Devious Minds (16 page)

His smile widened, and he glanced at the floor before returning his gaze to mine. “It is for the simple truth that, in one night, you not only infiltrated Cypher’s organization, but you identified that he was hiding as one of his men in plain sight. Knowing what I do about him, and the efforts we have made to identify him, I have not believed it possible.

“He has chosen his name for just that purpose... to be no one and no thing. There, but not. If he pretends to be one of the men, he not only deceives them, but keeps his identity a secret from all. If you know who he is, you have done more than anyone who has ever tried before.

“You have succeeded where many others have failed. So... you are either telling the truth about your premonitions, or you are working for Cypher... or you could even be Cypher. But, knowing Blake as I do, I do not think the latter. Therefore, you must be the former.”

I nodded, a little intimidated by his reasoning, but it made sense. “Okay. So what’s next?”

“The bioweapon. What do you think it is, and how do we find it?”

“Uh... I don’t know too much more about it than what I told you. With my premonitions, I only caught a glimpse of a ventilation grate. It reminded me of the metro, because it had tile all around it. But I still could be wrong about that. Maybe it contains some kind of air-borne virus, or a gas of some kind, and they plan to let it out there. But that’s just a guess.”

“I see what you mean, but that still gives us a place to start. I will let you get some rest, but I would like to meet with you tomorrow. There are many things you could do to help with this. Is that possible?”

“Sure,” I agreed. “I’d like to help if I can.”

“Good. I will call you,” he said, sounding relieved. “Please call me any time before then if you remember anything that will help.”

“Okay,” I said, then added, “What hospital is Blake at? Is someone protecting him?”

“Oui. Do not worry, he is under guard. I will let you know how he is in the morning and if you can visit him.”

I nodded, and Gabriel walked toward the door, with Ramos following behind. He said something to Ramos and then left.

“What did he say?” I asked.

“He told me to keep you here for the night, and to make sure that I locked the door after he left.” He was thinking that was a no-brainer on both points, but appreciated that Gabriel believed me and wanted me safe. “I want you to stay here tonight as well,” Ramos continued. “But you’re welcome to the bed.”

“Oh... yeah, thanks. Um... this couch is actually quite comfy. I’ll be fine here.”

“Suit yourself,” he said. “But let’s get a pillow from the bed for you. And you should change into something more comfortable. I’ve got an old t-shirt you can wear.” He said this as he walked into the bedroom. A moment later he brought me the pillow and the shirt. “I’ll be in the bathroom for a bit. Go ahead and get comfortable.” With that, he turned away and disappeared into the other room.

Grateful to get out of my blouse and skirt, I quickly shed my clothes and slipped on the t-shirt. It was soft and worn, and big enough that it hit me mid-thigh. After I put it on, I couldn’t help inhaling Ramos’ scent, which sent a tingle of desire over me. But I didn’t let it get to me. I mean, since I couldn’t have him, at least I could enjoy wearing his shirt, right? Besides, it made me feel warm and protected.

Not wanting him to catch me swooning over his shirt, I hurried to get the blanket and pillow sorted out comfortably on the couch, and then quickly snuggled under the covers. After a few minutes, my eyes closed from sheer exhaustion, and I let my mind drift until sleep claimed me.

Chapter 8

I woke a few hours later to the gray light of dawn seeping under the curtains. It took a moment to place where I was, then all the horror of the night before flooded back. I glanced toward the bedroom. Although the covers were mussed, the bed lay empty. The sound of running water came from the bathroom, and I realized that was what had woken me.

Grabbing for my purse, I pulled out my phone to check the time. Six-thirty in the morning. No wonder I was tired. My phone was almost out of juice and, as much as I liked wearing Ramos’ t-shirt, I knew I needed to get to Blake’s apartment for my things. If Ramos went with me, it should be safe enough to go, right?

The water turned off, drawing my gaze to the bathroom door with the idea that I could catch a glimpse of Ramos in a towel or something. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn’t seem to pull my attention away. After a few minutes, I let out my breath, knowing it probably wasn’t going to happen. Then I did a mental head-slap, and shook my head in disgust. What was wrong with me?

Just then, the door opened, and Ramos came out with a towel draped low around his hips. Holy guacamole! My breath caught, but I tried not to move or make a sound to give myself away. His wet hair was slicked back and dripping a little. The light from the bathroom spilled onto his bare chest, sending shadows over the contours of his shoulders and arms, which illuminated the movement of his muscles as he gathered a few clothes from his suitcase.

He hesitated, and the towel slipped. It hung there precariously and, for a moment, I thought it might drop completely off. My breath hitched a little, and his head snapped up. His eyes narrowed and he glanced into the room, right at me.

I couldn’t have closed my eyes to pretend I was asleep if my life depended on it. But in the gray morning light, I didn’t think he could see if my eyes were open or not. At least I sure hoped he couldn’t. Still, I caught his smile, along with a surge of satisfaction from him before he headed back into the bathroom and closed the door to get dressed.

