Page 55 of A Touch of Treachery
I sighed.Sometimes I thought my synesthesia only worked when it wanted to, rather than me controlling it.My magic spent far more time highlighting mundane dangers, like the uneven terrace steps, than showing truly important things, like where Henrika was storing the Redburn formula.
Another thing I grudgingly admired about Henrika was her work ethic.She had labs at Hyde Engineering facilities around the U.S., as well as in other countries, and I was certain she had one tucked away here too.My gaze strayed back toward the woods, which would be a great place to hide a lab from prying eyes.
The resort sprawled across several thousand acres, much of it heavily wooded.Section satellite scans hadn’t picked up any suspicious structures in the rugged terrain, but nothing was foolproof, and Henrika might have found a way to camouflage her lab.Or maybe I was wrong, and Henrika didn’t have a lab on-site.Maybe her evil lair was hidden at the bottom of a tropical ocean or inside a dormant volcano or on a deserted island.Maybe I was wasting my time trying to find it when I should be figuring out how to get the undercover agent list.
“We have to stop meeting like this,” a low, familiar voice drawled.“Or your boy Slick might get jealous.”
I kept my body facing out toward the woods, even as my gaze slid to the right.
Gabriel was standing a few feet away, his hand on the low wall, as though he too was admiring the view.Even for a cleaner, Gabriel was exceptionally stealthy, and I hadn’t even heard his footsteps on the stone.If I’d been one of his targets, I would have already been on the ground bleeding out while he strolled away whistling.
“When I texted you about the mission earlier, I didn’t think you would show up in person,” I drawled right back at him.“First Germany and now here.I’m starting to think you don’t like to take vacations by yourself.”
Gabriel chuckled, although I was the only one close enough to hear his laughter.“I couldn’t let you and Slick have all the fun of taking down Henrika.Besides, if this goes anything like the Tannenbaum mission did, the two of you are going to need my help.”
He was probably right about that.We’d been here less than two hours, and my synesthesia kept muttering that Desmond and I were in serious danger, not just from Henrika but also from the other paramortals.
“How did you get onto the resort grounds?I thought Winterfest was invitation only.”A thought occurred to me.“Wait a second.Is this your mystery woman at work again?Did Nemesis send you here?”
Gabriel held up his phone and pretended to take a photo of the gorgeous view.“Nope.I haven’t heard a peep from Nemesis since Christmas Day, just like I told you at the diner last night.And I got here the usual way—I called in a favor.One of my clients had some extra tickets.He mentioned them a few weeks ago.He and his wife couldn’t make it, so I came in their place.”
“And Henrika’s guards just let you waltz into the lobby?”
A wry grin curved the corner of Gabriel’s mouth.“My fake ID might have helped matters, along with the generous tips I’ve been doling out to every worker who so much as looks at me.”
I rolled my eyes.You could take the cleaner out of Section 47, but you couldn’t separate him from his fake IDs.Even if the guards had stopped him, Gabriel still would have found some way to sneak in.And once on the grounds, he could go anywhere he wanted, thanks to his phasing ability.
“Things must be pretty boring in the private sector for you to crash another spy mission.”
“Absolutely,” Gabriel agreed.“I might have hated Section rules and regulations, but hearing my clients whine about the smallest, most inane things is even worse.”He closed his eyes and tilted his face up to the winter sun.“Besides, it will be good for me to get out of the office for a while.Get some fresh air, commune with nature, indulge in a massage or three.”
I stared out over the terraces, wrestling with the guilt that had taken up residence in the pit of my stomach.I’d done my homework on Henrika, and I was willing to bet she’d done the same on me, which meant she probably knew exactly who Gabriel was and how much I cared about him.
I hated that Gabriel had come here and put himself in danger, but he was loyal to a fault, and nothing I said would persuade my friend to leave so long as he thought Desmond and I were in trouble.And Desmond and Iwerein trouble, surrounded by enemies on all sides and with no idea what Henrika was really plotting.
Maybe it was cold and calculating of me, but Gabriel was here, so I might as well let him watch our backs.Besides, I trusted Gabriel, and the same couldnotbe said for Jethro Percy.The General was probably monitoring drone and satellite footage of the resort right now, just itching to send in the Section strike teams as soon as possible.Despite the innocent civilians on-site, Percy wouldn’t hesitate to storm the resort if it meant killing Henrika and getting his hands on the Redburn formula.
Gabriel opened his eyes and pretended to take another photo with his phone.“Who’s that with your boy Slick?”
My gaze drifted down to the terrace below us.“Joan Samson, a Section liaison.She’s worked with Desmond before.Graham Walker too, before he was killed.Joan and Graham were ...close.”
“Do you trust her?”Gabriel asked.
“Desmond trusts her.”
He snorted.“That’s not an answer, Char.Unless the answer is no.”
Gabriel was right.I didn’t trust Joan.I didn’tnottrust her either, but something about her nagged at me.Some little thing Joan had said or done over the past two days was pinballing around in my mind, although I couldn’t nail down what it was and why it was so important.
I pretended to pick a loose thread off my sweater.“After I figured out Miriam Lancaster and Trevor Donnelly were moles, I did a deep dive into everyone at Section headquarters.From what I can tell, Joan Samson is clean as a whistle, but I thought Miriam was clean too.So I’ll trust Joan, but I’ll also watch her, just in case she tries to stab me in the back like Miriam did.”
“Might not be a bad idea for me to keep an eye on her too,” Gabriel suggested.More than a little interest sparked in his light brown eyes.
I groaned.“Oh, no.You want to keep an eye on Joan because she is precisely your type.”
“And what, exactly, ismy type?”
“Smart, clever, strong, attractive, and, most important of all, unattainable.Joan is by the book, and you are not, and we both know you love the thrill of the chase.”
