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He held the receiver of the phone to his ear. “What do you want? The works?”
“Excluding anchovies and pineapple.” She wrinkled her nose, looking adorable, and adorable wasn’t a word he used often—ever.
He ordered the pizza and then pulled some change from his pocket. He jingled it in his palm. “I saw a vending machine out by the pool. Do you want something to drink?”
“Diet anything.”
His gaze swept her lithe frame from head to toe. “Because you look like you need to diet.”
“When you’re short, you always need to watch what you consume.”
“You’re the doctor.”
“Not really.”
Her solemn voice and downturned lips had him taking two steps toward her and brushing her jawline with his fingertips. “You were the best damned doctor I ever had.”
“I was injecting you with poison, and I didn’t even know it. Some doctor.”
“You had a great bedside manner when you were doing it.” He tugged on one wavy lock of her dark brown hair, and she flashed him a quick smile from her tremulous lips.
“Lock the door behind me and don’t open it for anyone. The pizza’s not going to get here that fast.”
“Got it.”
He stood outside the door of the motel room until he heard the dead bolt and the chain. Then he followed the path back to the gated pool with a whistle on his lips.
He hadn’t felt this hopeful in a long time—not since he and Simon had figured out what Tempest was doing to its agents. He finally had someone on his side—someone who offered real help, not a hothead like Simon.
What had Ava done to lose her chance at a medical license? He couldn’t imagine her doing something illegal, although she hadn’t been squeamish about stealing cars and lying to Lillian Arnoff. In fact, she’d adapted to life on the run more quickly than he would’ve imagined.
He braced a hand against the soda machine outside the pool gate and studied the selections. A woman’s low laugh bubbled from the hot tub, followed by a soft squeal and a sigh.
He closed his eyes. He’d like to try to make Ava sigh like that—a sigh of contentment instead of one of exhaustion or fear.
His lids flew open, and he fed some coins in the slot and punched the button for a diet soda and then repeated the process for a root beer. He’d try to get a good night’s sleep tonight and pop one of the precious pills in the morning.
Gripping a cold can in each hand, he glanced over his shoulder at the steam rising from the hot tub, the heads so close together now as to be indistinguishable. Lucky bastard.
When he returned to the room, he tapped on the door with the edge of one can. “It’s me.”
She slipped the chain from the door and opened it.
“I hope you looked out that peephole before opening the door.”
“I did, although that didn’t help Mrs. Arnoff, did it?”
“Mrs. Arnoff was a fool—and drunk. A bad combination.”
She took her soda from his hand. “She paid a high price for a few glasses of wine.”
“She paid a high price for being married to Dr. Arnoff.” He slammed the door behind him and threw the chain in place again. “And you’re paying a high price for working with the man.”
“Maybe Dr. Arnoff didn’t realize how Tempest was using its agents. Maybe he truly thought you were a force for good.”
“Then why all the secrecy? Why keep you out of the loop?”
“That’s easy.” She popped the tab on her can and bubbles sprayed from the lid. “What he was doing was completely unethical. T-101 hadn’t been properly tested or vetted or reviewed or approved by the FDA. It was a dream situation for Dr. Arnoff. Tempest was funding an illegal lab for him, a lab where he had complete control.”
“And unwitting guinea pigs at his disposal.”
Ava wandered to the laptop on the credenza. “I powered it up while you were gone. It’s password-protected and there’s not much life left on the battery.”
“We’re going to have to crack that password.” A pulse pounded in his temple, making his eye twitch.
“And we’re going to have to get a new power cord.”
