Spy Games (Tarnished Heroes #1)(66)

Chapter Fifteen


Sarah fought the urge to glance over her shoulder.

She couldn’t.

Doing that would only confirm what her gut told her, that Wei was right behind her.

The fuzzy hat was too warm, the wool made her ears itch. She couldn’t take it off. She counted the seconds, ticking the minutes off on her fingers.

Irene had better be right.

What if she was the mole? Despite her story, despite Sarah’s gut instinct, what if Irene was the one who’d sold her out all along? It would make this…this game they were playing that much more dangerous.

She could be walking into a trap.

Sarah ducked left, into a parking garage, and sucked down a deep breath. She could run. Right now. Or she could stick to the plan.

Her hands shook, the keys clenched between her fingers jangling. She cupped them in her palms to mute the sound and began looking for a dark-colored sedan with the coexist sticker on the front bumper.

Footsteps behind her echoed through the garage. Sarah nearly whimpered. Wei was behind her. She knew it. And yet, she couldn’t run.

There. The car.

Sarah quickstepped to the driver’s side, pressed the fob, and slid in, jamming her finger on the lock button.

A woman in heels pushed a stroller by, but otherwise the garage was empty.

She yanked the hat off and shrugged out of Irene’s coat.

Okay, so maybe Wei wasn’t behind her, but if he wasn’t following her, that meant Irene was in mortal danger. Sarah had no doubt in her mind that Wei was responsible for Charlie’s death, she wouldn’t let him take Irene from her, too.

Sarah started the car, shifted into drive, and gassed it. She maneuvered the car out of the garage, sliding out between two vehicles.

Irene had said she would take a left, then a right, and another left, which would put her on the northbound side of the street at the same time as Sarah. If they timed it all right.

Sarah had lost count of the minutes, but a rough estimation put her…behind.

The light ahead of her flipped to yellow. She pressed the accelerator. The light went red. She coasted through to a chorus of horns.

“Irene, where are you? Come on, come on, come on…”

Sarah searched the pedestrians, but didn’t see her blue track jacket.

She slowed to a crawl and eased over into the parking lane, nearly clipping other cars with her mirror.

Irene should be there. Where was she?

A bit of movement in the rearview mirror caught her attention. She jerked her head up. A hand slapped against the passenger window.

Sarah jumped, gasping, and punched the wheel. The horn blared. Irene jerked at the passenger door. Sarah jabbed the unlock button.

She wasn’t wearing the coat.

Or the hat.

Irene spilled in, barely managing to get the door shut. “Go,” she wheezed.

Sarah jammed her foot on the gas and shot forward, nearly hitting pedestrians.

“What happened?” Sarah glanced at Irene.

Is that…?

“Walter Reed. Now.” Irene pulled her hand from her abdomen, covered in blood.

…

Rand rushed into the ER waiting room, Hector at his back. He turned in a circle, searching the faces of the people.

“Rand. Here.”

He jerked his head toward the voice. Sarah leaned out of a door, only part of her face visible, her hand outstretched.

Rand jogged down the hall and barreled into her, wrapping his arms around her, backing her into what appeared to be a small waiting room. A hospital security guard stood just inside, one hand on his hip.

“In,” Hector barked. He flashed his badge at the security guard. “Leave. Please.”

“Are you hurt? What happened?” Rand held Sarah at arm’s length. Blood stained one side of her shirt. Dried flakes were on her arm.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what happened. How he found us. Oh, God.” Sarah wiped her face, hands trembling.

“How’s Irene?” Hector asked.

“They took her back a few minutes ago. She—she walked in on her own.”

“Sarah. Look at me.” Rand ducked his head, staring deep into her eyes. She seemed to latch onto him, lifting her chin a bit and staring right back. “Good. Take a deep breath with me.”

He sucked in a breath, and she followed suit.

“There. Breathe. Sit.” He nudged her toward a chair and crouched at her knee.

Hector paced back and forth.

“What happened? How’d Irene find you? Start at the beginning.” The last Rand had spoken to Sarah, she was going to wait out his meet at a coffee shop.

“I…I called Irene.” Sarah closed her eyes.

“Shit,” Hector mumbled.

“I know—I know what you said, but—she’s not the bad guy here.” Sarah glanced at Hector, her mouth working silently.

If Irene wasn’t the source of the leak, the person who burned Sarah, then things were a lot worse than they appeared. Rand wasn’t sold, though. A superficial knife wound wasn’t much to sell a story.

“She came to see me at the coffee shop. We talked. I briefed her. Then I…I don’t know. I just got this…feeling. You know? I glanced up and there was this white car, newer model. The driver’s side window was rolled down and someone was staring directly at us with binoculars. Really big ones.”