Page 93 of Ride the Lightning

They stared at each other for a few heartbeats before Jonah recovered enough of his faculties to answer the phone.

“Agent St. John,” he said.

“Welcome back, Jonah.” Charlie Malcolm’s voice was warm, friendly, and familiar. The reaction it stirred within Jonah was the exact opposite. He wouldn’t let this man fuck with his head anymore.

“Good morning, sir,” Jonah replied. To beat a duplicitous son of a bitch, you had to become one. No one would know from his pleasant tone that he was planning to take this man down in ten hours.

“How are you feeling?” the deputy director asked in his best Uncle Charlie voice.

“I’m fine, sir. I don’t even have a slight headache.”

“Great news, Jonah. I’m glad to hear it. Have the police found a suspect yet?”

“No, sir. I didn’t get a look at the guy, so it would be impossible for me to identify him,” Jonah said.

“That’s too bad,” Malcolm said. “Listen, I won’t be in the office today, but maybe the two of us could have lunch tomorrow. There are some things I’d like to discuss with you.”

“Such as?” Jonah prompted.

Malcolm laughed good-naturedly. “I don’t have time to get into it with you right now. We’ll chat over lunch. You pick the place, and I’ll treat.”

“Sounds great, sir.”

Malcolm wished him a good day, which Jonah returned before replacing the phone receiver in its cradle.

“The deputy director just wanted to make sure I was doing okay and invite me to lunch tomorrow,” Jonah said.

Avery scrunched up his nose adorably. “Trexler has a different story to tell. He’s such an asshat.”

“Maybe Trexler was telling the truth, and Malcolm is planning to talk to me about my podcast participation tomorrow.”

“Maybe,” Avery conceded. “Speaking of the podcast, tonight sounds like a big deal.”

“It is,” Jonah replied. They hadn’t rehearsed when they’d have the conversation about the meeting, but this seemed like a natural opening. Felix and Rocky were right about Avery’s intuition, but Jonah didn’t plan to tell them any time soon. Their egos were big enough as it was. “I’m eager to interview this prison guard.”

“What’s his name?”

“I can’t share the information yet,” Jonah said.

“Not even with me?” Avery’s pout was adorable.

“Not even you,” Jonah said. “I can meet you afterward for dinner though. I might have looser lips by then.” Avery’s wicked smile said he knew exactly how to make Jonah talk. “I’m meeting the guard at six and should probably be done in thirty minutes to an hour tops.” There was no need to give Avery the location since Malcolm was tracking his car. He’d just get in position early enough to allow the traitor to arrive and make his move at the destined time.

“Sounds good. I’m picking the movie and the dinner this time,” Avery said. He picked up the notepad and scrawled another message.What are you eating for lunch?

Jonah met Avery’s gaze with a sensual smile before writing his reply.You.

Avery shivered as he responded.My apartment is closer.

Adrenaline and courage seemed like strange bedfellows, but one didn’t work so well without the other. Courage was the decision to do something in the face of grave danger or great sacrifice. Adrenaline triggers the fight instincts and fuels the brain to execute the plan. The two could feed off each other to increase a man’s chance of survival, but too much of either could send him to his death. Jonah strove for the right balance as he pulled into the parking lot of WBM Logistics warehouse on Knowlton Way.

With access to the Port of Savannah nearby, WBM supported some of the largest retailers in the world. The location was isolated enough they wouldn’t have to worry about pedestrian traffic and civilians getting caught up in the crossfire if things went south. There were enough warehouses and freight containers onsite to provide excellent cover for their team.

It had been many years since Jonah had felt this amped up on adrenaline, and he took several deep breaths to slow his racing heart.

“Doing okay?” Felix asked through his earpiece. “Sounds like you’re breathing awfully hard.”

“Exercise to combat the adrenaline,” Jonah replied as he turned into the warehouse parking lot.