Burned: Black Cipher Files #3 (Black Cipher Files series) (23 page)

He needed to call Jamie and reason things out with her. She was the super-agent. He was just a computer geek. Sure he’d helped rescue Jamie’s sister but he’d been tech support, and not much more.

After they exited the store, he used one of the burner phones they’d bought to dial Lucas Goodman. Luckily Zeke had an aptitude for numbers, so he had no problem remembering Lucas’s cell number. Jamie would know what he needed to do. And he needed to tell her he’d been burned. He didn’t want her getting in trouble because of him. Jamie had had enough trouble lately. He wasn’t about to dump more on her head.

The phone rang and rang. Then finally. “Lucas Goodman’s phone,” Jamie answered.

Even better.

“Hey.” Zeke paused.

“Oh my God. You will not believe what happened.” Jamie blurted. “Major problems.”

Zeke wanted to swear. More problems?

Jamie Hunt did not exaggerate. If she said there were major problems, the fucking apocalypse was near.

There was a fumbling sound, then she said, “What phone number is this?”

Zeke said, “Got burned at the beach. Lost my cell phone.”

Silence. “Burned?”

Yeah. Saying it aloud didn’t make it any more fun. “Yep.”

“Shit.” Jamie continued, “Okay, okay. Don’t worry about losing—”

“Let’s keep it clean.” Zeke interrupted her. But at least he knew she’d gotten the message.

“Yeah, Geek boy. I’ve been around the block a few times.” Jamie said, “Pretty sure we’ll be seeing her soon anyway. Big happenings. Her ex somehow managed to enter the area, and kidnapped the kid.”

Oliver Krychef was in the U.S.? And he’d kidnapped Susan Chen’s daughter? Kidnapped his own daughter? Holy shit. “Wow. So you following him?”

“No,” Jamie said with disgust. “He went in the back, hurt the sister-in-law, snatched the kid. We didn’t know until the paramedics got there. We lost him. But we’re monitoring the situation. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Sounds good.”

“Since he snatched the kid, we should have a line on her soon.”

Which would mean Zeke had a chance at clearing his name. But first they had to catch Susan Chen. “That would be good for me. That was why I called. I need her to stop the burn.”

“Yeah,” Jamie said. “You’re right.”

The only person who could clear him was Susan Chen. He and Jamie spoke for another few minutes considering how Krychef would make contact but they couldn’t afford to stay on the phone much longer.

Jamie said, “What are you doing in the meantime?”

Zeke forced his mind into a calmer state. “EPA.”

“Good call,” Jamie praised him. “Keep in touch. Regularly.”

For obvious reasons, she couldn’t call him. Because if they found out she’d been in contact with him and hadn’t reported it she could get in trouble.

“Thanks,” Zeke swallowed past the ball of gratitude in his throat.

“Stay safe.”

“You too.” Zeke pressed the end button, then opened the back of the phone. He needed to make sure the GPS signal wasn’t transmitting and that there was no way to track this phone. If for some reason the NSA had tapped Lucas knowing that Jamie and Lucas were together, they might be monitoring his incoming and outgoing calls. He didn’t think that was the case but he wasn’t about to assume a thing.

Jamie’s willingness to keep in touch with him even though his status was damaging affected him.

“Shit.”

Sunshine gave him a strange look. The panic that had been lingering at the edge of his subconscious mind like the tide edging up the sand, slowly encroached on his ability to think and obliterated all rational thought.

“You okay, smart boy?” she asked.

She was right. He was smart. Smart enough to figure this out.

Zeke squared his shoulders. They had problems. Multiple. Obviously Jamie was actively tracking Susan Chen, so Zeke needed to let her keep on top of that situation. His next move had to be list each problem, break down the steps to correct it, and then in a logical, orderly manner execute the plan.

And part of the logical effort to solve problems was to use all assets at hand.

Sunshine glanced around the parking lot. “I assume we’re going shopping again.” A small smile quirked her peach lips and he could see her analyzing and discarding cars in the lot, trying to figure out which one they should steal to replace their ride.

That’s when Zeke realized he had the biggest asset of all standing right next to him.

