Page 18 of Dark Gambit: The Play

"Easier than I expected." Sofia sat up slowly. "I feel a little woozy, though."

"You should lie down for a little bit." Julian pulled out a pillow from under the platform and handed it to her.

"Thank you." She tucked it under her head and brought her knees up.

It was probably the stress, or maybe the combined effect of the headache and the anesthetic, or maybe it was the fear of putting weight on the leg where Julian had dug the tracker out, but whatever the reason was, she was glad to stay horizontal.

Hopefully, her nausea wouldn't get worse and force her to get up and rush to the bathroom to puke.

"Is that it?" Eleanor leaned over the tray. "It's tiny. Mine was so much bigger. No wonder it hurt like a son of a bitch to take it out, and the area was still painful to touch for a couple of days later. I winced every time I moved my arm."

"What do you want me to do with it?" Julian asked. "Should we send it to William to take apart?"

"No!" Leon and Marcel said at the same time.

"We need to retain the illusion that she still has it on her." Leon pulled out his bug checker and waved it over the pebble. "It's not transmitting. How is it activated? Can it be done remotely?"

Marcel nodded. "I'm not familiar with the technology, but I know that it can be done. The thing needs to be inside a body, though. It's powered by the body's electrical signals. To keep the illusion going, we need to put it inside a dog or a cat, preferably one that doesn't move much. It will look suspicious if they activate the tracker and see it bouncing all over the resort."

"I know the perfect cat," Eleanor said. “Cecilia is the laziest cat ever. She sits on the windowsill in Anastasia's office all day long, and she only comes down to feed or to pee and poop."

"Poor cat," Sofia said. "I feel bad about hurting an innocent animal."

Julian gave her a smile. "My mate and I have two small dogs, and we put chips in both of them in case they ever get lost. It's not a big deal, and I'll make sure it's painless."

12

MARCEL

"Ineed to call the boss," Julian said. "Do you want to talk with him?"

Marcel looked at Sofia. "Are you okay staying here alone for a few minutes?"

She nodded. "What's next? Are you taking me back to the bunker? I could use a few hours of sleep."

That wasn't going to happen. Marcel was taking her to see Toven, but first, he needed to confer with Kian.

"I will tell you the plan after I talk to the boss."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "I'll probably be asleep when you get back."

"Then I'll carry you wherever you need to be." He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "Rest."

The smile she gave him could melt an iceberg. "I will."

When they were out of the room, Julian regarded him with a raised brow. "You didn't tell her about Toven?"

"Not yet. She's scared and overwhelmed. I figured that it would be easier for her to deal with one thing at a time."

"True. We also need to figure out what to tell her about Toven. The guy is not easy to explain."

Marcel shrugged. "After dealing with the compeller who imprisoned her mind, Sofia shouldn't be surprised to meet another compeller who is just as powerful or more so."

"Let's hope that he's more." Julian pulled out his phone and dialed Kian's number.

"What's the status?" the boss's gruff voice thundered through the microphone.

"She had a tracker in her. It was tiny, and I almost missed it. But it's out now, and Marcel says that we should implant it in a cat so it will seem as if she's still wearing it."