Chapter 14 #2
Folding one hand over his other, he locked gazes with her.
She tucked her chin, not wanting him to tell her to calm down—she couldn’t. Hearing that Atlas had been near an explosion had nearly knocked her on her ass.
“Viper told me to tell you Atlas will call within the hour. They’re figuring out a new game plan and need all hands on deck.”
The tea tossed around in her belly. “You don’t have to stay here with me. I’m sure your team could use you.”
He stood, waving her off. “You kiddin’? I get to lie round and watch TV. Something I don’t do often when we’re working.”
“Well, the offer stands.”
“I’m good. Actually, I can do some work from here.”
She cocked her head. “How so?”
He hesitated for a beat, then shrugged as if deciding he could share. “We use special software to locate our targets and gain intel. Come e’re.”
She got to her feet and followed him to the table. He opened his laptop and gestured for her to sit next to him.
“Up until yesterday, Rex flew under the radar. We tried for weeks using facial recognition to—”
“Wait, what? How are you using facial recognition?” That kind of technology was government level . . . wasn’t it?
The corner of his mouth lifted. “We have a lot of high-tech software. We wouldn’t be in business otherwise.”
A little shiver raced over her skin. She hadn’t given much thought to the inner workings of Phantom Ops. What he’d said made sense, but it was difficult to wrap her head around. “O-kay,” she drawled. “What were you saying?”
“I’ll show you.” He tapped the touchpad, opened an app, then entered a password so long she wouldn’t have been able to remember it if she’d tried. He opened a file and clicked on a close-up image of Rex.
Her stomach revolted. Terror pinched the base of her spine. She knotted her fingers together so tightly on her lap that they ached. Rex’s stark-white hair stood out against his artificial tan, and his blue eyes, so clear they were almost opaque, seemed to stare right at her.
Her heart palpitated.
A cry festered at the base of her throat, but she forced it down. Rex couldn’t—wouldn’t—get to her. Not only did she have a personal bodyguard, but also, he was busy trying to save his own ass.
Atlas was hunting him. He wouldn’t let Rex get within one hundred feet of this hotel.
“You all right?” Wraith asked.
She rolled her lips together, her mouth so void of moisture she couldn’t swallow. “Yeah. He’s just scary.”
Wraith snorted. “This guy shoots Botox in his face more than he shoots a gun. Don’t worry ’bout the ole fucker.”
If Rex were so useless, he wouldn’t be evading Phantom Ops right now. But she didn’t utter the insulting words.
“I know.”
“Good. Wanna see if we can find him?”
She blinked. “We?”
“Yeah.” He leaned back in his seat and shifted the laptop a few inches in her direction. “Click the image and watch the software work. It’ll flip through possible matches. If he’s stepped in front of a camera in the last twelve hours, we’ll know about it.”
She did as he instructed. Sure enough, images flipped rapidly next to the headshot of Rex. Some barely looked like him; others were considered strong matches.
“Don’t be surprised if some look too different. The software is designed to analyze facial features and bone structure. It’s not looking at hair color and other possible disguises our brains might be fooled by.”
The completion bar showed that the process was only at 6 percent.
“How long will it take?”
“Prolly a half hour. I’ve got it locked on the city. Hopefully he’s still here.”
Ring, ring, ring
The phone Atlas had given her sounded from the bedroom.
“That’s prolly him.”
She hopped to her feet and ran to the bedroom. Snapping the phone off the nightstand, she answered. “Hello?”
“Hey.” Atlas’s smooth, casual greeting melted the anxiety piled on her chest.
“Hi.” She crossed the room and shut the bedroom door, then returned to the bed, where she flopped onto her back. “I was worried about you.”
“Don’t. I’m fine.”
“You were in an explosion,” she retorted, irritated he was downplaying what had happened.
He only chuckled. “Mol, if I were in an explosion, nothing would protect me. I was near one.”
“Same thing!”
“Not really, babe,” he said with amusement. “We’re all good.”
“I wish you were here.”
He sighed. “Me, too. Rex got away, and we’re fucking pissed. Our contact within Rex’s organization was killed—somehow, our mole was discovered.
“I’m sorry. If anyone can catch him, it’s you and your team.”
He grunted. “We should’ve caught him already.”
She lowered her gaze and picked at the material on her leggings. If it weren’t for their finding her at Rex’s, they wouldn’t be in this situation. She’d derailed their whole mission and now they might not complete their mission.
She wanted to tell him to hell with Rex. That none of this was worth risking his life for. But she couldn’t say that. Atlas had chosen his career path long before they’d met and it wasn’t her place to tell him what to do.
But oh, how her heart ached at the thought of him being close to an explosion. In an instant he could’ve been taken from this world and—
“Molly, what are you thinking?”
She chewed her bottom lip. “That you nearly getting blown up is going to give me gray hair.”
“Baby, nothing bad will happen to me. Not today. But I wanted to tell you that I don’t want you to wait up. We’ve gotta get Rex tonight, before he escapes the country.”
“I understand.” She wanted Rex caught as much as he did—she just didn’t want to lose Atlas in the process. “Do you have any idea where he could be?”
“Not a fuckin’ clue. We’ve got our eyes and ears ready. Reaper’s made friends with some of the locals, so he’s got his feelers out right now.”
God, she hoped he found them soon.
“We’ll get him. We always win, Molly.”
“I have no doubt. I just want you to be safe.”
“The important thing is that you are. Now, it’s late. Get some rest because I’m already horny as fuck and when I see you in the morning, I’m not gonna wait.”
A smile took hold of her face. “I’ll take that as fair warning.”
“Good night,” he said, his voice thick with lust and . . . an emotion she couldn’t dissect.
Her belly tightened and wetness gathered between her legs. She could think of worse ways to wake up.