“Great,” she grumbled.
Folding one hand over his other, he locked gazes with her.
She tucked her chin, not wanting him to tell her to calm down—she couldn’t. Hearing that Atlas had been near an explosion had nearly knocked her on her ass.
“Viper told me to tell you Atlas will call within the hour. They’re figuring out a new game plan and need all hands on deck.”
The tea tossed around in her belly. “You don’t have to stay here with me. I’m sure your team could use you.”
He stood, waving her off. “You kiddin’? I get to lie round and watch TV. Something I don’t do often when we’re working.”
“Well, the offer stands.”
“I’m good. Actually, I can do some work from here.”
She cocked her head. “How so?”
He hesitated for a beat, then shrugged as if deciding he could share. “We use special software to locate our targets and gain intel. Come e’re.”
She got to her feet and followed him to the table. He opened his laptop and gestured for her to sit next to him.
“Up until yesterday, Rex flew under the radar. We tried for weeks using facial recognition to?—”
“Wait, what? How are you using facial recognition?” That kind of technology was government level . . . wasn’t it?
The corner of his mouth lifted. “We have a lot of high-tech software. We wouldn’t be in business otherwise.”
A little shiver raced over her skin. She hadn’t given much thought to the inner workings of Phantom Ops. What he’d said made sense, but it was difficult to wrap her head around. “O-kay,” she drawled. “What were you saying?”
“I’ll show you.” He tapped the touchpad, opened an app, then entered a password so long she wouldn’t have been able to remember it if she’d tried. He opened a file and clicked on a close-up image of Rex.
Her stomach revolted. Terror pinched the base of her spine. She knotted her fingers together so tightly on her lap that they ached. Rex’s stark-white hair stood out against his artificial tan, and his blue eyes, so clear they were almost opaque, seemed to stare right at her.
Her heart palpitated.
A cry festered at the base of her throat, but she forced it down. Rex couldn’t—wouldn’t—get to her. Not only did she have a personal bodyguard, but also, he was busy trying to save his own ass.
Atlas was hunting him. He wouldn’t let Rex get within one hundred feet of this hotel.
“You all right?” Wraith asked.
She rolled her lips together, her mouth so void of moisture she couldn’t swallow. “Yeah. He’s just scary.”
Wraith snorted. “This guy shoots Botox in his face more than he shoots a gun. Don’t worry ’bout the ole fucker.”
If Rex were so useless, he wouldn’t be evading Phantom Ops right now. But she didn’t utter the insulting words.
“I know.”
“Good. Wanna see if we can find him?”
She blinked. “We?”
“Yeah.” He leaned back in his seat and shifted the laptop a few inches in her direction. “Click the image and watch the software work. It’ll flip through possible matches. If he’s stepped in front of a camera in the last twelve hours, we’ll know about it.”
She did as he instructed. Sure enough, images flipped rapidly next to the headshot of Rex. Some barely looked like him; others were considered strong matches.
“Don’t be surprised if some look too different. The software is designed to analyze facial features and bone structure. It’s not looking at hair color and other possible disguises our brains might be fooled by.”