My breath came out in a whoosh, and I groaned. That was close, and he knew I’d been watching. I quickly sat up and pulled on my ruined leggings, then got all the way dressed, even slipping into my leather jacket. The only thing left were my boots, but I could wait to put them on. Still, I felt more confident that I could face him, now that I had all my clothes on.

I sat back down on the couch and pushed the pillow against the arm rest, then pulled the blanket over my legs and got comfortable. I sighed and relaxed, then closed my eyes while a small smile twisted my lips. No matter what else happened while I was here, at least I’d have that little vision to remember.

I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew, Ramos was pushing on my shoulder to wake me up. “Hey,” he said with a grin. “You got dressed.”

“Uh... yeah.” I sat up and stretched. “I thought it best under the circumstances.”

That startled a laugh out of him, since he didn’t think I’d be so direct. “Well, do you want to take a shower?”

“Uh... I wouldn’t mind.”

“It’s okay, Shelby. You’re safe with me.” He was thinking he wouldn’t try anything, unless I came out in a towel, and it nearly fell off. Then he wouldn’t be responsible for his actions.

“You are such a tease. Okay, I’ll go freshen up. In the meantime, do you think I can plug my phone into your charger? It’s nearly dead.”

“Sure,” he agreed.

I handed it over and grabbed my purse on the way to the bathroom. “Thanks.” I paused and glanced at him over my shoulder. “Hey, I’d really like to get my things today. Do you think we can swing by Blake’s apartment?”

“Is that where you were staying?”

“Yeah, Blake has a great apartment here. I think he said it was in the fourth arrondissement or something like that. Anyway, do you think it’s safe to go back?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Let me think about it.” He was thinking that he didn’t like that I was staying in an apartment with Blake. He thought I’d be in a hotel with my own room and everything.

“I do have my own room,” I said.

“Fine. Go shower. Use any of my stuff you need. I’ll have breakfast sent up while you’re in there.”

I took a fast shower, knowing Ramos waited for me. The hotel provided lotion, which I used, but I wasn’t about to wear Ramos’ deodorant, even though I sniffed it just for fun. It was hard to put the same dirty clothes on, but at least I was clean.

My tangled hair was another matter, but Ramos had a comb on the counter, so I used it to get the tangles out. Then I dried it a little with the hair dryer so it wasn’t sopping wet. I had some make-up in my purse and applied some eyeliner and mascara. Finally ready, I opened the door and stepped out.

The smell of breakfast hit me first, and I followed the smell to the French doors, which opened onto a balcony. Here, the air was decidedly chilly but, with the sun shining onto the table and chairs in the center of the balcony, it was beautiful and enchanting.

“Is it too cold out here?” Ramos asked, setting his fork down. He’d finished his food and reached to sip from his cup. “We can go inside if you want.”

“No, it’s so pretty here. I wouldn’t want to miss enjoying it.” I pulled my jacket close around me and sat down. The balcony overlooked a beautiful garden in the center of the building, and there were several trees with pink buds on the verge of blossoming. “Wow, I bet it’s going to be amazing here when those trees bloom in a few weeks.”

Ramos nodded, then pointed at the plate under the lid. “I got you an omelet, and there’s some fruit in this bowl and croissants in that basket. There’s also coffee, hot chocolate, and juice.”

“Wow, this looks great. Thanks.” I took the lid off my plate and dug in, surprised at how hungry I was. I poured some juice into my glass, hot chocolate into my cup, and then took a bite of a flakey croissant, before digging into my omelet.

Almost done eating, I glanced at Ramos, who’d been watching me eat with interest. “What?”

“Nothing,” he said. “It’s just fun to see you enjoy your food.”

I smiled, then picked up that he was sorry for what he had to tell me, and that he hoped it didn’t ruin this moment, or my appetite. “What’s going on?”

He let out a breath, upset that I’d picked up that particular thought. He’d tried to hide it, but knew keeping secrets from me was a full-time job.

“Is it Blake?” Worry clenched my stomach and my appetite left in a hurry.

“Yes. Gabriel called while you were in the shower. He’s not dead,” he said quickly. “But they’re not sure he’s going to make it.”

“Oh,” I said.

“He’s been asking for you. Gabriel wants you to come to the hospital after you’re done eating.”

I swallowed and nodded, fearing the worst. “Okay. We’d better go then.” Knowing I couldn’t eat anything else now, I got up from the table and hurried inside to put on my boots. Ramos followed, feeling bad that he couldn’t have kept it from me a little longer.

The drive to the hospital didn’t take as long as I’d wanted, since I dreaded going in the first place. The knot in my stomach seemed to grow the closer we got. We parked the car, but climbing the stairs to the entrance took all of my strength, and I had to lean on Ramos a little. He knew the sight of blood made me woozy, so seeing Blake all banged up and nearly dead, was probably going to be hard.

I took a deep breath and stood up straight. “I can do this,” I said to him, but it was mostly to reassure myself. After a brief ride in the elevator, we turned down a hallway, past a nurse’s station, and found Gabriel talking to a police officer.

