Perfect Lies (Mind Games 2)

Then again, how would I know? This is the most I’ve been around guys close to my age since I went to the school.

“I have good news,” Sarah says. “I haven’t seen anything. I think we’re safe to go to home base.”

“Finally,” Adam says, his voice desperate with relief. I bite my lip guiltily. He lost his parents, his schooling, his apparently brilliant future. And it’s my fault. I put him on Keane’s radar.

Cole surprises me by talking. Once again I didn’t realize he was in the room. “Settles that, then. We’ll go to the California house and make reintegration plans for our two corpses.”

“Actually, we’re headed to Georgia.”

Cole’s voice is suddenly cold. “Why Georgia? I don’t see any reason to involve them further.”

“We need help, Cole. We can’t do this on our own.”

“We’ve been doing fine.”

“Did you even hear what Annie was telling us? He has women in the White House! This is so much bigger than we can fight, and if working with Rafael is what we need, then—”

“You don’t know enough about him.”

“I haven’t seen anything that makes me worried.”

“You don’t see everything.”

A door slams. Judging by Sarah’s sigh, I assume Cole is gone. “What was that about?” I ask.

Sarah sounds falsely bright. “Nothing. Cole likes being independent. Lerner has always been a really loosely connected network, to keep us safer. But we’re starting to organize and get funding, and it makes him nervous. I’ll go pack your things and we’ll head out!”

“I’m already packed,” Adam says. Sarah leaves, but he stays on the couch next to me. “So much research data all around me, and I can’t do a thing to study it. I need to work before I go crazy.”

“You can’t!” I blush, embarrassed at my outburst. “I mean, you can’t keep pursuing it, right? That’s how they found you.” I’m how they found him, but the vision still swirls in my head, unsettling me.

He sounds thoughtful. “Sarah thinks we can manage it. And she feels like it’s really important, like it might finally give us an advantage against Keane.”

My thoughts are scattered, my nerves frayed. What if it did? What if that’s what my vision meant? That we’d find the women and then help them disappear? Maybe I’m interpreting it wrong. It wouldn’t be the first vision I was wrong about.

Probably won’t be the last, either.

The car slams to a stop, my seat belt digging into my collarbone. “What is he doing here?” Cole snaps.

“Who?” Sarah asks. “Oh. I didn’t know he was coming.”

The car eases forward and then stops again. I hear doors open, so I unbuckle my seat belt and climb out, kicking my foot to find the curb.

“Cole,” a man calls from nearby. He sounds older than Cole and Adam. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

“Nathan,” Cole says, his voice icy. “Why are you here?”

“Permanent security detail with the boss.”

“Right.” Cole’s voice is edged with tension and anger.

He must have a headache all the time if he carries as much tension in his neck as he does in his voice. “The boss. Great.”

Sarah takes my arm. “Don’t worry,” she whispers in my ear. “Cole’s just PMSing.”

I snort, instantly more at ease. I don’t think Cole will stick around any longer than he has to, which is a bit of a relief. He stresses me out.

“Come on in,” Nathan says as we walk up three steps. “And who is this?”