Page 85 of The Captive and the First Blood Game
“We should get you warmed up,” Beckham said. His phone rang noisily, and he cursed, retreating to the end of the room to answer it.
“Come on, you,” Gabe said.
He steered her down a hallway and into a cozy sitting room. It was nothing fancy, but it was more inviting than the boarded-up exterior indicated. He set her down in front of an electric fireplace, wrapped a couple of blankets around her shoulders, and brought her some hot chocolate.
“What is this place?” she asked between her chattering teeth.
“Safe house.”
“Oh. I’ve been to one of those before. Are they all this shitty?”
“Helps with the cover.” He winked at her. Typical Gabe. “You ready for this? I know with your history…”
“I’m ready.”
“He didn’t try to talk you into this, right? You came of your own free will?”
Reyna shot him an exasperated look. “If anything, Beckham tried to talk me out of it. Why would you think otherwise?”
Gabe glanced back down the hallway to where Beckham was still speaking animatedly on his phone. “Just wanted to make sure. You can never be too careful.”
“He thinks this is a trap.AmI walking into a trap?”
“We did everything we possibly could to make sure that doesn’t happen. There’s no bug on him—we made him change clothes and burned his old ones. No tracker in his skin. We confiscated his phone, and it’s not in the building. The guy seems legit scared,” Gabe said thoughtfully. “I’ve seen enough shitbags like this to know when they’re faking it. And maybe he is, but he doesn’t look like it.”
“So, you think he actually has information for us? He’s not just trying to get to me?”
“He’s a spy and a good actor. You’re proof of that. I wouldn’t trust a word he tells you, and I’d expect some serious mental manipulation in the process. But…yeah, I think he has something.”
“If I can get it, I will,” she said. She was warm again, so she gave him her empty hot cocoa mug and squeezed his hand.
Gabe motioned for her to follow him. He showed her to a bedroom at the back of the safe house.
“He’s in there. We’re going to mic you so we can hear everything that’s being said. There’s already a video camera in the room. And there’s nothing he can use to hurt you. But if he tries, I’ll be on the other side of this door.”
“Okay.” She swallowed.
“Beckham will be watching from another room, because I don’t trust him not to barge in at the slightest provocation.”
Reyna nodded. That sounded reasonable.
“How did Everett find me?” she asked. “How was he brought here and everything?”
“He didn’t find you. He found me. I guess he did see me that night. He’s been piecing together who I am and finally tracked me down. I nearly blew his brains out when he approached me alone in a dark alley. All I can say is that he seems desperate.”
Reyna quelled her fear. She couldn’t show any to Everett when she walked into that room. It also wasn’t helping her now, thinking through how exactly Everett had been able to track her down.
“All right. Let’s do this.”
Tony, Elle’s resident techie, hooked her up to a microphone. When he was done, Gabe nudged her with his elbow. “Knock ’em dead.”
Beckham appeared in the doorway, and Gabe made himself scarce. “Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
“If he harms you, I will kill him,” Beckham said.
Reyna ran her hands up into his dark hair. “Nothing is going to happen to me.”
