“Yeah.” She sniffed hard, grabbing another tissue. “Absolutely. I’m on it.”
He left her to it, the tapping on the keyboard fading as he went back into the bedroom and sat down to study satellite photos of the site.
He’d memorize every tree, stone and twig before tomorrow.
17
Elisa hadn’t expected to sleep, not after twelve hours of laborious gaming, followed by that long, intense conversation with Josh. But once her brother had been forced by his captors to stop playing, she’d gone down like a ton of bricks and slept for…she checked the digital clock by the bed. Four hours. It was now seven AM.
Nate reached out. “Where are you going?” His voice was groggy.
“I just want to check the Obelisk,” she said. “I want the lines of communication between us open at all times. What if he needs to tell us something?”
“It’s early, babe. They shut him down at 3 AM, and they won’t let him get going again this soon. Like he said, he can’t afford to draw attention to himself. And he told you already that they usually don’t even unlock the door to his room until eleven.”
“Just in case,” she said stubbornly. “I should be watching whenever I can. He said when Gil’s there they make him stop gaming earlier. When Gil is gone, they’re looser with the rules. They let him play until three or four in the morning.”
Nate nodded, rubbing his eyes. “Good to know. Let’s go fire it up.”
She was being irrational, but that point of connection seemed so delicate and improbable to her. Like a spark in danger of going out. She wanted to cradle it, feed it.
Nate was a good sport. He opened up the saved game and promptly got her back onto the Obelisk, which only had thirteen players writing on it at that hour of the day. None of them were GeekwadX1000. She would just have to be patient.
Nate was talking on the phone. “….don’t want to travel far,” he said. “Secluded, but near town, and with excellent internet connection…yeah.” He listened for a while. Elisa could hear a high-pitched voice holding forth on the other line. “I know, but you’ve got the magic touch,” Nate soothed. “You found this hotel, right? And it was perfect….nope, that’s none of your business…yeah, yeah. I promise I’ll send you and Kenny on a nice vacation when it’s all over.” Another burst of yapping. “But it doesn’t have to be large,” he said. “It’s just a parking place for Elisa and her guard. Oh, and could you order some lunch for us? Sandwiches for six, at two PM. Pick something out for us. Okay. Thanks, Gina. Later.”
He caught her watching, but his smile faded as he studied her face. “What?” he asked. “What’s wrong now?”
“You said, ‘a parking place for Elisa,” she said. “You think I’m sitting this out?”
Nate’s eyes hardened. “That’s exactly what you’re doing. I need you plugged into the Obelisk. That’s how you can help us. And I mean, really help us. You can add genuine value, not just tag along putting yourself and us into more danger.”
“I can’t just sit here with a keyboard and let you fight my battles for me!”
“You’re my eyes and ears on the ground,” Nate said. “You’re a crucial element to the mission. I just wish we could spare two guys to cover you and not just one, but I want to hit them now, while their ranks are thinned. Half of Gil’s team is combing Shaw’s Crossing for you, so we’re pushing forward with this tonight.”
“Can’t I do ground control from the car?” she asked. “That way I can at least be there when you come out with him.”
“No,” he said, his voice hard. “You don’t have training, and there’s no time to teach you. I need you on that keyboard, safe, so I can focus. And if you were thinking straight, you’d know that I’m right.”
She bit her lip and looked away. “Fine. I’ll cover the Obelisk. But don’t waste a man guarding me. I can stay alone. Josh needs you. And Gil has no way of finding out where I am.”
“Nope,” Nate said. “It’s all set up. You and Mitch stay here. We need to move as soon as Gina sends the address. You’ve got a few minutes before breakfast if you want to grab a shower.”
There was no reasoning with the man, so she gave up trying. Elisa showered quickly, and pulled some items out of yesterday’s shopping bags more or less at random. She ended up wearing black fleece-lined leggings and a long, fuzzy crimson sweater that hung halfway down her thighs, and cute, shiny black combat boots.
Nate gave her an approving glance when she came out, and walked over to her, stroking his hands down over her shoulders, petting the silky fuzz of her sweater. “Excellent. I love that color on you,” he said. “Like the blouse you wore at the wedding. And your winter coat. That deep red color. It makes your skin glow.”
“Wow,” she said, self-conscious. “You certainly have been paying attention.”
“You have no idea,” he said.
Suddenly, they were kissing again. She was so emotionally primed by that crazy night, his lightest touch set her on fire.
The kiss directed itself toward the bed, and soon she was stretched out with Nate sprawled on top of her. His heat and weight felt so good. She wound her legs around him, squeezing him closer—and a knock on the door struck them motionless.
“Room service!”
“Aw, fuck.” Nate blew out a sigh. He rolled off her and got up, seizing his pistol and tucking it smoothly into his jeans as he went toward the door.
Elisa smoothed her hair back and tried to calm her heart down. She had to get a grip. They had a job to do, harrowing for her, and incredibly dangerous for Josh, and Nate. Mace and Jim Wong, too, incidentally. All of whom were heroically putting themselves in the line of fire without the slightest hesitation.
And damn it. No more fucking tears allowed. No. She’d blubbered most of the long conversation with Josh. She was exhausted from crying. Her abs hurt from sobbing. Her eyes were sore and reddened.
“Breakfast,” Nate called out.
Elisa had ceased to be astonished at the quantity of food Nate ordered. In the end, it seemed that very little of it went to waste, though she couldn’t imagine where he put it. The man had no fat on his taut, sinewy body. He must have the metabolism of a blast furnace.
She tucked in a respectable quantity of food herself, considering how anxious she felt, and they worked on discussing the night before until Gina called Nate back. Nate stared into space thoughtfully as he listened to his assistant on the phone.
“Sounds fine,” he said. “We don’t need a gym or a pool, but they won’t get in our way. As long as we have a good visual of the surrounding area in every direction and solid internet connection, we’re good. Yes…two o’clock for lunch delivery. Yes. I know. You are magnificent, Gina. I bow before your vast cosmic power. Yeah, you bet. Two weeks in Hawaii for you and Kenny, minimum.” His eyes shifted to Elisa, smiling. “Yes, she is…yeah, I look forward to having you meet her, too.”
Nate closed the call. “We pick up the key from a rental agency in Bellamy. He’s expecting us before noon, so we need to get moving.” He tapped a message into his phone. “I sent Mace and Jim the address. And I’ve already checked us out of this hotel. Gotta pack those consoles up, babe.”