Chapter 9

At Mason’s direction,Paul circled back to the tavern and rolled the rental car up next to his battered pickup truck. While Avery and Paul unbuckled their seatbelts, Mason stared across the parking lot at the neon sign above the tavern door, thoughts churning.

Having his brother placed in danger like this left an acrid taste in his mouth. Mason knew better than anyone the horror of watching helplessly as loved ones faced unknown threats.

He tapped his thumb on the armrest. Maybe he shouldn’t have made that deal with Avery. It was Paul’s life they were gambling with. Not a good feeling. Plus, though his initial impressions of the woman were positive, he had no idea how she’d react going forward. She’d handled his abduction way better than he had any right to expect, but her reaction might be way different when faced with an enemy willing to do anything to get their way: through her, around her, or straight over her dead body.

He blew out a breath. Thinking gave him a headache. Bridger and Tai and the others usually handled that. He specialized in action.

Which was why he had no intention of leaving his team in the dark on this. He’d been careful when he agreed to Avery’s terms. He’d keep his word, like he always did. He promised not to call the team to Seattle. He hadn’t promised not to loop them in.

Which he would do the minute he got back to his motel.

Paul opened the driver’s door, activating the dome light. As he unfolded himself from the vehicle, Avery opened her door.

Mason’s watch beeped an alert, jolting him from his dark spiral. The bug detector app Paige insisted he install was going haywire. A flush of anger fired through him.

Irritation rode him hard. He should’ve known Miss Special Agent hadn’t put all her cards on the table. He grabbed her wrist. “Hold up.”

She turned on him, teeth bared, and yanked back hard. “Let go.”

He dug his fingers into her wrist, waggling his free hand impatiently. “Hand me your purse.”

She tried to tug free, irritation flashing in her eyes. “I said let go.”

“You’re wired,” he accused bluntly.

One eye on the furious agent, Mason released her and exited on his side of the car. She hadn’t raised her weapon. After he’d disarmed her so easily earlier, he doubted that she would. But mad as he was, he almost welcomed another tussle.

He moved away from the car, eyeing his watch display. But as he walked, the signal weakened. It wasn’t coming from her.

Relief flooded him. He shouldn’t care, but knowing she wasn’t trying to scam them torched a whole layer of anger. He returned to the vehicle. “Sorry.”

She climbed out on her side. “Yeah right.”

The details of the timeline tumbled through Mason’s head, until the picture cleared. Of course, it wasn’t her. His tracker would have gone off the minute he first encountered her. Mason scrubbed a hand over his jaw, puzzled. He should have thought of that. Now he’d interjected even more distrust into an already sketchy partnership.

Something he could stress over later.

If she wasn’t the source, where was the signal coming from?

He scanned the parking lot. There were still plenty of vehicles. Loud music and drunken laughter poured from the restaurant behind them. They’d have company any minute.

He waved his wrist around until he pinpointed the source. Paul’s truck.

“Unlock it,” he ordered, his voice low.

His brother scrambled to obey.

Mason elbowed him out of the way and yanked open the driver’s door. He leaned in, trying to avoid the pile of used fast food wrappers lining the back edge of the old bench seat like a litter of leaves. It didn’t take two seconds to track the signal to the base of the steering column. Shoving the food wrappers toward the passenger door, he pulled out his phone and punched the flashlight on, shining the beam on a small black square. He snapped a couple photos before backing out of the truck and shutting the door.

Both Avery and Paul opened their mouths, but he held up a hand, shaking his head hard. The bug was clearly a tracker, but what if it was also a listening device? It looked too small, but he’d send the photos off to their tech expert, Paige, for analysis anyway. Until she confirmed its capabilities, they’d assume the worst.

Finger to his lips, he motioned Paul and Avery back to the outer edge of the darkened parking lot. As they walked, he texted the photos to Paige with a brief explanation.

Avery’s face was etched with concern. “There could be more in Paul’s apartment.”

“No doubt.”

Paul looked anxiously between them. “What do we do about them?”

“We leave them,” Mason and Avery said in unison.

He couldn’t help smiling at that. What was that quote Tai muttered all the time?

Great minds think alike. And fools rarely differ.

He hoped they tipped the scales at the front end of those wise words, but only time would tell.

Paul’s mouth dropped open. “Leave them? Are you serious?”

“If we take them, whoever’s tracking you will know,” Avery cautioned Paul. “Touch them and you might as well disappear now.”

Mason caught his brother’s eye. “She’s right. We need them to think you’re clueless.”

His choice of words drew a sour laugh from Paul. “Like that’ll be hard, right?”

Usually, his bro’s hangdog demeanor got under Mason’s skin, but this time, all he felt was compassion. Paul seemed lost and afraid.

Shouldering her purse, Avery pointed at the back of the restaurant. “I’m gonna head home. You,” she pointed at Paul, “get yourself to work on time tomorrow and do exactly what you normally do, okay?”

Paul hesitated before nodding.

Mason edged close enough to loom over her. “Where do you want to meet up tomorrow? We’ve got a lot of planning to do.”

She fished out her car keys. “Hattie’s Diner on East Ninth.”

“Good food?”

“Legendary.” She backed away. “Bring your wallet. You’re buying.”

Mason laughed as he watched her walk away.

He wanted to believe in her, and not entirely because she was smart and cute and brave. But he wasn’t about to trust her.

One thing he knew for certain—he’d be watching her every move until she proved herself. A fed could be a strong ally, but the stakes were too high to simply hope for the best.

For Paul’s sake, he had to be vigilant. No matter how intriguing his new “partner” might be.