“I didn’t say you were.”
“You looked it.”
“I looked like I was waiting.”
“For what?”
“For you to breathe.”
His words punched the air out of her.
The room blurred for a second, and suddenly the past two days rolled over her.
The dead agent. The crash.
The “friendly” drone, as if it were only flying over to take photos of cute puppies.
The hood. The base. The audio.
That voice.
Her hand moved before she thought better of it.
She reached for Rome.
Her fingers caught the edge of his shirt, curling around his hard bicep because she needed something solid to hold on to.
For half a second, she thought he’d pull away.
He didn’t.
Rome shifted closer, and his hand clamped around hers—big, warm and steady enough to make her hate how much she needed it.
He settled her in a chair and sat across from her. She immediately shot out a hand and he took it.
“Start with where you were standing.” His voice was pitched low, almost soothing.
She focused on the shape of his fingers around hers. On the command that didn’t feel like an order this time.
She told him about the corner booth, the pizza, the voice, the way the man had looked at her after she dropped the tray.
“Tell me about the modulated voice.”
She nodded. “When he ordered, he didn’t sound that way. He never looked up when Jolie and I walked over, and when he spoke again…” She swallowed. “It came out like one of those horror-movie voices. The same wrong, creepy, inhuman thing. It’s why I still remember him.”
Rome watched her carefully. “And you’re certain that voice on the recording is the same?”
“Absolutely.”
The answer came fast enough to surprise even her.
Stina’s fingers were starting to sweat, but Rome didn’t let go. His touch anchored her as the memory opened wider in her mind.
Suddenly she could smell pizza dough and marinara sauce. Could hear customers talking over one another. The sensation of the weight of the tray balanced on her hand was so strong, she rubbed her free hand over her borrowed jeans.
“I jumped when I heard the voice.” She met Rome’s stare again.
His dark gray eyes could be as cold as steel, but right now…they were something else.
