Chapter 29 #2
“We haven’t been out on a date yet.” I heard my inane response, and my cheeks heated.
Eli’s mouth curved in a slow smile that sent my heart beating faster. “I’ll take you on a date, Sylvie.” He turned my hand in his and rubbed the back against his stubbled cheek as if savoring my nearness.
“I don’t even know where you live,” I said, trying to stop myself from talking so I could think for a second. But even as my mouth kept saying stupid things, my heart, thudding in my chest, didn’t care about any of them.
I wanted to stay with Eli. I didn’t want to retreat to another van or an apartment while he took me on dates, and we did this thing the normal way. I didn’t want flowers or dinner out.
I just wanted Eli.
He leaned in to press a soft, lingering kiss to my lips. “Right now, I live in a building we call the barracks. The rest of the team is there too, but we all have our own space. Mine is bigger than your van was. Plenty of room for both of us. And if it’s not working, we can find something else.”
“Will the rest of the team mind?” I asked, breathless at the idea that I was moving in with Eli. Because I was. Any other option left me feeling flat and empty. Cold. I had Eli. Why would I want to be anywhere but with him?
“No,” he said, shaking his head, his dark eyes bright with what I hoped was happiness. He looked content in a way I’d never seen him. “They all like you. And the place is huge. You won’t be crowding anyone.”
“Okay,” I whispered, lifting my face to his for a kiss. He didn’t make me wait. “But if they try to have us committed for moving too fast, you’re coming to the asylum with me.”
“I’ll go anywhere with you,” he said. “But first we have to neutralize the asshole trying to kill you.”
“I know.” I looked at my laptop screen, trying to shift my brain to a new track. “I had a thought.”
“Yeah?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“What if I go out and use my cards? My debit card or credit cards. Now that they’re working again, what if we use them to draw him out?”
“Set a trap?” Eli asked. “With you as the bait? Fuck no.”
“Do you have a better suggestion? This is a pretty nice safe house,” I said, giving the room a scan, “but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life here.”
Maybe that was Eli’s plan: keep me in the safe house until the bomber died of old age. Not going to happen.
“Setting a trap isn’t the worst idea,” he said, “but it’s close.” I scowled, and he added, “The fundamentals are good. Your cards are a good tactic to draw him out, but—” A flash of fear hit his eyes, and I understood.
“It’s the ‘me being bait’ that’s the problem.”
“Yeah,” he said. “A big one.”
“I trust you guys to cover me,” I said. They were good at what they did. They wouldn’t let anything happen to me.
“If it were anyone else,” Eli said, “so would I. But I can’t. Not so soon.” He reached up to stroke the edge of the fresh bandage at my temple.
“Okay,” I said, knowing I’d feel the same if it had been him lying unconscious, covered in blood. “We’ll think of something.”
A key scratched at the door, and the deadbolt turned in time with a quick triple knock.
“Anybody alive in here?” Wren called out.
Eli straightened and looked over his shoulder at the door. “In here,” he said. “Dressed, showered, and awake.”
“That’s a good sign,” Wren said. “You both look almost human,” she added as she came around the side of the sofa. “Working?” Her eyebrow slid up as she took in my open laptop.
“Plotting,” I said. “But Eli doesn’t like my plan.”
“What is it?” She gave him a sidelong look, as if trying to decide what his problem might be. It didn’t take her long to figure it out. “Yeah, you’re not going out there as bait,” she said, shaking her head. She stopped, staring at me until I had to look away.
“What?” I finally asked when she continued to stare, tilting her head to the side as she considered me.
Eli’s eyes flared, and he joined Wren in studying me. “You could, couldn’t you,” he said, his eyes flicking to her in an equally assessing gaze. “I should have thought of that.”
“Well, your brain got rattled a few days ago,” Wren said, glancing at him.
“I even have a wig that I think is the exact color of Sylvie’s hair.
” Wren looked back at me. “You’re taller than me, but I’ve got stuff to adjust for that—heels, lifts, you know?
” Her mouth spread in a wide grin. “This will be fun. I’ll take your cards, do a little shopping.
You need more clothes anyway.” She winked at me.
“I’ll hit the grocery store. Get you pinging on his radar. ”
“And then what?” Eli asked. “Hope he jumps you while you’re picking out apples?”
Wren shook her head, and I could see the gears moving in her brain as her eyes stared off into the distance. “No,” she said slowly. “That’s just to get his attention. Then we set the trap.”
“What’s the trap?” I asked.
Wren didn’t answer, but a smile spread across her face. “I’m still working it out. But I think if we do this my way, we can keep you out of sight until the very end.”
I liked the sound of that. Both being out of sight and ending the bomber. Once and for all.