Page 75 of Every Last Breath

She broke free of Scarface, shaking her head and stabbing a finger toward the elevator. His face blanked.

Trouble in paradise? If not, there soon would be. A thank-you gift from Aleksander.

Agent Kinkade answered her phone, making a beeline for the elevators, Scarface plastered to her side. Lowering his head, Aleksander quickened his hobbled gait.

They crossed the lobby toward him. Dark excitement shot through Aleksander, tingles racing over his skin.

“Harper, slow down. Wait. He came back to the hotel?” Kinkade looked at Scarface, gaze passing right over him, as they hurried to the elevator. “What room?”

When they passed, Aleksander had nearly brushed her arm. He savored the thrill of this win.

He was tempted to glance back at her. The need was a tangible ache in his teeth, but the risk wasn’t worth it. He’d look into those exquisite eyes again soon enough.

On his terms.

Chapter 22

Gray Box Headquarters, Northern Virginia

3:10 p.m. EDT

Tension rolled through the conference room in a cresting wave. A charged silence pressed in. Failure and frustration were in the air, a smell as real as sweat and stale coffee.

Maddox massaged her temples, elbows propped on the arms of her chair. “Please, run us through how we lost Novak in the hotel one more time.”

Harper stood at the foot of the black glass table, rubbing her hands, delicate features pinched tight. “I tapped into the hotel security feed using the facial recognition program, as well as the Ponte restaurant connected to it. At 1:13 p.m., Novak entered the restaurant. He crossed into the hotel at 1:14 and hit the fourth floor at 1:18, entering room 416.”

“Doesn’t your network have a notification system when you get a recognition hit?” Maddox asked.

A deer-in-the-headlights expression froze on Harper’s face. “Of course.”

“Then why didn’t you notify us the minute he set foot on the premises? Castle and Reece were on-site.”

Her brother slammed a fist on the table. Harper jumped and a hand flew to her necklace, thumb stroking the pearls. Reece shook his head, bitterness etched on his face.

Cole sat beside Maddox, arms folded, eyes narrowed.

The sole unreadable one in the room was Gideon. Perched against a wall, he stood with hands in his pockets, chewing a wad of gum. His arctic gaze locked on Harper, his face an irksome blank slate.

Harper swallowed hard as if she had something lodged in her throat. “I was on a break.”

“Pretty damn convenient.” Castle’s voice was so caustic, Harper winced.

“Or coincidence.” Gideon’s tone was rock-steady.

“It’s just me working on this. You didn’t want me to get any help.” Harper plowed through her words in a strident rush. “I had to pee and get coffee. I haven’t slept. I’ve been working all night. When I got back to my desk, I saw the alert flashing. Novak wasn’t on the monitor in real-time. The program looped back to when he was first picked up entering the restaurant, and I called you. I was only behind by four and a half minutes.”

“Only.” Castle expelled a breath.

“We’re all tired and on edge.” Maddox sipped coffee, forcing herself to calm down. Pissing off their best analyst wouldn’t improve the current situation. “Earlier, you mentioned Novak left the hotel wearing a disguise.”

Harper nodded. “A black wig, glasses—”

“Burgundy hotel jacket.” Maddox’s stomach dropped to her toes. The Ghost had doubled back after she lost him in the train station, then had the gall to stroll right by her and Cole.

“Yes.” Harper rolled her pearls between her fingers, brows drawn together. “On the playback of the hotel video, he passed all of you.”

Castle popped the knuckles of his bad hand like he needed to hit someone.