“Likelast night.Itwas as if you just knewIneeded some adventure in my life.LiviandIwatch spy movies all the time.AndIdon’t know—I’vejust been craving something exciting like that to happen in my life.Yousomehow sensed that and made it happen.Saying‘Wehave to leave now,’ like we were being chased by bad guys wasperfect.Theway you ended our date put a cherry on top of an already impressive sundae.”
I… have no words to respond to that with.Actually, lots of things come to mind, but none of them are thingsIam okay with saying to her.Thingslike howInever want her to be in any kind of danger like that, ever.Itwas bad enough last night whenIhad to leave her in the watch of theFBIagent in the ballroom to go get the briefcase.
Butalso,Mackenzieis a smart woman, andIcan see something behind her eyes that tells me that she didn’t completely buy my story last night, even if she did enjoy how much it livened up the night.Ithink she’s trying to see if she can nudge some more information out of me.
Luckily,Iam spared having to give a response by the worker showing up with our food.Hesets the tray down, andItransfer our sodas and sandwiches to the table.Iturn, thank him, and hand the tray back, but suddenly something feels off.Mysenses are tingling, andIlook around for the source.Somethingmy subconscious saw is wrong.
Thiscafé doesn’t have waiters— just a counter where you order and pay— but they do bring the food out.Theman delivering an order to another table is someone we didn’t see inside the building when we ordered.Ofcourse, he could’ve just come on shift or he could’ve been in the back.
ButthenIstart noticing other things that make my hair rise and put me on high alert.Seatedat another table is a guyIsaw in the crowd at the street concert whenMackenzieandIwere up on stage.Ofcourse, he could live inCipherSpringsand just happens to be at this same restaurant as us, ten miles fromCipherSprings, having lunch with a different woman.Maybehe was with his wife at the concert and this is a coworker.Itcould be a coincidence.
ButIlearned long ago not to dismiss things as coincidence.
Aman comes out of the building and looks around for a seat.Ashe’s sitting down,Isee his face and recognize him as a guest at the gala.Hewasn’t one of the ones chasing after us, though, and he’s not someone that we’ve flagged as working forCryptexEndeavor.
Ifthis is them, how did they find us here?Itisn’t as if they could’ve followed us from the gala to see where we went— we left in a helicopter.
Inmy ear,Charliesays, “Jace, your heart rate is shooting up.Whatis it?”
“They’rehere,”Isay in a quiet mumble.Iknow she can understand my words, andI’malso sure that they weren’t loud enough forMackenzieto hear.
Theyhave to be after me sinceI’mthe one who took the briefcase intended for them.Fora split second,Iwonder if there is some way to draw them to me and away fromMackenziesoIcan keep her safe.Butalmost as quickly,Iknow that they will go after her if only to get to me since they’ve seen us together here.
Andthey probably saw us together at the gala.Iknew she would be seen— having her there was part of what drew them to the gala.Butthey probably didn’t know her face before last night and were only looking for someone with her general description.Inever should’ve brought so much attention toMackenzieduring that dance.Iwas just enjoying it so much, andIreally hadn’t guessed it would be so… memorable.
Ipride myself on staying in control in volatile situations, yet somehowInever feel in control when she’s around.Andit’s not even anything she is doing— it’s thatIam focusing less.Lettingmyself get distracted.Butnot now.Notwhen her safety is on the line.
Iam surreptitiously looking for escape routes whenInotice a whiteHyundaiparked on the side of the street thatIremember seeing parked on the next street over fromMackenzie’shouse when we went on our walk.
ThenIglance back at the manI’dseen in the audience atBeaton theStreet.He’sreaching into his jacket pocket for something, and suddenly the last puzzle piece of knowledgeI’vebeen gathering over weeks clicks into place.Iknow that not only is he a threat actor, but he’s the leader ofCryptexEndeavor.
Theman didn’t show up at the gala, but he comes here?Thattells me we are in big trouble.Andthe fact that we first saw him atMackenzie’sclub activity means it’s her they want.Evenmore than me. “Theguy in the navy jacket at the north table is the leader,”Isay, too concerned to even attempt to keepMackenziefrom hearing.IhearCharlie’sfaint gasp before a flurry of keyboard typing.
Onlya few seconds have passed since the café worker brought our food— he isn’t even all the way back to the restaurant door yet— andIthinkI’mbeing subtle.Butthey’re all subtly watching me, too, and they have probably noticed that something is off.
Mackenziepauses as she’s pushing her straw into her soda lid. “Jace?”
Iglance around. “Weneed to get out of here.”
“Okay, whenIsaidIenjoyed the adventure last night,Ididn’t mean we need to do it again right now.Imean, we can eat our food.Thenwe can prove that the time at theItalianrestaurant wasn’t a fluke and that we’ve broken the curse of not being able to finish a meal when it’s at a restaurant.”
“No,Mackenzie.Thereare actual bad guys here.”Igrab her hand asIstand, looking around at all the threat actors, who are seeing me notice them and are reacting by standing, talking into watches, and making eye contact with each other. “They’reafter us and we need to leave now.”
“Oh!”
They’vegot plenty of muscle blocking the logical exits, soIleadMackenzieto the row of potted plants separating the café from the sidewalk and we scoot between two and make a beeline to my motorcycle.
Aswe run,Mackenzieasks, “Whyare there actual bad guys after us?”
Wereach my bike andIhand her the helmet. “It’sa long story—I’lltell you when we are safe.Nowget on and hold on tight.”
CHAPTER26
FULL THROTTLE SECRETS
JACE
Iglance behind us asIpull my motorcycle out into traffic.Twoadversaries are heading for cars and one more to a motorcycle. “Charlie,”Ihiss. “Weneed an extraction.”
