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“I said, what can I give you to steady your nerves? There’s every type of tea, black or herbal, every flavor of coffee, and a couple of excellent brandies and whiskies.
Oh man, a whiskey sounded really nice, but not a good idea. “A tea would be nice. Black tea with milk. No sugar.” She looked up at Pierce. Not expressionless now. He looked reassuring and a little worried. About her. She wasn’t used to anyone worrying about her. She’d made her own way in the world for a long time now. This man clearly had the wrong impression of her.
She straightened up in the sofa, lifted her chin, steadied her hands in her lap. There. That was the Riley Robinson everyone knew.
“Here.” A steaming cup of black tea appeared on a tray with a small pitcher of milk. She leaned over and drew in a breath. It smelled divine. Earl Grey. There was a plate with English shortbread. The Full Monty—English Xanax. He himself had a cup of coffee, black.
“I don’t have a drop of English blood in me, but this is programmed to soothe anyone’s nerves.” He smiled at her.
She smiled back. “It’s a superior safe house if you have English shortbread and fresh milk.”
He sipped. She could smell the coffee—some rich brew, probably arabica. “You have no idea. This is a Black Inc. safehouse and it practically comes with masseuses. There’s a fridge full of fresh food, a list of take-out restaurants close by, a full wine cellar, and freshly laundered sheets and towels. And they carry a stock of basic clothes in various sizes, plus pajamas. You’ll find something that fits you in your room. And basic toiletries.”
“They think of everything.” Now that she was safe and they weren’t flying at the speed of light, she was starting to get her bearings. And realizing she’d left the office with only a tiny fanny pack. She had nothing. And she particularly didn’t have a computer.Hercomputer. It made her feel naked.
“They certainly do.” Pierce leaned toward her. “Listen, Riley. I am not entirely certain what this is about. The only thing I know from your genius friends is that what you found out is deadly serious, with serious national security implications. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask Jacob Black to come in for your debrief. He can be here soon and you could shower and change if you want to, in the meantime. That way you won’t have to repeat your story twice.”
She was going to have to repeat her story over and over again, but it was nice of him to try to spare her.
A huge weight lifted from her shoulders. She was choking on the responsibility she felt. Right now, with Henry Yu dead, she was the only person in the world who knew that the country might be going to war over a lie.
Jacob Black was very welcome.
Jacob Black was a legend, a man intimately connected with the military and with serious ties to Congress. He would definitely know what to do. She could tip this problem right into his thoroughly capable hands.
She exhaled. “Oh God, yes!” She put the tea cup back in its saucer and was horrified to hear it rattle. Just like her heart was still rattling around in her chest. “And you can brief your bosses back in Portland, right?” Pierce’s company wasn’t as large and powerful as Black Inc., but it was still a highly respected security company, one of the best in the country. “The more people who know, the better.”
“And the safer you’ll be.” Pierce rose and she looked up at him. He was very tall. Usually she didn’t like tall men. They often used their height to intimidate. But Pierce didn’t. It just seemed to be an attribute of the man, like broad shoulders and big hands. He was tall, but it didn’t bother her. He held out a hand and she stood. It was awful that she was grateful for the hand.
He gently grasped her shoulders and pointed to a door. “That’s your room. You have your own bathroom and you’ll find everything you need in there. Clothes and toiletries.” He turned her around, looking her deeply in the eyes. He hesitated a moment, as if to give weight to his words. “You’re safe now, Riley. I want you to know that. To feel that.”
“I do. I feel safe. Particularly since I’m not in a car going 200 miles an hour.”
He gave a crack of laughter. “I was taking it easy. The car doesn’t look like much, I know, but it can hit 200. We were only going 150, tops. And you were never in any danger. I’m a combat driving instructor.”
It had felt like she was going to die at any moment, but she realized now that she’d been in good hands.
He turned her back around. “Now go,” he said gently. “And we’ll talk about this when Black gets here.”
Somehow Pierce realized that she really needed a break. She’d been on red alert for hours. One of the best ways she knew to relax a little was to take a shower. Standing under falling water had always been her way to destress. That and climbing rocks, but there were no rocks here at the moment.
She stood under the waterfall showerhead, one hand against the sandstone-tiled wall and emptied her head. So many questions, so many decisions, so many facts to sift through, so many probabilities, so many geopolitical factors, such dire consequences … she couldn’t deal with them all at once, so she thought of nothing at all. Merely luxuriated in the feel of hot water sliding over her body, feeling her heart rate slide back to its usual sixty beats per minute.
The room really did have everything. A comfortable-looking, freshly made king-size bed. A closet with sports clothes of varying colors on hangars. Many items were in her size. A big dresser with sweaters and tees, brand new underwear, pajamas. On the nightstand a bottle of water, aspirin, ibuprofen, dark-blue nail polish, two jars of excellent moisturizer and in the nightstand drawer …ohmygod. Condoms! Lots and lots of condoms!
Face red, she hastily pushed them to the back of the top drawer because the last thing she needed right now was condoms. Sex was the furthest thing from her mind.
Except … she’d had to run for her life. At the NSO it had been so close. Armed gunmen had come for her, and they already had the scent of blood in their nostrils. They’d wanted her dead and it was a miracle they hadn’t succeeded. She could be dead right now, cold and gone, just like Henry Yu. Lying on some slab in some morgue, with a toe tag, forever dead.
Instead, she was alive. Super alive, in fact. She tingled with life from head to toe and so … well … sex was actuallynotthe furthest thing from her mind.
Except of course it had to vie with fear for her life.
That wild car ride, for example. She’d been terrified. She’d never ridden at that speed before in her life. She was braced for a horrific accident that would crush her as the car crumpled against a lamppost or another vehicle. But at the same time, there was a part of her that hadn’t been scared at all, because Pierce had looked utterly in control at all times. Still, she’d felt a jolt of adrenaline getting out of the car because she’d survived the ride.
She wasalive.
Life pulsed in every cell of her body. Heat rushed through her. It wasn’t just the hot water running down her body, it was a heat that came from within. Like someone had thrown a switch and turned her on inside.
