Page 58

Story: Darkness Echoes

“Who the fuck is Codex?” Leo murmurs from behind him.

Lauren.

His mother-in-law has a code name. This is almost too good to be true.

Gideon can hardly wait to mock her to her face—even if he secretly thinks the whole thing is cool as fuck.

Not like he’ll ever tell her that.

Ever.

Gideon doesn’t waste a second before exiting the lobby, circling the black truck, and getting down on his belly to check underneath.

He can’t smell anything incendiary or hear anything suspicious. Maybe Jay’s enigma senses can.

“Jaybird, can you smell anything off?”

“No. Step back until I check under the hood.”

He pops the hood, and there’s no explosion—unless there’s an invisible poisonous gas, everything seems copacetic.

“Excuse me? Mr. Rhodes? There’s a call for you at the desk,” the day manager calls out warily.

“Thank you, I’ll be there in a moment.”

Jay points a finger at Gideon. “Do not do what I think you are going to do. I mean it. Wait for me. That’s probably Frankie making sure her Boo-Boo doesn’t have a boo-boo.”

He winks before jogging away.

Once the door closes, Gideon walks around the vehicle looking for anything suspicious.

When he gets to the sliding side door, he pulls on the lever in a series of long and short tugs. At least thirty of them before the door beeps and opens like magic.

Suitably impressed, Leo murmurs in awe, “What the hell, Gid? What was that?”

“Nothing. He’s messing with you,” Jay says as he holds the key fob up.

Gideon cackles with glee at Leo’s gullibility, smacks him in the chest, and climbs inside.

“That was Lauren, right?”

“That was her. I’ve got the code and directions to the new place, but we need to clear out stat.”

Climbing into the back of the van, Jay slips into the driver’s seat.

The under-seat drawers hold a plethora of gifts from his new favorite mother-in-law.

Leo climbs into the passenger seat and buckles his seatbelt.

“How are we moving Finn? He’s got the others on lock in that hotel room.”

“I’m thinking this might help,” Gideon says, holding up a tranq gun. “Would you say Finn is 190 pounds?”

“No, Gid. Seriously. We will ask him to cooperate first.”

First?

“Why do you have to spoil all my fun?”