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“Okay.”
“Maybe this will help,” Nomad paused and waited until she was facing him, “‘In a box of crayons, Black is the most opaque color. The color I’ve been using lately is Grey. And Grey works well with Red. Don’t you think?’”
“I’m not really the artistic type.” She intoned this week’s response dryly.
He finished with his line of the code. “I think you live a colorful life.”
When a car moved up the street and the headlights shined on his face, Red squinted her eyes at him.
“If you’re trying to place me, we’ve met a few times now.” He grinned. “You don’t recognize me?” He ran a hand over his cheek and chin.
She felt they knew each other, that he was a good guy, and she could trust him.
Trust but verify.
Brains could glitch. There could be something about him that reminded her of good people in her past. He was painted in that latent lethality of special forces who had been doing the job for a long enough that their cocky shine was burnished off. Then, it struck her. Yeah. He was the guy who left her zip-tied in the van.
“You?” she asked. “You’re the Pied Piper.”
“Okay.” He laughed.
Yeah, that didn’t come out the way she meant it to. Red tried again. “You shaved your beard and got a haircut since the car accident. It suits you.”
What she didn’t know was for whom he played and what were his circumstances now? Obviously, Color Code wanted them to work together, or he wouldn’t have known this week’s code.
“You look different from the first time I saw you, too.” Pied Piper’s voice hit a different note, warm and caring, maybe a little concerned. “How are you feeling now?”
Red blinked.
He put his hand on his chest. “I was part of the team that got you from your hotel in Lebanon to the Türkiye base. Youseem to have made a near-miraculous recovery. You’re back on your feet fast.”
“Fast-ish, to be honest.” Itwashim. Her whole system flooded with the same sensations she’d had when she lay in his lap, and he stroked his hand over her hair and whispered encouragement and kindness whenever she moved or opened her eyes. He’d held her tightly against him as he climbed onto a boat and kept her from getting slammed about as the boat rocketed out to sea. He was the one who clasped the spider straps over her as she was lifting into the sky.
The sudden loss of contact with his skin had unnerved her. It was like she was leaving a piece of herself behind.
And then there he’d been, crouching next to her in the heli, running an I.V., calling out orders, taking complete control of her safety and care. And she had been whole again just by his being there.
She suddenly wanted that back. The sensation of being cared for and, maybe more importantly, cared about.
A stranger, no less.
It had been such a gift.
But it also felt mean that she had experienced those sensations and then had them snatched away from her. She hadn’t known that was missing from her life.
It was depressing to make that discovery.
Was she really getting misty-eyed here? She cleared her throat. “Sorry about your head wound. Are you okay?”
“Friendly fire. Actually, it was not so friendly. The cut came from the Fire of the Desert.” The guy pressed a button to illuminate his watch face. “Elena’s ring did that. You know what happens, especially when there’s an intelligence breakdown. I didn’t know we were playing for the same team, you and I. It seems we were also playing at cross purposes. I think our handlers have figured out a shared strategy.”
“Okay, you had a code word for me. Tell me who you are and why someone sent you.”
“Your phone died, so you didn’t get the message. They need you to go back to the airport with me. Your old cover is blown. You can’t use it anymore. We need to be there together for a brush pass to get you your new credentials. You’ll have to do something with your look to change things up. The computers will be looking for you to do something dangerous. You don’t want to be caught with fake documents.”
“You don’t need to go with me,” Red said flatly.
“My message said they’ll identify us by standing together. Besides, I have to get on the plane to Casablanca. Then, I’ll head to Marrakesh to set up surveillance.”