As soon as they got inside their hotel room, Rora went to the coffee table and turned Opal upside down. “I need a screwdriver,” she said, stroking the underside of the laptop.
“What? Why?”
There was too much adrenaline still in her system. Her fingertips were trembling. “Just get me a damn screwdriver!” she hollered.
Although taken aback, Junker jumped into action and retrieved his tools for her, then sat to watch her work. A discomforting sensation of violation hung deep in her gut when she began to unscrew a panel on the bottom of the machine. It took her a minute to carefully remove all the screws.
Rora held her breath when she popped off the panel and… “Damnit,” she said and sank back to sit on her feet.
“What?” he asked. “What is it?”
“He took it out.” Slamming a hand on the table, everything jumped, and she leaped to her feet to pace away. “The bastard! Why the hell would he…”
“What? What did he take out?”
Turning to face Junker, she saw the open look on his face and decided to give him a little more of her trust. “The top-secret tech that you want to take from him, he did install it in his computer… I know because… I saw him do it.”
It took a minute for his expression to catch up with his thoughts. “You…” He got up. “Why didn’t you tell me?” She wanted to tell him she had a complicated reason, but she didn’t. It was trust. Nothing more. The shock of clarity left his face in time with the anger that struck him. “What the hell else haven’t you told me?”
He was entitled to be mad. So far as she knew, Junker had always been honest with her, and she hadn’t confessed even an ounce of what she truly knew. Maybe it was that knowledge that urged her to make another hard confession.
“I was the willing civilian,” she said and sighed. “Exile didn’t tell me anything about the meeting before we got there. But I was the one who took the device from the government official… not that I knew that’s who he was at first.” She dipped her chin. “If I had, I might not have bit him so hard.”
“Shit,” Junker breathed out, putting a hand on his chest. “You’ve seen it?” She nodded. “And you thought it was in the computer, that’s why you took it?”
Yes, that was why she’d taken Opal. Strike would believe it was because he’d told her to, but she wouldn’t have done it if she hadn’t believed it would be in her side’s best interest. Rora was trying to figure this out one step at a time and making the right choices wasn’t easy.
Dropping onto her knees, she cupped the open panel on the back of the computer. “He took it out.”
Junker sighed. “He might have considered that leaving it in his primary terminal was too obvious,” he said, coming to sit in the armchair at the top of the coffee table.
“He’s a bastard,” she said, calming herself before picking up the metal plate she’d taken from Opal. “I’m sorry, honey.”
“What are you apologizing to me for?” Junker asked. Focusing on the task at hand, she didn’t want to admit she’d actually been apologizing to Opal. “I can do that if—”
“No,” she said, replacing the screws. “I want to.”
He leaned forward to stroke her shoulders. “You’ve got a bullseye on you now,” he said. “You told me not to touch his computer and then you went and stole it. He won’t be happy.”
There was a hint of pride beneath his concerned smile. “I had to do something,” she said. “Exile was never going to listen to you and I couldn’t listen to their mocking anymore… Why did he call you Redd?”
“It’s my last name,” Junker said, flopping his arms on the arms of the chair. “Guess he wanted to let me know he was investigating me.”
“Like we didn’t know that already,” she said, turning Opal over when she was done. Smoothing her hands over the lid, it was odd to feel so protective of this hunk of metal as Bella had once called it. “I guess we can give it back… maybe he’ll forgive and forget.”
“Do you think so?”
Pushing her lips to one side, she shrugged, and got up to go over to the fridge. “I say this night calls for a drink. Might be my last chance to have one. What do you say?”
The whiskey bottle was on top of the fridge and she chose the hard liquor tonight.
“I don’t know,” Junker said, and she thought he meant the alcohol. “Maybe there’s something of use on the machine.”
“No!” she called, spinning around to see his fingers hovering just an inch above the keys. “Don’t touch that.”
