Memory Zero (Spook Squad 1)

He took in her sleek shape as she walked away, finding himself oddly attracted, even though his taste usually ran to more curvaceous women. But maybe a major part of his attraction was not so much the woman as the mystery she presented. And it was a mystery that ran far deeper than Kazdan’s recruitment efforts and his subsequent death.

She was an enigma, but puzzles and problems were his forte. And no matter what it was she was hiding, he would uncover it.

As she neared the doorway, he asked, “What do you want for breakfast?”

“Coffee,” she said, without turning around. “And toast, or something like that.”

She closed the door firmly behind her. A few seconds later came the sound of running water. He ordered breakfast for them both, then made himself a cup of coffee and walked across to the window.

Resting the steaming cup on the windowsill, he crossed his arms and leaned a shoulder against the window frame. Dawn had spread her bloody fingers wide, playing

across the field of clouds. For the moment, at least, the rain had stopped. He glanced at his watch, then retrieved the vid phone from his jacket pocket and quickly dialed Stephan’s number. The call was answered on the second ring.

“What’s wrong?” Stephan asked, without preamble.

“Are we safe?” Though this particular number was one only the two of them knew about, there might have been someone close by.

Stephan nodded. His face was pale, eyes still ringed by deepening shadows, and right now he looked like death itself. The thought chilled Gabriel. He wasn’t ready to handle his brother as one of the undead.

“I’m alone in the study,” Stephan said. “Lyssa is upstairs, asleep.”

“I’ve just talked to Karl. Stop drinking the water. Someone’s been poisoning you.”

Stephan scrubbed a hand across his jaw. “Impossible. I don’t drink tap water, only bottled, and it’s always tested when it arrives.”

“Which means someone is administering the poison after it’s tested.” He watched the implications of this dawn in his brother’s eyes. “Until we know who, I don’t want you to drink anything unless I give it to you.”

“That’ll raise suspicions.”

“Right now, I don’t fucking care.”

Warmth momentarily chased the weariness from his brother’s gaze. “I’m not going to die on you, little brother, so stop worrying.”

In the park opposite the hotel, something moved. He frowned and watched the shadows more closely. “Given the intimacy of this attempt, I have every right to worry.”

“You’ll investigate?”

Who else was there? Most of their immediate family members were no longer fully functional in the Federation. To draw them back now would only raise suspicions. “When Karl gets the full results in.” Then Gabriel hesitated, catching another stirring in the shadows. Someone was definitely down there—but was it someone intent on harming them, or simply someone taking an early morning walk? “I have to go. Remember, no water until I get there.”

“Will do.”

Stephan’s image dissolved. Gabriel pocketed the phone. In that instant, the sun broke through the clouds, and in the shadows of the park, something long and metallic glinted briefly. A gun.

Or worse.

Adrenaline surged like fear through his body, and he flung himself sideways. A second later the window shattered, spraying glass across his back and shoulders. Something thumped behind him, and he twisted around to look. A black ball had landed three feet away and was rolling slowly toward him. A fire grenade. Knowing he had a minute at the most before it went off, he lunged forward, wrapped his fingers around the device, and flung it back through the shattered window.

Not a moment too soon.

There was an almost inconspicuous pop, then a blinding flash, and liquid heat was exploding across the air, across his flesh. Ignoring the sensation, he crawled toward the bedroom. The door was flung open as he neared. Sam, hair wet and bedraggled, peered out.

“Keep down,” he hissed, and noted with relief that she was fully dressed.

She dropped to her knees. Another thump sounded behind them. He grabbed her and rolled them both behind the cover of the bedroom wall.

Heat hissed through the room, curling paint and scorching the fine wool carpet. He kicked the door shut, but he knew it wouldn’t offer much in the way of protection once the place went up.

“Grab your stuff,” he said, and released her.