Page 16 of Burn for the Dragon
Everly looked around at the empty room and raised one eyebrow.
Tyson laughed. “They’re already at the bar across the street.”
“Thanks,” she told him. “But I need to get home.”
He didn’t believe her, she could tell from the look on his face, but he didn’t press the issue. For that, Everly was grateful. No matter what he might be thinking, Tyson never argued with her when she claimed to be too busy to hang out after work, even though those days had gotten more and more frequent, and it was more than obvious she was being secretive.
“All right,” he finally told her. “Next time. Be careful.”
She noticed he didn’t add “going home.”
“I will.”
With a casual wave, he sauntered out of the office, looking back once over his shoulder.
Everly smiled and waved, wondering—and not for the first time—if Tyson’s interest in her was more than just as a coworker and a friend. Unfortunately for him, if it was, it was all one-sided. He was a good-looking guy, and she thought the world of him, but that thing that made a relationship more than just friends just wasn’t there for her.
When he was gone, she sat back down at her computer and re-opened the page she’d minimized when he’d interrupted her. For the last few weeks, she’d been studying different types of security systems, and how to disconnect, break, or get past them. Kind of like Catherine Zeta-Jones in that movie where she was trying to capture Sean Connery.
Everly couldn’t blame her. She’d chase after the handsome Scot, too, given half the chance.
But she wasn’t stupid. This wasn’t a movie. She knew she was taking her life in her hands just thinking about breaking into a place like Parasupe. The thing was, though, they were keeping someone there against his will. Someone she’d only just met, and yet cared about more than anyone else in the world. And she had no idea why they’d taken him, but she had this horrible feeling she was running out of time.
As someone who’d been in the news business a few years, she’d heard the rumors about that company. Rumors that said the whole “protecting the environment” thing was just a cover for what they really did. And those rumors went anywhere from running experiments on illegal immigrants to hunting down the things that went bump in the night. And like everyone else, Everly had taken those rumors with a grain of salt. Some of her more sensationalist colleagues had taken that bone and run with it, but as far as she knew nothing had ever been found to disprove the fact that Parasupe was exactly what they said they were, an environmental protection agency.
But then someone had broken into her brother’s home and taken him while they were talking on the phone, and Everly had started to do some of her own digging. What she’d found had confused her more than ever.
A homeless person had seen her brother get forcibly taken from his apartment. He’d also overheard them talking, things that would sound crazy to anyone else. But not to someone who would swear on her life she’d once interrupted a vampire’s dinner and saw dragons flying in the sky. Everly knew if she was going to fight a company who hunted the paranormal, she would need someone of the same caliber on her side.
The Caves had been her first and only lead to someone who had a real chance of helping her. Or, preferably, multiple someones. Though walking into that place for the first time had secretly scared the hell out of her, meeting Hawke and seeing his reaction to her had given her real hope for the first time in weeks. His ardent interest was unexpected, but not unwelcome, especially if it gave her a better chance of talking him into taking on a place like Parasupe. But, attraction or no, it became quite clear last night he wouldn’t be helping her.
Everly stared blankly at the screen. It had been unrealistic of her to think Hawke would do anything differently than what he was doing. He didn’t know her. He had no skin in this game. What did he care about the fate of one human?
She couldn’t go to the police about it. They would laugh her right out of the station. Why would a company who was all about protecting the environment kidnap someone? And if by some miracle she could talk them into going there and checking things out, by the time they went through all the red tape, she would bet her life Matthew wouldn’t be there, and there wouldn’t be a trace of his existence anywhere to be found.
She couldn’t involve any of her friends, either. Not that she had many. She knew her neighbors well enough to say hi and wave, but they had their own lives, and so they rarely ran into each other. Plus, most people didn’t seem to know how to handle her hearing impairment, and because she’d tried so hard not to make it a big deal, she’d never made the effort to really get involved in the deaf community. And she knew Tyson from work, but even though they heard crazier stories than this every day, she saw the way he rolled his eyes when he heard them. So, yeah. No. Sweet as he always was, she wouldn’t be turning to him for any kind of support.
And that left her with only one option. She was just going to have to figure out how to get him out of there herself. Hence, her research on security systems. Also, over the past few weeks, she’d started picking up items here and there she thought she would need. A black beanie to hide her hair. Dark clothes and shoes. Tools. A lab coat if it came down to her going in on her own. But not all at the same time so it wouldn’t look suspicious. She’d also rented a car under a false name for the drive up there tonight. Just in case she had to ditch it. One of her old sources had even hooked her up with fake identification and a security badge.
Everly was well aware that even with all of her careful planning, she would most likely end up sitting in a jail cell by the time the weekend was over. But it was a risk she had to take.
Taking a few minutes to erase her browser history, she shut down her computer, and gathered her things. Mr. Malone had just told her this afternoon that the leave she’d asked for had been approved. She’d told him she wanted a few days because her parents were coming to visit. Still riding the high of her inside scoop on the hostage article, he’d graciously told her she could as long as she “got her ass right back to work on Monday.”
That gave her four days to get her brother out and somewhere safe.
Everly checked around her desk one last time to make sure she wasn’t forgetting anything, knowing full well she might not make it back to report in the following week. On a whim, she jotted down a quick note for Tyson, and stuck it under a few things in her desk drawer.
She felt like she was walking on an electrified floor as she walked to the elevator. Every nerve in her body buzzing with anxiety. But she smiled serenely at the old white dude who got in on the fourth floor, and when they hit the bottom floor she told him to have a good night and walked at a steady pace out the foyer and next door to the parking garage.
Once she was in her old car, she took a steadying breath. I can do this. Matthew is depending on me. There’s no one else who will help him.
She drove to a closed-down gas station and pulled around back. There, she changed into a pair of bootie shorts and a tight, black T-shirt with a deep “V” neckline. She left her Vans on. No one would be looking at her feet. Pulling a black bandana out of her bag, she tied her hair up doo rag style, making sure to tuck in any loose ends. Then she pulled out her rarely used makeup bag and layered it on. She topped off the look with dark, red lipstick.
Stuffing her work clothes into her bag, she locked up her car and left it behind the gas station. With any luck, she’d be back to get it before it was discovered and got towed. The car rental place was two blocks away.
If she received any catcalls for her disguise, she didn’t hear them, but she did notice a few lewd stares. Perfect. Her plan was to hide right out in the open. She would be remembered dressed like this, but anyone who knew her at all would never connect the Everly they knew with this shameless woman strutting down the street with her ass hanging out of her shorts and her boobs on full display. She got her rental car without any hassle—a nondescript sedan—and drove back to her place to change again and pack.
She was going to Dallas. The location of Parasupe’s headquarters and lab, and, hopefully, where they were holding Matthew.
