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Trembling now, she swallowed hard. “If you are.”
“Almost.” He eyed the agents before reaching into his pants pocket. “I’m pulling out my phone,” he warned them.
Both agents nodded, but their hands remained in front of them. Ready to draw down, if necessary. He couldn’t blame them. It was only good procedure.
He whipped out his phone and snapped photos of the paper and the two agents. “For the record,” he told them.
“We’d be disappointed if you didn’t,” Marks acknowledged.
“I’m good,” he told Jane.
But the thumb drive weighed heavily in his pocket like a million-dollar gamble. He glanced at Jane, her green eyes filled with equal parts determination and fear. He knew they had no choice but to trust Romero and the agents, even if it felt like a long shot.
“Here,” he said, extending the thumb drive toward them. “This is what you’re after.”
Tanaka snatched the drive from Bridger’s outstretched hand.
“Careful with that,” Jane warned, her voice barely more than a whisper. “It’s our lives you’re holding.”
“Relax,” he responded, his tone dismissive. “We’ve done this before.”
“Really?” Bridger couldn’t help but interject, his sarcasm seeping through despite the tension. “Because I’m pretty sure we’re breaking new ground here.”
“Trust us,” Marks countered, his voice softening slightly. “You have our word—there will be no prosecution for either of you.”
“Your word, huh?” Bridger mused, unable to shake the anxiety gnawing at his gut. “Forgive me if that doesn’t fill me with confidence.”
Behind them, Romero eased the dove back into its cage and grabbed his tuxedo jacket off the chair. “If you’ll all excuse me, the curtain goes up in two minutes. Best of luck,” he said to Bridger and Jane.
The overstuffed room was so crowded, the four of them had to jostle out of the way so he could get out.
“Listen,” Tanaka snapped once the magician disappeared. “You want your lives back, right? This is the only way.”
“Fine,” Bridger agreed reluctantly, his mind racing with thoughts of potential escape plans and unforeseen complications. “But if anything goes wrong?—”
“Trust me,” Marks interjected. “If it does, you won’t be the only ones with problems.”
“Great,” Jane muttered, her eyes never leaving the thumb drive now hidden away in the agent’s pocket. “That makes me feel so much better.”
Tanaka sighed, his expression softening. “We’re on the same side here. We all want the same thing.”
“Sure,” Bridger agreed, his voice dripping with skepticism. “A happy ending.”
The hint of a smile tugged at the corners of Tanaka’s mouth. “Something like that.” He turned to his partner. “Let’s hit it. The cyber team wants this ASAP. Time’s wasting.”
He patted his breast pocket, immediately freezing in place.
Bridger clasped Jane’s hand. Something wasn’t right. The man’s body language was all wrong for a guy who’d just scored a huge victory.
Tanaka dipped his fingers into his pocket, pulling out a pack of chewing gum. He swore loudly.
“Hands up!” Marks ordered, as he pulled his weapon, aiming it at Bridger. “Where’s the drive?”
“Whoa, easy.” Bridger raised his hands slowly, trying to keep the situation from spiraling out of control. “I just gave it to you. Why would I take it back?”
Marks swore. “Romero.”
Bridger squeezed his eyes shut, kicking himself for being such a fool. When he opened them, the two agents had their weapons pointed at him and Jane.
