“I think she’s overwhelmed enough right now,” the FBI agent said with a rueful chuckle. “Have mercy on her. Her first stop was supposed to be Hammerling, and we had to put him off to see you, or Triumph was going to go all MMA-fighter smackdown on me.”
“You know,” Triumph said, “has anyone ever told you that you can be an annoying sonofabitch?”
Cruz laughed. “My work is done. Hashtag life goals.”
“Fucker,” Triumph muttered. At a normal, if not clipped, volume, he asked, “Do you have a plan for once it’s out of her? We can’t just leave it here.”
“He’s got a point,” Calder agreed. “Just throwing it out puts my co-workers in danger. And we can’t destroy it. They’ll know we found it.”
Cruz told them, “I had thoughts of stealing an idea fromTheDaVinci Codeand throwing it in a truck headed out of town.”
Triumph ran his hands through his already disheveled hair. “You two need a new hobby besides streaming movies.”
Calder ignored him. “That puts the truck driver at risk. You think this Guillermo bastard is going to stop him and politely ask to search his truck?”
Triumph rolled his eyes. “What do your tech guys do at the FBI, for fuck’s sake? Give it to me. I can jerry-rig its GPS system and make it look like it’s headed somewhere when it’s really in an evidence locker.”
“Why didn’t you just say so?” Cruz asked.
“Now that Hammerling is officially involved, I was trying to let the FBI do its thing without interfering.”
“It’s just the chief. No techs. Remember, this isn’t officially on the books yet.”
“Yet,” Triumph muttered. “When ‘yet’ comes, ya’ll better not leave her abandoned in the fray. She’s been collateral damage long enough. This wasn’t part of the original deal.”
Should she be upset they were talking about her like she wasn’t even there? Possibly. But her energy was flagging. Was it really something worth putting up a fight about?
Cruz tried to soothe his frustration. “I know. You’ve made your feelings on this abundantly clear. I promise you, Hammerling’s good. But Francesca and I will be there, even if he thinks about taking advantage.”
She reached out and touched Triumph’s arm. “It’s okay. Besides, you’ll be there as well, and we’ll be out in public.”
He turned his gaze on Cruz. “The FBI is not high on my list in recent months. They’re not immune to rats in high places.”
“Infestations are everywhere, Triumph,” Cruz reminded him. “Clearly, the CIA is not any better off if you suspect a culprit inside the agency as to why we’re in this mess to begin with.”
Triumph grunted. “Tonight, we get that piece of metal out of her. After I put the virus into the microchip, I’m taking her to the Elysium apartment, feeding her, and putting her to bed. She’s not going anywhere until she’s had a solid eight hours of sleep. I’ll let you know when she’s ready to see Hammerling.”
Cruz and Calder looked at Glennon with dumbass grins on their faces. “Welcome to the overprotective family of the crazy cousins,” Cruz told her.
She rolled her eyes, hopped off the table, and pulled her shirt over her head. Turning her back to the men, she pulled her bra strap off her shoulder. “Just do what you need to do.”
It took longer to set up than it did to take the chip out and sew her back up.
When Calder was done, Triumph stood in front of her, helping her pull her shirt down and reset herself. “Can we stop sewing you back together, please?”
“Believe me, I’m on the same train of thought you are.”
“You want to have a little adventure tonight?”
She raised her eyebrow at him. “I haven’t had enough adventure, so you’re offering more?”
“This is a small one.” He squished his fingers together as he said it. “Tripoli brought my motorcycle, and he’s catching a ride back with Cruz. You wanna go for your first ride?”
“I thought I’d already been given my first ride,” she teased.
Grinning, he rolled his eyes. “That was hardly a ride. That was hardly a test drive.”
“Mmm. I look forward to the new experience.”
