere.”

“So you’re no closer to finding your headquarters.”

“It’s possible other operatives know where it is and they singled me out because the distrust extends both ways.”

I glance back at the photos, my frustration getting to a point where I’ll be less productive if I continue to force myself to connect the invisible dots of an unsolvable riddle.

Noticing my growing displeasure, Julian spins my chair until I face him. “It’s Christmas Eve and you need a distraction.”

As soon as the words leave his mouth, my phone rings. I raise a finger for him to hold his thought and answer. Before I get a word out, Gary’s voice barks over the phone.

“How soon can you get to Douglas?”

“Hello to you too, Gary.”

The silence that follows my greeting leads me to imagine Gary gritting his teeth as he calms himself enough to speak.

“We just got a top-priority job in Douglas and you’re the closest operative we have. You have to complete it today.”

Why now?

The thought sours my tongue, but I can’t deny why it’s important to know. It has been weeks since my last assignment. I want to trust Gary, but…

“This seems sudden after weeks on no work. What gives Gary?”

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