He shoved a hand through his hair. “Then give me ten.” After a restless night tossing and turning, he was in no condition to receive visitors. “And bring coffee.” He heard her sputtering, but didn’t stay on the line long enough to hear her actual reply.
Speeding through a shower, he brushed his teeth and managed to be fully dressed when his time was up. Opening the door, the FBI agent slipped inside, carrying a to-go cup of coffee in each hand.
“This is yours,” she said.
She wore jeans and a black turtleneck sweater under a blazer. The heels she’d worn last night in the casino had been replaced with more practical low boots. He supposed it was an attempt to blend in. From his perspective, the guise did nothing to mute her professional, serious vibe.
“Have you looked outside?” she asked.
He accepted the cup she offered and removed the lid, inhaling the steam. “Afraid not.” He paused to take a sip of the coffee before crossing to the window.
It was a winter wonderland outside and the snow was coming down straight and steady at the moment. Everything was softened by a heavy blanket of white. In the sunlight, it would sparkle, but the heavy clouds didn’t look as if they planned on moving out anytime soon.
“How much of a problem does this pose?” Pickering asked.
Wyatt let the curtain fall, blocking the view. “No problem on my end.” He watched her over the rim of his cup. “We might have slow going, but I’ll get Cordell and his crew to the rendezvous point.”
Her mouth tugged down on one side before she stilled the reaction. First sign of trouble. “What are you thinking?” he asked.
She leaned against the wall, suddenly looking as tired as he felt. “You’re sure he won’t delay until the weather clears?”
Wyatt took another gulp of coffee, willing the caffeine to kick in fast. “As I reported yesterday, he has a timeline and he’s determined to keep it.”
“The weather updates are calling for things to get much worse out there.”
“And?” Blame the lack of sleep, but he was done tiptoeing around whatever she had to say.
“The order just came down.” She refused to meet his gaze. “My team can’t go anywhere if there’s a weather advisory.”
What the hell?“Are you telling me that even if I deliver Cordell on time, the FBI won’t be there to catch him?”
“We’ll be there if the roads are open and clear,” she said.
“What does that mean?” He stopped, clamped a hand over his mouth before he started shouting. “I’ve told you he’s going through with this robbery on schedule.”
She looked up but didn’t say a word. “Maybe he’ll come to his senses.”
Wyatt stalked back to the window. His leg ached with the incoming weather. “You came to me, remember? You tappedmebecause I’m a pro at the terrain and I know the area.”
“That’s right.”
“And after making sure Cordell brought me into his plans, you’ll leave me hanging out there, in what is sure to be a damn mess, with Cordell and his crew.”
“Believe me, I want to be there. Cordell has made fools of us time and again. Last time, he killed an agent, a good friend of mine. I’m not letting him get away.”
He stared at her, soaking in the explanation of her persistence in this operation. Not much consolation though if he was supposed to wrangle with Cordell alone in the middle of a blizzard.
She turned her coffee cup in her hands. “What do you know about Evelyn Cotton?”
“Everything,” he answered without thinking. He might not know every single detail of her life since he’d left, but he could see that, circumstances aside, she was the same person. And his instinct to protect her hadn’t dimmed a bit. “She’s not connected to the robbery.”
Thank goodness he’d convinced her to stay away from the casino until the storm passed.
“That’s a curious opinion with no facts backing it up,” Pickering challenged. “Convince me.”
“You first,” Wyatt countered. He sat down at the table.
Eventually she took the chair across from him. “She’s had no less than three phone calls with Cordell and two online appointments he didn’t keep.”