“Actually we just need to switch out two Honda license plates and keep the car we have.” Zeke suppressed the pang of guilt that he’d left someone without their ride. He’d make it up to them by sending money to the registration address once he was out of this mess.

“Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do.” For the first time since this whole crazy adventure started, Zeke had the confidence to see it through. That was all Sunshine.

That’s when he realized he was more than just a little in love with her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” Zeke lied. “I just realized I’m not using all my resources.”

He gave her a steady look until understanding dawned in her gaze and a brilliant smile spread over her face like the sun rising over the horizon and bleeding onto the landscape.

And Zeke felt like he was ten feet tall.

“You’ll tell me about our connections?” Sunshine asked quietly. “Despite being classified?”

“Fuck classified.”

Twenty-Eight

Zeke swung into the driver’s seat of the Honda. His brain churning. He rubbed his palms together. “I can’t wait to mine that giant brain of yours.”

Jesus, could he be more of a nerd? What woman wanted to hear he was attracted to her brain?

He curled his hands around the steering wheel. Did he apologize for being a complete geek or try and gloss over? He thought about it for another minute.

Apologize.

“Um, sorry.” He shot her a glance, thinking she’d be irritated but she was smiling. “Sometimes I talk before I realize how it sounds.”

“Don’t be sorry.” She patted his bare knee. “I don’t get the opportunity to use my brain as often as I’d like. Logic puzzles and coming up with new fragrances only take me so far.”

Then she blushed and ducked her head as she realized she’d just confessed to doing simple logic puzzles.

Zeke’s skin sizzled where her hand touched him. But his heart electrified. She understood him. He felt as if he’d found a kindred spirit. Zeke deliberately lifted one hand from the wheel and placed it over hers.

“Fellow nerds unite.” He clenched her fingers and lifted their entwined hands in a fist pump.

Sunshine laughed out loud. The sound was like a waterfall, light and joyous, tumbling over his senses. He couldn’t deny that he wanted more than her brain. His semi started to rise. Just being around her seemed to be some sort of aphrodisiac. At random moments, his brain would shift to last night in their hotel room. Shift to the remembrance of Sunshine sleek and naked, like a sea nymph with her long hair draped over round breasts and flat stomach tickling his chest, as she bent to kiss him.

She’d gone from tentative to confident, blossoming with each new sexual experience. After a few hours, she’d intuitively learned what did it for him and set about ramping up his arousal. She’d accepted his foibles, sometimes his OCD could make him self-conscious but she hadn’t blinked.

Of course he’d had some lovers who mentioned that his attention to detail was a good thing. He’d had just as many who’d been a little freaked by his obsession with order. So it was kind of a mixed bag. He never knew what kind of response to expect.

Her other hand came up to cover her mouth. Her shadowed gray eyes widened and her gaze connected with his. The wonder there made more than his cock swell. Pride expanded his chest like propane filling the canopy of a hot air balloon and lifting him into the air. He understood that something amazing had just happened even if he didn’t understand exactly what that was.

“I…don’t laugh often.”

“Then I’m glad that you were able to laugh now.” Safety zone. He loved that she was comfortable enough that she could let loose with him.

Zeke cruised down Highway One, thankful that in the time it took them to leave the more populated town of San Luis Obispo, she had lightened up.

After about twenty minutes, she asked, “Where are we going?”

Zeke pulled off the highway and into the small secluded parking lot. “The beach.”

She swallowed and her gaze cut to the water. Sunshine took a deep breath and he tried not to notice the swell of her breasts as she inhaled.
Focus, Zeke.
And he was a total dog for thinking about sex while she was clearly wrestling with her demons.

“You’ll be okay,” he coaxed.

“Really?” She shifted so her back was to the ocean and her grey eyes were narrowed as she pierced him with sharp gaze. “I watched my grandparents drown.”

She addressed her fear straight up. A misplaced sense of pride swelled through him.

She opened her mouth, he guessed to tell him he had no idea what he was talking about, but he interrupted her before she could speak. “Okay if you don’t want to face your fears, no judgment, then you can just sit on the blanket. Nowhere near the water.”

“Why the beach?” Her fingers tightened on his.

“It’s temporary.” He glanced at her. The color had drained from Sunshine’s face and her hand went lax in his. “Every Evasion Plan of Action requires a place to hole up and hide.”

