Spy Games (Tarnished Heroes #1)(26)

“Hang in there, baby sister,” Irene whispered.

Anna was all that Irene had left. If she lost her… She couldn’t contemplate a future without her sister in it. “She’ll be okay?” she asked in slow, carefully enunciated English.

The nurse glanced at her, brows up, a clueless, sweet smile on her face.

“Goddamn it,” Irene muttered.

As much as she wanted to stay here, she couldn’t. If things were to progress, if she was going to do her part in this, she had to get on a plane and head home. Sarah’s job would be over and Irene’s waiting for her.

“I’ll be back soon, Anna.”

Irene leaned over her sister and kissed her brow. She had to tell herself that she’d be back, that Anna would be alive, that this whole thing wasn’t a waste.

…

Mitch hit redial on his phone. The call rang through the Bluetooth speakers in his car.

“Pick up, pick up, pick up,” he muttered under his breath.

He’d seen the photographs just like everyone else today. What the hell was going on? If someone would just let him in on things, Mitch could handle this, spin it. Hell, he’d been spinning his own life since the day he realized who his father was.

If Mitch lost his people in Asia, it would devastate what they’d been working toward.

The call went through to voicemail. He’d already left a dozen messages on six different phones. He jabbed at the end call button and leaned his head back against the seat.

This was bad enough he almost wanted to go back to politics.

No, he didn’t, but at least then he could count on everyone to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Here, he was supposed to be working with the good guys. Now, he didn’t know who he could trust.

…

It was late, but Rand’s body was still stuck half a world away in a different time zone. Or at least, it thought it was. He left the workout room light on, sweat soaking his clothes, and headed down the empty halls back to his bunk.

Goddamn Sarah.

He’d hoped a good run or some weights would work out his frustration, but no. He had the urge to go in there and give her a piece of his mind.

What the hell?

His stomach was still in knots, the stress load resting between his shoulder blades was worse than before, and now he had a wonderful pounding headache. Seriously awesome stuff.

Thanks, Sarah.

What was her deal? There isn’t an us. Yeah, well, there could have been. In his imagination.

He’d been weak back in the apartment, hungry for another human being. This time…this time he didn’t have an excuse. He’d just wanted, so he’d taken what she’d offered, all the while losing himself in thoughts of what might have been or could still be.

What a fucking mistake.

Why would Sarah want him? After the hell he’d put her through, he should have known better. She was right, there wasn’t an us, just a right now. Sure, he’d been the man of the hour before, but never for someone who mattered. That it was Sarah, that she was the one rubbing his nose in it, sucked.

The light on the room phone blinked, indicating he had some sort of voicemail.

This place might not be the Ritz, but it was damn sure a step above where he’d been before.

He jabbed the button and listened to the pre-recorded lead-in while he snagged his dirty towel to wipe off the sweat still clinging to his brow.

Damn, his face was starting to itch. The beard had to go before it took over his whole face.

“Hey, hit three-three-zero-nine and call me back.”

That was Hector. What the hell? It was the middle of the night.

Rand crossed to the receiver, hung up, and picked it up again, dialing the four-digit extension. The call rang three times.

“Hey.” Hector sounded tired.

“Where are you?”

“Downstairs. Meet me in the lobby.”

What else could possibly have gone wrong now?

Rand passed by Sarah’s room, pausing outside to listen for any sounds that she might be awake, but darkness and silence remained his constant friend.

Maybe Hector had a new gig for him. It’d beat sitting around here waiting for more bad news. But then Sarah would be alone and unprotected. They didn’t know who they could trust outside of Hector.

By the time Rand made it to the lobby, Hector was there already.

“Walk with me.” He gestured to the front door and the darkened grounds. “Your assets are on the road to their extraction. They’ll be in the UK by this time tomorrow.”

That was good to know, but Rand doubted Hector had stayed up most of the night to tell him that.

Rand fell into step, gaze scanning the far reaches of the parking lot, the lawn stretching away from them. They meandered out onto a path that circled a decorative pond, the spray of water a decent deterrent to eavesdroppers.

“Tell me about your history with Sarah,” Hector said.

Rand started at the beginning, the day her family moved in across the street, and ended with the last day he’d seen her in her brother’s hospital room. He kept it brief, sticking to the facts, but even that made the ball of tension inside him worse.

“Someone has deleted or hidden a large part of her record, and I’d like to know why,” Hector said.

“What do you think Sarah’s involved with?”

“Nothing.”