Page 10

Chapter

Ten

GRACE

R ight on schedule, we left the hotel the next morning without going by the desk.

Checking out remotely let us slip away unnoticed.

The night before we’d watched three different news programs. The aborted bank robbery in Lyon turned up on all of them.

The bank video that had been made available didn’t really get a good look at either of us.

I hoped that was a good sign, but Bones had only shrugged. “If they have cleaner video with a clear way to ID us, they’ll use it first then share with the rest of the world.”

When I made a face, he’d merely chuckled.

“Whatever they have,” he’d continued. “We’ll handle it.”

He punched up the confidence in the last three words so much that I just nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Surprise danced beneath those two syllables.

I spared him a look as I pulled on my hoodie. “Would you rather I argue?”

He didn’t answer immediately. Then, later after he collected our bags and we were out of the hotel and heading for the parking structure, he said, “Maybe.”

The single word left me stumped for a response. A suggestion of a smirk touched his face before he put our bags away and opened up the back for Goblin to climb in.

It was early and rather than stop at the boulangerie he put miles between us and Lyon before choosing a small place an hour outside of the city. “You walk Goblin, I’ll get us all some food and coffee.”

“That sounds like a plan?—”

He caught my arm before I could climb out of the car. Then beckoned me to face him with a curl of his fingers. When he slipped his hand inside my hoodie, I blinked. The weight of a weapon slid into an inner pocket.

“Taser,” he reminded me. “Your gun is still secure, in a case beneath the seat. This isn’t quite as illegal here.”

I put a hand over the familiarity of it. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” Then he leaned back and slanted a glance toward the green area. “Stay in sight.”

“Yes, sir,” I said with a salute that I only meant partially in jest. The fact it made his eyes narrow was just a perk. I slid out of the car and let Goblin out. Poor guy was more than ready to go for a walk.

I needed to stretch my legs as well. We made our way through the drizzling rain. Despite the lack of sunshine, it was a lovely morning. A mist rolled along the green and around the trees. It made me think of some kind of fanciful story with magic and wonders rather than something dark and ominous.

Maybe it was the hints of light piercing the drizzle and giving a suggestive glow to the mist itself.

Goblin was efficient with his business, and clearly, he’d waited long enough.

But even after I’d cleaned up behind him and disposed of the poop bag in the garbage, we didn’t head straight back to the car.

It was just nice to walk and think. The weather seemed like a barrier to the rest of the world and for these few minutes we didn’t have to worry about anything. Bones’ reminders to let Goblin alert me to any potential threats whispered in the back of my mind.

There was a comfort in being able to trust his instincts, Goblin’s, Voodoo’s, Alphabet’s, Lunchbox’s—and Bones’ too. As if summoned by the thought, he reappeared from inside the shop with two large boxes, three bags, and two huge cups of coffee.

Gawking, just a little, at the sheer volume of food he purchased, I shook my head. I would still keep any complaints to myself. I’d eaten both lunch and dinner the previous day. Smaller portions than either him or Goblin—the pair could eat , but I had eaten.

It seemed to satisfy him and he kept any other potential criticisms to himself. Thankfully, he also helped to make sure I had options that weren’t overly sweet or loaded with carbs.

He joined me with the cups of coffee. “Fifteen more and we need to move.” With that word, he passed me a cup and I savored the sweetness. It was nearly as good as the one we’d purchased at the boulangerie in Lyon.

“We can go now,” I offered. “If it’s important.” The hood protected my hair for the most part, but both Goblin and I were more than a little damp. “It was just nice to take a walk.”

“Agreed. We can take fifteen more minutes.” He paused and glanced at his watch. “Make that thirteen and a half minutes.”

The dry delivery pulled a snorting laugh from me. Goblin seemed to be enjoying the walk as much as I was, but Bones seemed far more vigilant. Maybe I hadn’t noticed it before, but he seemed to constantly survey the area around us.

To be fair, we hadn’t spent a lot of time in public spaces, just the two of us. Our interactions usually took place in private or in lockdown—or when he hauled me up to my room and locked me in there.

Jerk.

Oddly, the memory sparked a laugh in me and while Bones shot me a curious look, he didn’t ask. Yeah, I wasn’t going to tell either. That I could look back on it at all fondly was a boon to me.

He didn’t get to share.

Eventually though, we were back in the car. Goblin ate his bacon, eggs, and croissants greedily. “He’s going to be irritated by kibble if we ever get back to feeding him that.”

“He’ll be fine,” Bones said, getting us back on the road. “Foraging is a fact of life, as is eating a regular diet.”

I snorted and he shook his head.

“That wasn’t a dig.”

“I believe you,” I said, saluting him with my coffee cup. “But it’s still funny to think of croissants and bacon as ‘foraging’ versus kibble as a ‘regular’ diet.”

He was silent for a beat then grunted. “I concede the point.” A flash of smile warmed his whole expression, the sun coming out from behind dark clouds. But I barely got a chance to even register it before it vanished again.

The drive took a good portion of the day. He didn’t stay on the motorways entirely. France had a significant number of toll roads. We got off frequently and took country roads and routes.

It was how we ended up eating lunch in a field while Goblin played and we basically had a picnic. Also how we stopped at a quaint pub in an incredibly small town for coffee and chocolate tarts for quatre-heures.

Frankly, the chocolate was divine and it boosted my mood so I didn’t protest it one iota. The lengthy detours had to be keeping people from tracking us, or maybe to kill time. Since Bones didn’t offer any other explanations, I didn’t ask.

Three hours later, he pulled us into a hotel just outside of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, if I was reading the signs right. We’d basically taken the most circuitous route ever to turn back south again.

