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"I can help who’s next!" the barista called, and she stepped forward, ordering a venti She had cash, but she turned her phone back on and used it instead, knowing it would pop up on their security in about fifteen one by then There was a pen by the register, and she took it, keeping it in her hand to gouge with if needed

She edged to the pickup counter, going still when Allen’s pacing brought hilass door away Nothat curb If she could do it without hi her, all the better

"I don’t know, Bill," he said into his phone, clearly irate "She was co, but she’s gone I doubt a plane was her goal, but we’re watching to see if she tries to exchange it for another flight I’e claie coffee, wishing he’d look the other way

"To see if she’s going to walk out the front door Why do you think?" Allen snapped, then abruptly ended the call "What an ass," he added softly, and then their eyeswhen she alass doors, and she was tired of being afraid

"This is for lying tothe cup tothe contents at hi liquid nicked hi He blocked the first kick, and screa, she backed him up onto the door’s sensor pad with two front kicks that never landed Cooler air blew in, sa suitcase off a cart and throwing it at him with a cry of frustration

Allen shifted out of its way, and Peri lunged forward, grabbing his arlass doors He hit with a satisfying thud, groaning as he slid down--out cold Cars had stopped, and she stood over hi hard "It was a very bad vacation," she said to the man whose suitcase she’d thrown, and he nervously s to stay out of it

Chin lifted, Peri strode out, crossing the road andonto it She jerked, shocked, at the top of the stairs when she realized there was no driver, then hit the SAME key to input wherever the previous passenger had It pulled away even before she’d found a seat

"You forget three years and everything changes," she whispered The shakes started right about then She was alone For the first time in five years, she was completely alone, and she felt the pen in her pocket for reassurance What if she drafted? She’d never knohat had happened Enough blank spots in her , Peri?" she whispered But she knew She was running for control of her life, for the answers to what had happened in Charlotte, for the knowledge of whether she was a dirty operative, or if just her anchor had been

Fingers tre, Peri took off her watch and shoved it between the seat and the backrest She had a feeling that Jack had given it to her and it probably had a tracker in it Her phone, too, was suspect; popping open the side of it, she took the wafer-thin, glass SIM card out and dropped the phone under the seat The wallpaper of a desert sunrise didn’tto her, but she was sure she’d taken it

Exhaling hat sounded alainst the cold , feeling the bus shift and jerk as it worked its way past passenger pickup, gathering people as it went So to a hotel, and froet a bus ticket to Charlotte That’s where the ansere

But she pulled to a full, adrenaline-pounding stiffness when out theof the bus she saw a familiar face

"Silas," she breathed, and the ainst the pylonas he folded up his paper and let it drop to the planter beside him She tensed, but the bus jerked back into motion, and her heart pounded when he crossed the road and headed into the airport

He knew about Charlotte--had told her it was her last task He’d know that’s where she was going

Great

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

Silas got out of the cab, his hand going to his head when he thought he’d left his hat behind, only to find it right where it belonged Checking the street addresses against the list of Charlotte’s Internet cafés on his phone, he crossed the street, hand raised to stop a slow-ly around hi as he decided it was a courier and therefore not a threat He was in university territory, and his high-end coat was getting noticed She’ll know I’ht as he took his tie off and stuffed it in his coat pocket

It had been almost twenty-four hours, and if he didn’t locate her soon, Optiher destination, but they weren’t stupid Once they ruled out her apartainst being alone and focus on the obvious: the city her last task had been in He figured she’d ditch her phone and search for both answers and anony nothing at the three that were closest to the bus station and clai to wonder if she’d instead gone to the library and their slower systele" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true">