Page 10 of Fear No Evil

When their entrées finally came, she ate most of her steak, which was more than she’d eaten since the fiasco in Morocco. Some of that had to do with Charles saying, “Eat up! You won’t get food like this for two weeks.”

That was the length of time they were expected to negotiate for Howitz and Barnes’s release. As missions went, two weeks weren’t long at all, which made this assignment perfect for getting her confidence back. Maggie could do anything for fourteen days.

Stuffed by dinner, they all declined any dessert. Charles paid for the meal with a company credit card.

After signing his name with a flourish, the Frenchman slid aside the booklet. “I’m sure you have much to do before flying out on Monday. Check your emails for plane tickets and itineraries. My apologies for flying you back to New York first, but according to your legends, you live here, so…”

Well, of course, she was traveling with Jake. The news shouldn’t catch her off guard.

Charles produced his phone. “I’m texting you the address of the facility where you’ll receive your microchips tomorrow morning. By Monday, the small incisions will be healed, and you’ll be ready to travel. Speaking of which, you will each receive a box in the mail at your respective addresses. Each box contains a backpack, waterproof jacket, and quinine tablets to safeguard against malaria. Leave your phones at home. Bring a pair of sturdy boots. Pack only two changes of clothing, a toothbrush, and maybe a comb. Any questions?”

Maggie couldn’t think of any. She turned to Jake, who shook his head.

Charles pushed to his feet. “Bonne soirée,madame, monsieur. Enjoy your time at the bar.” With a wink that implied they should getverywell reacquainted, he swiveled on his dress shoes and left them sitting in silence.

Jake drew a deep breath. “I can already tell you’re not going to sit with me at the bar.”

He’d reverted to English, so she did, too, sending him a tight smile. “Looks like you can still read my mind.” Hearing sarcasm in her voice, Maggie winced and tried again. “Sorry, but you can’t talk me out of this assignment, Jake, and I don’t want you wasting your time.” She pushed her chair back. “I’m going to hit the hay. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Not waiting for his response, she left him alone at the table and bolted toward the lobby, jumping into an elevator that had already started to close. She’d accomplished her objective for the evening‍—keeping Jake from taking sides with the worried voice in her head.

Truth be told, this new Jake was intimidating, and she was a teensy bit worried he might come after her. She would get to her room as fast as possible and just ignore him if he knocked at the door.

A thumping coming from the room next to his roused Jake from a light slumber. He glanced at the clock next to his hotel bed. It was two minutes to midnight, and by the sound of it, Lena was still awake‍—doing jumping jacks?

He already knew she had trouble sleeping. His source claimed she liked to run at night, up to ten miles at a time. Maybe she was warming up for a run.

At night in New York City?

He threw back the covers and rolled out of bed. She’d better be smarter than that.

In the dark, he fumbled for a pair of sweatpants and searched for his socks and sneakers just in case she left her room. He was jamming his head into a T-shirt when her door thudded shut.

Muttering Grandpa Carrigan’s favorite invective, Jake crossed to his door and peeked into the hall just in time to see her step into the elevator. As she turned around, he ducked out of sight and went to grab his key card and his cell phone.

Not that he was going to try to stop her from running. He doubted he could do that, any more than he could stop her from taking this assignment. He would keep an eye on her, was all.

Approaching the closed elevator, he studied the display above the doors while pushing the button for the second elevator. She’d stopped at the mezzanine level‍—oh, yeah, where the indoor gym was located. Good. He knew she wasn’t foolish enough to run outside.

By the time he spotted her through the long glass wall that looked out on the hallway, she was running on a treadmill, looking for all the world like a mouse flying on its wheel‍—and getting nowhere.

The look of dismay on her face when she spotted him was worth losing sleep for. At last, he had her to himself‍—though once inside the room, Jake glimpsed the earbuds in her ears, and a portion of his satisfaction waned.

Five other treadmills were available. Even so, he chose the one right next to hers. After powering up his machine, he began to walk, easing into a run because his knees protested, having run five miles just the day before. Maggie glanced over as he increased his speed incrementally.

Finally, he was running as fast as she was. Why would anyone punish themselves like this? Worried they were going to run for an hour and not even speak, he invoked divine aid.Lord, please let me talk to Lena tonight.

Not two seconds later, one of her earbuds tumbled onto her conveyor belt, which flung it under a stationary bike.

Jake hit the red button on his machine. “I’ll get that.”

“Thanks.” She slowed her pace, craning her neck to look back at him as he teased the earbud out from under the base of the bike.

Ignoring her outheld hand, Jake dropped the earbud into the pocket of his sweatpants and remounted his machine, amused by the indignant flaring of her beautiful eyes. Then he spurred himself into an easy lope, timing his footfalls to coincide with hers. Now they could talk.

“Look, I’m sorry if I came across a little negative today.” He tiptoed around his reason for it. Her appearance had thoroughly dismayed him. She didn’t look like she was anywhere close to being ready for the rough assignment ahead.

She shot a glance in his direction. “How come you knew I’d be at the briefing? You show up in my life without any warning, and then you disappear on me.”