Page 100 of Ricochet

A keyboard clicked in the background. “Colin, difficult day, huh?”

“Seems like.” No matter what condition he was in, the idea that Parker would send Colin to a hospital seemed highly unlikely. They had no backupfor Adelia, however off the books and not involved they were. If he went into surgery, Delta would want her in a safe house.

“All right. I’ve assembled a team that can be waiting in single-family subdivision about thirty miles away. A cleanup crew will take care of the vehicle when you arrive.”

“Great,” Colin mumbled. “Appreciate it.”

Parker’s keyboard stopped. “Don’t be so glum. No one likesgetting shot.”

“This wasn’t how I planned on spending my day.”

“Sending GPS directions,” Parker said.

“GPS,” Adelia repeated.

Parker laughed. “As good as I am, I can’t teleport you there.”

“What’s wrong with GPS?” Brock asked.

She tilted her head as though deciding how much of her paranoia to share with his boss. “I’m not comfortable with laser-beaming to the world our exact coordinates.”

“Good thing that’s not how laser beams work,” Parker added.

Adelia glowered, and Brock tacked on, “What are you worried about?”

“You found me once,” she said.

“You’re welcome.”

“Hang on a sec, Parker,” Brock cut in. “What’s your point?”

She rubbed her shirt collar to wipe her eyes. “Don’t worry about it.”

Colin didn’t know if those were tears of frustration, of being ignored, or simply beinglost in the world, but he needed her to relax. “Hey, Parker. Does Mayhem the technological capabilities to tap into our systems? Anything where we share coordinates with our teams?”

“Nope. None I’m aware of.”

Even if Parker came back with that answer too fast to have put any thought into it, Colin trusted his response. “Good?”

She didn’t say anything, only shrugged.

“I don’t know what moreto offer.” And his headache now pounded. “We’re headed to the med team now.”

“Keep us updated,” Brock requested. “And, Adelia?”

“Yeah?”

“I know what it’s like not to understand what’s happening around you.”

“It’s not like that. I’m certain!”

“About,” Brock finally asked.

Her head hung like she needed a break. “Never mind.”

Colin needed to blink more than he should. The edges of his peripheralseemed cloudy. “We gotta go. See you on the flip side.”

Adelia ended the call, and a heavy awkwardness hung in the small car. “I don’t trust anything that comes from your team.”

He shook his head, trying to understand her and remain vigilant enough to drive. There was no way he could trust her to take him to the correct location if he blacked out. “I can’t talk about this now.”

Her worriessounded like paranoia, and he needed to stay awake and safe.

“If we have a future,” she said. “You know what?”

“What?” Exhaustion baited him with sweet suggestions to close his eyes.

“You wouldn’t make me defend my concerns. You’d believe me. But instead, you have some undying loyalty to your side is right when I can’t figure out how to tell you what is wrong.”

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