“This?” My voice rose with every word. “Thisis keeping me safe?”
Frey had known where I was at every turn, even when they moved me.
Jason stood with one hand resting on his hip, his posture awkward. Uncomfortable. Was his back hurting him? Or had my question caused his discomfort?
“We’ve had a breach in security,” Bill explained quietly. “We’re looking into it.”
The admission sparked life into Jason. “Frey’s team was organized with the right equipment and the right staging.Nobody pulls off that kind of extraction without planning.” His tone was dark and angry. “They knew we would be here, and we hadn’t made that call until after the gas station attack, which means someone leaked the contingency plan. Who built it?”
“It’s a rolling assignment. As I said, we’re looking into it.” The older man glanced at his phone and then back to me. “They’ve authorized a helicopter, and it’ll be here soon. I can’t make you get on it, but I’m asking you to. Politely.”
I angled my head toward Jason. “What about him?”
“He’ll be out of a job if he gets on it.” Bill gave his marshal a pointed look. “I’ll be out front with the car in nine and a half minutes.”
He went, pulling the door shut behind him loudly.
Oh, my God.
Jason was going to have to choose between staying with me or keeping his job, and I didn’t want to know which one was going to come out on top. Part of me already knew, but I didn’t want to deal with it. Instead, I went to the duffle bag of clothes and lugged it into the bathroom, leaving the door open.
My whole body ached. My feet were filthy black.
I started the water in the shower, turned, and startled at the sight of Jason hovering just outside the doorway.
“You need any help?” He sounded business-like.
“No, thanks. I’ll just be a minute.” I was scared to ask it. “You’ll still be here when I’m done?”
“Yeah.”
He tried to close the door, but I stopped him.
“Can we... ? I’d like to leave it open a little. Just in case.”
In case Frey came back with his team of men. In case I wanted to know Jason was right outside. And I wasn’t entirely ready to be trapped inside a bathroom that looked identical to the one where I thought I was going to die.
He nodded in understanding and left the door cracked.
In the base of the shower, I watched dirt and red-brown blood swirl down the drain. The heat of the water and my exhaustion were temporarily distracting, until?—
“Jason?” I said it loud enough so he’d hear me over the running water, but not loud enough to cause worry. “Where’s Derrick?”
There was no answer.
Had he not heard me?
Shit, had he left the room? Then a new, horrible thought sliced through my mind, turning my blood to slush. “Is he dead?”
“Yes.”
I sank down to sit in the tub, accidentally knocking the small bottle of shampoo over and sending it crashing to the floor. Everything was numb.
“Are you okay?” his flat voice asked, like he meant it in the strictest sense only.
I didn’t answer.
Even though I had no time, I let the water beat down on me for a long minute. I didn’t hurry as I pulled a paper-thin towel down off the rack and wrapped it around my body. I forced myself to focus elsewhere.