With the whiskey bottle in one hand, she rushed over to him and slapped Opal shut. “What? There could be something on here that we can use. Something that will give us a lead on where he might have put the device, or what he plans to do with Benjamin’s work.”
“You can’t,” she said, stroking Opal’s lid. “If you touch her, she’ll hurt you… She might kill you.”
“She?” he asked, squinting at her like she might have lost her marbles. “You give computers a gender?”
Not her, Strike, but Rora wasn’t going to admit that she knew the name of his machine. “Just… don’t open her, don’t touch her. Trust me, it hurts like a motherfucker.”
He was surprised, either by her language or the revelation of her experience. “The computer injured you?”
“More than that,” she said. “If she doesn’t kill you, she’ll make sure you spend the rest of your life behind bars.”
Sliding back in the seat, he rubbed the arms. “Is that what you meant about protecting technology without hiding it?” She shrugged. “Exile wasn’t wrong about contingencies, was he?”
Junker’s opinion of Exile was evolving, just as hers had once. “You don’t know whether to be terrified or impressed,” she said, rising onto the couch and taking Opal with her. “I know. That’s kind of how I felt about it.”
“Why would he… that’s really how he protects his tech?”
“His laptop anyway,” she said, noticing the time on the wall clock.
“How does it work?”
Even if Strike had wasted his time telling her, she’d never have understood what he was saying. “Damned if I know,” she said. “Let’s have a drink and get an early night. You take the bed tonight.”
“No, I don’t have—”
“It’s ok,” she said. “You need your rest.”
Rora had no idea what she was going to do later, but she had so many questions without any chance for answers unless she took a risk. It was a hell of a risk to take, but at this point, she had nothing left to lose.
NINE
Rora and Junker hadn’t talked much beyond finishing their drinks. Junker had shared his impressions of Strike and Bella, but Rora had kept her opinions to herself. Once their glasses were empty, they decided to get an early night, so they could be fresh for the next day.
Lying on the couch, listening to Junker’s quiet snore, Rora stared at the shadows on the ceiling, trying not to think about Opal being so close to her.
She’d hidden the computer in the room at Junker’s behest. But after he was asleep, she’d got up and moved the laptop to a new hiding place. Junker thought they were hiding it from Strike, but Rora was hiding Opal from everyone.
It reeked of the Point all over again. What kind of a person was she that she couldn’t trust anyone? She’d lied to Benjamin about hiding the Point. She’d lied to Strike about finding it. Now she was lying to Junker about where she was keeping Opal.
But that wasn’t the only thing she was lying to her newest friend about.
Turning her head, she read the time on the wall clock and closed her eyes to give herself a pep talk before throwing back the covers and getting off the couch.
She dressed in silence, and crept toward the door, looking back at the sleeping Junker one more time before slipping out into the night.
Knowing the route to Apocalypse was an advantage, but she had no idea what lay beyond. Going on past the mouth of the Apocalypse alley, she carried on alo
ng the river until the lights of the city faded.
Following the path of the crude map she’d memorized, Rora went down onto a dock that seemed long abandoned. She was supposed to look for a warehouse and—
A whistle made her stop and turn. Movement at the end of an alleyway diverted her path. Heading toward it, she found his outline loitering in a narrow space between buildings.
“You made it.”
Folding her arms, Rora went to him. “You can’t leave me messages in cupcakes, Strike.”
“Turns out I can, ‘cause here you are.”
What she’d meant was he couldn’t do it anymore. They weren’t on the same side and she wouldn’t be his pawn. Rora felt guilty enough that she hadn’t told Junker about Strike’s plan, or that he’d been in their room, she couldn’t compound that guilt with more secrets.
“You’re a cocky bastard,” she said, annoyed with herself for following his instructions.
She should’ve known when his direction to “steal” Opal had turned out to be fruitless that coming wouldn’t be of any benefit to her. Ready to get the hell out of there, Rora turned, intending to return to her side of this war.