“We’re hiding on the beach?”

“No. I am going to find an empty rental house,” Zeke said. “And we will hole up there.”

“And do what?”

“Wait, plan, execute. Talk.”

She sighed.

“First rule of the acronym Bliss, part of any EPA is to Blend.” Zeke handed her one of the bags. “Got you a swim suit and a floppy hat. Let your hair down rather than in keep it in your signature braid.”

The bikini was a simple blue cotton, macramé design. “But—“

“Camouflage, babe,” he said as he pulled in to a parking space.

They were at the same beach where they first met.

So much had happened in the last few days that Zeke could hardly believe the changes. His life had completely turned around. He’d gone from thinking only about himself, to shifting his attention to Sunshine, and now thinking about them both. He realized that he wanted to clear his name
and
protect her.

So that one day they could end up on a beach for fun.

***

I was back at my test beach. The one I liked to visit in the middle of the night to work on my fear of water. Like some surreal Groundhog Day where I kept returning to the same place to learn my lesson. But what if I’d changed my mind? What if I didn’t want to learn?

My palms were sweating. And a sick churning had taken up residence in my stomach. Which come to think of it, hadn’t been fed today. Somehow Zeke Hawthorne had convinced me to come with him. And suddenly I was confronting my biggest fears.

I awkwardly changed into the skimpy swimsuit, removing my underwear from beneath my clothes and then replacing them with the bikini. Fortunately he’d also bought an oversized sweatshirt, because the beach was going to be cold. Even with a mid-October Indian Summer, the sand and the water would be freezing. Not that I wanted to get anywhere near the water.

The need to check in with my mother was weighing heavily on me. My stepfather had found me yesterday, what if he’d found Mama too?

“I want to call the answering service.”

Zeke had pulled off his threadbare t-shirt. My mouth went dry at the rippling expanse of bare skin. “Go for it. But keep it short.”

I nodded mutely and turned on my phone. I called in to the service and pressed the security code to listen to the messages. There were two messages from my mother, which was odd. It hadn’t been that long since the last one.

“I forgot to tell you a second ago,” Mama’s voice rang in my ear. A melancholy hit me, so sharp it pierced my heart and made it difficult to breathe. “Your Uncle sent a friend. Pretty sure he’s with you now.”

Uncle Carson sent a friend? Mama thought Zeke was Uncle Carson’s friend. That’s why she’d been so willing to let me go with Zeke. Her instant trust made so much more sense now.

As the message center gave me the date and time the message was left, I realized that our messages must have crossed last night.

I deleted the message then pressed the button for the next one.

“He was there?!” The distress in Mama’s voice came through loud and clear. “Oh my God. Are you okay? How did you get away? Oh, I wish I could give you a hug. Leave me another message. Let me know you are okay. Be safe. And no sign of him here.” Wherever here was.

I punched in the numbers so I could leave her a message. “We’re fine.” Which wasn’t precisely true but at least she had escaped from her stepfather. No need to worry her mother with all the other craziness going on. “Let’s check in twice daily. Love you.”

I finally realized that this whole situation was nuts. The threat of John Stanley had to be eliminated once and for all. But I wasn’t sure how to go about making that happen.

“Ready?” Zeke asked.

I stared through the stand of eucalyptus trees at the rippling waves of the ocean. The fog still lingered, and the sun played peek a boo with the clouds, flickering in and out. A ray broke through the cloud and shone on the gentle waves of the protected cove.

So pretty. Like a postcard. But the effect was anything but calming. My stomach churned and my limbs filled with a paralyzing fear. Was I ready? No. “Yes.”

I squared my shoulders.

“You’re going to be okay.”

I sure hoped so.

We walked to the beach together. Zeke had his new phone in his palm, while I carried the thin blanket we’d purchased for inside the tent.

I shuddered. We better not be camping. It would remind me too much of those early days on the run from my stepfather.

Zeke grabbed my free hand and swung my arm back and forth like a little kid. “Cover.” His palm was warm, comforting, a lifeline as we neared the encroaching waves. The salty scent of brine spread through my senses. A brisk breeze whipped my hair around my face and I tugged the floppy hat low over my brow.