Page 102 of Tell Me Why
“I see,” Tell said, indicating the couch. “Have a seat, I suppose. We don’t have much time, then?”
“No,” she agreed, going to sit. “I did pick out good stuff for you guys, didn’t I?”
Tell gave her a dry smile as he sat down with her.
“I’m sorry about Tina,” Isabella said. “I wasn’t sure you would come back.”
Tell nodded.
“It’s the only way I get her back,” he said. “I’m going to finish this, and I’m going to do it all of a sudden. Do you have any hesitation betraying him?”
“Daryll?” Isabella asked. “No.”
Tell narrowed his eyes at her.
He actually didn’t believe her.
She shook her head.
“This is what I came here to do,” she told him. “I haven’t deviated.”
Tell considered that. He still didn’t believe her. She was at least superficially loyal by nature, and kind. She’d had the luxury of station to be able to keep those facets of her personality, even as she developed her subtle tactics that were coming to play, here.
She wasgoodat what she did. One of the best. But Tell still couldn’t envision her pulling the rug out from under someone she cared about that much without a second thought.
Even as he suspected that that was exactly what she’d done with him, all those years back.
He still couldn’tpictureit.
It wasn’t what he believed about her.
“You’re going to find them,” Isabella said.
“I am,” Tell said.
“I need the names of all of the upper-level people involved, the ones who know how to do the work of preparation, the location of their confirmed headquarters, and every site where they are doing preparation work.”
Tell nodded slowly, ticking them off in his mind. He could figure out how to do each of those.
Time was slipping away from him, but all of it was doable.
“I need a favor,” he said, and she lifted her eyebrows.
“I see,” she said, and he nodded.
“I’ll get it. Every bit of it. But I need you to have Keon go to the facility in Texas first.”
“It will take time to organize all of his men,” Isabella said thoughtfully, and Tell dipped his head.
“I need him to startnow. And to lead there.”
“Because that’s where Tina is,” Isabella said. “You think you can rescue her.”
“I’m going to,” Tell said.
“Starting now risks them noticing that something is happening,” Isabella said. “It takes risk based on your promise that you’ll be ready quickly enough to justify it.”
“I know.”
