Page 100 of Love Undercover
Cue Me In
The man pressed back against the brick wall, trapping Sadie against him with his free arm even as she jerked against his hold.
The gun dug harder into the underside of her chin, and no matter how high she lifted her chin, she couldn’t pull her mouth open enough to get any sound out but a few grunts. As soon as she tried to take a breath, the man crushed the air from her lungs, smashing her against his body.
The faint sound of voices reached them, but she only caught snippets.
“. . . nice to finally meet you in person, Gibson.” The voice was so smooth, it might have been a recording.
Probably Zimmerman. The man holding her stilled, his breathing going softer. Panic lit upward from her toes, igniting her body because that wasn’t a normal reaction. Unless he was listening for something.
She made the mistake of thinking his stillness meant he’d relaxed, and she tried to pull from his grasp again. The gun bit into her flesh, the sting of breaking skin making her hiss.
“This was your idea of a trick, then?” Another man’s voice, tight and nasal. Gibson, then?
“Not a trick,” Chase said, and she almost jolted. “Mr. Zimmerman has been wanting to meet you.”
Hearing his voice, despite knowing he was still in danger, flooded her with a relief so deep her knees almost buckled. Her captor held her tighter against him, keeping her upright.
The men spoke quieter, just a soft rumble of male voices with no distinct words, and her nerves ramped up again. She wanted to know, needed to see what was happening around that corner.
“She must mean a great deal to you.” The first man’s voice, smug and confident, rang out louder.
It was a cue, she realized, as the man holding her jerked into motion, shoving her forward.
50
Satisfaction Not Guaranteed
Zimmerman was not a big man. Nor was he particularly intimidating at first glance. He was as bald as a baby, his face lightly lined. It made his age hard to guess. But the power lingered around him like an aura. He’d been commanding minions long enough to feel secure in whatever situation he found himself.
Chase would have to be careful, play his cards right. Gibson might mess the whole thing up with his nerves. He moved constantly, always on the balls of his feet, and he didn’t lower the gun he’d pulled when Zim showed up. A sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead.
Zimmerman’s black eyes darted to Chase’s face, narrowing. “So where’s the girl? And where’s the drive?”
Chase didn’t respond, clamping down on any reaction.
Zimmerman gave a slow smile. It wasn’t friendly. “Well-played.”
Gibson looked between them, gawking. “So itwasa trick. You’ve got nothing.”
“She had the flash drive,” Chase said, voice even. “That wasn’t a lie.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Zimmerman waved his hand dismissively. “I have what I need. Chase has obviously been playing me this whole time.” He shifted his attention to Gibson. “And you’ve been lying to me as well.”
Gibson swiped at his brow. “I put him in place to make sure I could keep the Bureau off my back and out of your hair.”
“You mean spy on me?” Zimmerman snapped.
Chase felt the shift, just like he’d hoped. Their attention turned to each other. So where the hell was Kesterson and his guys? Getting Gibson and Zimmerman to meet had been the clincher they needed to prove that they both were up to no good. They didn’t have hard evidence, but Gibson’s presence was self-incriminating.
“Please,” Gibson scoffed, his nerves steeling a bit. “This was supposed to keep the operation going, so it looked like I was doing something without actually bringing it down.”
“And yet, here we are,” Zimmerman said, his eyes sliding to Chase again, expression darkening.
And he felt the shift again, the direction of the blame had moved back to him, and danger crackled on the air.
“My fault for picking someone who wasn’t in on it,” Gibson growled, his gun hand moving so that the barrel pointed at Chase.
