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I tapped my chin with my fingers and suddenly got an idea.
FOURTEEN
PAUL
Nicole was fast asleep by the time I crawled into bed. I decided to sleep on top of the covers instead of under because it felt too intimate. I stared at the ceiling for a bit but found myself wondering what she looked like when her guard was down. I carefully turned onto my side and took in how pretty she was in the pale light. Talya’s face pushed through my thoughts, and I remembered when I’d lie next to her in the morning and trace the tattoo along her back for hours. It was our alone time when no one would bother us.
The memory faded, and I refocused on Nicole. For someone living out of a knapsack, she definitely took care of herself. I guessed she’d have to consider that she might have to jump on live TV at any time. I followed her hair down to her collarbone and noticed her necklace. The chain disappeared between her breasts, and I wished I could see what the pendant was. I had no idea why I cared so much, but I did.
Her phone made a small ping sound, and her eyes instantly popped open. She stared at me for a moment as she blinked to clear her vision.
“Hey,” she whispered, “sorry if my phone woke you.”
“It didn’t, but it sure woke you in a hurry.” I hated that my voice sounded almost like an accusation. She seemed jumpy as she pushed up on her arms and snatched the phone off the night table.
“Can you blame me?” She huffed as she studied the screen. “I work around the Cartel for a living, I play their games, and all the while, I try not to piss anyone off to stay alive.” She flipped the covers off. “Shit.” She grabbed the hoodie I’d offered her the night before. “Do you mind?”
“Nope.” I propped the pillow up and watched her slip outside to the patio. Once the phone was up to her ear, I leaned over and quietly opened the window a little so I could hear. Something deep inside told me she was hiding more than her contacts from us, but it was too early to call her out on it. She was our only hope for a fresh lead on my son, and I wasn’t about to jeopardize that.
“Hello, sir.” She seemed uneasy as she listened. “What?” Her hand moved to her mouth. “No sir, I haven’t been— I mean, I don’t think I’ve been.” Her hand slid down to her throat. “Yes, of course, right away.” She lowered the phone and looked at it, and I figured the call was over.
I eased down on the bed just as she came inside.
“Everything all right?” I yawned. “You didn’t sleep very long.”
She slipped my hoodie off and turned the lamp on. She ran her fingers through her hair, then down her neck, down her chest, stomach, hips, legs, and all the while, her breathing picked up.
“Nicole?” I sat up and saw how worried she looked. I swung my legs off the bed and walked over to her. “Hey? What’s going on?”
“He fucking got to Ben,” she muttered, still in her own thoughts, and I was instantly on high alert. She pulled off her t-shirt and shorts then stood there in front of me in her bra and panties. She slowly turned herself around. Holy shit, she was gorgeous.
“Do you see anything?” She pulled her hair off to the side. “Any cuts or anything?”
I did a quick scan of her body. “No.”
“Look again.” Her voice shook. “I was alone with him.”
“Who?”
“Bruno,” she cried. “Please look harder.” I humored her, and after I ran my fingers over every inch of her exposed skin, she seemed reassured.
“If I knew what I was looking for, maybe I could be more helpful.” I grabbed my hoodie and wrapped her bare shoulders with it.
“That was General Bruce on the phone.” She pulled her jeans on and threaded her arms through the hoodie but didn’t zip it. “Bruno planted a tracking device under Ben’s skin!”
“What?” My blood pumped ice water.
“The chopper you guys were in took a hard swing to the side or something, and he hit his shoulder. I guess it deactivated the device. He was complaining of shoulder pain.”
“I remember that.” He had rubbed his shoulder a lot after we brought him out. “We just assumed he’d bruised it.”
“Well, it got infected, and now Ben’s getting treatment. But shit, they were trying to see where he was.”
“No,” I ran a hand through my hair, “they were trying to find our safehouse.”
“Don’t you guys scan for those things?”
I nodded and thought about how horrible things might have gone if they had tracked him to Shadows. “We do whenever we cross the border, and it means their trackers are better than our equipment.” I snagged my hat off the chair. “I need to talk to Cole.”