Page 26 of Protect Me

“Of course not,” I say.“Just take out your cell and—”

Talia clears her throat.“He doesn’t have a cell phone.”

“Excuse me?”Surely I heard wrong.

Jonah shrugs.“I don’t like extra equipment on me.Nobody needs to reach me, and if they do, they know how.”He tips his head toward Talia, as if to say,you see?She found me.

“Fuck me.”I rub a hand over my face.“Guess we’ll handle that when we get to your cabin.Can I at least have the cabin’s address to send to McKay-Taggart so we can set up an op?”I ask the eccentric man.“Otherwise we’re going up there with no backup, and trust me when I tell you, somehow they will figure out how to tail us.They’ve been one step ahead of us the entire time.”

Talia frowns at the reminder.“He’s scanned me.We tossed my mother’s locket.I don’t know how else they’ve tracked me.”

“Hmm.”Jonah narrows his gaze, rubbing his beard thoughtfully.“You get your annual shots at the lab?Flu?Birth control?Anything like that?”

She nods, her eyes wide.“What are you saying?”she asks, but from the dawning awareness in her eyes, she is beginning to figure it out, I think.

“That they injected you with a tracker, the bastards,” Jonah says.

“What?”she asks, horrified.

My feelings are about the same.“Motherfuckers.And we’d never find it with a basic scanner.”

Jonah spreads his hands wide as he explains.“An RFID chip injected under the skin that can be used to track you.You have a problem with one of the shots?It take longer, or something hurt that shouldn’t have?”

She manages a slow nod.“Yes.My hip was sore for a while after the flu shot this past November.”

“If you even got a flu shot,” Jonah mutters.

“Those bastards!This is such a violation!”Talia’s cheeks flush red.“And to think I threw out my mother’s locket for no good reason.”Tears of frustration fill her eyes.“Get it out.”

“What?”I ask.

“Get it out now.”She begins scratching at her hip where she must have her injections.

I thread my fingers through hers.“Talia, we’re in public, not to mention it’s going to hurt.It needs to be done by a professional.A doctor.Not me.”

“I want it out,” she insists, chin lifted in stubborn determination.

Shit.I glance at Jonah, silently pleading with him to back up what I am saying.

“Girl knows what she wants.She always did.That’s why I admire her.I can’t remove it myself though.”He holds up his hands, which I now realize hold a fine but noticeable tremor.“But I can walk you through how to do it.”

So much for backing me up, I think in frustration.

I press my palms against my eyes.“You do realize that as soon as it’s out, they’re going to know we’ve figured out their game?”I am already calculating their strategy.“That means we get right on the road and head to the cabin.They’ll find the tracker where we leave it.Then we just have to hope no one’s following you as an extra precaution.”But I’m not holding out hope.

I’ll just have my team meet us there.

“So you’ll do it?”she asks me hopefully.

I incline my head.“You’re not giving me a choice.Besides, we don’t want to lead them to the formula before we can get it or a copy of it to safety.We at least want a head start.We just need to move fast.”

She expels a harsh breath, then clasps her hand tight in mine.“I’m okay,” she whispers, more to herself than to me.

But she doesn’t let go of my hand, and I am grateful to be her rock when she needs it.

I turn to Jonah.“Cabin address?Please?”I add, because I sense the older man is not comfortable sharing his personal information.

“Fine.”He rattles off the address and directions, which include off-road markers and indicators he put in himself.Because he is that far off the grid.