But Strike caught her hand, stopping her in her tracks. Damnit, when he touched her, she started to forget her rage… she started to feel.
Her breath blocked her throat, and it took her ten seconds to muster the courage to swallow it away. His thumb moved in a slow slide over her skin… the contact messed with her screwed-up head.
Lifting her eyes over her shoulder, she found him peering into her. “If you hadn’t come here, I’d have come for you.”
Words weren’t as powerful as actions. “Like you did when Bella kidnapped me?” she asked, snatching her hand away from his. “You didn’t give a damn about me then, did you?”
“I didn’t know she had you,” he said. “And the minute I did, I got you out.”
“What the hell are you—”
“You think your bitch’s anonymous tip was a coincidence? Who do you think blackmailed Bella’s minions into standing down? Who do you think kept her busy while your bitch took you out of there? You don’t think it was odd that you got away so clean?”
Junker had said he’d got a tip about her location. She’d been too out of it to analyze that information or to consider who his source could be. “I was…”
“You wouldn’t have come quietly if I’d showed up,” he said, proving he knew little of how out of it she’d been. “Soon as I realized you were off the grid I knew someone was holding you. There’s no one capable of hiding you from me. You don’t have a long list of enemies, and you know the list of people who are aware of the Point is short. Didn’t take me long to figure it out.”
He’d suspected that the Black Jewel was alive; he’d told her as much. Rora had thought it proved the sad state of her life that no one had cared enough to notice that she was missing… apparently Strike had noticed.
She was stuck in a state of disbelief, trying to put the pieces together, and trying to decide if she should believe him or not. “Why aren’t you mad at me?” she heard herself ask.
He had to have realized that she’d conned him. “Same reason I came back for you when you got yourself arrested… Are you going to make me say it?” he asked. “Like you did in the loft?” Lifting his curled fingers to the underside of her jaw, he stroked her. “Are you sleeping with him?”
Shaking off her disbelief, she pushed his hand away, reminding herself of how he liked to use her weakness for him against her. The question annoyed her so much, that it was easy to regain her determination.
“None of your business.”
“You can’t trust him.”
“Coming from you that statement works in his favor,” she said. “Didn’t you just say you trusted him to save me?”
Clenching his jaw, his voice dropped to a growl. “The bastard made no secret of the fact that he was looking for you. He sent out a damn beacon to everyone who wants what they think you have.” The Point. “So, yeah, I knew he’d get you away from Bella, but that doesn’t mean I trust him to keep you safe or to put your best interests first.”
“Something you’d know all about,” she said.
He ignored her jibe. “His name is Dexter Redd, he went to MIT, worked in the computer science research division. Except, he’s—”
“He’s suburban. I get it, Strike.” Rora was getting tired of the games. “Why don’t you tell me what the hell this is about? Why did you want me to take Opal? She doesn’t have what Junk’s looking for.”
“I don’t know what he’s looking for. I could guess, but I don’t care that much.”
Didn’t take her long to figure out that statement was a lie. “Yes, you do,” she said. “But let’s say I believe you, why tell me to take her?”
“I have my reasons.”
Bobbing her head, she hated him being so cagey. “Ok, so why shouldn’t I just drop her into a dumpster? If me bringing her inside has planted something in our room—”
“I was in your room,” he said.
Valid point. He didn’t need her to take his computer to spy on them, he could’ve planted something himself. If he hadn’t hung around and left the cupcake, she wouldn’t have known he was in there. Junker hadn’t.
“You’re such a creep sometimes, Strike.”
“I’m a creep all the time.” A noise made him stop to look up, but he took her arm and turned her around, putting her against the wall. “Did you tell him you were coming here?”
“No, I didn’t,” she said. “Then I’d have had to explain that you set me up to take a useless laptop.”
“You didn’t let him touch her,” he said, his lips slanting.
