Jessie grew serious, the smugness leaving her, if only for a heartbeat. “Of course, Georgina. I’ll protect them with my life.” And then she left us to fetch more cat carriers and help her husband with the transfer.
Gamma turned to me. “An exorcism?”
“It’s a good cover story,” I said. “Besides, once this is all over, we might draw more customers because of it. I bet folks will be intrigued by the prospect of an exorcism at an inn.”
“You might be right.” Gamma smiled at me before leaving to watch over Belle-Blue and her husband.
Brian tapped me on the shoulder. “We might draw more customers in?”
“Yeah. Think about it. When there was one murder here, it was almost like a selling point, but with this many, it’s a bit—”
“That’s not what I’m saying.” Brian held up a hand. “You said ‘we.’ You were talking about ‘after this is all over’ and how both you and Georgina might draw in more customers to the inn.”
“Oh.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “I—well, I kinda haven’t decided what I’m doing yet. Whether I’m leaving or… you know.”
“Staying here?”
“Yeah.”
“What about your job?” Smulder asked. “What about… yeah, your job?”
“You were the one who told me I wasn’t exactly cut out for my line of work, remember?”
“Sure, but—”
My phone buzzed in the pocket of my jeans, and I wormed it out. Lauren’s number and name flashed on my screen. “Give me a second,” I said. “I have to take this.” Saved from the awkward conversation by the… chef?
I entered the dining room. “Hello?”
“Charlie,” Lauren breathed. “I’m so glad I caught you.”
“Where are you?” I asked, instantly. If she hadn’t left Gossip—
“Don’t worry. We’re on vacation, just like you and Georgina suggested. We’re fine. Safe.”
I let out a sigh. “Good. Then why are you calling?”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what you told me about,” Lauren said. “And I thought I should remind you about what happened with Jason. Remember how he hid out in that cabin in the woods?”
“Sure, I do.” The cabin that was on the inn’s grounds. A perfect hiding spot that the NSIB had used until recently to do surveillance.
“Well, when we were talking about his experience in couples' therapy, he mentioned that there were times when people came close to finding him in that cabin. And that when he was scared one night, he hid out in an underground bunker. He said there was a secret hatch he found underneath a rug in the cabin. I thought maybe… that information might be useful to you.”
Now that was new information. I’d assumed that the NSIB would let us know if they found anything suspicious, but maybe they hadn’t? Or Grant simply hadn’t told us about it?
“Thank you, Lauren. That’s super useful.”
“Good. Just stay safe.”
“We will.” I hung up, my heart pounding. We had a lead. Could the cabin in the woods be connected to the inn? And if it was… why hadn’t Grant told us about it?
24
“This place is amazing,” Brian said, his eyes wide as dinner plates. He’d never actually been inside my grandmother’s secret armory before. I didn’t blame him for his shock—Gamma’s underground basement was every agent’s fantasy.
“Welcome to the dark side,” I replied, and patted him on the back as I strolled by.
Gamma had taken her place at her touchscreen desk near the front of the room. She tapped several times on the screen, opening up storage containers with a push of a button, bringing up hidden platforms that held mannequins bearing armor.
“I’ve got a man’s suit here somewhere,” Gamma said. “Ordered it just in case, though I’ve never had a reason to use it.”
“Why do you have one?”
“Because it’s good to be prepared for any eventuality, Charlotte. And it seems I was right.”
Smulder stood staring, speechless now, and I grinned, heading off toward the armor mannequin that was outfitted with everything a woman my size would need.
“Changing room is in the back,” Gamma called to Smulder. “The fit might be a little loose on you, but it will have to do.”
“Thanks,” he managed, and collected the armor off the mannequin.
We took turns changing into our outfits, Smulder going last and emerging with a well-fitted bulletproof vest, but his top slightly loose. It was supposed to be a skin-tight black, breathable top with long sleeves. He grimaced. “Looks like you were expecting a bigger man.”
“A woman can dream,” Gamma said.
I snorted a laugh—it felt like the first time I’d felt mirth in ages—and we headed off to collect weapons. Combat knife, pistol, a single grenade, smoke bomb, and a flashbang. I strapped on a utility belt and slotted everything into its right place.
Now that we were preparing for Kyle’s arrival, I felt more in control. More at peace than when I’d simply been sitting back and waiting for something to happen.
It was always better knowing what you were up against and even better preparing for it.
“Ready?” Gamma asked.
“Ready.”
“Synchronize watches, please. And here.” Gamma opened a small case and extracted a flesh-colored patch from it. She placed one on my throat, another on Smulder’s, and the last on hers, then handed out earpieces. “Try not to shout. I’m not deaf.”
“Right,” I said. “Ready?”
“Not quite. One more thing.” She retreated to one of the many silver boxes she’d summoned from her desk and returned. “Night vision contacts.” She opened the silver box. “Insert them carefully.”
I did as she’d asked and noticed no difference in my vision.
“They adapt to the lack of light.”
“Awesome,” Smulder breathed.
She rewarded him with a quick grin. “Now we’re ready. Mission objective,” Gamma said, “is to reach the cabin and clear it of hostiles. I will take point. You will move on my mark. Any objection to that?” She directed the question at Smulder, who had never been on one of her impromptu operations before.
“None.”
“Good. Then let’s move out.”
And
