Free Burned: Black Cipher Files #3 (Black Cipher Files series) by Lisa Hughey Page A

front, he drove around to the back which butted up to a steep hill sprinkled liberally with towering eucalyptus trees.
    Zeke jogged closer, and heard the slam of the screen door leading to the delivery entrance in the back of the bar. The only other things in back were the dumpster and a little alcove where the hardcore smokers went to light up.
    Blue’s behavior triggered an alert, as if Zeke’s packet sniffer program, which looked for incursions into a secure system, had been activated.
    Something was going on. He’d already met them, interacted with them, so what could it hurt to get closer and see if he could figure out what the problem was.
    They were going to tell him it was none of his business, he told himself even as he drew nearer.
    Blue’s odd behavior likely had nothing to do with him or Susan Chen. Unless Sunshine was somehow in danger from Chen already. But how would Blue even know that? Zeke crept closer, trying to figure out a way to snoop without getting caught.
    Sunshine’s mother sat in the front seat of the truck, her face set in stiff, stressed lines. As if she’d gotten really bad news and was trying to hold it together.
    He wondered what was wrong. Suddenly he was overwhelmed with the urge to check on Sunshine. Blue shoved out the back door, an army green duffel in one meaty fist. He tossed the duffel into the back of the truck then swung into the driver’s seat. Blue gunned the engine, the loud revving disturbed the quiet morning air.
    Zeke crossed the street and headed toward his motel, more convinced than ever that something was really wrong. He couldn’t help but glance back as he heard the truck screech to a stop behind him. Shit, hopefully they hadn’t seen him lurking.
    The passenger window whirred down and Sunshine’s mother stuck her head out. “Did Sunny call you?”
    Everything within Zeke slowed, sounds and scents became clearer. A breeze swept through the little side street, the scuttle of leaves was unnaturally loud, and the rumble of the truck’s engine seemed to vibrate through his chest, even as the scent of exhaust filled his nose and roiled his stomach.
    Sunshine would have no reason to contact him. “Uh, I don’t know,” he lied. Because of course his phone would have beeped if he’d had another call while he had been talking to Jamie. “I’ve been on my phone,” he finished lamely.
    “Blue!” Sunshine’s mother cried. “She’s so damn independent.”
    Blue Harrison aimed a hard look at him. “What’s your true connection to Sunshine?”
    Time stopped. Zeke’s heartbeat thundered, blood rushed through his ears, which should have dimmed his hearing but instead his senses seemed unnaturally heightened.
    He thought about the threat Jamie had articulated. He would not let anything happen to Sunshine. Impossibly she had become important. More important than his cover.
    His muscles hardened, he clenched his jaw, knowing that his next sentence was critical. Something was wrong. Sunshine’s mother was hoping that she had contacted him. If they knew he’d just met Sunshine last night, his game was up. And he would have no way to help her.
    “I won’t let anything happen to her,” Zeke said fiercely. “I want to help her.”
    Blue and Stella exchanged a loaded look as if they knew something he didn’t. But then Blue turned back to Zeke and nodded. “Good. She needs your help.”
    He didn’t care about the look as long as they told him where she was. “Is she at the store?”
    “She should be gone by now.”
    Gone? Fear stabbed his chest, his pulse picked up. “Where?”
    “I know what our plan was....” Her mother trailed off. “But we’ve broken the original plan.”
    She looked at Blue again, anguish in her gaze. “Maybe I should have gone with her. I should have never left her alone.”
    “I can take care of you better,” Blue said firmly, emphatically. “But Sunshine could use some extra protection.”
    Protection?
    “Where is she?” Zeke