Page 29 of Obey

I prayed I didn’t have to use it. I prayed everything went exactly how I was planning, and Devil would be dead in bed by the time I was running for the door.

But I slid the switchblade under the mattress anyhow, so it would be within reach if I needed a second weapon.

Because this was Devil we were talking about, and he’d always been good at catching me by surprise.

CHAPTER 13

KNIGHT

I’D BEEN LYING AWAKE for at least three hours when the knock came.

“Come in!” I ground out, not even trying to sound like I’d been asleep. In truth, I welcomed the interruption. Frank had left me after an epic planning session, saying he thought we both needed to get some sleep, but I hadn’t been able to turn my brain off. Sure, I’d been in bed with my eyes closed, but that hadn’t stopped my brain from going over what we’d been talking about again and again and again.

We had a route right into Devil’s operation. Someone who had seen and talked to Saraya, and knew what she was doing. Someone who could help us get her back out.

I’d wanted to start right away. Get in touch with the spy and figure out where Saraya was and how we could get her out, right then. But Frank had told me that we had to wait for the spy to get in touch with us and tell us it was safe, or some such bullshit.

I hated the thought of waiting. I hated even more that I knew he was right. Saraya was in the most dangerous place possible, and one whiff of our presence would send Devil right into overdrive. We couldn’t go get her until the time was right and she was already safely away from him. No matter how much I wanted to.

Frank opened the door and came in, walking as quietly as he could on his booted feet. “Sorry to wake you,” he said gruffly.

I sat up and eyed him, noting the dark shadows under his eyes and the beard. The man was working nearly as hard as I was, and he had at least thirty years on me. If I was feeling rough after a night of not sleeping well, he had to be truly suffering. And yet here he was apologizing for waking me up.

Fuck, I was lucky in friends.

“You’re not waking me,” I said. “I never went back to sleep. Couldn’t stop thinking about what we’re going to do next. What time is it?”

A glance out the window told me that it was late in the day and that Frank had left me alone longer than I’d realized. Hell, maybe I had slept and just didn’t remember it. There was no other excuse for having wasted an entire day in bed when there was so much work to be done.

“Nearly four,” Frank said, smiling. “I’m guessing you slept more than you realize you did.”

I snorted. “And fucked the whole day away in the process. Where are we at? What’s happened?”

Nothing important, I guessed, or they would have woken me up sooner.

Then again, they might not have. Everyone knew I hadn’t been sleeping well with Saraya gone. Maybe they’d realized that I finally went to sleep and had decided to leave me that way. Like I said, I had good friends.

Still, the idea that I might have missed anything had my blood burning. This was no time to be sleeping the day away.

“Didn’t miss anything, Boss,” Frank said quickly, like he could read my panic. “No one has made any moves yet.”

Shit. If no one had made moves, that meant we were no closer to getting Saraya back.

“So no progress,” I said, frustrated. “I want my girl, Frank. I want Saraya back here with me, where she belongs. You have no idea how badly I want to go get her right now. Just jump on my bike and go.”

“I know exactly how badly you want her, kid,” he disagreed. “I was in love once, too.”

I bit my lip at that. Frank had been married, a long time ago. Then he’d run afoul of one of the clubs in the area and his girl had been shot in a drive by. He’d never taken another, saying that no one could replace her.

Maybe he did know what I was feeling right now. The itching under my skin. The feeling like I couldn’t settle anywhere until I had Saraya back.

“So what are we going to do about it?” I asked.

I knew I was being abrupt and unfair. I didn’t care.

“Heard from the spy in Devil’s camp,” he said, surprising me. “She says something’s happening tonight that might change everything.”

I sat up, my attention sharpening. “Something? What?”