Socking his shoulder, Rora didn’t appreciate his look of satisfaction. Strike’s implant would have notified him if someone unauthorized made contact with Opal’s keyboard.
“I hope that wasn’t what you were banking on. He’s a good man, Strike. He’s not from your world. He’s just trying to do the right thing.”
“I remember you were like that once,” he said.
When he tried to touch her face, she ducked back and pushed his hand away. “I’m still trying to do the right thing.”
“I know,” he said. “Trying to stop my evil plan… You can’t stop it. There’s nothing you can do. I’m close.”
That… that brought her up short.
“What?” she asked. Did he mean the Point? How could he be talking like he had the Point when he didn’t? “Are you playing me?”
“Always, Cupcake,” he said. “There’s still space at my side for you.”
Her jaw loosened. Strike didn’t know he didn’t have the Point!
Either he was lying to her or… he had never accessed the device. Her heart might as well have stopped, she was so stunned. He hadn’t looked at what was on the USB. He wanted her to think he was working on perfecting the program, but she knew that was impossible because he didn’t have it.
She’d told him if he used the Point that she’d be gone from his life forever. He’d put the drive into his machine but… he hadn’t looked at what was on it. He’d chosen her. Rora was dumbfounded. For some reason he didn’t want her to know it, but… he’d chosen her!
“Flame,” she whispered, too shocked to realize she’d used the name of her lover, which he wasn’t.
“That’s better,” he said, edging closer.
But she put her hands to his chest and tried to regain her senses. Strike didn’t know that she’d double-crossed him. For now, that put her at an advantage. He believed he had everything he needed to enact his plan to use the Point if he chose to.
The fact that he hadn’t done it suggested that either his decency wasn’t as non-existent as he’d declared it to be, or that she had more sway with his conscience than she’d realized.
“I didn’t mean that.”
“I think you did,” he said, his eyes growing heavier. “You’re not done with me, baby.”
&n
bsp; Being pressed against him was too much for her bitter mind to deal with. “I am, I’m done,” she said, but her voice was so weak it was just a breath.
She didn’t even believe herself. Rora had been afraid to be near him again, thinking he’d be murderous after her deception. Learning that he had no intention of hurting her, and that her aversion to world domination had sparked a change in him, Rora was unsure of what to do.
“ ‘Cause you think you’ve got yourself a new guy? I can delete him for you, baby, slit his throat while he sleeps, then it’ll be just you and me again.”
All those days in Bella’s basement, trying unsuccessfully to hate this man, came back to her. Maybe this had been the reason why she couldn’t hate him; he hadn’t really betrayed her at all. Maybe his feelings hadn’t been as false as she’d feared. This was a lot to digest and completely unexpected.
Shaking her head, she licked her lips. “He’s a good man and the Jewel is—”
“Crazy,” he said.
“I’m crazy.”
Saying it didn’t sting as much as it used to, maybe because she was learning there were worse things to be.
“I’ll make her pay for whatever she did to you, Cupcake. Your new guy’s not capable of protecting you like I can. Will he go to any lengths to protect you no matter how naughty you are?”
Protection, something she craved, a partner who’d hold her up and stand to fight her battles with her. Sounded great, but Strike wasn’t perfect. “He has a heart.”
It made her ache all over when she gazed into Strike’s eyes and felt herself falling all over again. Remembering the night they’d first made love, she thought about those eyes, about the way they’d made her feel adored. Could it have been real? Why did he have to ruin it?
“Can’t claim to have one of those,” he said. “I gave whatever was left of mine to you.”
“Stop it,” she hissed, the warmth of tears stinging the corners of her eyes. “This isn’t you. You’re manipulating me. I don’t know why but I… don’t do this to me again. Please, Strike.”
The back of his fingers drifted up the side of her neck. He’d never been tender like this when they were together. But over the last couple of days it was like he couldn’t keep his hands off her.
Kiss Chase (Exile Book 2) Page 8
