Page 55 of Ravens
A ringing breaks through the silence, and York pulls out the phone, answering in single words and checking his watch before hanging up.
“Almost there.” He puts his hand on my back, and we cross the road into the park.
On the other side, a car flashes its headlights, and we jog down the footpath toward it. As we approach, the passenger door opens, and Carter’s head appears above the car, but he doesn’t say anything. He just nods and pulls the rear door open.
I rush around the car and climb in. Carter closes my door, and York piles in beside me. The car pulls away from the curb in no particular rush, and that’s when I realize William is driving. Our eyes meet in the rearview mirror, but I keep quiet and look out my window instead.
“How’d they find you so fast?” Carter turns in his seat.
“No idea,” York says. “Maybe the car.”
“Maybe they tagged their girl, and she doesn’t know it,” William counters, and our eyes meet in the mirror again. “Or maybe she does.”
“Watch it,” I growl. “I owe you a bullet still, and trust me, I’m not a shit shot like you.”
“I hit your arm on purpose.” His eyes shift back to the road.
“So, you’re a coward, then? I can work with that.”
William’s nostrils flare, but he doesn’t say anything else as York squeezes my knee. I can’t tell if it’s a gesture of understanding or a bid for me to shut up.
There is no merit to William’s claim though. If I was tagged as part of Raven, I’d know it, and Russel wouldn’t have been surprised to see me at the gala. Besides, I have no devices aside from a burner phone on occasion.
“Everyone will be swept for bugs when we get back, just to be safe,” Carter says diplomatically.
“Back where?” I ask.
Carter snorts. “Unabomber paradise.”
Fuck. The woods are not where I want to be with this group again. I’m not a wimp; I can rough it if I have to. I don’t need much to survive . . . but Jesus, the woods stress me out. They’re supposed to have the opposite effect, I think.
Come to think of it, I don’t like the ocean either. Too much unknown beneath the surface. The moon is calming though. I lean against the window, but there is broken cloud cover, and I can’t see the moon regardless, not even its glow.
It’s only twenty minutes before we turn onto a winding road lined with trees, and about five minutes later, we turn onto a gravel driveway. Well, at least it’s not the hunting cabin I expected. The large house tucked into the trees looks like something you see on a lake, but there isn’t any water around here from the looks of it.
Carter takes me inside as William hangs back with York. August is nowhere in sight, and I’m led straight upstairs.
He points, “Bathroom,” as we pass by it. “Will and I are in the last two rooms.” He gestures down the hall. “You’re here.” He flips the switch on the room beside the bathroom. “And August has the bedroom on the main floor . . . Sorry about the state. This was just meant for York if he needed it. He never needs it, though.”
The room has a bunch of gear stowed in the corner at the end of the twin bed. The only other thing in the room is a dresser and a nightstand.
“He can manage with the pullout in the den.” Carter scratches his head and smiles faintly. “I’m sure he won’t mind giving up his room.”
“How do you feel about all this?” I slowly cross my arms. “Because so far, all I know is William wants me dead, and about fifty percent of the time I can’t tellwhatYork is thinking.”
“Better than me. I don’t know what’s going through that guy’s head a hundred percent of the time.” He smiles, but it fades. “I’m reserving judgment until all your cards are down.”
“Don’t hold your breath.” I slap the switch off and head back to the stairs.
Twenty-Eight
After wandering through the house for a bit alone, I find August in a small office emanating enough heat to be a sauna. The amount of computer equipment he has set up is impressive.
In the doorway, I stand and watch as he picks away at his keyboard. I’m not a hacker in the sense that I could work in cyber ops, but I can get around a standard firewall. Sometimes I do okay with mid-grade security systems. The thing is . . . I mostly just know where to look. The amount of data you can dig up legally is astounding, especially if a person has an online presence at all. Just work backward from what you know.
“Can I help you?” he asks, distracted.
“Do you have a radio frequency detector? I need to know if I’ve been bugged.”
