Page 24 of Agent Zero
What is that?
Sounded like they were carrying something heavy.
I can’t be that lucky.God, what do you say, can I be lucky?
The locks chucked back—he’d relocked the door without thinking, just to be careful—and whoever it was had a little trouble coaxing the deadbolt.But they had keys.
Huh.
Reese checked his watch and kept breathing, soft and slow.The door opened wide, and he could smell them.Male, sweat, an edge of weaponry and violence, a breath of rain and exhaust from the city outside...
...and also, a familiar scent that tightened every nerve in his body.He could hear her breathing, slow and torturous.
She was alive.
SIXTEEN
She was being half carrieddown a familiar hall.Holly’s head lolled—her arm was over someone’s shoulders, and her legs worked slowly, as if running in a dream.
“That’s a good girl.”Unfamiliar male voice, hushed and amused.“We’ll just get you home and you can play Sleeping Beauty.”
“Yeah, for the rest of her life.”Second man.“I hate these jobs.”
What the hell was happening?
A familiar door reared up.Someone was carrying her home.The jumbled, confused pieces of recent memory refused to fit together.Everything blurred, as if she’d had too much to drink, or...
The familiar squeak of her front door, creak of the hallway just inside.She let out a sobbing sigh of relief as a gush of sweat broke out all over her.Her legs firmed up, and she tried to raise her head.
“I think she’s waking up.”
“Hurry, then.Find the bed.”Sounds of movement.She blinked, caught a glimpse of her kitchen, moving shadows.“Oh, for God’s sake, she’s a hippie.Look for a pillow, anyth—ulp!”
The world turned over, and her entire body met hardwood—she’d taken this place because of the floor and the light—with stunning force.Her head bounced a bit and she let out a hurt little cry, her body curling around itself just like a snail’s.More confusion, shuffling and a snap, like breaking a branch.
Holly just closed her eyes.Why was she on the floor?Food poisoning?It couldn’t be alcohol, she didn’t drink.
Was her time up?She’d planned, but it was still a surprise.
“Holly.”This voice was half-familiar.“Christ.What did they give you?”He sniffed, deeply.“Ah.Lucky your heart didn’t shut down.Come on, open your eyes again, honey.Let me have a look at you.”
She did her best to obey.
There, silhouetted with sunlight, was a familiar face.Dark eyes, a baseball cap’s bill shielding them.Nose slightly too long, cheekbones just a little too high, the charcoal shading on his cheeks from stubble answering one question—he did get a shadow well before five o’clock.
Wait, what time is it?“Reese?”she croaked, her throat too dry and a metallic taste filling her from teeth all the way down to stomach.
He examined her critically, staring into her eyes for what seemed like forever.Nodded, as if he’d found what he expected.“Come on, let’s stand up.How do you feel?”
“Drunk.Did I drink?I never drink.”Not enough to get blasted, at least.
“How did they get you?Where were you when you were taken?”
Taken?Her arms were heavy, but she managed to rub at her eyes.He pulled her up, wiry strength evident in his grip.Despite that, he was gentle, and she was glad because she ached all over.“I...there was a van.I was...I was going for coffee.With you.”The fog in her head was breaking up, but not nearly quickly enough.“Why are you in my house?”
“I’m rescuing you.”He eased her down onto the futon.“We don’t have a lot of time.Do you have a bag, a backpack, a suitcase?Backpack’s best.”
“In… in the closet.Why?”She peered past him, and her heart gave a strange thump, filling up her throat.“What are...oh, God.”
