After she hit “send,” she walked over to the wall where a large red button was concealed behind a rolling Craftsman toolbox. The air belching up from inside the tunnel wasn’t nearly as frigid as the air outside, but neither was it warm. She was anxious to close up the wall.
Smashing the button with her palm, she stepped back and watched the pop-out section of the brick expanse slowly slide back into place until the gaping maw of the tunnel was concealed. When the bricks knitted themselves together with a solid-soundingthunk, the illusion was complete.
Nothing to see here, folks. No secret passageway. Just a solid wall.
If not for the lingering aroma of wet concrete mixed with a hint of fish, no one would ever know anything of interest lay behind the old factory building’s east facade.
ExceptCesarnow knew.
“What in the world?” he breathed. He’d come to stand beside her, his dark eyes wide and unblinking.
She was a stickler when it came to civilians entering the shop. She couldn’t do anything about the occasional reporter who wanted to interview Becky about building bikes or the various deep-pocketed, golden-spoon types who came in to actuallyrequestone of BKI’s custom jobs. And, truly, both of those things wereboonsto the business. They upheld the illusion that Black Knights Inc. was exactly what it was purported to be, a badass chopper shop. But she tried her best to mitigate any other potential security breaches. Which was why she’d implemented herNo Dates Allowedpolicy.
Well, that and because I hate it when one of Fisher’s conquests struts into the kitchen the morning after and I have to make her coffee.
It wasn’t that she thought Cesar would everintentionallybecome a security breach. But sometimes people popped off at the mouth before they realized what they were saying. And anyone outside “the life” had no clue just how much trouble they could cause if one misplaced word landed in the wrong ear.
It was bad enough Cesar knew the truth about the Knights. Him knowing about the Bat Cave made all her internal alarms blare simultaneous warnings.
“I’m sure it goes without saying you aren’t to share anything you’ve seen or heard here with anyone outside this building.” She worked hard to keep her voice steady, but a hint of a threat still snuck into her tone.
Apprehension made Cesar’s beautiful eyes widen further. “Who would I tell?”
“Don’t know.” She shook her head. “A friend. Someone in your family. Your partner, perhaps? But you have to understand that these men”—she waved a hand to indicate Fisher, who’d made his way to the bottom of the stairs, and Ozzie, who was upstairs rattling away on keyboard—“do the kind of work that makes them targets of some very nasty people. If you tell one person what you’ve seen here, and that person tells one person, and so forth and so on, there’s no telling where that information ends up. Maybe in the ears of people looking to hunt these fine men down like dogs.” Her gaze was unmistakably direct when she added, “These men who are, at the very least, risking their reputations by helping Hannah. And perhaps even risking their lives.”
Cesar’s voice was hoarse when he nodded. “I understand. I won’t mention any of this”—he gestured toward the brick wall and then widened his hand to include the entirety of the old factory building—“to anyone.”
When she narrowed her eyes, not sure she could believe him, he added, “I was seven years old the first time I realized I was gay. But I didn’t come out to my staunchly Catholic parents until I was twenty-two. I know how to keep a secret.”
“Good.” She jerked her chin once, feeling somewhat relieved. “Now, Sam’s right. Hannah wouldn’t want you anywhere near here. Go home. Plausible deniability when the feds come knocking and all that.”
“But…” He shook his head. “I’d like to stay. I’d like to make sure Hannah’s okay and—”
“She’ll be a whole hell of a lot better knowin’ she hasn’t dragged ya into somethin’ ya might not be able to get out of.” Fisher had made his way over to them. He clapped a hand on Cesar’s shoulder. “She did right by tellin’ ya to come to us. Now let us take it from here. I’ll have Toran out at the gate call a cab for ya.”
Cesar hesitated. But he must’ve seen that no amount of arguing was going to change their minds. “Will you call me once she’s here? Let me know she made it?” he asked hopefully, twisting the damp wig he held in his hands.
“If she manages to escape, the first thing the feds will do is come to you,” Eliza was quick to explain. “They’ll assume she’s headed back home. Or, at the very least, that she’s telling her best friend and roommate where sheisheaded. So, we won’t be able to call you. It’s a sure bet one of the first things the FBI will do is requisition your phone logs.”
When Cesar visibly deflated, Fisher added, “But ya should take silence as a sign. If ya don’t hear from us, it’ll mean she’s here. It’ll mean we got her and she’s safe. And I promise ya, as soon as it’s feasible for her to make contact, she will. In the meantime, when the feds come knockin’, ya just play dumb. And if they get pushy, ask to have an attorney present. Ya got someone ya can call for legal representation?”
Cesar nodded. “I have a friend who’s a criminal defense attorney when he’s not doing a bang-up impersonation of Katy Perry.”
“Perfect.” Eliza smiled encouragingly.
Cesar’s return smile was a little wobbly. Then it disappeared completely as a deep line appeared between his perfectly plucked eyebrows. “I worried when she took that job with the D.O.D. that she might get caught up in something dangerous. I just never imagined…this.”
“We all get to go about our ordinary, borin’ days because folks like Hannah do the dirty work of crawlin’ through the dark side of the internet catchin’ the cyber criminals who’d like nothin’ more than to make our lives a livin’ hell. But that just means she’s tough. And tough people don’t go down without a fight.” He took a deep breath and finished with, “Everyone here at BKI is a fighter too. If there’s a way to get your girl out of this mess, we’ll find it.”
Fisher reveled in being a world-class ass. Which just made it that much more astonishing when he whipped out the exact right thing to say at the exact right moment.
It makes no sense,Eliza thought.And yet, it makes all the sense in the world.
It was cliché, but Fisher was an onion. He had layers. There was light and dark in him. Flattery and snark in him. He was irreverent to the point of insolence, but at his core lived a big, squishy heart that was absolutelyfull-to-burstin’, as he would say, with compassion.
Andthatwas her kryptonite. It’s what had made her fall in love with him.
Yes, despite them fighting like cats and dogs, Eliza Meadows was ass over teakettle in L.O.V.E with Fisher Wakefield. Or maybebecauseshe was so in love with him waswhythey fought like cats and dogs. Because she knew her love was hopeless.
