Chapter Seven

F ighting back the bile rising up the back of her throat, Inda stumbled around the corner and forced her stunned expression into a blank mask. Climbing into the SUV, she met Saint’s questioning gaze and shrugged.

“No one was in there except a mom and her little girl at the counter. Maybe Cipher knew River was onto him and tricked us.”

“You’re sure?” Saint frowned. “You swept the whole place?”

“Of course.” She hated lying to him, but she needed answers first. On her own terms. And she wasn’t going to get that if Saint blasted into the café and threatened Lucas with bodily harm. “This was a bust. Let’s go.”

“Well, damn, I was hoping River finally nailed him.”

“We’ll get him.” She clamped her jaw shut, struggling not to show the conflicting emotions brewing just beneath the surface. “I guess he’s more crafty than we realized.”

Understatement of the year, she thought, pulling out her phone and surreptitiously ordering an Uber. She was having a hard time trying to make sense of it. How in the hell could Lucas be Cipher? The revelation was such a blow because she’d been working with the man every day and never put two and two together. She felt like an idiot.

Then an even worse thought hit. Did he know who she was? Why she was working at C.C. Towers and how she was trying to dig up intel on Carlisle and The Agency? If the answer was yes, then he’d been playing her for a fool this whole time.

Spread your legs for me, On?a.

Jesus. Inda didn’t know if she was more pissed or hurt. All she knew was she needed answers fast.

It didn’t take them long to reach the warehouse and park. When Saint headed for the elevator, Inda hesitated. “You coming?” He punched the button and the door slid open.

“I’m going for a walk.”

He cocked his dark head. “You okay?”

“Just need some fresh air. I’ll be up in a bit.”

She felt his suspicious gaze on her as she turned away, but she didn’t care. At that moment, she needed answers desperately. Her team would have to wait a little longer.

Pushing through the side door, she hurried up the block and saw the waiting Uber driver already at the curb. After hopping inside, she ordered the driver to hurry.

It was a quick drive back to the Honeycomb Café and she jumped out, telling the driver to wait. She was still trying to wrap her head around how she planned to handle the situation. After a fast glance through the windows, she spotted Lucas at the counter. Deciding to wait outside for him, she ducked around the corner.

Lucas stepped out of the café a couple of minutes later carrying a to-go bag and a tray with two teas. He either really ate too much from there or he was meeting someone. Inda assumed it was the latter and watched him cross the street and slip into his car.

Not wanting to lose him, she hurried up the sidewalk, doing her best to stay out of view, then dove back into the Uber. “Follow that car,” she said, leaning forward, hands braced on the seat backs. “We can’t lose him.”

The guy gave her a funny look then grinned. “Are you a P.I.? Or undercover cop?”

“Something like that,” she mumbled. “Just stay with him and you’ll get a nice, big tip.”

“No problem.” He slammed on the gas and her heart raced in her chest.

Twenty minutes later, Inda stayed out of sight in the back seat, watching as Lucas parked his car and walked through the front door of the St. Peregrine’s Hospice. After thanking the driver, she stepped out, quickly sent a hefty tip the kid’s way and followed Lucas.

◆◆◆

When they first moved to San Francisco, Mary Sheridan loved the tea and scones from the Honeycomb Café. Even though she couldn’t enjoy them any longer, Lucas still brought them. He just gave them to the nurses instead.

Watching his mother die a little more each day was taking its toll. The only thing that had managed to distract him was hacking and the new job from Carlisle. Until Inda, anyway. That woman had the power to distract him in ways he’d never imagined.

Why the hell did she have to be one of the bad guys? The more he thought about it, the more it infuriated him. He’d finally met a woman who’d captured his attention in every way, and his job was to take her down.

The Universe was laughing at him.

After dropping the tray of goodies off at the nurse’s station and briefly chatting with them, he walked down to his mother’s room. St. Peregrine’s was a private palliative care facility that provided the highest quality of care and comfort money could buy. Emphasis on money because they only accepted cash. But, his mother deserved nothing less. Whatever he needed to do to make sure she was comfortable and received the highest personalized care, he would. Without question.

After the endless chemo and radiation stopped working, Lucas knew he had to come up with a realistic care plan. She started going downhill fast and too many trips to the ER and hospital began to take its toll on them both. After a lot of research, he chose St. Peregrine’s Hospice. The only problem was the cost, and it had snowballed fast. Luckily, Chadwick Carlisle had reached out at the right time and Lucas accepted his offer—gather as much intel on Ex Nihilo, a local terrorist organization, as possible. Now, Lucas could funnel payments from Carlisle straight over to St. Peregrine’s.

Sitting down in the chair beside her bed, he reached out and covered her fragile, vein-lined hand. “Hey, Mom,” he murmured, and her light blue eyes fluttered open. The exact same glacier-blue eyes ringed in midnight as his.

“Lucas.” She smiled. “Did you bring the nurses scones?”

He nodded. “And tea.”

“Good. They deserve it for all their hard work.”

