Chapter 10

10

Time was a good thing.

Or so Cody hoped.

He groaned, his head pounding as consciousness slowly returned. The plush mattress beneath him was a stark contrast to the discomfort coursing through his body. Pine-scented cleaner tickled his nostrils, mingling with the crisp mountain air seeping through an open window. He blinked, trying to focus on the blurry figures looming over him in what appeared to be an opulent living room.

"Tranquilizer dart?" he croaked, his mouth dry as sandpaper. His tongue felt like it was coated in cotton.

Mason's eyes glittered in the warm light cast by a nearby lamp, a predatory smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Yup. And a little booster."

Cody winced, both from the pain and the man's evident satisfaction. Mason looked only too happy to have taken him down as if he were a rogue elephant. Probably wouldn't mind doing it again, either. The thought sent a shiver of unease down Cody's spine.

Slowly, carefully, he pushed himself into a sitting position, his muscles protesting every movement. The luxurious surroundings came into focus—all polished wood, leather furniture. Like some modern cabin/retreat straight out of House Beautiful .

The windows were tall and narrow, the glass warped with age. Still, the view outside didn't suggest the Southern Nevada desert. Too much granite and too many pines. The skinny, drab-needled kind that survived at high altitude.

"I'm guessing we're not in Las Vegas."

"Nope." Bridger North stared down at him.

Multiple gazes bored into him, the hostility radiating from Paige and her team almost a tangible force in the room. His heart sank, a heavy weight settling in his chest.

Stoking her anger was exactly the plan. Having it hurt so much was an added torture.

"Nice place." He winced inwardly. Judging from the stony silence, his attempt at levity had cratered.

A wave of loneliness washed over him, a familiar ache he'd carried for the past 15 years as a double agent.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I know this looks bad," he tried again, his voice still rough from the tranquilizer's effects.

Paige's laugh was sharp and humorless. "Bad is a little weak, isn't it? You were planning to kidnap me, Cody."

He winced at her tone, sharp as broken glass. "Okay, yes, I admit that. But I swear, I only wanted to get you somewhere safe. Somewhere the Consortium couldn't see or hear us."

Paige's eyebrow arched skeptically, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "Because?"

He eyed her team, noting their protective stances and the barely contained aggression in their eyes. He could practically see the thoughts running through their minds—keep Paige safe, find Jason. Nothing else mattered to them.

A pang of envy shot through him, mingled with a bittersweet warmth. At least Paige had her team. He'd been alone for so long, he wasn't sure he could even work with a group again.

He took a deep breath and clenched his sweaty hands. "I've been undercover in the Consortium for years. It started back when the NSA recruited me out of university. You remember that, right Paige?"

She nodded curtly, her eyes never leaving his face. The intensity of her gaze made his heart skip a beat.

"Well, the branch I ended up in ... it went dark. Darker than I ever expected. Before I knew it, I was running unsanctioned black ops missions for a unit that morphed into the Consortium." He paused, his gaze sweeping over the team. "But I'm guessing that's not exactly unfamiliar territory for you folks, either."

Discomfort rippled through the team like a stone dropped in a still pond. The tension in the room shifted, morphing from outright hostility to something more complex.

Bridger North's jaw clenched, a muscle twitching beneath his skin.

"Yeah, we fell down that rabbit hole too," the guy admitted. "But we started questioning orders, refusing work. That got us ‘retired' from military service. Now it's getting our friend, Jason, hunted."

"And bought us targets on our backs," Mason added, his eyes narrowing.

A glimmer of hope sparked in his chest. Maybe they could understand after all.

"I know," he said softly. "My career took a different turn. When my unit folded into the Consortium a couple years in, it was too late to get out. I did my best to lay low and disseminate what intel I could."

He paused, his heart racing as he prepared to lay his cards on the table. "Now it's finally my chance to get out." The words felt like a confession, years of loneliness and fear behind them. "I can help you locate Jason, and blow apart the Consortium's next big attack at the same time. Then you help me disappear."

Paige's eyes met his, a storm of emotions swirling in their depths. Doubt, curiosity, and something else he couldn't quite name. She exchanged glances with her teammates, a silent conversation passing between them. Cody held his breath, acutely aware of how much hinged on their decision.

"We're not totally buying your story," Paige said finally, her voice cool. "Not yet. But we'll listen."

Relief washed over him, as refreshing as a mountain breeze. It wasn't trust, not by a long shot, but it was an opening. A chance to prove himself, to maybe find a place where he belonged after so long alone.

Cody took a deep breath, steeling himself for the revelation he was about to make. Yaers of secrecy pressed down on him, making the air in the room feel thick and heavy.

Bridger leaned forward, his posture all business. "If you're going to work with us, that chip has to be defeated. Tai's got an idea."

All eyes turned to the dark-haired man. "We can't remove it, but we can knock it out."

Cody didn't like the sound of that. "What are you thinking?"

"Taser blast."

The words sent a chill down his spine. He'd heard horror stories of men who'd run from the Consortium, and ended up dead when they tried to remove their trackers. He swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry. But Kaholo's idea made a certain crazy kind of sense. He considered what little he knew about the trackers.

"Could work," he agreed reluctantly. "But it's not exactly foolproof. Not like there's a choice. I'm going to have to risk it."

Mason's eyes lit up with a predatory gleam that made Cody's hair stand on end. Never breaking eye contact, the man unholstered the weapon at his side.

A military-grade stun gun.

"I'll be excited to ‘help' with that," Mason said, his voice dripping with an enthusiasm that sent a shiver down Cody's spine.

Bridger raised a hand, silencing Mason with a look. The tension in the room ratcheted up a notch, like a rubber band stretched to its limits.

"Paige gets to decide about the chip," Bridger said, his tone brooking no argument.

All eyes turned to Paige. Cody felt his heart hammering against his ribs, each beat echoing in his ears. The clock on the mantle ticked away the seconds, each one feeling like an eternity.

Paige's gaze locked onto Cody, her eyes searching his face. He met her stare, willing her to see the sincerity in his eyes, the desperation in his plea. The air between them crackled with unspoken tension.

Paige's lips curved into a small, grim smile. "Go for it."