Page 72 of Phoenix Rising

When the comm unit crackled in his ear, Reese gave up looking for the trigger. “Let’s move away from the sound of the river so we can hear their conversation.” They found a sitting area beneath a tree as far from the water as possible.

“I still do not believe you are Elijah,”Talia said.“Prove it. What was the name of Rob Tobin’s wife?”

There was no pause.“Margaret Conrad.”

“It is you, Elijah,”Talia enthused.

“Yes! I can’t believe how blessed I am to have found you two again. I’ve missed you so much. God was surely watching out for me when he brought us back together.”

Reese’s jaw clenched. Yeah, so that justice could be served for the people he’d killed.

“I noticed all the cameras around,”Hunter said to Elijah.“Is someone watching us right now?”

There was a chuckle.“I should’ve known you would find them, Henry. You are the smartest, most observant man I’ve ever met.”

“Sounds like someone has a man crush,” Christian observed with a smirk.

“No, they aren’t monitored. I’m the only one with access. I have them in case there is any trouble.”

“Or to get off on watching people have sex,” Audria muttered.

Static sounded through the line, and then it went dead. Reese tapped his ear. “Did you guys lose the feed too?”

“Yes,” Audria replied.

“He has a scrambler,” Christian decided. “Anyone as security conscious as he is would take that extra step.”

“I don’t like leaving Hunter and Talia alone with him without knowing what’s happening,” Audria said.

“I don’t either,” Reese concurred. “But I don’t think he suspects them at all.” They’d been concerned that Elijah had found out Hunter and Talia were responsible for the downfall of his last operation and were prepared to take him down if necessary. Judging by how he’d made a bumbling fool of himself fawning over them, he was clueless. That worked in their favor. Reese had no doubt Hunter and Talia could get the truth out of him about what had happened to Paige Stockton.

“Thanks to Hunter, we know the cameras aren’t monitored,” Audria said. “Let’s return to our room, disable ours, and wait for the McGraths to tell us what to do next.”

#

Hunter walked beside Elijah, fighting the urge to slap cuffs on the little weasel. From his days with the FBI and now with COBRA Securities, he knew several ways to make a man talk. Some legal. Most not. He’d have this twerp spilling all his secrets before the sun set. But that wasn’t how it worked, and he knew it. They needed to gather the evidence so it couldn’t be questioned or overturned on appeal. Elijah was going down for murder, one way or another. He’d spend the rest of his miserable life rotting behind bars.

Hunter realized the instant the comm units went dead. Elijah had most likely added a scrambler to the mix. The man was trying to stay out of prison, possibly the electric chair, so he wasn’t surprised at the heightened measures. It meant Reese, Audria, and Christian wouldn’t know what was happening. He hoped they’d heard Elijah admitting that no one monitored the cameras.

Hunter wasn’t sure what to call the man. He thought of him as Caraway now, but they had to act like Henry and Tina, and they only knew him as Elijah. He had so many aliases that it was hard to keep them all straight. The fake guru stopped at a door marked private and punched a code into the keypad. Then, he led them down a hall to a suite of rooms that were both opulent and ostentatious.

“This is my humble abode.” Elijah held out his arms. “Isn’t it lovely? Nicer than those cabins in the woods. Am I right?” Elijah’s face lit with excitement, and he clapped his hands together. “There are two bedrooms. You’ll stay here with me!”

No way in hell,Hunter almost blurted out. But they needed information, and the quicker he could get the man to talk, the faster he’d be on a plane headed home with his gorgeous wife by his side.

Talia turned to face Elijah but kept hold of Hunter’s arm.

“Elijah, where is Tilly? I have been worried about her for months.”

“Oh, thank you for asking, Tina.” He clapped a hand over his heart. “That means so much to me. You are too kind.”

Hunter wanted to roll his eyes. The guy was a raving moron.

“Tilly is doing good. Her injury is healing, thanks to you both, and she’s moving around with a walker. I never had the chance to thank you properly for coming to her aid. I’m unsure what would’ve happened to her if you hadn’t found her in the woods. She might’ve died.” Elijah shuddered.

“I am glad we could help, but I want to see her.” Talia glanced around the room. “Is she here?”

Elijah looked away, a guilty expression on his face. “No, she isn’t. I found a home for her.”

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