Page 69 of Extracted

He forced himself to kiss her head. “Bye, Gemma.”

She pulled her head back. Questions sparked her blues. “Why do you say it like that?”

His cell phone chirped from his pocket. As he dug it out, he sent a silent prayer skyward: Please let it be Cole.

Dare’s name flashed across the screen.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me. Just want you to know I’m working on another contact to get you on a plane outta there. Problem is I want you to have passports first, and Cole was supposed to start that.”

“Where is he? I’ve been waiting to hear back from him for a few hours now.”

“No idea. Spoke to him last night but haven’t heard a word since.”

Dallas breathed a curse. “That’s not like him.”

“No shit.”

“All right. So what if I take the flight without a passport?”

“Well, we could try it. I guarantee whoever’s picking you up won’t mind, but coming in could be an issue. Do you have any ID on you that’s not compromised?”

He turned away from Gemma and rubbed his temple. “Actually, the alias I have might work. Turns out Silas is just after Gemma and doesn’t know we’re together.”

“But she’ll need new ID. Especially since she’s tied to the bombing.”

A beat passed, and Dallas’s muscles tensed. “She’s not coming.”

“What?” The word rang with disbelief. “I thought—”

“Yeah, so did I. She’s got something else lined up. I’m going to finish my work here with Silas and then get out when I’m done. Later today for sure. If you hear from Cole, have him call me.”

Dallas disconnected and spun around. Gemma stood with her arms crossed over her middle, her eyes huge and sad.

Leaving without Gemma would be like severing his arm.

CHAPTER 19

All of this is wrong. So wrong . . .

To say Gemma was having massive buyer’s remorse over her agreement with Charlene was an understatement. Her deal had been for nothing. The main reason she’d worked something out with the CIA was to ensure Dallas got out of the country safely.

And he wasn’t taking her help.

She pulled her knees in closer to her chest in the vehicle Carson had left them. The jeep was enclosed and cool air spewed from the vents, but a sheen of hot panic coated her flesh.

She’d written her life away in blood and was in no better position than she’d been in three days ago. Her hopes of cutting ties with the organization that had put itself and its plan before her were long gone.

Dallas’s arm rested between them, and his eyes were locked on the road. Except for the odd grunt or few words when necessary, he’d been silent.

Was it too late to back out?

No. Dallas was still in danger just by being with her. Once she wasn’t attached to his side, she wouldn’t have to worry about him being shot. She could do this. She could put up with the CIA a little longer and then bail. Hell, maybe even just one last stint would satisfy them. Depending on what they had lined up, she could be done in days, weeks, or a couple short months, worst-case scenario.

Then she could go back to Dallas.

Only the same dilemma remained. She’d be off the hook with the government but he’d still be working a deadly career that she’d have to put up with.

---