“Let me just leave Josh a quick message before you break it down,” she said quickly. “So he doesn’t think I abandoned him.”
“I bet that would never even cross his mind,” Nate told her. “No one lucky enough to have you for a sister would think that for one second.”
“That’s sweet. But he’s been through so much. I want him to have something from me the second he logs on.” She sat down and typed into the dialog box.
we have 2 change our location. incommunicado for an hour or so. will check back in asap. love u. stay strong.
She saved the game and closed out. “Let’s get moving.
Between the two of them they got all the stuff dragged down and loaded into his rented Jeep. The morning was gray and raw, snow fluttering down, but the roads were mostly clear. They drove to Bellamy to pick up the keys, and from there, headed straight to the house in the hills that Gina had secured for their base of operations.
It was a strikingly beautiful house. Modern, glassy, austere. Perched up on a hill with a clear view all the way around it. There was an indoor pool and a sheltered rock garden atrium in the center. Picture windows on every side opened onto a wraparound deck that showed a vast panorama of wintry mountain landscape.
Nate and Elisa worked feverishly to get the computer monitor and gamer console set back up. Elisa logged back into the game and found both her and Josh’s points dangerously low, so Nate siphoned money out of his credit card and topped them up. Elisa had to look away as his avatar once again sliced its wrist with the ceremonial knife and sprayed gouts of virtual blood onto the stained altar.
“That is vile,” she said. “Whoever designed this game is twisted.”
“Yeah,” Nate agreed. “And thank God for them.”
“Amen,” she agreed, leaning to peer at the pop-up menu.
GeekwadX1000 appeared on the list, to her intense relief. “He’s online,” she said, using the wand to tap Josh’s line on the Obelisk, where Josh had left a brief message. The translation appeared in the dialog box. w8ing
im here, she typed back.
thank god i was afraid it was just a dream. tnx 4 the points btw
no dream she typed. im really here and i wont stop until u r free
“Let me talk to him,” Nate said.
passing u to nate. more l8r, she typed.
Elisa sat back and watched Nate typing into the computer, hair dangling over his face, eyes narrowed in concentration. His fingers flew. Nate in work mode, utterly focused. Sexy. Wow, she must have done something good in a past life to deserve this.
She went into the kitchen and loaded up the coffee maker to keep busy, and to avoid getting weepy again. When the water had gurgled through and the pot was full, she poured two cups and brought them back to the room with the gaming consoles, offering one to Nate. “Brace yourself,” she warned. “I made it brutally strong.”
“Perfect,” he said without looking up, and accepted it, taking a sip. “I have to stop for a while anyway, because Josh just told me he has to go do some work in the kitchen. He has assigned chores after meals. He’s on dishwasher duty. You know what? Your little brother is the perfect hostage, from a rescuer’s point of view.”
“Oh, yeah?”
Nate’s eyes studied the script of their past messages on the screen as he sipped his coffee. “Absolutely. He’s smart, and mentally organized. He’s been paying close attention, analyzing everything, running escape scenarios from the start. He thinks that the battery is corroded on the emergency generator, based on a power outage he remembers during a ski trip a few years ago. He doubts that it ever got repaired back then, because your father wasn’t there at the time, and Josh never told him. So he wants to try to cutting the power when we get there. He’s a gold mine of good intel, considering the stress he’s been under. You should be proud of him.”
That was the last straw. Here she went again. Elisa turned her back and set her mug down before covering up her face, which felt like it was shaking into pieces.
“Whoa!” Nate rose his feet and grabbed her shoulders. “What’s wrong?”
“Please, just ignore me, okay?”
“Like hell.” His voice was gentle, but relentless as ever. “Talk to me.”
“I don’t have anything to say,” she told him. “It’s obvious stuff. I’m just scared. That he’ll be hurt, that you’ll be hurt. Or killed. That I’m making a mistake, taking on Gil, getting you involved. I also know we don’t have time for this shit right now. I’ll fall apart later, when we’re not on the clock. So carry on. Pay me no mind.”
Nate just dragged her into a hug so tight, she could barely breathe.
It felt wonderful. It held her shattered pieces together. And he didn’t get bored, or awkward, or feel embarrassed by the silent hug. He just kept at it, a constant, tender squeeze. Relentless and heroic. A silent, patient message.
For as long as you need.
18
When the shaking subsided, Elisa signaled to him with a pat to the back and a soft kiss pressed against his jaw. “I’m good now,” she murmured.
“Are you sure?” He leaned back, studying her face.
She gave him a tremulous smile. “Yes, really. Thanks. That helped.”
“Your brother is lucky to have you,” he told her.
Elisa let out a crack of laughter. “Get real, Nate. Nothing was happening for my brother until you got involved in this. You’re the sum total of my luck. You caught the message in the video, you bought the computer and gaming equipment, you dragged me through that hellish game by brute force, you poured out all your blood on the altar, and now you’re rallying the troops and coming up with a plan to bust him out of jail. You are amazing. You did it all of it. What did I do?”
“A lot,” he said emphatically. “You’re been hanging onto a demon by the tail, all by yourself. You’ve forced Gil to stay his hand. You’ve been in a stand-off with that filthy bastard for months, completely alone. You’ve been keeping your brother alive until you could catch a break. Never giving up. Never giving in. That fucking counts.”
She wiped her eyes, laughing. “Wow. That’s a very nice spin on this situation, Nate. So on top of all your other many gifts, you give amazing pep talks.”
He wiped her tears away with his thumb. That gorgeous smile made her heart go all soft and hot. Damn. Now was not a time for feeling vulnerable.
She pulled away from him and started pacing restlessly through the huge, beautiful living room. Focusing in on it, to distract herself. She hugged herself as she walked, shivering even though it wasn’t cold, and her sweater was thick and cozy.
The room was big and bright, with fabulous windows at every turn, and odd but harmonious shapes and angles. Gil’s decorating preferences at the Roarke town house in San Francisco had been old-style classic. Heavy dark wood paneling, lots of massive, stiff antique furniture. Oppressive, like the man himself.
“This place is gorgeous,” she said. “This is how I’d decorate, if I were left to my own devices. Light colors. Lots of light and empty space. Huge windows. Perfect.”
Nate followed her through the dining room and kitchen, then into the glassed in corridor that ran on the next side of the big central atrium. Through the glass wall, they saw a beautiful large indoor pool, and a big hot tub. Curls of steam rose from it.