~ 40 ~
COLSON
Oddly it wasn’t the vibration that woke me from my sleep. It was the blinking light, small and dim, that made me sit up.
The satellite phone.
It was clear on the other side of the room. Just beneath the window, where I could see the snow had finally stopped.
Peyton was lying on her side, facing away from me, magnificently naked. The curve of her body rose and fell with every deep, rhythmic breath. Extracting myself from the bed, I pulled on some clothes, grabbed it, and padded silently to the other side of the house.
Four minutes.
That’s all the time I would have. Theo’s words of warning still rang in my head:
“If it goes off, someone was competent enough to find the channel. Stay under four minutes, or the masking fails.”
The sleek, black machine was still vibrating in my hand. The tiny red light beckoned me, daring me to pick up.
For a moment, I considered ignoring it. But I’d never been one to ignore things.
Click.
“Colson.”
There was no greeting, no hesitation. Just the calm, professional voice on the other end.
It was a voice I recognized instantly.
“Roman.”
There was a full two seconds of silence. An acknowledgment, between rivals.
“You sound surprised.”
“I’m not.”
On the other side of the phone, I could picture him sitting upright in an uncomfortable chair, in some barren, perfectly utilitarian room.
“Donovan told you to call?” I mused.
“No.”
I wasn’t sure whether I believed him. But the clock was ticking.
“Talk.”
My protégé didn’t waste any time.
“You need to stop,” Roman said coldly. “You’re letting your emotions get in the way of things.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
“You’re better than this. We both know it.”
The words weren’t meant as an insult. It was merely an observation.
“What do youwant, Roman?”
