Page 55 of Renegade

“Not necessarily,” he said, hedging. “But if they’re operatives—CIA or not—it wouldn’t have been hard for them to figure out where we’d be last night…or where you lived for that matter, Raven.” He held out his hand and I reached across the tableto take it, squeezing his fingers. “We need to assume they’re watching at all times and take precautions.”

I felt a stone settle in my belly. “Does that mean you think my nana is in danger? Or Dolly? What would happen if someone broke into the house? Tried to harm them?” I looked around. Neither of them could fight off a trained operative. Hell, neither of them could fight off anyone determined enough to get in here and hurt them. Miguel’s face had gone white as a sheet. I replayed the words in my head and with a heavy heart, realized what I’d said. I wanted to kick myself. “Oh, Jesus, Miguel. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

He shook his head. “It’s okay, Raven.” The pain in his features was devastating. “Sometimes I can go for days without thinking about my parents.” He broke eye contact and gazed down at the tabletop. “It happened a long time ago.” He looked up. “And Cassidy and Mike were right. I was just a kid. If I would have come home from football practice one hour earlier and stumbled upon someone killing them or…even…beating my mom—” His eyes got watery as he choked on the words.

I got up from the table and went to him, wrapping both arms around his head as I pulled him against me. He buried his face in my shirt as I bent and kissed his head. He held me for a few seconds before lifting his face. He wasn’t crying, just determined.

“It’s okay. I’m okay.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, but I brushed my fingers through his dark hair. He caught my hand, squeezing it hard for a few seconds before letting me go. I moved back into my spot and sat down, facing him.

His face was somber as he cleared his throat and leaned forward to speak quietly. “We’re not going to let anything happen to our family, Raven. Do you understand me?”

I stared at him, hearing the determination in his words, unable to breathe when I realized Miguel thought of my nana and Dolly as family. I nodded, afraid I’d start blubbering if I tried to speak.

“Good. Now, go on. What were you going to say?”

I took a deep breath. “I was going to say we haven’t heard from Mark. We should call and update him with what happened last night.” I hesitated before going on. “And I think…I think you should tell him about what she said…how she knew some information which could only have come from John.”

He nodded, still stoic, which was almost scary. He sighed. “That’s what was keeping me up last night, Raven. I had the same thoughts about Mark by the way. I was going to wait to talk to you about it until you woke up, though.”

“Call him now then. He won’t be able to talk about it over the phone, but we should go over to his place.”

“No,” he said immediately. “We need to go someplace where we can be sure we aren’t being followed, where no one can hear us talk through the walls.”

What he was saying suddenly dawned on me. “Oh, you mean with parabolic mics?”

He smirked in the most adorable way. “Look at you, Raven. Tell me, what do you know about parabolic mics?”

I sat back, folding my arms across my chest. “What? I watch old episodes ofBurn Notice.”

He chuckled. “You are so not Michael Weston, Super Spy.”

I laughed. “I like it when you call me Super Spy.” I got serious.

He sat back wearing an equally humorless expression. This really wasn’t a laughing matter. “Well, you were right about the parabolic mics. If they followed us to Mark’s place, it wouldn’t matter whether we were in his townhouse or not. All they’d have to do is park out in front and aim a mic at the house. They’d be able to hear us through the walls with strong enough equipment. We have to assume they know about ourothervisit to Mark’s since I think they’ve been following us for a while. They probably already know he’s been helping us but just in case, we need to set up a meeting with Mark and get him and his family some protection.”

“Well, that shouldn’t be hard, what with the people he keeps in his orbit at all times.” Something in his expression told me he wasn’t telling me everything on his mind.

“You’re right but just in case, I’ll call him now.” I picked up my phone which was lying on the table.

“Don’t talk about anything over the phone, Raven.”

I sent an extremely annoyed eyeroll across the table at him, before hitting the button and waited for Mark to pick up.

“Hello?”

I cleared my throat. “Ah, Mark? This is Raven.” I paused before going on, not sure if I should use my last name. “Ah, Raven Mathis.”

“Yes, Raven. I was going to call you today.”

I looked up sharply, focusing my gaze on Miguel.

“Well, good. We…ah, Miguel and I, wanted to get together with you. Would that be okay?”

“Sure. Would you like to stop by the house this morning?”

I frowned at Miguel. “Stop by…your place?” Miguel shook his head. “No, we’d like to meet…somewhere else.”

---