Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55220 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
But I can’t.
She’s proven that and proven it well.
My hand presses under her T-shirt, warm soft skin against my palm, and when I would start undressing her, my cellphone rings. I curse under my breath, hot and hard, frustration in my voice as I murmur, “Saved by the bell yet again.”
I release Ana and pull my phone from my pocket to eye Adam’s number, trying to ignore my raging hard-on that isn’t going to be ignored. Still, I manage to answer with a tightly spoken, “Yeah, man.”
“I need Ana to call Darius in about five minutes. He’s waiting for a table in the hotel restaurant. We’ve got a tap on his line and a visual. We’ll know if he uses another phone to contact someone after her call.”
“Got it.” I disconnect and hand Ana the phone.
“You need to call Darius in five.” I stand and glance at my watch. “It’s already getting late. I want on and off those roads to Breckinridge before nightfall. Let’s get ready to leave once you make the call.”
Ana nods and stands up and we both move around the hotel room as if nothing just happened, but something just happened. And we both know it’s going to happen again.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
ANA
There’s really no time to think about what just happened between me and Luke.
We quickly gather the few things we have in the room, finish dressing, and prepare to leave the minute I’m off the phone. Still, the very act of doing things together—him and me, me and him, a pair, if not a couple—is surreal.
I’ve just slipped my jacket over my holster, and Luke has done the same when his cellphone buzzes with a text. He glances down at it, the stubble on his jaw now a heavy, several-day shadow, his long hair not as long as when I met him. It’s now to his chin, and I like it this way. Not that what I like matters.
“It’s time,” he says, handing me the phone.
I accept it, the brush of our fingers creating a collision of our stares, and while we might not have time to think or talk about what just happened, it’s here between us, heavy and wild, a storm that is brewing, rather than a storm that has passed. “What should I tell him?”
“Use your instincts, Agent.”
I draw a breath and exhale as I sit. “What number will come up on his caller ID?”
“A random location. A random number. He won’t be able to call you back. Tell him you borrowed a stranger’s phone.”
I don’t ask how Walker can do this and the FBI doesn’t do it for our agents. It doesn’t matter right now. I dial Darius and wait for an answer, not sure he’ll take the call, considering he doesn’t know the number. Then again, I’m missing. He’ll take the call. He proves me right on the second ring. “Agent Sanchez.”
“Darius, it’s me.”
“Ana. Ana, shit. Where are you? Are you okay? I’ve been worried as hell.”
“I’m Teflon. You know that. I’m good. I got away, but I’m staying away until I figure out what this is about.”
“What about Luke? Is he with you?”
“No.” My eyes meet Luke’s as I say, “I left Luke back at the house. I don’t know who to trust. What about you? Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Those goons of Luke’s dropped me at the FBI office. I’m in a hotel. I’m not going home. Mike doesn’t want me at the office until we find out what we’re dealing with. Do you know?”
“There’s a hitlist and I’m on it. I think you were just unlucky enough to be with me.”
“A hitlist? No shit. Do you know who’s on it? Do you know who’s behind it?”
There’s something in his voice that doesn’t sit well. “No,” I say. “I know nothing right now, but my godfather is dead. I went to Estes Park before I got on a plane and got the hell out of Colorado.”
“Jake is dead?”
“Yeah, Darius, he is. And his daughter is pregnant. Her husband died a month ago in an accident. It’s not a pretty picture.”
“What do you know that someone doesn’t want you to know?”
“That’s just it,” I say. “I don’t know anything. I have no idea what this is about. None. I haven’t been involved in anything Jake or Luke was involved in for years. It makes no sense.”
“Does Luke have answers?”
Asking a question again, in another way, means he doesn’t believe what I’m telling him. “I don’t have any idea,” I say. “If you find him, ask him. I ditched him. Remember?”
“Yeah, well, someone wiped the cameras for miles near my place. I can’t get Luke, his buddies, or you on camera. We dropped a lot of bodies at my place. I’m working on identifying them. No ID on any of them yet. Maybe their names will help. How can I call you back?” I can almost hear him frowning. “Caller ID said you’re in Utah.”