“Do I do late?”
Jason motioned for us to sit opposite of him.
“What’s going on?” Six asked as we sat, not wasting any time getting to the point.
Jason’s smile faded. “I don’t know. Home has gone silent, and I lost contact with Eight two days ago. How were Nine and One?”
“Fine when I left a few weeks ago.”
Jason nodded. “They got the last assignment I received. There normally isn’t this much time in between.” His head rocked back and forth. “Man, I don’t like this.”
“Are you keeping on the move?” Six asked as he leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table.
Jason nodded. “Always. But since Three, I’m laying lower than normal.”
“Do you think there’s something going on at Home?” Six glanced behind him, then back to Jason.
“Your guess is as good as mine at this point.”
Six craned his head around to the door. “Where was Eight last?”
“Indianapolis.”
“I’ll head there, see if I can find him.”
We’d be so close to home. There’d be a chance someone might recognize me.
“I’ll send you the last update.” His gaze flickered over to me. “Are you keeping your cat?”
Six nodded after another glance behind him. “For now.”
“You know how Home doesn’t like pets.”
Pets? Sure, why not. I’d been cattle and a toy already.
“I still need her.”
Jason shook his head. “A beader. You’re carrying around a goddamn beader. Out of everyone, you were the last I expected.”
My brow furrowed. What was a beader?
Six’s jaw clenched. “I have my reasons.”
Jason’s lips formed a thin line. “She may be the best cover you ever had, but I’ve done what I can—her face is still everywhere.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Jason finally turned to me, the kind face when we came in long gone. “It means you’re still a person of interest in what happened. And if there really is something going down, it won’t take long to associate you with him, and they’ll stop looking for him and start looking for you.”
My brow furrowed. “Why me?”
“Because you’re the loose cannon,” Six said. “I’m trained to be invisible, and you’re part of the herd.”
“How are they going to pick me out of all the norms?” My voice skidded on the edge of serious and annoyance at once again being nothing but a beast to slaughter.
“Shadow,” Jason said.
“What?”
Six sighed and threw another look over his shoulder. “Shadow. A trick of the eyes. We stand out because you’re trying to blend in.”
“But I thought I was part of the herd? How does that stand out?”
“You were part of the herd,” Jason said, stressing the past tense. “Being with him, you’ve inadvertently changed your behavior, making you try to be your new identity.”
I turned to Six. “Which makes me bad for you and you should just let me go.”
Six’s jaw clenched and he pulled me close to his side. When he reached into his waistband, I froze. He pulled out one of the guns he was hiding and pressed it against my chest.
My heart stopped for more than a beat as my eyes widened. Everything in me froze.
His lips rested against my ear as I stared at Jason, who only looked annoyed and shook his head. “Don’t fucking test me. I will send a bullet straight through your fucking chest without blinking or thinking twice. If you even think you’ve gained some power over me, think again.”
Six sat back, stowing his gun and continued talking, leaving me a shaking mess.
Asshole.
I hadn’t broken any rules or stepped over any lines.
It was a play, I knew it was. A show for Jason.
“I’m pretty sure there are crews around, so watch your back.”
Six nodded. “They are. I think that’s who tried to take me out as I left Cincinnati.”
“It doesn’t bode well for the Cleaners.” Jason slipped his hand palm down across the table and Six reached out and set his hand on top. “I hope we meet again.”
“Three was the first,” Six said as he stood. “I then became the second target, but I won that battle.”
One of Jason’s brows rose. “You think it’s war?”
“Whatever’s going on hasn’t stopped.” Six held out his hand. “There will be more. We need everyone together before they wipe us all out.”
Jason nodded and shook his hand. “I’ll find them all.”
With a curt nod, Six took my hand and we walked out the front door.
Each step away my mind swirled with the conversation. Dissecting words used, emphasis on some while others were skimmed over. The covert exchange on the table. Even the time we were there—ten minutes.
By the time we were back in the car, the cryptic words and unknown definitions revealed little.
“What’s a beader?” I asked once we were a few miles down the road.
His jaw ticked before answering, “Just about anything.”