Page 68 of Steel Vengeance

And that kiss…

Yeah, she definitely hadn’t expected that.

“We’ve got an idea we want to run by you,” Stitch said, his eyes on her.

Blade pursed his lips. “His idea, but it’s a good one.”

“Okay.” She felt a nervous flutter in her stomach.

Stitch continued. “When we find Jeremy, we need to distract him long enough to download everything off his phone.”

Blade held up a small USB-like device.

“This plugs into his phone and downloads the data,” Stitch explained. “It only takes a few seconds, but we need him distracted.”

“And that’s where you come in,” Blade added.

“Me?”

Wasn’t she supposed to be laying low? And wasn’t Jeremy the one who’d tried to have her killed?

“What better way to shock Jeremy than you showing up out of nowhere?”

“I don’t get it.” The nervous flutter turned into an all-round bad feeling.

“Well, what if you confronted him, like you were looking for him?” Stitch said. “He is your handler, after all. You got shot, so naturally you’d want answers from him.”

“If he wasn’t a corrupt piece of crap, you mean?”

Stitch grinned. “Exactly.”

She looked from Stitch to Blade. They both had that smug look, like they’d already made up their minds. This was happening whether she liked it or not. They were easier to read than a kid’s book.

“You want me to confront him at the bar?” she asked, shaking her head. “Am I supposed to just walk up to him and be like, ‘Hey Jeremy, remember me? You tried to have me killed?’”

“Something like that,” Stitch mumbled.

Blade tried—and failed—to hide a smile.

She crossed her arms. “Well, you’re right about one thing, it would shock the hell out of him.”

“That’s the point,” Stitch said.

“We’d only need a minute, tops.” Blade nodded toward the device. “It works fast.”

“He’ll know I’m here,” she warned.

They both nodded.

“He might try to kill me again.”

Another look passed between them, this one more obvious.

“Yeah, it’s possible,” Stitch admitted. “But if we want to bring these guys down, we need evidence. His phone is a burner, but it might have messages or numbers that can help us track the others.”

“Or use it against him in court,” Blade added.

She thought it over. They were right. Even if they stopped the drug shipment, they still wouldn’t have anything solid on Jeremy or Matthew.