Page 14 of Hidden Ascent

“No.”

“I figured as much. Besides this lump and cut on your head, I can’t find any other damage. Is there anything I should be looking for?”

She lifted her hand to touch her head, but Peter grabbed hold of it and pressed it back down to her chest.

“I’ve disinfected it and stopped the bleeding. Leave it alone.”

“Sorry. Thank you.”

“Pleasure. It’s good to see you again, by the way. Although the circumstances are concerning.”

“I’ve been through a lot tonight. At least, I think it’s still tonight.”

She shifted on the couch and pushed herself up a little, looking around the room. “What day is it?”

“Thursday.”

“And the time?”

“Late. Or early. Depends on your point of view. The sunrise is still a few hours off.”

“Jemi’s sleeping?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry to bring you my trouble, but I didn’t know where else to go.”

“You know you’re always welcome here. You want to tell me what happened? Should I be expecting helicopters to surround my house and call for your surrender?”

She closed her eyes at the memory of what happened to her team and her boss.

“Sorry. Bad joke.” Peter stood and got a glass of water off a nearby table. “Drink?”

“No. Thank you. No one knows I’m here.”

“You want me to call anyone?”

“No. I don’t know who I can trust besides you and Jemi.”

“Sounds serious.”

“I was on an operation earlier tonight.” She pressed her fingers over her eyes. “It was supposed to be easy.”

“Not so easy, then?”

“They’re dead. Every one of them was killed.”

Peter rested a hand on her arm. “Your team?”

“I’m the only one who got out. I went to see my supervisor. He’s dead too. But before he died, I found out he was involved. And he told me he’s not the only one.”

“You were set up? Are you sure?”

“We had a contact in DHS working with our team. He just tried to kill me, and I’m certain he’s the one who killed my boss.”

“Where is he now?”

“Don’t know. That’s his car out there.”

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