Reagan Through the Looking Glass (Hacking Wonderland, #1)

by Allyson Lindt

  “I’m not staying here.”

  He frowned. “We can hold you indefinitely without charging you.”

  “What good does that do you?” she asked. “I don’t know anything. I’m not important to you outside of whatever the fuck Jabberwock wants with me. Shoot me or release me. The way I figure it, if Jabberwock actually has any interest in me, the moment I’m back on his radar, he’ll be following me again.”

  “And you think he’ll retrieve you without hesitation, this man you’ve never met? He’s going to be wary as fuck about wherever you vanished to.”

  “He will be. It’s true. That’s why you give me my distance, and let me work my way back in.” Even if they did release her, she didn’t think for a second that they’d take eyes off her, but she’d pretend. “If it makes you feel better, you can take the lead.”

  “He’s definitely not going to approach you if you’re with me,” Blake said.

  She flopped back onto the bed and turned her gaze to the ceiling. “That’s my offer. Think it over. Talk to the people in charge.”

  “Ali— Reagan, this isn’t going to fly.”

  She didn’t respond. Hatter and Hare didn’t get to be the only people who had secrets. Seconds ticked away, until she heard the door open and latch shut again.

  Please let this get me out of here.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Despite telling herself she had a good plan, Reagan was surprised when Blake returned with an okay.

  She was less than surprised when they handed back her purse minus the hundreds of dollars in cash that she’d had.

  When she asked about it, Blake shrugged. “It was seized, having come from illegal sources. You said you could draw out Jabberwock’s people. You never said anything about needing financing.”

  “Are you serious?”

  His confident expression slipped. “This isn’t my call. I had to beg, run this up to the top, and use your torture as leverage, and even then...” He looked away.

  She didn’t like that. “What?”

  “If they think for a second that this has gone south, you’re gone. I don’t mean brought back here.”

  “Yeah. Dead. I get it.” She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Can I at least get a ride out of here?”

  “Definitely.” He held out a blindfold.

  She was grateful it wasn’t a sack this time. That didn’t stop a shudder of nausea from rolling through her, dragging back flashes of her time spent in the cell. “Are you serious?”

  He shrugged. “We’re secretive. Where do you want to go?”

  “Depends on where I am.”

  He twisted his mouth.

  Un-fucking-believable. “I’m going to figure out what city we’re in when you drop me off, and unless we’re on a border, I’ll have a good idea of the state as well.”

  “You can pick any destination between Portland and Vancouver.”

  Perfect. She knew they were within a few hour’s drive of Seattle, but the range he gave her put her back near Hare. If he was still there. She had to start someplace. “Drop me back where you found me.”

  “That’s a burned-out husk of a condo. And also a little suspicious.”

  “The nearest grocery store, then.” She let a grim smile leak out. Improbable Bullet Point One on her list was done, if she didn’t count the looming executioner’s ax. Time to see if the next one worked.

  The drive didn’t seem as long this time, but that might be because she was sitting in the back seat of a sedan, rather than chained to the floor. When Blake pulled the blindfold off, she saw it had been about three hours.

  That could mean their top-secret location was three hours away, or simply that they drove her in circles for that long. But they weren’t farther than that.

  As they pulled into a grocery-store parking lot, she felt Blake’s hand slide along her backside. She jolted her head up to look at him, and he made the slightest shh sound. “Your stop,” he said at normal volume. “There’s a Residence Inn a few blocks from there. If you check in there, and tell them you have a reservation under the name A.L. Bugs, we’ll pick up the bill for your stay. We’ll be in touch.”

  Seconds later, she stood on the curb, and her ride was gone.

  She blinked several times in the afternoon light, trying to get her eyes to adjust. The roar of traffic, chatter of people, blare of horns, and squawk of birds drilled into her at once, until she didn’t know where to look.

  “Are you okay?” The question gave her focus, and she whirled to see an older woman studying her with concern.

