Page 36 of Zero Hour

She scoured him with her gaze, but he didn’t react.

“Okay,” she said, finally. “I’ll see what I can find out.”

He let out a quiet breath. “Good.”

“How will I contact you?”

“Do you have a mobile phone?” he asked.

She shook her head. “They took it away.”

“What about the one you keep behind the counter?”

She blinked. “You know about that?”

“My operator saw you use it yesterday.”

Her lip trembled. “I was calling my son. Amir doesn’t allow it, but I have to speak with him or else he’ll worry. He thinks I’m away on a work trip.”

Made sense. “Get it, I’ll give you a number. Message me when you have something.”

He watched as she entered the secure number. The faint tremor told him how much strain she was under. “This is a text-only number. If you call it, nobody will pick up. If you find out anything, send me a message.”

“Okay.” Her control slipped and he saw a flicker of fear in her jade irises.

“It’s going to be okay.” Pat flashed her a brief smile as he got to his feet. “You’re with the good guys now.”

CHAPTER 14

Great, now she was a spy, working undercover for the U.S. government. The only problem was she knew nothing about espionage. How the hell was she supposed to find out what Amir and his cousin were planning?

They sure as hell didn’t trust her.

Why would they? You couldn’t trust someone you were holding captive. And with Riad constantly working to turn Amir against her, she was already living on borrowed time. If he had his way, she’d be stuffed into a black bag and dumped in the Potomac by now.

Pat had been right about one thing, though. They would kill her when this was over. Maybe Ryan, too. A chill shot up her spine. She’d been a fool to believe otherwise.

But as she left the coffee shop, she felt lighter than she had since this nightmare began. It made no sense—she was in more danger now than ever—but for the first time, she had an ally.

And Ryan was safe. Or as safe as he could be under the circumstances.

For months, she’d been carrying this burden alone. Since Adam disappeared, she’d had no one to turn to, no one to confide in. But she wasn’t alone anymore.

She had Patrick.

An interesting man, that. The more she learned about him, the more he intrigued her. It had been an insane risk, meeting her like that. What if Amir had seen them? What if she’d said no?

Would he really have arrested her?

But she’d gone along with his bluff because, despite everything, it suited her. She didn’t want to be part of this. She didn’t want Amir planting a bomb in a stadium or a nightclub. She didn’t want innocent people to die.

That was it. That was what this feeling was.

Hope.

For the first time since Adam’s death, she felt a flicker of hope.

And she was going to cling to it with everything she had.

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