Page 61 of The Spy
When I went into the cage, as the tech team called it, Lucinda Morelle met me with a wary smile. "Can I help you?"
I tried to give her a comforting smile, but she couldn't be fooled. Lucinda was originally from the Canary Islands. One of those complete stunners. She also used her beauty to scam people, and that was how I recruited her. It turned out she was even deadlier with a computer, so I put her in charge of these guys. "I just need to talk to Rook."
"You couldn't call?"
I flashed a grin. "I could call, but I like surprising people. It doesn't give them an opportunity to come up with a lie. After all, we're spies, aren't we?"
Lucinda winked. "And you're the biggest one of them all. What do you want from him?"
"Relax, he is mine, isn't he?"
"Only because you poached him from being a tech asset."
"The kid is good in the field."
"I'm not letting you push anyone else out of my department. Eyes off Devlin."
"I hear you."
"Rook's in his office."
I gave her my nod of thanks. "Got it."
I headed down the narrow, brightly lit hallways, artificial sunlight being pumped into this place. In every underground office, we had one of those daylight shade things. They gave people a view of the actual grounds so that it looked like they could see onto the property. We also tried to pump in the scents of the outdoors. So on days like today when it was dreary, green, and wet, that rain smell practically flooded the downstairs levels.
When I found Rook, he had his headphones on and was rocking back and forth on his chair, tossing a ball up and down. I knew that was his best thinking pose. Apparently, his brain needed fallow time, which I knew wasn't a terrible concept, but it was inconvenient when you needed an answer to something.
I knocked, but obviously, he didn't hear me. So when I tapped his boot, it startled him and the kid produced a gun from nowhere.
Staring at the barrel of a gun, contemplating my life, I held myself perfectly still.
His eyes went wide, and he let out a sharp exhale. "Fuck, sorry Gabe. Jesus, you can't surprise someone like that." He dragged the headphones off his head.
"Yeah well, glad to know that your reflexes still work."
"I almost shot you, mate."
"You know better. Finger off the trigger, safety on until you’ve asked a couple of questions."
"Yeah, but safety on gets you shot."
"Even at work?"
"Even at work. Have you not met Saint?"
That was a good point. "Sorry to disturb you. I just wanted to know what the hell you found on Tabatha's phone."
Rook's brows lifted. “Mate, technically, you're my boss, Ops Command and all that, and whatever you tell me to do, I will do. But since you're personally handling Tabs, maybe now is a good time to remind you that this is the kind of shit that had Saff mad at you."
I studied him. Since that mission with Julien Montgomery, he was always tactful. It was almost like he'd grown up and become less afraid of me. "I hear you, but I also need the information."
He sighed, sitting upright and bringing his feet down. "Right. I’m only telling you because you're my boss and you can make me, but if this was a friend situation, I wouldn't. If Tabs wanted you to know what she needed, she would tell you."
"Yes, but I'm her handler and thankfully, you're not the boss of me. Spill."
He sighed. "Right. Her phone shows a call between her and her brother. And then a series of calls, one after another to her sister, which went unanswered. Then she called a mate, a police officer in Cape Town, Sam Bromstadt. And then another series of calls to her sister and a couple of texts to Riley that essentially said, 'I'm sure everything's okay. Don't worry. I'm handling it.' I think it's a family matter that has her concerned, sir." He added bite to the last word.
The hell it was. If it was distracting her, it wasn't just a family matter; it was a Rogues matter. "When was this?"
