Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Molly stayed in the bedroom for a while, but she just couldn’t get tired. Waiting up all night wouldn’t do her any good, but how could she sleep knowing Atlas was out risking his life? If she could get a few hours of rest, at least the time would go by faster.
First, she needed to brush her teeth. If Atlas came to her in the morning, she didn’t want to repel him.
She walked out of the bedroom and Wraith looked up from the computer.
“How’s our lad?” he asked with a wicked grin.
She forced a smile. “Alive at least. He thinks they’ll be back by morning.”
Wraith leaned back in his seat, his arms folded across his chest. “They’ll have to be, yeah. Can’t go that long without sleep. They’ll take shifts, but I’m sure he’ll come by the hotel once he’s off.”
Great. Nowhere near done by the sounds of it.
“Wanna see your hard work?”
She crinkled her nose. “My what?”
He jerked his head to the seat beside him. “You found a match for Rex. Couple actually, but one that looks promising.”
She gasped and hurried to sit next to him. “You know where he is?”
“Not quite that simple, lass.” He moved his fingers over the touchpad and brought the curser to an unmistakable image of Rex. “From this morning. I’m sure it was your luck that landed this shot.”
She snorted. “Please. I’ve got anything but luck.”
Sympathy shone in his green eyes. “You’re here, ain’t ya? I’d call that luck.” His tone held sadness.
Guilt hit her. She might have narrowly escaped with her life, but things could’ve been worse. Far worse. “You’re right.”
He nudged her. “Hey, we all get down in the dumps. You’ve had a rough go. But you’re safe now.”
She turned her attention back to the screen. “Looks like Rex was last seen . . .” She leaned closer, squinting. “I’m not familiar with that address.”
“It’s from one of the main streets. Looks like an ATM camera. Now, I doubled-checked his banking records and—”
“You what?” She shook her head, bewildered.
“His bank accounts,” he said, as if she hadn’t followed.
“No, I mean, how did you do that?”
“Oh, lass. There’s a lot we can do. Anyway, his accounts show no activity. I suspect he’s using a friend’s bank card here. If we had more time, we’d be able to find out what account was accessed at this time from this location.”
“So it’s a dead end.” Her shoulders slumped.
“Not necessarily. Watch the clip.” He hit a button. Rex entered the frame. The camera was at a slight angle, looking up at his face as he read the ATM screen.
A phone was to his ear.
They couldn’t hear what he was saying. He glanced over his shoulder then back at the machine. He pressed a few buttons, grabbed something from below, and turned away. The whole video wasn’t even thirty seconds.
“Well, what’d you notice?”
She hiked up her eyebrows. “I didn’t know there was a test at the end.”
“Always a test, love,” he said with a laugh.
“Um,” she said, staring at the now-still image of her captor’s face. “He looks nervous. Near the end he glanced around.”
“Good. What else?”
She threw up her arms. “I don’t know. He talked on the phone. That’s all I got. You can’t see anything behind him or—”
“No, that’s good. Can you read his lips to see what he said on the phone?”
She rolled her eyes. “Who do you think I work for, the CIA?”
He chuckled. “I can read ‘What’s the’ for sure. I’m gonna bet he’s asking whoever’s on the phone what the PIN of the bank card is.”
“That actually makes sense.”
“’Course it does.”
She propped her elbow on the table and placed her chin on her fist. “Still doesn’t give you any more information.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. We’ve got the exact time he was on his phone, and the location. That means we can check the cell towers and find out what phone number he was using and who he called. That tells us a lot.”
Whoa.
She chewed the corner of her mouth. She was learning something new about Phantom Ops and their capabilities at every turn. Part of her wanted to know more—such as who’d hired them to go after Rex in the first place.
A shudder raced over her skin.
Atlas and his team were good people—they’d saved her more than once and were after a heinous man. But they seemed anything but government run. Could they be undercover?
There was so much she didn’t know. However, the questions she needed to ask had to be directed at Atlas. His response was the only one that mattered to her.
“It’s late. Why don’t you let me get to work on this and you catch some shut-eye?”
Relieved to have an excuse to be alone, she thanked him, said good night, and stood. After brushing her teeth and going pee, she returned to the bedroom and shut the door.
She just hoped Atlas would walk through it in the morning.
“Get behind me,” Atlas commanded the woman. Jenna, or whoever the fuck she was, did as he’d asked but stayed a few feet away, seemingly trying to distance herself from him.
He spoke into his mic. “Exfil. Now.”
“Copy,” Rogue said in his ear.
Bang!
The door bounced open. Three hostiles stared him down, including the long-haired bouncer he’d noted earlier.
He bunched his hands into fists at his sides. Christ he hated being unarmed, but he wouldn’t go down without a fight. “You assholes always interrupt money well spent? What the fuck.”
“Back away from her,” Ponytail said, gesturing to the side of the room with his pistol.
A heavyset bouncer with a bald head and a goatee eyed him from above his Glock.
Atlas held up his hands, feigning innocence. “I paid for this room,” he continued. He’d be lucky to buy sixty seconds. The guys better move their asses.
