“We know there’s a connection, and we’ll find it. And if you kill me now, you’re right—someone will hunt you down. Even if you’re innocent of killing Thad and Mi Cha, I doubt anyone would believe it. You’ll need a good lawyer.”
She was rambling now. Buying time. She had no idea if her phone had done what it was supposed to do. She continued to press the power button multiple times whenever she could do it in a way that seemed natural. And she continued to listen. When nothing but the silence and darkness filled her ears, she continued to ramble. “The thing I can’t figure out is why you attacked Agent Estes.”
“What?” The word ripped from his mouth.
She’d surprised him. Interesting. “I know you know who Agent Estes is. Going after her the way you did? I don’t get it. I mean, she’s not my favorite person either, but she’s the connection I can’t make sense of.”
“I didn’t attack Agent Estes.”
That split-personality theory was starting to make sense now. “She saw you.”
“She’s lying.”
“Why would she do that?”
“It wasn’t me.”
“So you’ve said, but she saw your tattoo. Not many people running around this corner of North Carolina with that kind of ink, David. You should have considered that.”
“I’m not the only one with that type of tattoo. She didn’t see me. I wasn’t there.”
“Then who did she see?”
“The one you need to look out for.”
“The Tiger?”
“That’s such a stupid name.” Exasperation and disgust and frustration and fear were mingled in the words.
Faith still wasn’t sure if they were talking about two different people or two manifestations of one very messed-up mind. “If it wasn’t you who killed the bomb maker, and if it wasn’t you who attacked Agent Estes, and it wasn’t you who is trying to kill all the agents, then why are you here?”
“I’m not your guy. You need to look elsewhere. You’ll never find me, and searching for me is wasting your time. Time, I might add, that you have precious little of.”
She didn’t believe this was his reasoning. “No one sneaks into an FBI agent’s bedroom just to tell her he’s innocent. You did this to prove a point.”
He laughed again, this time with an edge of appreciation for her remark. “You’re right, Faith. I knew you were smart, but I didn’t expect you to be quite so perceptive. I’ve enjoyed our little chat, but it’s time for me to head out, and I want to leave you with a final word of warning.”
She waited. Ears straining for sirens.Come on. Somebody.
LUKE PLACED HIS WEAPONon the bed and grabbed his phone. Zane had already pulled on a pair of pants and pushed the door between their room and Tessa’s open. He stayed back and called out, “Tess? Don’t shoot anybody. Get up. We have a situation.”
“I’m up,” Tessa replied immediately, her voice strained. “Call Gil and see if he’s awake.”
“On it.”
Luke was aware of everything happening, but at the same time he was scanning the message on his phone in disbelief. The text had come from Jacob.
Got a call from Dale. There was an emergency call from Faith Malone’s home. Details are slim. FBI on scene. I’m not going to tell you not to go to her house, but proceed with caution and make contact with the FBI before you get there. I’m headed there now.
Luke read the message twice, then threw the phone on the bed and grabbed his clothes. Two minutes in the bathroom and he emerged dressed and ready to ... what? Whatever had to be done to get Faith back. He didn’t care what happened after that.
Gil, Zane, and Tessa stood in a tight bunch in the corner of the room. All of them were dressed and armed. Like him, no one had bothered with the niceties. Gil’s black hair had so many spikes, he looked like he could be trying out for a punk rock band. Zane’s hair looked like a gerbil had nested in the back. And Tessa was ... Tessa was a mess. Her long hair hung loose and wild down her back and kept falling into her eyes. She shoved a strand behind her ear, and when she looked at Luke, he saw his own terror mirrored back at him.
“I think we should pray.” Tessa was terrified, but there was a strength in her words he hadn’t expected.
Gil huffed. “Tessa, we don’t have much time—”
“We don’t have time to argue.” She glared at Gil as she stretched out her hands.
