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“Relax.” She put out a calming hand. “We set up an electronic field to block the signal. It should buy us some time.”
He laid back down, deflating like a damaged pool toy.
Paige wrapped her arms around herself, trying to ward off the chill that had nothing to do with the room’s temperature. The deadly nature of their opponents loomed large in her mind, a dark cloud threatening to overshadow their carefully laid plans. As she met the grim gazes of her teammates, she realized they were all thinking the same thing: this fight was going to be harder—and far more dangerous—than any of them had imagined.
10
Time was a good thing.
Or so Cody hoped.
He groaned, his head pounding as consciousness slowly returned. The plush mattress beneath him was a stark contrast to the discomfort coursing through his body. Pine-scented cleaner tickled his nostrils, mingling with the crisp mountain air seeping through an open window. He blinked, trying to focus on the blurry figures looming over him in what appeared to be an opulent living room.
“Tranquilizer dart?” he croaked, his mouth dry as sandpaper. His tongue felt like it was coated in cotton.
Mason’s eyes glittered in the warm light cast by a nearby lamp, a predatory smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Yup. And a little booster.”
Cody winced, both from the pain and the man’s evident satisfaction. Mason looked only too happy to have taken him down as if he were a rogue elephant. Probably wouldn’t mind doing it again, either. The thought sent a shiver of unease down Cody’s spine.
Slowly, carefully, he pushed himself into a sitting position, his muscles protesting every movement. The luxurioussurroundings came into focus—all polished wood, leather furniture. Like some modern cabin/retreat straight out ofHouse Beautiful.
The windows were tall and narrow, the glass warped with age. Still, the view outside didn’t suggest the Southern Nevada desert. Too much granite and too many pines. The skinny, drab-needled kind that survived at high altitude.
“I’m guessing we’re not in Las Vegas.”
“Nope.” Bridger North stared down at him.
Multiple gazes bored into him, the hostility radiating from Paige and her team almost a tangible force in the room. His heart sank, a heavy weight settling in his chest.
Stoking her anger was exactly the plan. Having it hurt so much was an added torture.
“Nice place.” He winced inwardly. Judging from the stony silence, his attempt at levity had cratered.
A wave of loneliness washed over him, a familiar ache he’d carried for the past 15 years as a double agent.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. “I know this looks bad,” he tried again, his voice still rough from the tranquilizer’s effects.
Paige’s laugh was sharp and humorless. “Bad is a little weak, isn’t it? You were planning to kidnap me, Cody.”
He winced at her tone, sharp as broken glass. “Okay, yes, I admit that. But I swear, I only wanted to get you somewhere safe. Somewhere the Consortium couldn’t see or hear us.”
Paige’s eyebrow arched skeptically, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. “Because?”
He eyed her team, noting their protective stances and the barely contained aggression in their eyes. He could practically see the thoughts running through their minds—keep Paige safe, find Jason. Nothing else mattered to them.
A pang of envy shot through him, mingled with a bittersweet warmth. At least Paige had her team. He’d been alone for so long, he wasn’t sure he could even work with a group again.
He took a deep breath and clenched his sweaty hands. “I’ve been undercover in the Consortium for years. It started back when the NSA recruited me out of university. You remember that, right Paige?”
She nodded curtly, her eyes never leaving his face. The intensity of her gaze made his heart skip a beat.
“Well, the branch I ended up in ... it went dark. Darker than I ever expected. Before I knew it, I was running unsanctioned black ops missions for a unit that morphed into the Consortium.” He paused, his gaze sweeping over the team. “But I’m guessing that’s not exactly unfamiliar territory for you folks, either.”
Discomfort rippled through the team like a stone dropped in a still pond. The tension in the room shifted, morphing from outright hostility to something more complex.
Bridger North’s jaw clenched, a muscle twitching beneath his skin.
“Yeah, we fell down that rabbit hole too,” the guy admitted. “But we started questioning orders, refusing work. That got us ‘retired’ from military service. Now it’s getting our friend, Jason, hunted.”
