Lily hung up, pocketed the phone, and zipped the duffel. “Ready. You guys stay here. I’ll get the car and bring it as close to-”
She turned to see Jude leaning against Liam, eyes closed. He was coughing into a tissue, the sound rattling ominously.
“Just hurry,” Liam said, voice raw with emotion. “He’s really sick.”
She nodded and hurried out, heading for the check- in building and the front desk when what she really wanted to do was throw herself in their arms and beg for forgiveness. Even if Jude believed her involvement to be what she claimed-that of an agent following a superior’s orders-he’d never forgive her for endangering Liam.
His dearest friend had nearly been killed. Because of her.
No, because of Dietz, the bastard!
But to Jude, there would be no difference.
Renting the car went smoothly and while she took care of the paperwork, she discreetly scanned the lobby. She didn’t see the big man or anyone who appeared to take too much of an interest, but then, agents were trained to blend into their surroundings.
After making sure most in the vicinity heard she and Liam were going “sightseeing,” since their lover was ill today, she grabbed the keys and moved the car to the lot closest to their suite. Then she walked back, twirling them and humming a little. As though she hadn’t a single care.
In the bedroom, Lily paused, considering how to do this. Jude was barely hanging on to consciousness, Liam’s arms around him. The tissue in his hand was flecked with blood. He was bleeding internally, the drug breaking his system down.
A wet washcloth lay on the bed, telling her Liam had tried to clean him up. At least the blood was gone from his face.
Blinking back the tears, she steeled herself mentally. If she lost it now, they’d never get out of here alive.
“We’re going to have to just support him between us,” she said. “There’s no way to finesse this. If they see us, we’re screwed.”
“I’m ready.” Liam slung the duffel bag over his back, then draped one of Jude’s arms around his shoulders. Lily got the other.
“Jude, try to help us a little. On three.”
At the count of three, they stood, hauling him to his feet. God, he was heavy. They half carried him out into the sunshine, the beautiful scenery that had seemed so perfect now surreal. Even sinister.
On the way to the car, they met a couple, who did a double take as the strange trio passed them.
“Too much to drink, huh?” the man said with a knowing chuckle.
Jerk. Why did some people feel they had to comment on things that weren’t their business? Liam said, “Yep,” and they kept going.
“Tryin’ to help,” Jude mumbled.
“You’re doing fine. Almost there.”
“Goin’ for a ride, buddy,” Liam said. “Hang on.”
“Wanna go home.”
The plaintive note in his voice got to her. She wouldn’t tell him that wasn’t an option anytime soon, for treatment of the poison alone. As an agent, he already knew.
But he would go home one day, if it was the last thing she did.
Tio approached the front desk in his “borrowed” uniform, striding straight up to the young guy behind the counter as though he had good cause to be there.
“Hey, man,” Tio said. “The lady Janet Booth, who’s in the big suite with two guys? She asked me to take her a tray from the kitchen and I can’t find her anywhere,” he said. Learning Lily’s alias had been a cinch.
“You new? I haven’t seen you around here,” the guy said, eyeing him.
“Yeah, just started. Look, I’ve got food getting cold and that means an unhappy customer. I was just wondering if she’d been through here. I need this job, you know?”
The other man’s hesitance was put by the wayside. “Yeah, I hear you. These rich snobs can be a handful.” He waved a hand toward the parking lot. “Miss Booth rented a car for some sightseeing with one of her friends.”
“Not both?”
“Seems one is ill. Too bad.”
“Sure is. Thanks.” He turned and strode for the suite, disliking the unease this news caused. The closer he got, the more the dread increased.
Using the stolen master card key, he let himself in and stalked down the hallway, noting the droplets of blood. Good, the shit was working. So he ought to find St. Laurent in bed, slowly dying and not even knowing.
But the room was empty.
Quickly, he checked the closets, the bathrooms, and the other bedroom, finding them almost empty, save for a few clothes and toiletries. Two rolling suitcases were still there. By all appearances, they might have just stepped out.
If Tio hadn’t given St. Laurent enough of the toxin to kill a lesser man.
The trio had definitely
“Yes?”
“They’re gone,” he said by way of a greeting. “ St. Laurent is sick, so they haven’t gotten far.”
“Dammit!” Dietz’s anger vibrated through the airwaves. “I have an idea Michael is sending someone to pick them up. I’ll find out where the rendezvous is, which safe house, and get back to you.”
“You think he’s going to tell you any of that shit now?”
“I have a mole who will. Stand by.”
In less than ten minutes, Tio was on his way to shoot three fish in a barrel.
Lily drove, forcing herself to go at a normal pace. Being stopped by the Mexican police would be a disaster. Besides, if she got there too fast, they’d look suspicious parked in a car in a rural area for too long.
“Do you have a gun?” Liam asked from the backseat. Jude’s head was in his lap, big body folded uncomfortably.
“Not with me.”
“Why the hell not? If you’re some sort of ninja woman, shouldn’t you take one everywhere?” Liam sounded close to panic.
“Covert agent,” she corrected. “And I don’t have one now because we flew commercial. They don’t like finding weapons on a person these days. Makes them cranky.”
“The bad guys will have one!”
“If so, they bought it once they arrived.”
“That was not reassuring.”
“I’m sorry. But the helicopter will be here soon. They’re on our side and they will be armed.”
“Thank God.”
As she reached the pickup spot, she slowed and turned off the road, driving a good ways down it before shutting off the ignition. The only sounds were the tick of the cooling engine and Jude’s harsh breaths.
“Lily? Is Jude going to…?”
She turned in her seat, gazed into his worried, handsome face. He’d never looked younger than he had at this moment, terrified for his friend’s life.
“No. He’s going to be fine. Our doctor is on his way with Michael, and he has the antidote. It’s not a magical cure,” she cautioned, “but it does help neutralize the effects of the poison so the body can begin recovery.”
He looked forlorn. “So it’s not a sure thing.”
In the distance, Lily thought she heard something. “Listen.”
