Page 69 of The Prize
“Zara, when it comes to meeting with Eli, he’s unpredictable.”
“I handled him in Arizona.”
He frowned at me. “You mean right before you fell through his trapdoor?”
“I suppose there was that.”
He shook his head. “You’re predictably stubborn.”
No, I wasn’t going to just stay indoors while Tobias ran into the center of danger.
He turned to look at me. “Let’s talk about theMona Lisa.”
“Let’s not.”
“Perhaps when I bump into enemy number one it would be a good idea to know if I’m using the bait or not.”
I folded my arms. “I’m undecided.”
“Right.” He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “This should be interesting, then.”
I followed Tobias’s gaze and saw Coops riding toward us on a bicycle. He wore a baseball cap and round-rimmed glasses and it made him look covert as he pulled up behind our bench.
He removed his rucksack and came over. “How’s it going, boss?”
Tobias rose and met him halfway. “Good. How’s things?”
Coops glanced over at me as though checking it was safe to talk.
“It’s okay,” he reassured him.
“Ms. Leighton.” Coops gave a nod in greeting and raised his rucksack as he turned back to Wilder. “Once you turn on the app you’ll appear on the grid. Burell will locate you using his satellite. You’ll have twenty minutes until he gets to you. Turn off the app—”
“And I’m invisible.” Tobias gave a nod of approval. “Well done, Coops.”
“We’re invisible,” I added as I walked toward them, realizing Coops was in the loop with all of this.
Tobias had planned on bringing the enemy to us. That was scary but I knew there was only one way through this and that was forward.
He took the rucksack from Coops, rummaged around inside and pulled out his smartphone. He dug around further and removed an iPhone and handed it to me. “It’s a burner phone. In case we get separated. There’s one number programmed in. Mine.” Tobias tucked his phone into his pocket.
I slid the phone into my handbag. “What happens when Eli finds us?”
“The biggest game of cat and mouse will ensue.” Tobias gave a confident smile. “We know how much he loves those.”
He was referring to the contraption Eli had created calledMousetrap for the Inevitable, an art-inspired device to trap those who’d trespassed into his safe in Arizona. We’d learned the painful lesson ourselves that Eli had a penchant for torture when we’d gotten caught in it.
I reached into my handbag. “Coops, I have something for you. They say these deteriorate with time.” I pulled out the videotape of Tobias’s birthday party.
Tobias recognized it, and then his gaze rose to meet mine.
“This has great value,” I told Coops. “Can you please get this converted to a digital file? We need to preserve it. No one must see it. It pertains to a private moment in Mr. Wilder’s life.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He glanced over at Tobias, who gave a smile of resignation and handed the rucksack back.
“Thank you, Coops.” He shook his head at me, and yet I could see it touched him that I cared enough to see this precious piece of his past preserved. Coops slid the videotape into his bag.
“Tomorrow night is all set.” Coops arched his eyebrows playfully. “A Wilder charity ball always attracts the best guests. I made this one a five-thousand-dollar-ticket event. You gave me full reign so I chose your charity dedicated to helping orphaned immigrants.”