Even though it killed him to see her like this, he visited her every day. Sometimes twice a day, if he could. Their time together was running out and he wanted to be there as much as possible. So while they talked, he held her hand and did his best to comfort her.

Reaching for the remote, he turned the TV volume up. “Are we watching a new Hallmark movie tonight or are they still playing Christmas ones?”

“I’m not sure, but you know I love them all.”

Cheesy made-for-television movies used to make him want to pluck his eyeballs out, but the Hallmark movies he watched with his mom? He wouldn’t admit it, but they’d started to grow on him. At this point, he could use a guaranteed happy ending. Lately, his reality was growing more dark and painful. He yearned for some light, a breath of fresh air in the staleness and approaching death that had constantly surrounded him this past year.

Like always, they settled in and watched the movie together. It was a repeat, but not that it mattered. They were all the same. Cheesy and formulaic, yet comforting on some weird level. At some point, she fell asleep and he turned the volume down. She slept a lot now because of the heavy drugs that eased her pain.

When the movie ended, Lucas stood up, tucked the blanket up higher on her small form and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Love you, Mom. See you tomorrow.”

Battling his emotions, Lucas turned and abruptly stopped short when he saw Inda standing in the doorway, an unreadable expression on her face. Shock nearly knocked him off-balance and he froze.

“How the hell did you get in here?” he asked, more baffled than anything. The place had a strict visitor policy but, then again, look who he was asking. Inda could find a way into Fort Knox if she wanted.

“Hello, Lucas. Or, should I say Cipher?”

Shit.

◆◆◆

Inda decided to strike when Lucas was at his most vulnerable, and the startled look on his face told her she’d succeeded at throwing him off his game. But her upper hand only lasted for a moment before he whipped a curveball at her.

“Hi, Leoa. Or, should I say Inda?”

Oh, fuck. They were both busted.

“We need to talk!” Inda declared.

His shock quickly morphed into anger as he stormed past her. “Not here,” he hissed.

Hurrying after him, she followed him out the side door, and once they were on the street, she started slinging questions at him. “Who the hell are you?”

“I said, not here .” His sharp gaze nearly fileted her, and she instantly shut up.

“Then where?”

He heaved out a weary sigh, raked a hand through his dark hair and cursed under his breath. “My place,” he finally said.

“Fine,” she snapped. “Let’s go.” Of all the things Inda had expected to find Lucas doing, it wasn’t sitting with a woman whom she assumed to be his sick mother, holding her hand as they watched some corny, melodramatic TV movie together. And the fact the woman was receiving round the clock hospice care meant she was a little more than just sick. She was dying.

Doing her best to ignore the empathy tightening her chest, she chose instead to focus on the harsh, unavoidable truth: Lucas was Cipher, and Cipher was working for The Agency, and The Agency was trying to kill her team. All he deserved was a big fuck you and a bullet to the head. He was a dangerous enemy she couldn’t afford to underestimate.

But she didn’t want to kill him. At least not yet. She wanted to talk to him and try to gather information. Maybe there was something she didn’t know. Yeah, it was probably wishful thinking, but stranger things had happened.

Inda remained wary and alert once they were in his Jeep, even though her head was spinning. Jesus. She’d almost slept with the enemy they’d been trying to track down for months. What was wrong with her?

“How do you know who I am?” she asked.

He gave her a side glance and snorted. “Oh, I know a lot about you, Ms. Diaz.”

When he didn’t elaborate, she narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “Well, if all your research only came from the web, you don’t know the half of it, Cipher.”

“Enlighten me.”

“Ha! You wish.”

Fuming in silence, Inda stared out the windshield, grinding her teeth together. She needed to get ahold of her temper, yet she hadn’t felt this betrayed since The Agency flipped on her team and killed Tanner.

Glaring at Lucas’ stupidly handsome profile, she dug her nails into her arms, cursing him and his dimples to hell. Of all the men in all the world, somehow Lucas had turned out to be Cipher. Fuck me. She didn’t know if she was more mad at him for lying to her or herself for falling for his deceit.

At one point, she’d been curious about where he lived. Now she didn’t care. Not at all. But as they drove into a neighborhood that wasn’t very nice, she was thrown yet again. It wasn’t completely awful, but more rundown than she would’ve expected. He must’ve noticed the distasteful look on her face because a muscle flexed in his angular jaw.

“Maybe you should ask your boss for a raise,” she commented dryly. “I’ve heard he has billions.”

“It’s not the greatest neighborhood, but I wanted to be as close to my mom as possible,” he practically growled.

After Lucas parallel parked the car, Inda immediately got out. Okay, she could admit that last comment was snarky, but he deserved it. The man worked for the most evil group of people she’d ever encountered. And she’d definitely run across some real assholes.

Halfway to the door to his apartment, she paused, realizing it might be a really bad idea to go inside, especially if he had a gun. She had her Glock and a knife tucked in her boot, though.

As though reading her mind, his piercing eyes cut over to her. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said quietly. “You’re the assassin, not me.”

And even though they were true, his words sliced her to the quick.