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“Now,” he said. “We’re going to hightail it out of here and see if we can find a cab to take us uptown again. We’re going to keep going in circles until I know we’re not being followed.”
A million questions ran around her head, but there was no point in asking them. His focus was on keeping them safe, not on indulging her curiosity. He dragged her out onto the street once more, and they walked north for a few more blocks. Then, by some miracle, they managed to hail a cab. Hawk gave the driver an address on West 45th Street but told him to take a nice circuitous route. The guy started to ask questions, but Hawk just said, “Drive like you’re trying to lose a tail, and I’ll give you a hundred bucks over the cost of the fare.” The driver stopped asking questions and did as he was told.
Twenty-five nauseating minutes later, they pulled up in front of Callahan Security. “Shit,” she said. “We’re not going back to Connor’s?”
Without a word, Hawk paid the cabbie and hustled her across the sidewalk and through the doors. The elevator ride to the top floor was silent and tense. When they stepped off, Mitch, Logan, and another man, who was obviously their relative, were waiting for them.
“Any trouble getting here?” Mitch asked.
Before Hawk could answer, Logan pointed to the man standing to his left. “This is our brother Gage, by the way.”
She nodded to Gage. “Nice to meet you,” she murmured.
“You look like you could use a cup of tea, or maybe something stronger,” Logan suggested.
“Tea would be great.”
He smiled and ushered her over to the seating area by the fireplace. “Why don’t you sit down and relax a bit?”
She nodded her thanks and peeled off her jacket and gloves, then discarded the hat and wig. Logan took it all and placed it on a bar stool and then walked behind the bar to make her tea.
Mitch and Gage sat on the sofa, and Hawk took a seat on the chair across from her. He pulled off his hat and jacket. “To answer your question, I think we might’ve been followed for a bit, but I ditched the sim cards on our phones, and then we rode around for a while in a cab, so I think we lost them.”
“Do you know who it was?”
“A group made up to look like college kids.”
Remy stared at him. “You mean those guys on the train?”
He nodded. “They weren’t as young as they looked. The one without the backpack had a gun under his jacket. The two with the backpacks were speaking in Moroccan Arabic. It’s got a very specific accent. I couldn’t make it all out, but they were trying to figure out if we found the token or not. I think we lost them when I got rid of our phone sims and we hopped in the cab.”
“You think someone hacked your phones and followed you that way?” Gage asked.
“Yeah. Makes the most sense.” Hawk stretched his legs out in front of him. “The only thing we have going for us at this point in time is that they don’t know if we have the token. And when I say ‘they,’ I’m talking about all the people after the token. The thing is, we don’t know whotheyare.”
“You said the Asian men turned up at your friend’s bar. Do you think they followed you two there?”
Hawk shook his head. “Connor did some poking around for us. He said the rumor is that there are three groups looking for the token. He put it out that he’s part of a fourth group. He thought it might get him more information. I haven’t had a chance to call and see what happened.”
“Give me a minute, and I’ll arrange for burner phones for you.” Mitch stood and went over to the bar area where he made a phone call.
Remy leaned back in her chair. It had been a long day, full of emotion. No, that wasn’t true. It should have been full of emotion, but all she felt was numbness. Like all of this was a dream.
“Let me see the key,” she said. She’d suddenly realized she hadn’t actually held it in her hand.
Hawk hesitated but reached into his pocket and pulled out the key. He leaned forward, and she did the same, then he dropped the old-fashioned gold key into her hand. It was heavier than she thought. The skull in the head of the key winked at her as if it knew all the secrets. It probably did. If only skulls could talk. Had her great-grandfather made this? She suspected he had. What the hell had he been thinking, getting involved in all of this?
She snorted to herself. He’d probably been thinkingI want a drink. It all started during prohibition, so that was the logical thought. The question now was, when did it turn into something different, something more sinister?
Another man entered the bar area and handed Mitch some phones. “Thanks, Gunnar.”
“Um Mitch,” the man held up a file. Mitch raised an eyebrow. Gunnar leaned in and said something in a quiet voice but shot a look in her direction.
Her stomach cramped. Something in that look shot cold fear through her heart.
Mitch said something and Gunnar nodded and left again.
“Here’s a phone for each of you.” Mitch held a phone out to her and Hawk. She tucked the key into her pocket and took the phone. She couldn’t think of anyone that she needed to contact, so she put the phone down on the coffee table in front of her. “What?” she asked.