This time, Bones checked us in and I stayed in the car with Goblin until he had the keys. He also wanted to check the room out. It was a sleepy area, with little foot traffic and not a lot of nightlife. I wanted to go and explore, but that wasn’t really an option at the moment.

Thankfully, we got to stretch our legs before he ushered Goblin and I upstairs. “I’m going to get us food and charge the car,” he told me. “Keep the room locked, tell Goblin to guard if you need to shower.”

That was fair, we weren’t really in a suite this time. Just a small hotel room with a single bed and a couple of chairs. Well, one rather uncomfortable armchair and another desk chair.

“Gun,” he said, touching the weapon he’d unpacked once we were in the room. “It’s loaded. Safety here. Flick it off, point, shoot.”

Yeah…

My stomach rolled at that one.

“Taser here.” He patted that and something far more like relief crept through me. “And your phone. Any issues at all, call me. Even if you can’t say anything, just call and leave the phone line open.”

An icy kind of sweat seemed to coat me. “How long are you going to be gone?”

“No more than an hour. That’s my plan. Anything in particular you’d like for supper?”

“Honestly?” At the question, he just gave me a bland look. Of course, he meant honestly. “I’d kill for spaghetti.”

Pasta. So. Many. Carbs.

Yes, I wanted all of them right now. I ducked my head as I ran fingers through my hair. It felt kind of grimy. Honestly, all of me did. A shower was a good idea.

“Grace,” he said, touching two fingers to my chin again and I lifted my gaze before he even nudged. “You’re going to be fine and safe. Goblin will look after you and I’ll be back.”

He seemed to search my face, and I blew out a breath. He was waiting for me to say it. “I’ll be fine,” I told him, summoning up a smile even if I didn’t feel it. “And I think a shower sounds awesome.” Fake the cheer until you make it, I reminded myself. “I’ll even try to leave you some hot water.”

Warmth touched those chilly eyes and he nodded. Then he slipped out of the door like the ghost he often seemed to be. I glanced at Goblin who just stared up at me and thumped his tail once.

“I’m going to shower,” I told him. “Guard?”

It came out more of a question than a command and he cocked his head, but when I pointed at the door and repeated the word with a little more emphasis this time, he thumped his tail twice and rose.

When he settled this time, he lay right across the door.

Okay, that worked.

At forty-five minutes, I was spreading the hotel’s lotion over my legs when Bones called through the door. I didn’t quite hear the words, but then I recognized the voice.

So did Goblin, cause he rose a split-second before the door opened. It was dark outside the windows, but I’d drawn the curtains and I only had a low lamp on. The smell of the spaghetti and red sauce hit with the force of a freight train.

“Oh…” I rose as he set the bags and a bottle of wine down on the desk. Before I could finish the thought though, his phone made a vibrating noise. Excitement spun through me as he pulled it out and answered it.

“Status.” One word, not even a hello, but a part of me didn’t care as I leaned forward, straining for the response.

“Twelve bidders.” Voodoo’s voice was a revelation. Bones had put him on speaker.

Tears burned in my eyes as all the tension drained out of me. He was okay. He was okay and he was calling. Bones had said there was a plan but hearing him just made all of it real.

“Photographed. Marked. Most in the wind, but we’re working on IDs. Picked up fresh intel, including a list. Grace’s name was on it.” The last five words came out hard and fresh tension coiled in my stomach.

“They’re still looking.” Bones glanced at me. It wasn’t a question. He also didn’t take Voodoo off speaker either.

“We improvised,” Lunchbox volunteered and I scraped my teeth over my lower lip. That was two of them. “Took a little longer than anticipated but burned them in that location. Almost literally, but we ran into a familiar face.”

“Casualties?” Bones set the phone down as he reached for a corkscrew and began to open the wine.

“None on our side. Definitely more than a few broken bones and faces on theirs.”

Alphabet!

Goblin’s tail began to wag happily and when I patted the bed next to me, he leapt up. We were both excited to hear them.

“The list told us something else,” Alphabet continued. “Amorette’s name isn’t on it.”

Bones pulled the cork out and it gave a distinctive pop as he set the wine to breathe.

“Reznik is also involved in this organization,” Voodoo said. “He was one of the high end bidders.”

Bones scowled. “He got away?”

“Not without considerable pain.” Lunchbox seemed pleased. “We’ll deal with him.”

Silence fell. I didn’t know who Reznik was, but his presence seemed to piss all of them off.

“Gracie…” Alphabet said.

“I’m here,” I answered.

“Amorette isn’t in any of their data that I’ve sifted so far. The good news is that means they don’t have her.” The bad news he didn’t have to say was that meant we still didn’t know where she was.

“Are you guys okay?” The fact they said no casualties on our side was good.

“We’re fine, Firecracker,” Voodoo said. “Barely even a scratch.”

“Good work,” Bones stepped back into the conversation. “If you’re clean, take the scenic route. Go dark for forty-eight, make sure everything cools off. We’ll meet at Perrault in the wood.”

“Copy,” Voodoo said, then the call ended.

They were okay. They were okay and they’d found out that Amorette wasn’t being held by the people here. I was going to hold onto that good news with both hands.

Bones poured two glasses of the wine and brought one over to me.

“What’s Perrault in the wood?”

“Weapons. Supplies. Safe house.”

“Does it have to be forty-eight hours?” That was another two days of us just wandering around? “Not complaining…” When he raised his eyebrows, I made a face. “Okay, I’m not complaining much. It was just—really good to hear they were okay.”

“Yes, it does.” He touched his wine glass to mine with a light clink. “Come eat your spaghetti and you can ask the rest of the questions I can see burning in your eyes.”

I sipped some of the wine, it was excellent. “Does that mean you’re going to answer all my questions?”

There was no mistaking his smile when he glanced over his shoulder at me. “No.”

Figured.