  Reagan smiled. “I’m fine, thank you.” She wasn’t in the mood to make conversation, though. “Have a lovely day.” She spun away before the woman could say more, and shouldered her way into the store.

  It hadn’t been that long since she was around large crowds of people. Why did walking into a simple grocery store suck the breath from her and make her head spin?

  She forced herself to calm. This was normal. It was everyday life. And the faster she got out of here, the better. She cut toward the service desk and took her spot in the line. Blake’s odd behavior trickled in, and she reached into her back pocket.

  He’d slipped her a card of some sort. She pulled it out. The small envelope looked like the kind gift cards came in. It contained a key, a debit card, and a business card with a note and an address.

  They’re watching you, not me. If you check into the hotel after 8 pm, and look for Gale she’ll put you in a good room. The card has $500 on it. I’m sorry it’s not more.

  She didn’t want the glimmer of appreciation that flitted through her, but she couldn’t ignore it.

  “Next.”

  Reagan stepped up to the clerk and summoned her warmest smile. “Is there any way I could use your phone?” Her excuse clung to the tip of her tongue. The story she’d tell... The pleading she’d do...

  “Sure.” He nodded to the next window over. “Dial 9 to get an outside line.”

  It took her a second to say, “Thanks.” She moved to the store phone and dialed Mindy’s number.

  “Hello?”

  Reagan’s heart ached at the sound of the friendly, familiar voice. I want to go home. “Hey. It’s me.” She managed to keep her voice from cracking.

  “Oh my God, Reagan. Where are you? Are you okay? What happened? Someone broke in and ransacked your room the day after you said you were going to that funeral, and I haven’t heard from you in weeks.”

  “I’ll explain it all soon, I promise.” Reagan winced at the lie. “I need two favors, please. I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate.”

  “Of course. Anything.”

  “Can you wire me some money? Just a hundred bucks. I— I’m stuck in Seattle and I need to get home.”

  “What are you doing there?”

  “When I get home. Please?”

  “Sure. Of course. I’ll go online as soon as we hang up.”

  Reagan let out a tiny sigh. “And one other thing. There’s a shortcut on your laptop. It says Tor on it.”

  “What did you install on my computer?” Mindy asked.

  “It’s a web browser. No big deal. The shortcut should take you to a message board. I need you to post something that says Alice is looking to join a tea party.” It didn’t matter that she never told Hare what Wayne called her. If Mindy used the icon Reagan set up, the message wouldn’t have the right encryption. The note would trace back to her old address, and the wire transfer would trace to this store, and her ID.

  “No,” Mindy said.

  “Excuse me?”

  “You vanish off the face of the planet for days, call me from four states away, and ask for money. Okay, fine. But now you want me to help you chase this bullshit phantom of Wayne’s?”

  “Please?” Reagan forced a hint of sob into the word.

  “All right. But you owe me.”

  “I know I do. Thank you,” Reagan said.

  IT ONLY TOOK FIFTEEN minutes for Reagan to get her money. S
he didn’t have anything to after that except wait for Jabberwock to send someone for her.

  She strolled town, and wandered into a library. The quiet was soothing. As she meandered through the shelves, she grabbed random books and read the backs.

  After that, she found a Chinese restaurant a few blocks from the grocery store, and stopped for an early dinner. It felt odd, sitting down alone to eat but being surrounded by so many faces. Were any of them Blake’s colleagues? Was there a Four of Clubs in here somewhere, or a Two of Hearts?

  She placed her order, then did a quick circuit of the place, memorizing exits. The restroom had a second door in back. Interesting. She’d check that out later if she had the chance.

  At her table, she ordered, but when her food came, she hesitated to eat. Which was odd. It wasn’t as though anyone had slipped anything into her meals before, and if she were being realistic, the people holding her could have drugged her in any number of ways outside of her food.

