Replica(62)

I looked him in the eye. “Why is there a case full of silver stakes in the back of this truck?”

His eyes hooded with suspicion; he didn’t like where I was going with this. “How the hell would I know?”

“How did Baran manage to get the truck and supplies that weren’t my own belongings to us so quickly?”

“He was your man, Rachel. You tell me.”

I gritted my teeth. “Try again.”

He stared at me in disbelief. “The bloodsucker claims it was the work of your mysterious Hades.”

“How did Hades know we were already here?”

Irritation washed over his face. “How the hell would I know?”

I held out my hand. “Give me your phone.”

“What? Why?” His mouth dropped open. “You think I called him?”

“It’s not outside the realm of possibility.”

“You’re climbing up the wrong tree. The werewolf is the likely suspect. If his job was to get you here, he’s completed his task. It makes sense he would find some petty excuse to take off and get out of the line of fire.”

What he said made sense, but I dismissed it within half a second. Yet the delay was enough to tip up the corners of his mouth. Damn him! I jerked my hand toward him. “Your phone.”

He held his hands out at his sides. “My right front pocket. Come get it.”

I cursed again, which brought a burst of laughter from him.

He dropped his hands and gave me a satisfied smirk. “That’s what I thought.”

Perhaps he was amused, but I was not. Holding his gaze, I strode toward him. I kept my gaze neutral as I stopped in front of him and reached into his pocket. His eyes danced as my fingertips brushed his inner thigh. I pulled the phone out, keeping my face a blank slate.

“Enjoy feeling me up, Rachel?”

“I’m sorry,” I quipped, swiping his phone screen. “Was there something in there to feel?”

He laughed again and tried to take the phone from me, but I held it out of his reach.

“I just want to enter my password.”

“Just tell me.”

“Four-one-six-two.”

I opened the phone app as soon as the screen unlocked. Most of the entries in the call list belonged to one name. “Who’s Skylar?”

“Have we moved to the next phase of our relationship? We’re now ready to share our friends with each other?”

“Cut the shit, Antonio. Who’s Skylar?”

“I told you. My friend.”

“I had no idea guys were so chatty with each other on the phone.” I looked up to stare into his face. “You talked to him six times the day I met Hades.”

“I’ve made no secret I was watching you. And I’ve told you I work for an organization that oversees supernatural creatures. I’m not sure what you think I’m hiding.”

“Your duplicity mocks everything I shared with you today.” God, I was so stupid.

He moved closer and lowered his voice. “Rachel, there is no greater honor than avenging your friend’s death. I swear on my life I was sincere when I said I would help you. I have not betrayed you, but there’s a good chance someone has. Entering this facility was dangerous in the first place. Now there’s a good chance we’re walking into a trap. We can hole up and wait a few days. It’s probably advisable.”

I studied him, certain he was bullshitting me, but the earnestness in his eyes told me otherwise.

There might be hope for him yet.

“No, it has to be tonight. Something big is going down and we have to stop it. End of the beginning and all that shit Hades said.”

He nodded. “Then we do it tonight. Which tunnel do you want to enter?”

I took a breath and grabbed the map. My finger tracked the facility grounds and then pointed to a tunnel entrance on the northeast side. “Derrick seemed to think this entrance was the most easily accessible, but his intel was nearly a year old. Everything could have changed by now.”

“Your call,” he said, his gaze on the map. “I trust you in this.”

I took a deep breath and pushed it out. “Let’s get ready.”

We’d already prepared a battery of weapons and explosives, so we grabbed our packs. As I slid my straps over my shoulders, Antonio held out several stakes.

When he saw my irritation, he shoved them toward me. “Don’t let your stubbornness get you killed. You need to be prepared to defend yourself against every type of enemy.”

I agreed with everything he said, but I was worried about two supernatural creatures in particular. “Fine, but if we see Lea or Ivan, you have to swear not to kill them.”

“They betrayed you.”