Concealed Force

Chapter 24

What did any of that mean, though? Laura wondered the next day, lying in their bed, alone, eyes glued to his phone screen. Because she might be his and he might be hers, but in a few days they'd still be saying goodbye forever.

He'd been ferocious all night, and they'd barely slept, as if he was trying to wring every last drop of pleasure from their time together, as if he was trying as hard as she was to memorize every moment, every sensation.

She was frustrated that he had to be out on 'business' today, but consoled by the fact that she had a serious job to do for him. It didn't feel like much, sitting and staring at his phone screen, watching the little dot that represented Lonnie (shudder) blink over a map. After a couple of hours she was feeling faintly ridiculous, but by the time Reid got back she was triumphant.

"We've got the location. I think," she said when the TV was on and the air conditioner turned up.

He nodded, barely acknowledging her words as he pulled off his t-shirt and balled it up. There was a slight tremor in his movements and she wondered if there'd been a fight and he was still on an adrenaline high. His knuckles weren't bloody though or bruised and he had no other marks on his face or body.

"I kept my eyes on the phone all day, even took it to the bathroom and everything. Alyssa was annoyed that I couldn't help her with the chores."

Alyssa had been more than annoyed, especially as the headache excuse was a lame one. Laura would never shake that princess epithet now.

"He only stopped in one place," she told Reid, as he paced, that nervous energy beginning to affect her too. "I took screenshots whenever his dot hovered for more than a few seconds, but he stopped here for over an hour. I flagged it in your photos. This must be the location." She held the phone up.

"Great," he said, not even glancing at the screen.

"You don't seem very happy." Was he as upset by the idea that they'd have to part as she was? He was shaking, pacing, rubbing at his face. Finally he turned and faced her.

"They've got a cop."

"Huh?"

"Bathroom, now."

The shower was on by the time she scrambled off the bed. "What are you talking about?" she whispered in the ice cream-colored bathroom, their HQ, their bunker. "Who is he?"

"I don't know who he is, name's Reyes, he's just some scared rookie who stopped the wrong guy." Reid was holding on to the shower curtain rail and Laura briefly worried he'd pull it off the wall. "You know what they do to cops. You know. Plus he's Hispanic. Doesn't stand a chance. He's just a kid, Laura. And I don't have a clue how to help him. Not without blowing my cover and killing myself, killing you."

"Oh shit."

He was pacing again, though the space was so tiny, he could barely take two steps before having to turn. "Just when I thought we would be able to get out of here, safe. I guess I'll have to just call the cops now and hope they don't send a bunch of incompetent assholes. The lab will be gone by the time the DEA manages to get in on it though."

"And do you think the police will get here in time? To save Reyes, I mean?"

He shook his head, shrugged.

"Maybe there's another way to get him out?"

She studied his tortured face, if he didn't save this cop, he'd always think of it. He would feel he'd failed, she knew enough about him to know that, to know that his self-worth was bound up in protecting people. And he'd never be able to look at her again, because she'd only remind him of this terrible thing. If there was even a tiny chance they could be together after they left the compound Reyes had to be alive and unhurt.

"Where is he now?" she asked.

"The old office."

"The office. The building at the side?"

"It's the only place with a grill over the window. They've put a bar lock across the handle so he can't get out, but anyone can get in. We've all been told we can go in and give him whatever we want. They're expecting me to go in soon, they think I hate cops."

"So you haven't been in yet? Do you know if there's a skylight on the roof?" Her mind was suddenly racing, it was like those moments in Drama Club when she suddenly knew how to move, how to make her performance better by changing the markers on the stage.

"I don't know. Why would there be a skylight?"

"I bet there is. I bet it's exactly like the laundry room."

"How does that help us?"

"The first day, when I did laundry with Alyssa, she showed me how to get on to the roof of the laundry room. There's a skylight. The girls all hang out up there, sunbathing or drinking. I've been a few times. It's kind of a secret and she told me not to tell you."

"You've been keeping secrets?" His gaze narrowed on her in a way that made her heart leap.

"Not on purpose! I would have told you, but to be honest, I've got kind of wasted every time I've been up there, and I forgot."

She felt sheepish and embarrassed about that, and she knew that part of her had held a loyalty to Alyssa and the other women, and that had been a factor in not talking about the roof.

"I told you to watch the drinking. It's not safe here."

"I know. Anyway. You can't see anyone up there when you're in the rooms—I checked from our window and Lonnie's—the angle is wrong. And you can't see anyone up there when you're on the ground because there's a low wall all the way around. But you could easily jump off the building, over the back wall. It's not that high. And it's blind, no fences, no guards, just open country."

"What's this got to do with anything?" He was listening, but distractedly; moving things around on the dressing table, looking out of the window.

"Well, I bet the office is built exactly the same way, it looks the same from the outside. I bet it has a skylight too. If you could get the cop on to the roof he could just jump over the back wall and run. Don't you think? I mean I wondered about it for myself, when I saw it..."

"You were thinking of escaping?" He was totally focused on her now, and he looked stunned, betrayed.

She glanced at him, surprised. "Yeah. Of course. I thought that was the plan."

"It was. Of course it was. I'm not sure just jumping the wall is the best course of action."

"No, well, that's what I figured. I don't know the geography and I don't want to get eaten by an alligator, or whatever. But I thought it was something to bear in mind. For when the time came."

"And you think now is the right time?"

"Yes, but not for me, for your cop."

"If he's in any shape to escape."

"You need to get to him quickly."

He'd finally gone still, she could practically see his mind turning over, planning. His breathing had deepened, steadied. She'd given him hope at least. Now she just had to pray they could pull it off.

"And where will you be?" he asked.

"Creating a distraction."

"A distraction? Fuck's sake, Laura, we already talked about this."

"I won't be bait, Reid, I've got a different idea. Trust me. Please. For once. Just trust me."