Page 37 of Peak’s Code

"You aren't squeamish?” he asked.

"No."

"What did Mercer mean when he said that he’d interviewed you in Richmond?” he asked. That had been bothering him since they left the clubhouse.

She smiled faintly. "You ask a lot of questions."

"Yet, you answer very few,” he countered.

"That’s fair." She taped a piece of gauze over the cut before speaking again. “To answer your first question, my mom was an ER nurse, so no, I’m not squeamish.” Peak nodded. "She'd come home after twelve-hour shifts, and sometimes she'd have blood on her scrubs. I thought it was normal." Her fingers paused for just a second. "When Wren and I were teenagers, she'd teach us basic first aid." She shrugged. "She said every woman should know how to save a life."

Peak studied her quietly. "She sounds like a smart woman."

"She was,” Maeve breathed.

“Was Mercer right? Did she have cancer?” he asked.

Maeve lowered her head. “Yes.”

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Yeah, me too,” Maeve said. Silence settled over the room again, and he wondered if she was going to answer his original question.

“And the reason Mercer said that he interviewed me in Richmond is because he did. I applied for a job with the government in cybersecurity. That was the first time I met him. He was part of a team that interviewed me for the position. I didn’t get that job, though.”

“But it put you on Mercer’s radar,” he said.

“Yes,” she breathed. “My sister, too. She was the one who got that position. I’m betting that’s why they took her and why Mercer is coming after me.” Peak agreed, but the question remained—why Mercer was coming after him. He had never worked for the government—well, not officially. Yet, Mercer said that his clubhouse was attacked because of him, and not Maeve.

Peak reached for his shirt and Maeve slapped his hand away. "I'm not finished."

He raised an eyebrow. "You always this bossy?"

"When people are bleeding, yes,” she said.

He chuckled. "Remind me never to get hurt around you again."

"Let’s hope there’s not a next time,” she said. “But if there is, I’ll fix you anyway, even though you’re complaining like a man-baby right now.” He laughed—actually laughed.

Maeve looked up at him again. "You laughed. It sounded different this time.”

Peak frowned. "What?"

"When you forget you're supposed to be guarded, you laugh differently,” she said.

"I don't know what you're talking about,” he insisted. She was right, though. There was something about hanging out with Maeve alone that made him feel more at ease.

"You smile with your eyes, too,” she continued. He stared at her, and she looked back down at the bandage. "I notice things.” She shrugged as though it wasn’t a big deal, but it was.

"So I've gathered." His phone buzzed, and Captain's name flashed across the screen. Peak answered immediately. "Tell me something good."

Captain snorted. "We found three more tunnels."

Peak's smile disappeared. "What?"

"They connect to old crab packing warehouses,” Captain said.

Peak leaned forward. "So they weren't just using our property."