“You’re a fed!” shouted Ponytail. “I smelled you the minute you walked into the club.”
“Huh.” He smirked. “That’s news to me.”
“Jenna, get the fuck over here,” Baldy said.
Atlas extended his arm, stopping her from following the instructions. Taking a bullet wasn’t on his to-do list, but if they suspected she’d given up information about Rex, they’d kill her.
And he wouldn’t allow that.
“Hang on a damn minute,” he blurted. “I ain’t a fucking fed. If I were, you’d have a bullet in your head right now, or at the very least, a SWAT team through every window.”
Ponytail’s uncertain eyes darted to his friends, then to Jenna. With the woman standing behind him, Atlas couldn’t see if she’d affirmed his ruse or contradicted it.
He just had to hope she’d play it cool.
“H-He wanted a blowy. I said no. That was the extent of our conversation before you interrupted my dance.”
Baldy scoffed and charged toward them. “Bullshit. You can tell your lies to Rex—if he wants you alive long enough to see him.”
The lights went out. Blackness cloaked the room. The blaring music stopped dead. Shrieks sounded from downstairs and patrons in the nearby rooms shouted their complaints.
One of the bouncers cursed.
More shouts, followed by gunshots. A smile curved Atlas’s lips. Finally. His friends had joined the fucking party.
An emergency light in the hallway suddenly spilled its white glow into the room.
Baldy reached for Jenna, pointing his gun at her.
Atlas grabbed his arm and twisted sharply. Bones cracked. Baldy let out a cry and then turned his gun on Atlas, but he ripped the weapon from the man’s grip and brought the butt down on his attacker’s shiny head. Baldy went limp.
“Drop your weapon!” another bouncer screamed.
Crack, crack!
Bullets smacked off the drywall. One whizzed right by his head.
Jenna screamed, covering her face. He grabbed her and threw her behind the couch, then got down to shield her. She might be their only link to Rex, and he planned to keep her alive.
He lifted his head as a flurry of movement exploded in the room. His team moved expertly, tackling the bouncers and disarming them.
Viper approached while Rogue and Havoc tied Ponytail’s and the other guard’s wrists. Reaper peeked at Baldy’s unconscious form.
“Not a good time for a nap,” Viper said with a smirk, extending his hand.
“Ha-ha. Took you long enough. You realize I was unarmed, right?” He let Viper haul him to his feet, then they both helped Jenna stand.
“You did all right,” he said with a chuckle, before shifting his focus to Jenna. “You all right, ma’am?”
“I’m fine.” She brushed her hands over her dress then locked her gaze with Viper’s. Her lipstick-smeared lips curved into a sensual smile. “Much better now.”
Viper cleared his throat uncomfortably.
Jenna’s expression changed. “Wait a minute.” She looked at Atlas. “You said you weren’t a fed!”
“We’re not,” Atlas and Viper said in unison.
More hollering erupted from downstairs.
Rogue positioned his rifle, ready to fire if someone entered the room. “We’ve gotta move.”
Atlas turned his attention back to Jenna. “Where can we find Katrina?”
She shook her head. “He never told me anything. All I’ve ever heard were rumors that he has her up in a remote house somewhere. That’s all I know. Honest.”
Viper’s gaze darkened, but he said nothing.
“You’d better head home,” Atlas said. “Lie low.”
“We’ll walk you out.” Rogue jerked his head toward the door.
Atlas fell into step behind Rogue, Havoc, and Reaper. Jenna stayed between Viper and him as they made their way through the empty corridor. Moans drifted from one of the bedrooms.
Havoc snorted. “Glad we didn’t interrupt everyone’s fun.”
They descended the stairs, which were lit by emergency lights. There were no patrons at the bar, just a handful of employees. The women looked alarmed and backed up to the bottle-lined wall.
“Jenna!” cried Blue Hair, rushing forward. If she was afraid of him and his friends in tactical gear, she didn’t show it. She wrapped Jenna in a hug while asking if she was hurt.
“It’s okay,” he heard Jenna whisper. “I don’t think they’re bad guys.”
“Where’s your boss’s office?” demanded Havoc. His gun hung across his chest.
“D-Down the hall,” Blue Hair said. “But we don’t have a key.”
“Don’t need one.” Havoc motioned for Blue Hair to show him the way, and she reluctantly moved from Jenna. “Reaper, help me scrub the footage. Rogue, we’ll catch up.”
The two of them followed Blue Hair down the hall.
Atlas gave Jenna a parting nod, then headed for the door with Rogue. They’d almost stepped outside when she ran up and caught his arm.
He slid out of her hold but met her gaze.
“I-I think I can help.”
He glanced at Rogue, whose gaze was full of distrust, then looked back at Jenna. “Did you remember something?”
“Kind of. It might be nothing, but if it helps you find him—” She knotted her hands in front of her. “Kat has a place deep in the jungle.”
Well, that was something. “Have you been there?”
Her brow furrowed. “No, I swear. Like I said, I don’t know much, honestly. I just remember one of the guards saying it was a hassle going with him to see her.”
Interesting. “Thanks.” He moved toward the door, then pivoted. “Be careful. I don’t think many people here are your friend.”