Chapter 17

17

Alex’s stomach growled, a reminder of the soggy sandwich that sat half-eaten and wholly unappetizing at her elbow. She wrinkled her nose, the musty smell of her “I Big Sur” shirt competing with the sandwich for Most Offensive Odor. Not exactly the glamorous spy life she’d imagined.

Her gaze drifted to Jason, perched at the sleek mid-century modern desk. The stunning view of cliffs and endless Pacific beyond was wasted on him; his focus was laser-tight on the computer screen. He looked like he was born to do this. The jerk.

“Having fun over there, Encyclopedia Brown?” she quipped, stretching muscles stiff from hours of inactivity.

Jason grunted, not bothering to look up. “For sure. Data mining is my passion. Right up there with root canals and mandatory office parties.”

She snorted, grateful for his sarcasm. At least she wasn’t the only one going stir-crazy. She glanced at her phone, rereading Liv’s message for the hundredth time.

Gabriel discharged, the team enroute to Belize. Safe, but out of contact for the next six hours.

“Everything okay?” he asked, finally tearing his eyes away from the screen.

“Yeah,” Alex sighed. “Just wishing I was with my team.”

His expression softened for a moment before he schooled it back to neutral. “I get it. But we’ve got work to do here. Paige thinks she might have found something in the general’s recent activities.”

Alex perked up, ignoring the protesting creak in her spine as she stood. “Spill it, Army. What’s the good word?”

As she moved to peer over his shoulder, she caught a whiff of cedar soap—a pleasant contrast to her own eau de mildew. She pushed that thought aside, focusing on the screen. If they could just find a connection between Gravy’s father and Seven-Five, maybe they could finally start making sense of this mess.

And maybe, just maybe, she could get out of this shirt before it grew sentient and tried to strangle her in her sleep.

Unable to sit still another second, she headed for the kitchen. “Coffee?” she offered.

“Please.” Jason responded without looking up.

She took a moment to admire the overbuilt stainless steel coffee maker. Could have a place in the Museum of Modern Art, for sure. She sniffed appreciatively. And it made a fine cup of joe.

Mugs filled in seconds, she set Jason’s cup beside him, the rich aroma momentarily overpowering her own questionable scent. She leaned in, squinting at the screen filled with classified documents that would make most intelligence agencies weep with envy.

“Impressive,” she murmured, more to herself than him.

But as the minutes ticked by, the endless stream of bureaucratic jargon began to blur before her eyes. Alex straightened, stretching her arms overhead as she glanced out the window. The fog had lifted, revealing a bright, windy day that made the cliffs and churning ocean below look like something out of a travel magazine.

“That’s it,” she announced, her voice cutting through the oppressive silence. “I’m going for a walk.”

Jason’s head snapped up, his eyes narrowing. “Not alone, you’re not.”

Alex bristled, hands on her hips. “What, you think I can’t handle myself?”

“You really want me to answer that?”

“So come with me.”

He threaded his fingers together behind his neck and arched his back, stretching carefully. “Give me ten more minutes.”

They glared at each other. But as much as Alex hated to admit it, she was no match for Jason in a physical confrontation. And right now, his jaw was set in a way that suggested trying to leave without him wouldn’t go well.

“Fine,” she huffed, turning on her heel.

She stomped back to her laptop. The video surveillance footage from the attack on Gabe was still open on her screen. She hit play, watching the scene unfold for what felt like the hundredth time.

The grainy images flickered before her eyes: her cousin’s tired face as he opened the door, the sudden chaos as the attackers burst in. She blinked hard, scrutinizing every detail, every movement. There had to be something she was missing, some clue that would make all of this make sense.

She hit play yet again, vaguely aware of Jason’s concerned glance in her direction. But she ignored him, focusing instead on the video, rolling it again.

That’s when she caught it. A tiny detail, with huge implications.

How had she missed it the first twenty times?

She jostled her coffee, the dark liquid sloshing dangerously close to the rim of her mug as her eyes widened in sudden realization.

“No way,” she breathed.

The grainy video played out again, but this time, Alex saw it with new eyes. The fake delivery driver, emerging from his dented subcompact, white food bag in one hand, and in the other, an oversized iced coffee.

When he and his accomplice left with Gabriel in tow, there was no white bag. And no iced coffee.

“Jason!” she called out, unable to keep the excitement from her voice. “I think I’ve got something!”

He was at her side in an instant, his earlier irritation seemingly forgotten. “What is it?”

“DNA,” Alex said, pointing to the screen. “That idiot left his drink in Gabe’s lab. If we can get to it before they go deep underground ...”

Jason’s eyes lit up with understanding. “We could ID our mystery man.”

Alex was already reaching for her phone. “I’m contacting Liv. If they divert to Gabe’s secondary lab, they might be able to snag it before going off-grid.”

As Alex relayed the information to Liv, she could feel Jason’s energy rise to match her own. This was their first real break, a tangible lead in a sea of confusion and dead ends.

She ended the call, giving Jason a thumb’s up. “Liv is on it.”

He clapped his big hands and let out a whoop of triumph. Alex found herself pulled into a bone-crushing hug. For a brief moment, she was acutely aware of his solid warmth.

Then, as if suddenly realizing what they were doing, they sprang apart. Heat rose in her cheeks, her skin tingling where they’d made contact.

Jason cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. “So, uh, about that walk ...”

“Right. Absolutely.”

They stood there for a moment, awkwardly avoiding eye contact, before simultaneously turning to prepare for their outing. As she headed to her room to grab her jacket, she couldn’t help but smile. They had a lead, a plan, and maybe, just maybe, something else brewing beneath the surface.

Seven-Five wouldn’t know what hit them.