Page 150 of GAF Factor

He looked me up and down, then sighed. “Well, based on how you look, I guess I’d better let you in.”

I couldn’t look that bad. Sure, I wasn’t dressed for the day and my hair was a little ratty, but that didn’t mean I was a horrible mess. I followed him into the elevator, gripping Riley’s hand as she stepped in after me. This had to work. I had no one else to turn to if they didn’t help me. I didn’t know anyone else who even had the manpower to pull off something like this.

When the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, I took a deep breath and followed Dash as he headed into the bright, wide-open space. Everyone was too chipper for this early in the morning. They didn’t know that just an hour ago, IKE wasbreaking my heart. They didn’t realize that he was going to a life he no longer wanted or that he might not return.

Rae walked out of a room with all glass walls and stopped in her tracks, looking me up and down with large eyes. “We should get you some coffee.”

“That would be great.”

On the way, everyone steered clear of me, and more than one person asked if I needed coffee or a tissue. A few of them even asked if someone had died.

“What is going on?” I hissed at Riley. “Do I really look that bad?”

She snorted, covering her mouth. “Okay, I really didn’t want to tell you, but…”

“But what?”

When she didn’t say anything, I knew it had to be bad. I saw the sign for the restrooms up ahead and rushed down the hall, shoving the door open, gasping in horror when I saw my reflection in the mirror.

My red hair was a knotted, ratty mess on top of my head, but much worse than I expected. But that wasn’t the worst part. Thick streaks of mascara ran down my face from all my crying this morning. I hadn’t taken it off last night, and while I didn’t normally wear makeup, I had put it on yesterday to make myself feel better since it was so depressing just wandering around the property, waiting for IKE to return.

And I had completely forgotten about it.

I grabbed paper towels and ran them under the water, pumping way too much soap onto them. I started scrubbing the skin under my eyes, but all it did was get into my eyeballs, burning them instantly. I hissed in pain and flushed them with water, cursing myself for not showering before I came. I was a disaster. No one was going to take me seriously when I looked like this.

The door opened behind me and Rae walked in, sighing when she found me nearly weeping over the sink. “Come on. I can help you out. Drink this.”

A to-go cup was shoved in my hands and I was pulled out of the bathroom. I didn’t have much of a choice but to go with her as she dragged me down hallway after hallway.

“But I really need to talk to everyone.”

“And you thought doing it like this was the best way? You look like something fromNight Of The Living Dead.”

I wanted to tell her it wasn’t that bad, but that would be a lie. She shoved me into a locker room and handed me a fresh towel, washcloth, and toiletries. “Last door on your left is a closed stall. No one will bother you. Take your time. I’ll lay out fresh clothes for you.”

“I—” I swallowed hard, feeling a fresh wave of tears coming on. I was going to have to buck up if I was going to save IKE’s life. “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

I hurried to the last stall and washed in record time. Everything I needed to freshen up was inside her tote, along with an extra toothbrush in a package and toothpaste. After my shower, I dressed in the cargo pants and plain T-shirt she left for me. And while the underwear and sports bra weren’t exactly my style, it would do in a pinch. Anything was better than walking around in my Winnie the Pooh pajamas in front of all of them.

Twenty minutes later, I was walking back down the hall with Rae, coffee in hand and ready to take on the world. Or, at least, OPS. A bunch of them were gathered in the same glass room I walked past earlier and Rae made introductions before she sat down. Riley sat in the corner of the room, leaving me all alone to do this.

“So,” Lock asked. “What do you need from us?”

“I need you to go rescue Knox.”

They all looked around at each other in confusion, but it was FNG who spoke up. “Who’s Knox?”

“IKE,” I said, remembering they didn’t know him by that name.

“That’shis name?” he asked, leaning forward.

I nodded. “Um…yeah.”

He leaned back curiously. “So…do you know what IKE stands for?”

My lips twitched in amusement. “I know everything.”

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