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

struggled to keep his voice even. He couldn’t let them see, couldn’t give away his worry, fear.
    “San Luis,” her mother said quickly. “She’s on her way to San Luis Obispo.”
    “Where in San Luis?”
    “Don’t know yet,” her mother replied. “Our first step is to get rid of our existing cells and activate new ones in case he’s tracking us somehow through GPS. Then, once we arrive we arrange to meet.”
    He, who? Shit. Another threat. “How do you know where to meet?”
    “You need to call this number, 555-2703.” Then she rattled off the access password code. “It’s an answering service. If we’re separated, whoever gets to a rendezvous point first is supposed to call and let the other know where they are.”
    Zeke thought about protocol. About the fact that he wasn’t supposed to have contact with Sunshine. But he wanted to protect her. “Are you going to San Luis?”
    An overwhelming need to make sure Sunshine was okay multiplied like a virus through a compromised, vulnerable system.
    Blue placed his large hand over Stella Smith’s. “No.”
    No? But—
    “The less you know, the better off everyone is,” Blue said.
    “Will you help Sunny?” Her mother pleaded, persuading him that he needed throw his caution to the wind and go now. Her anxiety for her daughter stimulated a biological imperative to protect. To shield.
    Zeke looked at Mrs. Smith. She was trembling, her fear palpable in the cab of the truck. Blue appeared ready for combat, ‘Always Faithful’, and able to commit mayhem to protect the innocent.
    Zeke contemplated the two of them, thinking about the immediate bond he’d felt with Sunshine. As if he’d known her for years instead of just a few hours.
    “Poor Sunny.” Her mother’s eyes glittered with unshed tears. “Another birthday ruined.”
    “It’s her birthday?” Zeke rubbed a hand through his curls.
    “Tomorrow.”
    Zeke went under for the third time and hoped the riptide didn’t kill him. But he couldn’t leave Sunshine alone.
    He had the training. He’d just never applied himself. It was about damn time he did, he thought grimly. “I’ll look out for her.”
    “Thank you.” Gratitude shone from Stella’s gaze, lighting her whole face.
    “Solid.” Blue nodded his respect. “Go now.”
    Their truck sped away. Zeke hustled to his hotel room, changed quickly, then gathered his bag and left. As he squealed out of the parking lot in his rental Range Rover, Zeke hoped like hell he could keep her safe.

Twelve
    October 20
    1:00 pm
    San Luis Obispo, CA
     
    Zeke hauled ass and got to San Luis in about thirty minutes. The traffic on Highway One had been dense. His tension rose with each excruciating minute in the car with nothing to think about other than what kind of danger Sunshine could possibly be in.
    Once in San Luis, he found an impersonal chain motel tucked behind a Safeway and strip mall and checked in so he’d have someplace to bring Sunshine when he found her.
    Impatiently he checked the message center about every five minutes. While on the phone, he set up his laptop and jumped on the system. He needed to figure out who was after these women.
    He’d been tasked with keeping an eye on her. However he wasn’t supposed to make contact with Sunshine. He’d been sure Carson Black, his mentor, had really just found a lame reason to get him out of the way and keep him out of trouble. Zeke had been given Sunshine’s current name and address. He hadn’t had the time, or the interest, to delve deeper than that. Truly his attitude had been one step up from self-pity, and he’d been operating from a position of fear.
    He didn’t want to lose his job or his freedom.
    He realized while following Sunshine to San Luis that position of fear had been replaced by another more productive emotion.
    Determination.
    He was done wallowing and worrying. It was time to take action.
    But surprise. “No information found,” the computer chirped after he’d listed