Page 38 of Redeeming Meg

Spence started to argue but closed his mouth and gave a resigned shake of his head. “Fine. But you better smack him upside the head for me when you do.” He yanked out his phone, his fingers moving rapidly over the screen. “Here’s the number for the taxi company and the car’s tag number.”

“Wewillfind him,” Meg replied, her eyes scanning the dark streets. “Now go. Be safe.”

She wasn’t a hugger, but Spence grabbed her and held her to him, murmuring something in her ear too low for Declan to hear. She patted his back, and Tessa squeezed his arm as he turned to leave.

“I want the record to show that I’m against splitting up,” he said to Declan, even as he stepped outside the shelter.

“Noted,” Declan said. “Thanks, man.”

Spence drew a cloth bag from one of his pockets and shoved it into Declan’s hand. “These are set for a different frequency than our current comms. The four of us can stay in contact without Langley listening in.” He gave each of them a pointed look. “As soon as you can, get them up and running so I know what’s going on, understand?”

It was a rare thing for Spence to hand out orders. Meg gave him a thumbs-up. “We will.”

As she hurried away, Meg called the taxi company. The woman spoke in Romanian, and she put her on speakerphone so Tessa could communicate with her. Declan had to hand it to Meg—adding The Architect to their group had been a wise decision.

Unfortunately, Spence was right. Since it was after hours, all the clerk on the phone could do was help them set up a ride. She couldn’t offer any information about the taxi that had picked up Tommy. She suggested calling back after eight a.m. and speaking to one of the owners.

“Tell her it’s an emergency,” Meg assisted.

Apparently, the operator did speak some English.

“I cannot give out the information. You will have to call back.”

She disconnected. Meg cursed under her breath and jammed the phone into her pocket. “What now?”

“Now we wait,” Tessa said. The setback was no big deal in her eyes. “I have a place not far from here. You two could use a shower and some rest.” She waved her fingers under her nose, letting them know they smelled offensive. “The pantry is fully stocked, and the closets have clean clothes.” This time, she gave them an assessing once-over. “You can’t go around looking like that without calling attention to yourself.”

Meg looked down at her clothes and winced when she smelled her armpits. “You’re right, but…”

“No buts,” Tessa said.

Declan held in his smirk at the annoyance that tightened Meg’s face. “Funny,” he said, “sounds like you have a safe house in Bucharest. I thought you got out of the spy game.”

Tessa gave him a charming smile. “No one ever gets out of the spy game, Dec. You know that.”

Meg rolled her eyes. “I see you’ve already conveniently forgotten our conversation in the library yesterday.”

Tessa glanced at her watch. “Technically, that was two days ago.” She headed out of the shelter. “Try to keep up.”

Meg shot Declan a look that suggested she wanted to revoke Tessa’s membership in the Black Swan Division, but he just shrugged. “You’re the one that recruited her.”

She blew out a tired breath that lifted the bangs plastered to her forehead. “I don’t want to sit around twiddling my thumbs.”

“Neither do I, but she’s right. We both look like shit, and neither of us has had food or so much as a nap in twenty-four hours. We’re running on fumes, and this chase could last a while.”

Tessa was halfway down the block, not bothering to look over her shoulder to see if they were following. Meg seemed to debate with herself. “We’ve been through worse, but this?” She shook her head. “I don’t know Tommy well enough to say what he would or wouldn’t do, but I always thought I could trust him, you know?”

He saw the disheartening sadness in her eyes. She didn’t balk when he took her hand and drew her out of the bus stop shelter. The night sky was cloudy, but stars peeked out here and there. “We continue to trust him until we find proof otherwise.”

Whether it was his touch or his words, he couldn’t be sure, but she fell into step beside him, allowing her shoulder to bump his arm. She gave his hand a grateful squeeze. “We trust him until we find proof otherwise,” she confirmed.

They walked in silence, leaving the chaos of the embassy far behind.

“Remember, Bruges?” he chanced to ask her.

She glanced up at the sky and smiled as if that romantic walk in Belgium was fresh in her mind. “How could I forget?”

That mission had ended with them sharing a bed. They’d had a whole weekend to themselves and stayed in a fancy hotel, rarely donning clothes except when room service brought their meals. Three days of sex, sleep, and talking.

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