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I returned to Philip and passed him the zipties. “We absolutely can’t let Andrew know Gentry’s been turned,” I said in a low voice. “Especially since we have no clue how.”
“Agreed.” He shifted to a crouch and quickly secured Gentry’s hands behind his back, but when he stood he had to stop and catch his breath.
“I’ll help you haul him back,” I said and took one of Gentry’s arms.
Philip gave me a warm smile. “What would I do without my Angel?”
I chuckled, absurdly cheered at the simple statement. No matter what else went to shit, my friends were still my friends. Fuck the whole insider suspicion for these two. There was another e
xplanation. There had to be.
Together we drag-hauled Gentry back to the circle of light. Jeez, but the dude was a helluva dead weight. If he’d been conscious, the strain on his shoulders would have been agonizing, but I didn’t really give a shit about his comfort at the moment. I resisted the urge to drop him on his face, and instead set him against the wall a few feet beyond Naomi.
Philip lowered himself to sit. I looked around, even though I knew too damn well what our situation was. Two prisoners now, Naomi barely mobile, and Philip all fucked up by the MegaPlague. What the hell was I supposed to do now?
“We’re stuck,” I murmured to myself, but Philip lifted his head.
“What happened with Brian?” he asked.
I hesitated only an instant before spilling the entire sordid tale to him, including how I’d disguised myself as a pregnant woman.
“Ah, I’d wondered about the coat,” he said but then gave me a pained look. “You’re right. We’re stuck, for now at least.” He sighed. “You and I are the only ones mobile. And I’m not reliably so.”
“We need supplies until we can figure out a plan,” I said, struggling to think. “Stuff for Naomi’s ankle, splints and painkillers. That sort of thing.”
“Probably need duct tape and blankets. Baby wipes to clean up, and some clothing.”
“Deodorant,” Naomi put in. “For the love of god, please get deodorant.”
“I need to make a list,” I muttered. I glanced over at Andrew, smiled and snagged the pen from his pocket. It was a really nice one, heavy and sleek, and it wrote like a dream even on the grimy scrap of paper I picked up from the floor of the tunnel. “Blue-green algae. More food and water,” I continued as I jotted down the list of items.
“Definitely water,” Philip agreed. “I could drink a gallon right now.”
“Got it.” I folded the paper and stuffed it into my pocket. “We’ll figure out what to do after I get all this.”
“Get the supplies, then we both need to hydrate and rest,” he corrected. “Once that’s done, we can secure our two prisoners, leave them with Naomi, and you and I will go recon options.”
“Glad you have a clue,” I said, giving him a light shoulder punch.
“Don’t jump to conclusions,” he replied with a wink. “Be careful.”
“Always,” I said automatically, then damn near jumped out of my skin as the phone buzzed in my pocket. My heart leaped when I saw the caller ID. “It’s Brian! I mean, it’s my number which means it’s Brian since he had my phone.” What if he’d been captured? What if this was really Saberton? Not yet daring to feel relief, I hit answer and then the speaker button so Naomi and Philip would be able to hear in case he said anything suspicious. “Brian! What happened? There were Saberton people crawling all over the place you sent me.”
“Angel,” he said, voice oddly flat. “I know it’s you. You’re the insider.”
Chapter 28
His words sliced through me like ice cold razors, leaving me frozen and shattered at the same time. In my peripheral vision I saw Philip visibly jerk in surprise.
“Wh-what?” I managed.
“You’re the insider,” Brian repeated, slowly and clearly. “Every leak came from you: Mr. Ivanov’s schedule and the meetings with Dr. Charish, the change in routine from lunch to dinner for him and Dr. Nikas, the new codes to get into the lab, even the location of our meet today.”
I felt as if I was in one of those horror movie shots where the focus zooms in on the victim while everything else retreats into the background. “No. No . . .” My blood pounded in my ears. “Brian, how can you even think that? I swear, I didn’t betray you or anyone else!”
“Saberton would have had better intel and a smoother abduction plan if it had been one of my security team leaking info,” he said, eliminating Rachel, Kyle, and Naomi in a single sentence. Philip too, even though he wasn’t on Brian’s security team. “They heard it through someone with peripheral contact,” Brian continued. “You.”
Naomi let out a small gasp. Philip stood, eyes widening. “Oh my god,” he murmured. “He’s right.”
