Page 68 of Blind Trust
R.D. clenched her jaw, but Lyla could see she was working something out in her mind. Finally, she swallowed. “I can’t give you my source, and I know you think that’s stupid of me, but if you’re right, then I’m not going to be the one responsible for endangering their life.” She blinked. “And I’m sorry to hear about Genevieve.”
Lyla’s nerves hummed with adrenaline. “What do you know of Genevieve?”
“Jerry told me he was worried about her. About his family. It’s why he wouldn’t give me any information.” R.D. paused, looked around, and then leaned in. “El-Din didn’t have names but suggested Jerry might. But Jerry wouldn’t confirm anything that supported El-Din’s claim that someone in the US government was involved in his counterfeit operation.”
“There are always conspiracies floating around about the US being involved in sketchy operations. Unless you have proof, or a name, it’s nothing more than a theory.”
“But I do have a name.” She checked her watch, then began pulling on her coat. “Barún an bháis, Irish for Baron of Death.”
“Who’s that?”
“Look him up for yourself. He’s got quite a reputation in the United States. Particularly with the CIA.” She rose from her chair, and Mason stood to meet her. They embraced, and she kissed him on the cheek with whispered words Lyla couldn’t hear. The scene made her curious. How close were Mason and R.D.? She faced Lyla. “If I come across more information, I’ll try to get it to you if I can.”
Lyla was momentarily dumbstruck, caught off guard by this bizarre meeting that left her with nothing more than some supervillain name. She quickly refocused. “What if we need to get ahold of you? How do we find you?”
“You won’t.”
Lyla stood, meeting R.D. eye to eye. “You really think we’re going to just let you walk away?”
Taking a step back, R.D. nodded. “I do.” And then she offereda tight-lipped smile. “Because you said you were trying to protect someone else from being killed. I might be that someone, so I’m going to trust you and your agency to do just that.”
Turning on her heel, R.D. weaved through the tables without another look back. Did she really think she could just waltz out of there and Kekoa wouldn’t have her every move tracked? If she was trusting Kekoa to make her disappear, then she had to know he could also make her reappear.“I’m going to trust you and your agency...”
“Nic—”
“Kekoa’s got eyes on her,” Nicolás answered. “He’s found at least three airline tickets booked in her name.”
Lyla reached for her coat. “We can’t lose her.”
“Is what you said true?” Mason’s question and the touch of his hand at the small of her back jerked her attention to him. His gaze moved to the cut above her brow before he searched her face. “You were attacked?”
Mason’s pained expression toyed with her emotions. She saw the reflection of the teenage boy she remembered. Kind, generous. He had always loved a good adventure, which made him the perfect companion to whatever scheme she talked him into. There were moments, like this, throughout their friendship when Lyla wondered if her childhood friend didn’t maybe share some of the hope his mom had for something more than friendship. Unfortunately, the kind of chemistry Mason’s mother hoped for just wasn’t there. No va-va-vooms.
“I’m okay, Mace.”
“I don’t know why I figured you’d have some kind of desk job. I should’ve known better.”
“I’ve never been one for a desk.”
Mason smiled, then it melted away. He reached over and gently brushed the hair away from her eye. “Lyla, I don’t know everything that’s going on, but I’ve never known R.D. to be nervous. She’s a lot like you, willing to toe the line, cross it even if the story isworth it. But the fact that she’s backing off...” Mason’s hand slipped to her shoulder and moved down the back of her arm. “I want you to be careful.”
“I’ll be okay.” Lyla’s heart pounded in her chest. Not because there was anything between her and Mason but because across the street, Nicolás was likely interpreting the intimate concern in Mason’s body language and tone. “Thank you for setting up this meeting, Mason. I can’t tell you how helpful this will be, and I promise I’ll be careful.”
Mason stepped forward and drew her into an embrace. His breath whispered softly next to her ear. “I know better than to trust that promise, Ly. The difference between you and R.D. is that she has someone she loves enough to know when not to cross that line. I hope you do too.”
23
“She has someone she loves enough to know when not to cross that line.”
Mason’s whispered words meant for Lyla had landed with a punch to Nic’s gut. As did the hug they shared before parting ways. It lingered longer than Nic was comfortable with, long enough that he began to read more into the words spoken in Lyla’s ear.
From his vantage point, Mason’s mom wasn’t the only one who desired a future with Lyla in it. And in the time it took Nic to follow Lyla’s rental car back to SNAP HQ, that thought had settled in his gut with all the weight of an M-1 tank.
Worse was the fact that in the elevator ride up from the parking garage to their office, Lyla didn’t ramble on about her meeting with R.D. like he’d expected her to. She was quiet and pensive and went straight to Kekoa’s office to make sure R.D. Leto was being tracked, leaving him to dwell on the unsettling reason she was avoiding eye contact or... He stared at his computer—theBaron of Death.
Which is worse?
Nic’s eyes moved to where Lyla was hovering over Kekoa’s shoulder, biting her thumbnail as she watched whatever he was doing. Frustration tightened the soft planes of her face like they had last night when Kekoa spilled the beans about the Syria mission.Lyla had taken it better than he’d expected.“I have five weeks to convince you you’re coming back.”
