Page 67 of Agency

“‘Momma-bird it’?”

“Yeah,” Morgan began, “it’s when a mother bird chews—”

“Thank you,” I said with a grimace, my stomach almost turning. “But I get the idea.” Silently, I again thanked Andrew’s disappearing back, this time for his killing any kind of sexy thoughts I’d had only moments before. That would definitely make the rest of the night easier, and less frustrating.

Or not.

Doors opening and closing upstairs, then Jericho coming out onto the balcony. “Found these,” he called, holding up two AR-15-styled rifles, “along with a couple shotguns.”

“Sidearms?” Morgan called back.

He nodded. “Ammo, too. Plenty of it.”

“Good. We can start an armory in the kitchen and check anything over. What else?”

“Two guest rooms up here.”

“Another back here,” Andrew called from where he’d returned to the kitchen.

“Good,” Jericho said, already coming down the steps with one of the rifles slung over his shoulder and the other in his hand. “We’ll put the prisoner in the upstairs room away from the stairs, since it has a bathroom connected.” Pausing at the bottom of the steps, he stifled a yawn with the back of a hand. “Morgan, you get some sleep in the back bedroom, and Andrew can sleep at the top of the stairs.”

“And let you take first watch?” Morgan asked. “No way. You’re coming off a full shift, with no sleep and a three hour drive.”

Jericho fixed him with a look that said he was the boss, and that he didn’t appreciate that kind of bullshit from a subordinate. But, then, he was having to stifle yet another yawn.

“Fine,” he said. “Fine. I’ll get some sleep. But you better fucking stay frosty out here. Hear me?” As he spoke, he approached Morgan and leaned in closer. Whatever he said next was guttural and low enough to be unheard.

“Understood,” Morgan said with a sigh. “Loud and fucking clear, sir.”

Chapter Nineteen

Ambyr

“Now, turn around,” Morgan said as, pinching the small sliver of steel between index finger and thumb, he held up the handcuff key. He’d already inspected the bathroom to make sure I couldn’t easily escape through the window, and now he stood in front of the open bathroom door like a gatekeeper.

“Yeah, yeah,” I said, turning to offer him my bound hands. He began to unlock my wrists as I continued. “I already told you, there’s nowhere for me to go.” I pulled back my wrists soon as they were released and began to rub them. “Remind me to thank Jericho when he wakes up for not making them too tight.”

The bedroom they were locking me in was better, by far, than a Turkish jail. Wood paneled, like the rest of the cabin, the bed was spacious and comfortable looking. A couple windows at the back looked out the onto rolling, forested hills. Just below them was the cover for the back porch, and everything else seemed plunged into darkness after the setting of the moon.

Morgan grunted as I turned around. “Probably best if you don’t speak to him too much, especially right after he wakes up. Even if it’s to say thanks.”

“Probably a good idea.” Sidestepping to make way for me as I headed into the bathroom, Morgan pressed a basic white T-shirt from my bug-out bag into my hands. Taking the shirt as I passed, I rotated my hands, trying to limber up my wrists. “Can I at least say thank you to you for letting me get ready for bed without being cuffed?”

“That’s acceptable.”

“Then, thank you.”

Closing the bathroom door between us, I stopped short of turning the lock. That would be pushing even his limits. On the counter was a brand new toothbrush still in its package, along with everything you would typically expect: hand soap and towels, and the like. Nothing that would be much help with a daring escape. Not that I needed help. The scar on my lower back was already itching enough to remind me that I didn’t need anything else besides myself.

All I had to do was wait for him to inevitably fall asleep after such a long day, and then I’d be home free.

“I have a question,” I said to him through the door, as, still working my wrists, I had one final look around the bathroom.

“Shoot.”

“What’s the deal with this court case?” I raised the toilet lid and undid my pants. I was already sitting down to pee by the time I continued. “Costs a lot of money to hire someone like me to kill a client like yours.”

“You trying to get me into trouble, Ambyr?” He paused. “Wait, are you…?”