The timing was too coincidental, and he wasn’t the first company asset to die in mysterious circumstances in the past few months. An asset from the Al-Tunisi investigation had died of an apparent fall from his third floor Baton Rouge apartment the night after Briar had eliminated Al-Tunisi. The asset hadn’t been a careless sort of man, so Briar had trouble imagining him falling over his balcony railing in the middle of the night.
She closed the program and typed a short response back to Trinity.
Thanks for the tip. Won’t be in contact for a bit. Busy at work. Her oldest friend would know exactly what that meant. Tell Lily I’ve been delayed. Will get in touch when I can. Hugs.
Aware that DeLuca was watching and reading everything, she shut the laptop down and closed the lid.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Feeling his gaze on her, she turned her head and looked over her shoulder at him. He was watching her closely, a slight frown creasing his eyebrows. “Nothing,” she lied. “Just…an acquaintance was killed in a car accident tonight.”
Hours after meeting with her in Boulder, she realized with growing trepidation. Where she’d stayed for the two nights prior to leaving for Golden.
Chapter Five
When the phone rang early the next morning Matt rolled over in bed and grabbed it from the nightstand before the first ring ended. Tuck calling. “Yeah.”
“Just got word the highway’s open again.”
He rubbed his fingers over his eyes as he finished waking up. “’Kay. Thanks.” It was just after four in the morning. He’d stayed up watching a national news station with Briar until almost two before he’d finally convinced her to get some sleep. Thankfully there’d been no mention of the Ramadi hit, or the man dying in Boulder.
With Briar just coming off an op and needing to recover from the gunshot wound, sleep was the most important thing for her right now. Yet it was clear she still didn’t trust him because she hadn’t let herself go into a deep sleep, merely stealing little snatches of it before opening her eyes to check her surroundings. And she was wide awake now, and from the looks of it, had been for some time.
“Want us to grab you guys some coffee?” Tuck asked. “Stuff in the lobby is shit but there’s a place across the street Blackwell hit last night that he said was pretty good.”
“I’ll ask. Hang on.” He put the receiver to his chest and looked at Briar, who was seated on the floor cleaning her rifle and pistols for the second time since checking in last night. He knew she still hadn’t slept enough, and understood why. She was antsy as hell about the delay and anxious to get moving. “The road’s open.”
A look of sheer relief flashed across her face. “Thank God.”
“You want some coffee? Something to eat for the road? One of my guys can grab us something.”
“Sure, coffee would be great. Nothing too heavy to eat though. Just some fruit or a muffin. Thanks,” she added as an afterthought, glancing up at him through her lashes.
The effort at politeness was a nice change from her icy detachment. He’d never met such a self-contained woman. Her aloof manner just made him want to uncover all her secrets. “Cream? Sugar?”
“Both. Please.” This time she didn’t look up at him.
“Two coffees with cream and sugar, some fruit, muffins and sandwiches to go,” he told Tuck. Because she needed something more than just fruit and a muffin to get her through the day if they couldn’t stop for more supplies.
“You got it. Be over in a few minutes.”
Matt placed the receiver back into its cradle and pushed into a sitting position. Briar had already packed her weapons into her ruck, he saw, save for the one pistol she was tucking into the back of her waistband. He watched as she pushed to her feet, her face pulling tight for a moment at the motion. “How’re you feeling?”
“Little stiff,” she admitted. She glanced toward the bathroom, then at him. “Mind if I…?”
“Go ahead. You need me to cover your bandage again first?”
Briar paused. “Um, sure.” She closed the small distance between them, averting her eyes when she got close and turned so he could see her side as she lifted the hem of the shirt up her ribs.
She’d taken the duct tape off her bandage last night after her shower to let it breathe. Blue and purple bruising spread out from beneath the edges of the gauze, and those were just the ones he could see. She had to be damn sore. “I’m gonna check first to make sure it’s not getting infected.”
She nodded and didn’t say anything, still looking away from him.