Free Last Strike by Regan Black Page B

fast,” Noah said. “We still need an exit strategy for Daria.”
    “Then keep her alive until we come up with one.” Bulletproof put his arm around Bennett. “Text me your plan when it’s set. The security panel will send me a text when you leave tomorrow.”
    Noah gritted his teeth, wanting to shake the other man, the one he could see. He held back, knowing Chameleon would intervene. Being invisible didn’t negate the threat he posed to people he considered enemies.
    Anticipating the various outcomes, Noah would have to figure out something to protect Daria. He didn’t care about causes or righting wrongs. He refused to leave her survival to chance.

Chapter Six
    A fter John and Amelia left , Daria talked through options and plans with Noah and Ben until her eyes were dry and gritty, her voice nearly gone and her sense of time and logic reduced to a puddle of mush.
    Long lab hours had prepared her for everything but two deadly men determined to create a fail-proof plan. The lack of trust meant they couldn’t easily compromise or agree. She’d slept fitfully on the only bed. Noah had slept on the floor in the doorway, guarding her. The plan hadn’t changed and communication hadn’t improved much by breakfast, though at least Noah had stopped trying to leave her behind.
    All three of them, working together, were necessary for the diversion and the escape.
    He’d even gone so far as to thank Ben for bringing supplies and clean clothes between bites of scrambled eggs and bacon.
    Ben had left well ahead of them to assess the situation and pinpoint guards or traps around Gerardi’s house. Noah didn’t trust him, but Daria did, though her reasons weren’t as clear as the man himself. After Ben reported in, she would approach the house in an effort to get inside. Her goal was to plant a flash drive in Gerardi’s computer so they could attempt to hack in.
    She wasn’t looking forward to being so close to him, though she wasn’t afraid he’d succeed in another attempt to hurt her. Not with Noah standing by. It was his job to stay in the open and trigger the program that would draw the attention of UI’s cyber watchdogs as well as the presence of Messenger himself.
    Assuming the elegantly attired face of UI management was still in the area.
    The assumptions and factors like Gerardi’s sketchy behavior were why she kept wiping her damp palms on her jeans.
    “Relax,” Noah said as he backed the car out of the shelter of the warehouse. “We’ve thought of everything.”
    His easy calm annoyed her. How soon would Messenger get a read on the tracker in his body? What if they were intercepted on the way? “Last I heard, thinking of everything doesn’t mean we have an ideal response for everything. What if Gerardi didn’t want my research data? What if he snapped and really only wanted me?” She couldn’t think of valid evidence to support that hypothesis, she just needed the distraction of conversation.
    Noah grunted. “That would be a show of good taste.”
    “Is that a compliment?”
    “Yes.” He spared her a look before resuming his close watch on the roadway and the mirrors.
    She watched his hands flex on the steering wheel, marginally comforted by the small reveal of his stress. The strength in his hands had brought her comfort and a fleeting glimpse of passion. She wanted him to kiss her again. She wanted to initiate another kiss. Having an invisible Ben hovering nearby, always ready to pop up with sarcasm, put a serious damper on intimacy.
    “Pull over,” she said.
    His gaze slid over the mirror views and back to her. “Why? What did you see?”
    “Do it. Please.”
    He took the next opportunity and pulled the car to the shoulder. Putting the car in park, he reached across the seat and gripped her wrist as if he thought she’d bolt. “Don’t leave. Not here, not this way. You’re so close to making the program pay. I promise I’ll get you out.”
    She smiled, pleased that her goal had become