Chapter Thirty-Four
Asher
The water hits my back, hotter than I can usually stand, but necessary. A night of mostly solid sleep—horizontal—helped more than I want to admit.
If I thought it was safe, I’d find a good massage therapist and have them work the rest of the kinks out. But Coherent Path has me on camera in their facility the same day Raine went missing.
I was careful during the extraction. Clocked every one of their security cameras. The small cell they had her in was clean. No one wanted what happened there recorded for posterity.
And her decision to keep the hood on until we were through the worst of it is the only reason they might not immediately link me to her escape. I was just another contractor escorting a random detainee.
But eventually, they’ll make the connection. If they haven’t already.
I stay under the spray for too long. I don’t like being out of her line of sight. Or having her out of mine. She’s mostly solid this morning. Even if she is diving back into the record of what was done to her.
It’s not just the shower though. Or the time I spent shaving. It’s the prospect of going out for groceries. Picking up the new laptop I ordered so we can work in tandem. The mobile hotspot with triple-hashed encryption. And the extra 9mm Beretta. Just in case.
I towel off, tug on my briefs, and step into a fresh pair of jeans. Before I can grab a shirt from the closet, my phone buzzes on the bed.
Inara.
“I was wondering when you were going to get back to me,” I say.
“I do have a job, you know. Two of them. As well as an overprotective husband who insisted I take…precautions checking out Calder’s apartment.”
“Husband? That’s new.” The former Army Ranger sniper I met years ago wasn’t the settling down kind.
“Not so new any more.” Inara’s voice softens. “We’ve been together for a few years now. You’d probably get along. Or you’d kill one another.”
“I rarely kill people,” I mutter.
“Good for you.” She pauses for a breath. “I mean it, Asher. This life…it takes a toll.”
A part of me wants to ask if she’s all right, but even if we were close enough for that, I doubt she’d answer.
“So, what did you find out?”
“Well, good news first,” Inara says. “Raine’s apartment hasn’t been breached.
No broken locks, no tripwires, no broadcast signals where there shouldn’t be.
I scoped it out from the roof of the building across the street and it looks pristine.
Took some long-range shots, and I’ll send those over to you when we’re done.
She can take a look to see if anything’s been moved. ”
That’s more than I expected. More than I had any right to ask for. I blow out a breath and lean against the dresser. “Thanks. And the bad news?”
“Someone’s definitely looking for her. Her DMV records were hit twice in the space of ten minutes.
The source traced back to a government IP address.
And her medical profile? That’s worse. There’s a soft flag there that wasn’t set by any healthcare provider.
The second she walks into a hospital, clinic, or hell—veterinarian’s office—she’ll be blown. ”
“Fuck.”
“It gets worse. There’s a verification request on her public records. That only happens when someone high up is rattling the doors. They’re using civilian tools. For now. You only do that when you’re not sure how public you want things to be.”
“She should hear this from you,” I say. “Give me a minute to read her in?”
“Sure.”
I drape the towel over my shoulder and stride down the hall. Raine hasn’t moved from the table, but she has a notepad at her elbow and a mug of tea in her hands.
“What—?” She looks up, and her cheeks take on a hint of color. Fuck. I should have put on a shirt.
“I called in a favor last night. Inara and I were in the same place at the same time eight years ago. One of those jobs where I had to decide between taking one life or saving a dozen.”
She nods. No judgment. Acceptance without conditions. “And the favor?”
“Inara’s in Seattle now. Does K&R work mostly. I asked her to check on your apartment. And…a few other things. I’m going to put her on speaker so you can hear what she found first hand, okay?”
I wait until she nods again, then tap the screen. “Go ahead.”
Inara starts from the beginning. Raine doesn’t move, but I can see her arranging all the new information in her head. Filing it away, running it against what she already knows, what she suspects, what she hadn’t thought of yet.
“Can you expand your watch to anything involving replacement documents?” she asks, finally. “Driver’s license, passport, credit cards… They took my wallet. If they think I’m trying to rebuild my identity…they’ll be looking for me here. In Seattle.”
She takes a breath, but it hitches on the way in, pain tightening around her eyes. Dammit. She needs a break. But I know better than to expect her to take one.
“And alerts on my bank accounts,” Raine says. “Not just transactions—access attempts, credential resets, freezes. If those start popping up, it means they’re tightening their search. Trying to pin down where I might be.”
“Got it,” Inara replies, then adds, “Raine…what kind of situation am I stepping into here? This is a lot of heat for one person.”
Raine’s shoulders still. “I can’t tell you. If I name them, if they notice you, they’ll put you in the same hole they tried to bury me in.”
“Understood,” Inara says. “I know how to stay out of sight. And how to pull information without leaving footprints. But…I also work with some damn good people. You need more than just digital support, let me know and I can read them in. Anything else I need to be on the lookout for?”
Raine frowns, and her thumb drifts to her index finger again. I want to know why. What she’s searching for that she can no longer find. But later, after she rests.
“They’ll expect me to get a working phone. My contacts. That would trigger a SIM-registration check against my old number.”
“You want alerts in real time?” Inara asks.
“If you can get them. Ash—” Raine swallows hard, her gaze snapping to mine.
“Inara knows my real name. It’s all right.”
The relief in her eyes stirs a feeling I’m wholly unprepared for. She was worried about me.
“Asher gave me a phone. You can contact me directly.” Raine rattles off the number.
“Okay,” Inara says. “Anything pops, I’ll let you know.”
The call ends, and I tuck the phone into my back pocket.
For a few seconds, Raine stares at the laptop screen, but I don’t think she’s seeing it so much as trying to make sense of all the new information Inara gave us.
“We need groceries,” I say, keeping my voice gentle. “And the laptop and hot spot are ready. I should…finish getting dressed and go. Will you be okay for an hour or so?”
Her fingers curl in her lap. Not fear. Not exactly. But not confidence either. “Yes. I’ll…manage. Can you get more yogurt? Canned pears are usually reliable, too. Mashed potatoes with tofu might work for an actual meal.”
Wants. Asked for without ceremony or strain. She’s coming back to herself. She’s not there yet, but she’s getting closer.
“Done. Yogurt, canned pears, mashed potatoes with tofu. Oatmeal and chicken okay?”
“Yes. And eggs are…safe, even if they are boring.” She almost smiles.
Before I can turn to finally put on a shirt, Raine pushes to her feet. “Wait?”
I freeze, hands at my sides, relaxed.
“I want—” Her gaze lands on mine for a single second, then drops to my chest. “I want to try something before you go.”
At my nod, she steps close enough for me to breathe in the scent of her lotion. It’s soft, warm, and unmistakably her.
Her touch lands lightly, fingertips tracing a path across my chest. Slowly. Carefully. When her palm settles over my sternum, the warmth of it sinks straight to my heart.
“Can I…?” I lift my hand so she can see it coming, and at her nod, rest it over hers.
“Okay,” she whispers. “I’m good now.”
I drop my hand, but don’t take a step toward the bedroom until she returns to the table.
A few minutes later, as I tug on my boots, Raine looks up from the screen. “Asher? Be careful. If they aren’t looking for you yet, they will be soon.”
“I know.”