  The logic didn’t stop her from taking the first few bites slowly and waiting several minutes to makes sure she felt okay. When everything seemed in order, she dove into the rest of the dish.

  She spent the time until nightfall wandering the city streets, adapting to the noise, and drowning in the crowds. She memorized the note from Blake, then burned it.

  If Jabberwock’s people were on her, the spooks she had following her would pick it up, but he was smarter than that. He’d watch until he knew he had a clear opening to her.

  A little after nine, she found herself in front of the hotel Blake told her to go to. She couldn’t explain to herself why she was accepting his invitation. She found Gale at the front desk. “I’m A.L. Bugs. I have a reservation for the night?”

  The desk clerk’s gaze flickered to Reagan for the briefest second. “Of course. Give me a minute... It looks like your room charges are covered. Here’s your key. Room 210.”

  “Thank you.” Reagan gave her a weak smile.

  She took the stairs to the second floor. The way the building was laid out, if someone was following her, they’d see her go in, but not where she went, unless she saw them as well. No one followed her up. No one waited in the hallway when she emerged.

  The room she was looking for was around the corner. She slid the key in the lock and pushed inside.

  It was dark, except for a light above the stove in the kitchenette area. The blinds were drawn, blocking most of the light from the street. She turned on one light, but left the others out, liking the control she had over how much she saw.

  Was it really her own room? She sat on the bed, knees together and fingers intertwined, unsure what to do with herself.

  The sound of a knock sent her heart skyrocketing into her throat. She went to the door and looked through the peephole. No one.

  A second knock, and she realized the noise came from behind her. An adjacent room. She swallowed an insane laugh. Of course she wasn’t really alone.

  She pasted a stern face on, and went to answer. Her giggle slipped out when she saw Blake on the other side, and she bit back the sound before it could become a cackle. “In room babysitter?” she asked.

  “No. It sucks, doesn’t it?” he asked.

  “What does?”

  “Always second-guessing everyone. Looking behind every corner for the deception. The conspiracy.”

  She let him in and locked the door behind him, then leaned back against it, arms crossed. She was struggling with the odd chasm that lay between being surrounded by too many people, and not wanting to be alone. “Aren’t you used to it by now?”

  “No. I don’t think I ever will be.” His tone was an odd cocktail of sorrow, bitterness, and regret. His phone rang, and he held a finger to his lips, to indicate she should be quiet.

  “Allen,” he barked into the device. “Yeah, I got her... I’ll take first shift tonight... Damn straight it is. Make sure you have someone here to relieve me promptly at eight... Sure. See you then.”

  He looked at Reagan after he disconnected. “I’m sorry about that. I just wanted to let you know I checked the room, it’s why I had Gale give you this one. There are no cameras or mics. The place is yours, secure and safe. I’ll leave you alone now.”

  “Wait.” She grabbed his wrist before she could think about what she was doing. Darkness closed in on her mind at the thought of being left alone in a tiny room. “You don’t have to go yet. I mean, you’re staying next door anyway, right? They trust you to watch me? It won’t hurt anything if you stay a couple more minutes? I mean, unless you need to go.” She clenched her jaw to stop her rambling.

  He pulled a chair out. “I can stay.”

  She reclaimed her spot on the bed. Great. Now that he was here, she didn’t have anything to say. If she asked him about who he was, would he answer?

  “How long have you been doing this? You said seven years with”—she stopped herself from saying Hare; that was still her secret— “Jabberwock. But before that?”

  “I came from...” He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. I’d planned to enlist for as long as I can remember. I was going to be a Marine, damn it. The towers fell when I was sixteen, and that reinforced my decision. It gets a little muddy from there, but tests, aptitude, education, and I landed here. I have a knack for blending into my environment.”

  “Is this a Grosse Point Blank kind of thing?” She tried to keep the teasing in her voice. To prevent things from dipping into the realm of too serious. “You lacked a certain moral compass?”