“Ah... good. You are here,” Gabriel said, and ushered us toward a door. He hesitated and caught my gaze. “He is inside, but I want to prepare you. His face is badly bruised, but he can talk, although not very well. He is hooked up to many monitors, but he is actually doing better now than he was earlier when I called.” I caught a couple of his thoughts that weren’t in French, picking up that it was probably the prospect of seeing me that did it.

I swallowed, then nodded that I understood, and he opened the door. Inside, Blake’s bed and all the equipment took up most of the space in the tiny room, and he lay on his back with the bed slightly propped up. There were tubes everywhere, and his hair poked up at all angles. One eye was swollen shut, and that side of his face was purple.

At the side of his bed, I took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m here, Blake.”

His good eye fluttered open, and he turned his face toward me. The uninjured side of his mouth turned up in a smile. “You came,” he slurred. “Good. Sorry about this...” He was thinking how sorry he was to put me in so much danger, and he was more than grateful I’d escaped.

“It’s okay. I’m fine. You just need to get better, all right?”

“I need you to do something... for me.” He was thinking about the files at his apartment... in a special hiding place. If he died, they needed to be given to his superior at CIA headquarters. Some of the intel was old, but valuable contacts were in those files, and he didn’t want them lost or stolen, especially the one on Cypher. If I was going up against him, there were some important things I needed to know... that everyone needed to know.

“Files,” he whispered. “Only for you... give them to Wells... in my...” he swallowed, unable to continue.

“Your apartment,” I finished for him. “Your contacts... I know... where are they?”

He thought of the hidden compartment in the floorboards under the dining room table and chairs. “Compartment... under the rug...”

“I got it. Under the table and chairs in the kitchen.”

His one-eyed gaze sharpened, and he stared at me. He was thinking,
what the hell
, and I smiled.

“Blake, if you really want to know what the hell is going on, you’re just going to have to pull through. Got it? You can’t die.” He was thinking,
bossy
, but he liked it just the same.

“There’s something you need to know,” I continued. “Cypher was there. He was part of the group, but not the leader, just one of the guys. None of them know who he really is. But I figured it out. I’m going to help Gabriel stop him. Is that what you want?”

His gaze turned to Gabriel and Ramos, who stood at a respectful distance beside the door. He wondered what the hell Ramos was doing there. He trusted Gabriel, but wasn’t so sure about everyone he worked with. Still, his gaze came back to me, and he gave a slight nod before closing his eyes.

“You have to get better, Blake. You hear me?” His eyes were closed, and he didn’t respond, but in his mind, I heard him say that he’d do his best. “Good. That’s all I ask. Don’t give up.” I heard an okay in his mind, and I squeezed his hand. He squeezed my hand back while thinking about how I needed to be careful, and he was disappointed that I was having all the fun and, what the hell? How did I know where it was? Then he drifted off to sleep.

I let out a deep breath and stepped away. Hopefully, he wouldn’t remember much of this one-sided conversation once he woke up for real. I just hoped he did wake up. I hated seeing him like this, and hot anger swelled inside me at Cypher and his crew. Cypher needed to be found and stopped before he hurt anyone else.

I left Blake’s side and hurried out the door, stepping into the hall with Ramos and Gabriel following behind. Letting out a sigh, my shoulders sagged with sadness. I had a feeling he’d pull through, but it wasn’t going to be easy.

“Did you understand him?” Gabriel asked.

“Yes,” I answered.

Gabriel nodded, but he frowned, and I could tell that he didn’t exactly believe me. “That is good.” He glanced between me and Ramos. “I hope you can come to headquarters and look at some pictures of terrorists which we have assembled, to see if any of them look like the man you know as Cypher. Would that be possible?”

“Sure, but I have to get my things first. I can meet with you in about an hour. Would that be all right?”

“I... am concerned for your safety. Although I am sure he is busy to carry out his plans. I believe Cypher would want to kill you if he knew where you were. Yes?” He glanced at Ramos. “It is a risk. Can you guarantee her safety?” Ramos glanced at me, knowing Gabriel was right. He caught my pleading gaze and frowned.

“There’s something I need to do for Blake,” I said. “So I’d like to go.”

“Fine,” Ramos said, pinning me with his hard gaze. “But if anything seems suspicious, anything at all...”

“I know. We won’t go in,” I agreed.

“When you are done, come to my office at our headquarters,” Gabriel said. He wrote on a card and handed it to me. “Here is the address. The gate, it is guarded. They will have to let you in. I will tell them to expect you, but you might have to wait for a moment while you are approved.”

“All right, thanks,” I said. “We’ll be there shortly. And... thanks for helping Blake.”

“Of course, we will keep watch over him.”

I nodded and followed Ramos out of the building. Once we were in the car, he turned to me with a serious glint in his eyes. “So what did Blake want you to do?”

“He wanted me to retrieve some files from his apartment. I think one of them has information about Cypher, which he wanted me to have. They’re all for someone named Wells with the CIA. I think that’s his boss. Anyway, they’re in his apartment, in the floor under the rug.”