“I’mlistening,” she said. “I left so that they'd go after me and leave everyone else alone.” She put the same emphasis on listening that he did to see his reaction.
He nodded his head slowly, chuckling as if she were a child spinning a particularly unbelievable lie. That chuckle held deep, cold depths that contrasted the warmth in his eyes.
“You mean like you left Walker and Kyla alone,infact?”
Yes. There it was again. Just the slightest emphasis on the wordin. Subtle to anyone else, but to Gina, Malcolm was shouting a message.Listening in.
He’s wearing a wire. And thanks to Malcolm, Gina knew exactly who was listening in.
“You can’t think I’m responsible for killingJeremy.” She gave his name the same slight emphasis and watched Malcolm.
He gave her back the barest of nods.
She was threading a needle, unsure of what she could say now that she knew Jeremy was listening. Thank God she hadn’t picked up the phone and given Walker and Kyla away.
“Who else could have killed him but you, Gina?” Malcolm continued. “Walker was sent to retire you. Kyla was collateral damage. Or was she? Maybe she’d been the one to discover the truth about you.”
“What truth?”
His hand whipped up to his chest, There was something metal in it. A weapon? He pressed it against his chest.
Speaking quickly, Mal tapped the metal device and said, “Elissa’s voodoo she gave me a while back. We have about two minutes tops before the wire kicks back in. They already have the back door covered.” He motioned with his chin toward the back.
Gina covered her heart. “Is Lachlan with you? Are the two of you working together?”
“No. I couldn’t risk tipping off Jeremy so I went rogue from Watchdog. I knew Lachlan was following me so I laid down a false breadcrumb trail that’s kept him busy and safe in Germany. Jeremy will kill him if Lach gets near you.”
“Shit. Sana called him. He’s on his way.”
“Fuck.”
“Walker and Kyla are alive,” Gina told him.
“I hoped so,” Mal said, looking relieved. “I knew you were innocent but I thought Jeremy might have killed them. He’s got the rest fooled, saying you tried to kill him for Capitoline and he’s been deep undercover directing The Repair Shop ever since. I’m supposed to bring you in or kill you trying. So hit me with whatever you’ve got in your hand and run.”
“I can’t. It’ll kill you almost instantly.”
Malcolm grinned. “So make it a love tap instead, just enough to knock me out. We’ll make it look good. I’ll tell him you said you’re planning on seeking asylum in Geneva, that you have Kyla’s research and you’ve been leaking it to the paper, that she and Walker really are dead.”
“If you don’t bring me in, Jeremy said he’d kill Annalie, didn’t he?” Guilt washed over Gina. Jeremy wouldn’t stop at Annalie. He’d kill Elena, Rachael, Elissa—anyone he needed to kill to get to her.
Mal shook his head. “He can’t. Annalie’s safe. But he’s got?—”
The rest of Malcolm’s words were lost in a horrible screeching hum that seemed to be coming from the center of her brain. Only, everyone in the room seemed to hear it too. The bartender howled and collapsed behind the bar. Other people were standing up and stumbling to the door. Then nausea overtook Gina and she doubled over.
The last thing she knew before she blacked out was Malcolm reaching out to protect her. Instead, she covered his body with hers as they fell to the floor.
TWENTY-FIVE
Gina, Present Day, Switzerland
Someone was picking her up. No, she couldn’t let them take her. But, God, her head, her stomach. She was in so much pain she couldn’t think straight. Something was very, very wrong. Did she still have the vape? Yes, there it was on the floor under her hand. She grabbed it. If she could hit him with it?—
He grabbed her hand before she could swing. She felt a pinprick in the back of her neck.
Just before she blacked out she heard a familiar voice say, “Nice try, Regina. I taught you everything you know. But not everythingIknow.”
* * *