  His laugh was dry. “There are days I wish that was true. It would make a lot of this easier.” He shook his head. “Anyway, when Jabberwock popped onto the radar, they needed agents with enough technical skill to talk the talk, and people skills. About a dozen of us fit the bill. They altered our pasts and sent us in. I climbed fastest and highest, especially after... I’m saying too much.”

  She wouldn’t fill in the blank for him. She had a feeling it sounded like, Especially after Jabberwock lost one of his generals and needed a replacement. Alex’s role was another secret she’d keep, if he didn’t already know. “I get it. Don’t trust anyone. Right?”

  “Exactly.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, as he stared straight ahead.

  She had a feeling she wouldn’t see the same things he did, if she followed his line of sight. Was this what Alex went through? Hare said Alex enjoyed his work. Was that true, or was it a mask, like Blake wore? “It must make it difficult to connect with anyone.”

  “It does.” He let out a shaky sigh and looked at her. “You said you started pursuing Jabberwock because of your brother. What happened there?”

  “You really don’t know?”

  He shook his head. “We pulled your files when you approached Wayne. I knew you had a brother and that he passed away about five years ago. His records were a little odd.”

  “Odd how?” She’d never seen any discrepancies. Then again, she didn’t spend much time digging into Alex’s past, because she thought she knew it.

  “They looked a lot like mine. No digital photos. No passport. No state ID. Like I told you before, we assumed there was a connection, but didn’t have confirmation.”

  Even with the power of thousands of people behind them, they never found more than Reagan did. She felt a little smug about that. “He’d told me a few times he worked for this guy. This Jabberwock. Then he told me one day he was in trouble, and that was the last time I heard from him.”

  Hare’s story surged back, lies mixed with truth, hammering in her skull. She pressed her palms to her eyes until she saw stars, and tried to focus on that.

  “Hey.” Blake’s voice and the warmth of his hand on her arm dragged her back. “I’m sorry.” He’d said that a lot over the past couple of days.

  It bothered her that she believed he was sincere. “Thanks.”

  “I’m giving you all this information about me, and I think that’s the first real thing you’ve told me about you.”

  “Y
ou know everything about me. My public past hasn’t been doctored, and you’ve been watching me for a minimum of six months.”

  “But none of that tells me who you are.” He trailed his hand down her arm to grasp her fingers. “And before you counter and deflect—which you will—yes, I really want to know.”

  “Why?”

  “On paper, you’re statistically interesting. High IQ. Interesting degree choices. Impressive job prospects. But meeting you in person was different. In Vegas, I really was there to keep you safe. Wayne had been working with us for a while. You came along, and you had a new perspective that opened a lot of new avenues for us. Every time he panicked, we listened. That night, he insisted we put someone on you personally. I was already in town, and if you were with me, anyone who came looking for you from Jabberwock’s organization would think I’d gotten to you first.”

  Except that wasn’t the case. It would have blown his cover. No reason to dwell on that now, despite the whisper of guilt she felt about being the one to spill the beans. “The sex?”

  “You weren’t shy about being interested, and it was incredible. But you caught my attention as you. I’m... uh... a bit hooked now. I want to know more, and not for professional reasons.”

  He’s almost as stuck in this as I am. The realization slammed into her. She didn’t want to feel sympathy for him. Demonizing the enemy made it easier to keep them at arm’s length, and he was as much the enemy as anyone. Wasn’t he? His lies were reasonable, given his job, and he seemed genuinely upset about the way she’d been treated.

  Would it hurt to trust one person?

  Yes.

  Chapter Nineteen

  A yawn interrupted Regan’s internal argument, splitting her jaw and making her eyes water.

  “When was the last time you slept? As in, really slept?” Blake asked.

  “How long ago was Las Vegas?”

  “Wow. Okay, you need rest.” He stood and tugged her to her feet. “I’ll leave you to sleep. No one is going to wake you up or assault you with noise, and the curtains block a lot of light. I’ll be next door if you need me.”