Page 43 of Cast in Shadow
“And the picture.”
“Long gone,” Zeke lied.
The guy stared at him through his mirrored shades for several long moments, then gave a single head nod to his colleagues and stepped back.
Zeke shifted into reverse and backed out of the drive, heading back toward the main road. The flat plains stretched out beyond the town, making it impossible for him to pull off without being seen, and he had no doubt he was being watched.
His chest tightened again, and he rubbed at it absently. What was his problem? He’d known this was how it would end. He’d been hired to do a job, and he’d done it. He had money in his pocket and was once again free to go wherever and do whatever he wanted.
He drove until he came to the next town, then pulled into a roadside gas station. He picked up the envelope and peered inside. Bundles of cash, more than double what he’d already been paid up to that point. Enough to cover his expenses for the next couple of years, more if he was careful.
It made the weight on his chest even heavier.
He filled up the tank, emptied his own, and got back in the Rover.
“Fuck it,” he said to no one in particular. Instead of continuing on, he went back the way he’d come.
The black sedan wasn’t in the driveway. He knew before he even got out of the Rover that he was too late. The place was empty, and Aggie was gone.
He went inside anyway and gave the place a thorough once-over. There was no indication that anyone had stepped foot in the house in the last twenty years, and no clue where they might have gone.
Zeke raked his hand down his face and stood in the center of the living room.
“FUCK!” he shouted into the empty space around him.
Chapter Twenty
Aggie
After Aggie entered the house, she was led to the back and told to wait. Her escort appeared to be listening to something via an earpiece. He wasn’t as personable as Zeke, nor as easy on the eyes. He was all business, almost robotic in his speech and mannerisms. Given the choice, she preferred Zeke’s long hair, tattoos, and slightly rough around the edges manner.
Within minutes, her escort signaled to another guy who had come in behind them, and they ushered Aggie out the back to a waiting SUV, identical to the one that had been out front. She glanced toward the driveway as they circled around toward the road. The Rover was gone. Apparently, Zeke had gotten over whatever second thoughts he might have been having. For a few minutes there, she could have sworn he hadn’t wanted to let her go.
It was just more wishful thinking on her part, nothing but romantic notions she’d wrapped around a man who had seen her as a job. A job with benefits.
Of course, she’d benefitted, too. The sex had been fantastic. If it hadn’t meant as much to him, well, there wasn’t anything she could do about that.
Regardless, it didn’t matter. Whatever had been between them—real or imagined—was over. Zeke had his cash and could cross her off his to-do list. Aggie took a deep breath, pushed Zeke out of her mind, and focused on her upcoming meeting with the enigmatic Charley.
Other than terse but polite commands, no one spoke to her. They drove for a short time, arriving at an unremarkable airfield, where she was shuttled aboard a waiting helicopter. Once seated, she was blindfolded and fitted with noise-canceling earphones.
It wasn’t the first time she’d been in a chopper, but it was the first time she’d done so without the ability to see or hear. The sensation in her belly was exaggerated, exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.
The flight was relatively short, no more than an hour or two, and before she knew it, they landed in a field. The air was crisp and clean. The ache in her head and overall sense of dizziness suggested a higher altitude than she was used to.
Only once she was led into a building and seated were the blindfold and headphones removed. She blinked rapidly in the low-level light and tried to concentrate on her surroundings instead of the nausea.
No windows. One door. A conference table with a tray containing a thermal carafe and a glass. Two padded ergonomic chairs. Nothing else.
The woman who entered the room was tall and slim, with white-blonde hair and pale skin, and well-dressed in a conservative but expensive feminine power suit. She had an air of importance about her; her movements were crisp and efficient.
She poured water from the carafe into the glass and held it out to Aggie. “Here. This will help.”
Aggie accepted the glass and sipped. The cool water tasted delicious, as if it had come directly from a mountain spring. She didn’t worry about being drugged or anything along those lines. It didn’t make sense to drug her now.
“Charley, I presume?”
The woman smiled but didn’t confirm. “I apologize for the secrecy.”
