Page 64 of Rogue Voice

“Are you saying you don’t fucking trust us, Thorne?” Roberts asked, his lips stretching into a tight line on his handsome face.

Thorne bared his teeth. “I wonder why that’s the first thing that comes to your mind, Roberts.”

“Fuck you, Thorne. I should arrest the lot of you.”

“Yeah. Because you have the authority to do that,” Thorne countered. Of the entire Chimera Force team, Thorne was the one Rogue knew least because the man had made a point of not to getting close to any of them. Now, Rogue felt he was seeing parts of Thorne he hadn’t seen before.

“Put them back in your pants, gentlemen,” Agent Rahmer said bluntly. Today, her hair was pulled back in the tightest ponytail Rogue had ever seen. She stared directly at Rogue as she asked her next question. “Are you sure the girl will testify against her uncle, when the time comes?”

Rogue nodded. “She will.”

“She’ll get full immunity,” Thorne immediately said. “And a passport. European or American. You get to choose which.” Rahmer and Roberts nodded, as if they’d been expecting this. “I need this in writing. From both of you, before we do anything else.”

“Do you also want the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?” Roberts growled. Thorne calmly picked up his coffee again. The more riled up the other man got, the more he seemed to be enjoying himself.

Rogue hoped the meeting would be over soon. They’d left Bea in the hotel with Dark and had then circled for nearly an hour to get here. If they did the same thing on the way back—which they would because there was no way Roberts and Rahmer wouldn’t try to follow them—it’d take them a long time to get back. And, though Rogue trusted Dark with his life, he’d found trusting his friend with Bea’s life was turning out to be a much bigger challenge.

29

Bea

The hotel was much nicer than its drab facade implied. Her fourth-floor room, decorated in warm terracotta colors that seemed designed to put visitors at ease, had exposed wooden beams and high, arched windows overlooking a picturesque canal. On the opposite side of the canal, the buildings were adorned with vibrant flower boxes spilling over with colorful blooms, adding to its charm.

Bea sat on a corner of the enormous four-poster bed, easily three times the size of the narrow berth she and Rogue had shared on the boat to Panama.

She blushed when she thought of what the two of them had done on that narrow cot. Unfortunately, she almost hadn’t seen Rogue since arriving in Antwerp. He and his team had beenworking around the clock, while she’d sat here, all alone most of the time, watching TV and eating room service.

So much room service, she’d practically memorized the menu. She’d tried almost everything, except for the herring salad with onions, pickles, and mustard dressing, because … well, because she wasn’t about to do that to herself. The pasta was mediocre, but the salads and burgers were pretty decent. Most of the time, she ate alone, but sometimes the man standing guard outside her room joined her.

Five sharp knocks sounded on the door, the pre-agreed code.

Bea tried to recall who was outside at this time. She knew it wasn’t Rogue, since he usually took the night shift. But even when he was there he’d been working, poring over computer files that meant nothing to her. There’d been little chance for the two of them to speak, let alone do anything else.

She was glad to see it was Dark. Though quiet and brooding at first, he’d opened up when she’d asked him about his life in Zurich. He had a girlfriend, Alexia, whom he’d met on the team’s first mission. Bea hadn’t had many girlfriends in her life, but Alexia sounded like someone she’d like to meet. She hoped they’d get a chance to meet. Bea moved aside to let him into her room.

“How are you holding up?” Dark asked.

“I was just about to order some lunch,” she said, holding up the menu. “Would you like something?”

“Sure,” he said, but didn’t bother to look. “I’ll have the burger.”

“Medium rare, with everything, right?” She’d even memorized how each man liked their burger.That’s how bored I am.Bea sighed. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected when she boarded the plane to Antwerp. Danger. Fear. Some level of distress. But not this complete, absolute boredom.

She hadn’t left the room in days and, though her brain knew she wasn’t a prisoner here, it was hard not to feel like the bird trapped in the proverbial gilded cage.

At night, she slept fitfully, her dreams populated with grand plans to escape her uncle’shacienda. Upon waking up, the only relief was finding Rogue sitting at the desk under the window, or lying in bed beside her, watching her with intense eyes.

Rogue.There was so much she wanted to say to him, but they hadn’t had the time.Maybe you should make the time.She wondered what he would say when she confessed that she wanted to go to Zurich with him, when this was over.If it’s ever over.

There was so much that could go wrong. So far, they hadn’t found any sign that Emiliano was on his way. And while she was sure about the place, and almost sure about the date, there was always the possibility that her uncle had changed his mind. Her and Rogue’s disappearance had to have jarred him. Maybe he’d decided to stay home.

“Would you like me to order?” Dark asked, his blue gaze assessing.

Bea turned quickly towards the phone. “Sorry, just got distracted for a second.”

Less than fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on the door.Faster than ever before.They were getting so predictable with their orders, the kitchen probably had it ready before she’d even called.

Except it wasn’t room service. It was a tall, russet-haired man with hazel-colored eyes, thick eyebrows and a strong jaw. Handsome and clean-cut, in his dark suit.

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