Alina blinked. Of all the things she expected he could have asked her, why she’d taken the job wasn’t one of them. But it was a question. And she had wanted him to say something. This was a start at least.
“I wasn’t lying when I told you it was time for me to leave the CIA,” she said. “Going back wasn’t an option. And in reality, there was some stuff in my past at the CIA that makes going after a traitor a very tempting offer. Dick obviously knew that when he recruited me.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Trevor demanded. “What stuff in your past?”
She took a deep breath. It was time to tell him about Wade and why she’d left the Agency, but before she could open her mouth to spill the secrets she’d never planned to tell anyone, Trevor’s cell phone rang. He cursed and dug it out of his pocket.
She expected him to ignore the call, since what they were discussing was kind of important, but instead, he thumbed the green button.
“Maxwell.” He listened for a moment, then frowned. “Slow down, Zarina. I can’t understand what you’re saying.”
Whatever the woman had to say, it must have been bad, because Trevor tensed.
“What’s wrong?” Alina asked.
Trevor eyed her for a moment, his gaze calculating, like he was trying to decide if he could trust her. Alina fully expected him to tell her it was none of her business, so she was surprised when he hit the speaker button on the phone.
“Zarina, can you repeat that? I just put you on speaker so Alina can hear.”
There was a slight hesitation, then a woman’s accented voice came on. “Sage has escaped and is running loose through the wooded area outside the complex. I’m doing the best I can to keep it quiet while Tanner and Jaxson try to get her back. If Dick figures out she’s missing, that will be all the excuse he needs to send someone out to kill her.”
Alina might not have known Sage, or Zarina and Tanner for that matter, but that didn’t stop her from getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. The concern on Trevor’s face told her she was right.
“Which way is Sage heading, and how much of a head start does she have?” Trevor asked.
“Tanner said she’s heading northeast, with at least a fifteen-minute head start.”
Cursing again, Trevor threw the Suburban into gear and floored it, making the other drivers honk and swerve as he merged onto the interstate.
“We’ll try to get ahead of her,” he said as he weaved in and out of traffic. “Hopefully we can keep her from reaching any heavily populated areas outside the Quantico boundary.”
“Hurry,” Zarina said. “Sage hasn’t interacted with more than a handful of people the whole time she’s been here. I’m not sure how she’ll deal with the outside world.”
“No kidding,” Trevor muttered. “I’m going to call Tanner. We’ll let you know something as soon as we can. Do anything necessary to keep Dick from finding out about this.”
“Who is Sage?” Alina asked after he hung up. “And why do you think Dick will have her killed?”
Trevor’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t answer.
“Dammit, Trevor!” she snapped. “I admit it. I screwed up, and I betrayed you, and I’m sorry about that. But right now, I need to know what’s going on if I’m going to help you find that girl. Unless you intend to kick me out and leave me stranded on the side of the road.”
He glanced at her. “Alina, this isn’t some damn game. This isn’t about you and me and how much—or how little—we might trust each other. This is about a terrified woman who needs help. If you tell Dick about any of this, he’ll have her executed, plain and simple.”
Hearing Trevor say he didn’t trust her hurt more than she wanted to admit. “I’m not going to tell him anything.”
Trevor was silent for a moment, but then he nodded. “Okay. I’m trusting you, not just with Sage’s life, but with Jaxson’s, Tanner’s, and Zarina’s as well. If Dick finds out what they’ve been doing, getting fired will be the least of their problems.”
Alina grabbed the roll bar handle as Trevor took the next exit at warp speed and turned on state road 234 along the northeast side of the Prince William Forest. The wooded area served as a buffer along the northern edge of the Quantico training facility. Trevor must have been trying to get north of Sage and stop her before she got out of the forest.
Trevor handed his phone to her. “Hit the third number on speed dial.”
She looked down at the phone and realized there wasn’t a single name listed in the contacts list. Just a collection of ten speed-dial numbers. It was clearly a burner phone. Containing her curiosity for the moment, she poked the third button, then put the phone on speaker. When the call connected, all she heard was a garbled mix of what sounded like the pounding of feet.
“Trevor?” a male voice shouted over the din.
“Yeah, it’s me, Tanner,” her partner said. “Alina and I are on Highway 234 heading toward the northeast side of the boundary. Where are you and Jaxson?”
“I’m tracking Sage on foot through the forest, maybe ten minutes behind her. Jaxson is in an SUV trying to keep up with me as best he can. Hold on, and I’ll pull him into the call.”
