Page 21 of Wrecked
After she’d knocked Cyclops backward, that operator’s initial expression had been one of seeing her as a peer. But he’d been confused, which meant he’d likely heard her taunting Cyclops to rape her. That might not be what he’d expect a peer to do in her situation, but he hadn’t questioned her reasoning.
Points to him for not wasting time asking her.
Rain slowed to a steady drip off the leaves and branches. Tired or not, she had to climb out of this dark place both literally and emotionally. She shoved up to a sitting position, careful to not catch splinters in her exposed butt.
Grabbing the hem of the shirt she’d tied into a quick knot, she wiped mud off her face and away from her eyes, then inhaled deeply. The rugged masculine scent infused into the shirt by heat brought a half-smile to her lips.
She loved the manly smell.
Some women might be turned off by a man’s lingering perspiration scent ground into a piece of clothing, but she’d spent a lot of time around men training for dangerous ops.
Real men didn’t smell like fancy models.
Real men got dirty, sweaty, and banged up.
This T-shirt attested to all that and more about her mysterious badass.
What had he said into his comm unit right before she snuck into the tunnel entrance? “No extraction. Package not here.”
What person had his team inserted to rescue? She doubted it had been Phoebe since Kovac was being blackmailed to do something nefarious.
That guy’s team had not only located the Collector but had also come there looking to rescue someone.
If mystery guy’s team found this location, they might be able to find the Collector’s next location.
If so, they’d know where Phoebe had been taken.
Phoebe was alive. Hallene had to keep telling herself that.
Energized by that hope, Hallene twisted around until she located her LED and shoved the ring on her finger. She untied the knot at the hem of his shirt, which held the lipstick camera she’d placed in the basement. She checked it quickly and released a long sigh. This one survived.
If she got decent images, this camera had the power to put her back on Phoebe’s trail as soon as Midnight Ferret performed his electronic magic. He could access hidden data that some intelligence agencies could not.
Unfortunately, the small camera could not pick up images at the top of the stairs where the Collector and Russian had stood.
She hoped Midnight could come through one more time on this mission.
If her techie could not find the Collector’s next location, maybe he could pull a clear enough image off this lipstick camera to locate her sexy badass.
Then she’d find out if that operator was willing to help her.
If not, she’d find a way to convince him.
One of Coop’s sayings had been, “All things might not be fair in love, but they are in war.”
