Page 24 of Hellbent

She gave no answer. Each breath rasped through her contorted throat.

Blood was trickling from Evan’s nose, tickling his cheek. “I’m gonna let you go, and we’re gonna try this again, okay?”

Her answer came strained. “Okay.”

“I’d prefer not to have to kill you.”

“I’d like to say the same, but I haven’t decided yet.”

He released her, and they stood. They kept their palms raised, halfway to an open-hand guard. She drew in deep lungfuls, her cheeks flushed. She was expertly trained but still green.

He got his first clear look at her. Her hair fell to her shoulders, thick and dark and lush. The right side had been shaved short, but it was mostly hidden by the tumbling length of her locks, a surprisingly subtle effect. She was lean and fit, her deltoids pronounced enough to show notches in the muscle.

“I’m gonna put my shirt back on,” he said. “If you come at me, it won’t go well for you.”

Keeping his gaze on her, he backed up and put on his shirt. Next to the rucksack, a ragged flannel rested on the carpet. He tossed it to her.

She tugged it on.

Keeping a bit of distance, they stared at each other. A wisp of agitated piano reached them from outside, the concerto hitting the third movement.

“Let’s cut to it,” Evan said. “I see how you move. I know you’re an Orphan. I know who sent you.”

“You don’t know anything.”

“What’s the package?”

She answered him with a glare.

He risked a fleeting look at her rucksack. “Is it in there?”

“No.”

He crouched over the rucksack.

“Don’t touch my stuff.”

He rooted around in it, sneaking quick glances down. Clothes, a few toiletries, a shoe box filled with what looked like personal letters.

“Put those down.”

“Is there some kind of code in these papers?”

“No.”

He armed blood off his upper lip. “Is the package something on the laptop?”

“No.”

“If you’re lying, I can hack into it.”

Her mouth firmed into something more aggressive than a smirk. “Good luck.”

As he started to reach for the laptop, it suddenly alerted with a ping, the screen saver vanishing.

Four surveillance feeds came up, tiling the screen. It took a moment for Evan to register that they were streaming different angles of the outside of the apartment complex.

The bottom-left feed showed two SUVs blocking the horseshoe of the parking lot. Teams of geared-up operators charged for the front gate.