“Same event as the one that scarred Percival’s arm?”
“We were searching for chemical weapons smuggled from Syria into Afghanistan.” Having the truth out there was a relief. “Needless to say, we had an incident when we discovered them.”
“Was it Greek Fire?”
“No, but similar enough to guess how Greek Fire might feel if it splashed on you.”
“That’s why you’re so passionate about this mission.”
It wasn’t a question, but I responded anyway. “This is what I’m good at. I’ve been chasing down weapons like this since I was working on my PhD.”
“That takes a lot of courage,” she said quietly, “to keep doing this work after experiencing it firsthand.”
“Not courage.” I wouldn’t let my fingers play with my neck, so let my left arm shift instead, the scars on my inner arm rubbing against the scars on my torso through the oversized T-shirt. “It’s a necessity. I understand what these chemicals can do to a human body, so I can’t walk away and let it happen to someone else. Not if I can stop it.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “Rav spoke fondly about you, the few times we talked.”
“I’m surprised.”Shut up, Brooke. You don’t know this woman. You don’t owe her anything. But the bitterness jumped out of me anyway. “He never even returned my calls.”
She was quiet for a beat. Had he told her about the phone call?
“I should get ready for bed.” With a quick smile, she left.
Had anything romantic ever happened between the two of them? Was that why he didn’t call me back? Had they been a thing? Was that why she didn’t say anything about the phone call?
Just drop it, Brooke.
I finished unpacking and set up my laptop at the small desk. Reviewing the lab specifications for the fifteenth time wouldn’t change anything, but there was nothing worse than being unprepared. Not that the precautions would matter if we couldn’t figure out where Fenix was going to deploy the weapon. Brie’s analysis hadn’t provided any insights yet, but if we were lucky, that’s what they’d learn from Noah in the morning.
Half an hour later, Scarlett returned in her silk pajamas, hair pulled up, and without her makeup. She set her things on the dresser and tapped her finger a few times. “I shouldn’t say this, but…”
I closed the laptop and swiveled in the seat.
“Rav was different after his injury,” she said carefully. “When he came back, he wasn’t the same person who’d left. It took him a long time to find his way back to himself.”
I didn’t want her pity, and I certainly didn’t want to discuss Rav. “It was a lifetime ago.”
“I mean…” Without the makeup and fashionable clothes, she seemed more authentic, less as if she were measuring everything she said and did. “I think he’s still looking for his old self. He’s still in there, and maybe…”
Maybe what?
She gave a little laugh and waved her hands. “Ignore me. It’s been a long day, and it’s his story to tell.”
“Of course.” I stood and crossed to the bed, yawning. A week ago, I’d flown from Warsaw to the Bahamas after Claire alerted us that Rav and his team were poking around Mnemis. Now, I was getting into bed with his teammate. More words fell out of my mouth that should have stayed in my head. “Not like he’ll tell me, though. He won’t even look at me.”
She hummed in assent as she slid into the bed from her side. “A lot can change in a week.”
Chapter 12
Rav
I scannedthe cemetery entrance from the passenger seat of our vehicle. The narrow road we were parked on offered few escape routes—one way in, one way out.
A high stone wall surrounded the small courtyard at the cemetery’s entrance, with its handful of concrete planters and a couple of benches. A stone building with barred windows to our right, the row of dumpsters against a white boundary wall, and the closed garage doors of what appeared to be maintenance buildings.
It was too closed in. Would be too difficult to defend. It was the perfect spot for an ambush.
“He’s late,” Zac said from behind the wheel.
