Page 214 of Dark Angel
“I gotta get her outta there,” Gabriel said.
“You can’t, G,” Teddy said. “You blow her cover, she’s as good as dead. Don’t do that to her. She lived in Moscow for nine months. She’s got grit. Moxie too.”
“What is with you and words?”
Teddy smiled. “What do we have if not our ability to communicate?”
“You shoulda been a writer.”
“Stoni said it’s never too late to start.”
“Go for it,” Gabriel said. “What’s the diff between grit and moxie?”
“Grit is more about stamina and staying power. Moxie is about having audacity and a fearless spark. Moxie is about shaking things up. You have both.”
“Iamthe Agitator.”
“You like that, don’t you?”
“Love it,” Gabriel replied. “I gotta—at theveryleast—let Evangeline know.”
The program binged. Both men shifted toward the computer.
RESULTS: INCONCLUSIVE
NOTE: There is a sixty-percent chance the woman at the bar is the woman in the vehicle.
“That’s a good enough percentage for me,” Gabriel said as he patted Teddy on the back. “Grazie, fratello. You’re a good brother.”
Teddy pushed out of the chair. “The best. I’m gonna check with the chef on tonight’s dinner specials. Holler if you need me.”
“I always do.”
Gabriel called Evangeline.
“Hey, G, everything okay?”
“No,” he replied. “I got a hit on the woman who gunned down Angelo.”
“Who is it?”
“Natasha Petrova,” Gabriel replied. “She works at the Russian Embassy. Halston’s not safe. You gotta get her out.”
“Let me check the ALPHA tracker.” After a few seconds, Evangeline growled. “Dammit, she’s wearing the defective chip. Have you checked the wedding band app?”
“Hold on.” Gabriel pulled up the ring app. He saw himself, but no Halston.
Another jolt of dread punched through him.
“She’s not showing up.”
“Oh, no,” Evangeline murmured. “Either she’s in a location without signal or she took the ring off.”
“It’s all going so well,” Gabriel bit out, his sarcasm front and center. “When’s it going to start going wrong?”
“Now,” Evangeline replied. “It’s going wrongnow, G.”
HALSTON
