Chapter 17
A real trooper, she thought to herself, as Zoe fought through the afternoon, now able to focus on the task at hand and not look at her phone as if it was about to explode in her face. Her little mission hadn’t raised any suspicions. When Ahmad checked his phone as the men returned to the negotiation table, she believed her heart would leap out of her chest and run out the room. But nothing was out of the ordinary. Kareem Ahmad put it down after a moment and resumed talking. The assignment had worked. Lucas was safe, for now at least.
It was a good thing her head was a bit clearer as the negotiation process was becoming tighter. The men were like fighters. But her role was to relay any information that she could gather from side discussions, and as expected, Ahmad’s advisors were chatty. And the language they used was a mix of Arabic, English and that tribal dialect she suspected. But as they mostly used Arabic, Zoe assumed that said advisors were not native speakers, but had most probably picked up bits and pieces from Ahmad along the way.
A few times, Kai and Lance came into the room, checking on everything, but as she was hard at work, they left her alone. At some point, one of the men came with a tray of food, but her stomach was still tied in knots. However, coffee was welcome. And it came black and strong, exactly how she liked it. Thoughtful of Archer.
When they adjourned the session, Zoe was about to drop from exhaustion. The events of the day had taken a toll on her, with the lack of food and her coffee overdose, her body felt wired and tired all at the same time. Archer had left just after Ahmad and his men, with some meeting to attend. It was Kai who came and packed everything up before driving her home.
Zoe was completely disconnected from her surroundings on her drive back. The city slowly fading into night was like a senseless movie to her. What she had done whirled in her head. She had deceived Archer and hid crucial elements from Gabrielle and the team. She was compromised, and that was an understatement. Archer wasn’t really in danger. Never was. All this time, she had been the prey and there was nowhere she could hide. That’s what hurt the most; not being able to fight back. She may never have been a warrior, or a soldier, or a secret agent like Beatrice and Gabrielle, but since she’d realized her own parents were using her talents, tricking people and abusing her, she had retaliated, and embraced her own power. Even if it left her half dead in the process, it was a much-needed spark. One that only grew over time and enabled her to get out of there, and help Lucas do the same.
One thing that Beatrice told her all those years ago, was that she was brilliant, and that it didn’t have anything to do with her unusual skill. At the moment, she hated her talent; it was what made her life a misery.
“Zoe?”
Kai seemed annoyed with her and Zoe blinked several times, realizing that it wasn’t the first time he’d called her name.
“What?”
He pointed at the dashboard. “Gabrielle is on the phone.”
Whoa, she had to get her head back together. “Yes, Gabrielle?”
There was a moment of hesitation on the other end of the line. “Are you alright, Zoe?”
“Yes, just tired. It’s been a long day.”
“I can see why. Quick update for you two. I’ll talk to Lance later. Nothing of worth on our prime suspect and intruder. He’s keeping mum and apart from requesting his lawyer, there’s nothing we can do about him for the moment. If he gets bailed, that would be a completely different story. Also, nothing worthy on the autopsy report or the forensic analysis. Cynthia didn’t have her phone on her either. The Police are getting a warrant to try to get access to her phone account. We’ll see where it goes. But if it’s the killer who indeed called her before her abduction, I doubt we’ll trace back the call. Harker will keep us in the loop. On a more positive note, I had someone look at Blackwood’s servers and that’s a bit more interesting. Someone had been in the servers using the virus implanted by Cynthia. We haven’t determined the location yet, it’s still in progress, but they are kind of lurking. Quite strange behavior. We don’t know what it means. Either it’s a trick, they’re planting something into the system, or they’re complete idiots.”
Kai snorted. “Too bad they aren’t the last option, it would make our life easier.”
Gabrielle was still obviously considering all three possibilities. “I wish, but that’s too hopeful for my poor heart.”
Zoe forced herself to say something coherent so as not to draw attention to herself. “Any possibility of linking it to Finch? Or one of the buyers yet?”
“No, nothing. We’re digging even further but that son of a bitch has a way of hiding his tracks a thousand times over. But we’ll get him. Lazarus won’t let anything happen to his brother. He’s ready for anything, waiting for our cue. That’s why you both need to keep your head in the game. Anything you see, any insight or ideas, I’m a taker.”
Zoe’s throat went sandy and she was grateful that Kai answered. “We’re on it, boss lady. We’ll keep you updated as we go.”
When silence returned, she let her head fall on the headrest.
“Are you sure you’re alright? You’re pale. Are you coming down with the flu?”
Opening her eyes, she sighed. “No, don’t worry. It’s the result of PMS, coffee overdose, and not eating anything.”
“Yeah, when I went into the room, there wasn’t any coffee left. I hated you for that.”
Zoe slatted her gaze to his laughing face. “Poor boy! I should have remembered that you were a spoiled little princess in a past life. And that past life is still haunting you today. I wish you could have it easier because it must have been hell doing all your super soldier training wearing a pink tutu!”
The booming laugh she got as a result triggered her laugh too. “You’ve got a sharp tongue, I like that.”
The look he gave her should have made her all shivery. Kai Jones was more than a handsome man; he was witty, fascinating and sexy as hell, but his mercury eyes made her think about Archer. Immediately, a familiar heat balled between her legs.
She was saved from embarrassment when he parked in front of her apartment. Turning to her, he looked at her with a mix of concern and heat. “Do you want me to go grab you something to eat?”
And with his question, he offered much more. But again, even if she called herself a fool for turning that god down, it couldn’t be helped.
“So sweet of you, but by the time you come back, I’ll be drooling on my pillow.”
