Out Of The Night Read Online Free

run-of-the-mill headache, but an actual searing, blinding, puking kind of head trauma.
    That alone scared him so badly he’d wanted to scream when he woke up, but he couldn’t. He remembered not being able to move for a whole day. His body functions had shut down completely. He couldn’t even blink his eyes. He knew of nothing but the maddening torture in his head.
    Now that the pain had gone, he never wanted to feel that way again. “I think I can go back four or five days.”
    She stepped closer. “And what happened during that time?”
    “One day I lay on the cot.” The thought of the agony he ’d suffered turned his stomach and made his head spin. He reached out and touched her shoulder to keep from falling.
    “Did a doctor come to see you?”
    He balanced on his own two feet then rubbed his face hoping to chase the memory away. “No, that was earlier.”
    “Before being put in the cell?”
    To stop the spinning, he closed his eyes. He tried to remember. He heard murmuring, two or three people talking. What had they said? His mind couldn’t unscramble the words. “I don’t know, but I think there was a doctor.”
    She reached out and took his left hand. He opened his eyes. Looking down, he noticed the needle marks on the inside of his arm.
    She peered closer then gave him a concerned glare. “I think they may have used drugs.”
    “To make me talk?”
    “There are drugs that will do that, but they aren’t very reliable.” She carefully looked at the bruises. “They could have come up with something new.”
    “A new truth serum?” Damn , that could be dangerous.
    She stepped back. “Could be why you can’t remember.”
    She might be on to something. That explained a lot. But not what they wanted to know and why they’d kept him locked up. “Have I done anything to piss off the Russian government?”
    She laughed, making him want to smile , but he knew better.
    “I have a feeling you’ve managed upset half the world. It’s what you do.”
    If she’d meant to insult him , it didn’t work. He actually had to suppress a grin. Okay, no warm and fuzzy guy here. “When I was locked up, the guards called me .007, Archuletta, and The Ghost. Which am I?”
    “All three.” She put her hands in the pockets of her jacket. “Let’s go find the truth. Okay?”
    He looked out over the dismal surroundings. A cold mist rolled in bringing more rain and sharper winds. “I’m not going to the Embassy, but let’s find a phone.”
    She turned toward a small store that sold groceries. As they walked , he stayed behind her, waiting and watching.
    Ten feet from the door, she turned and said, “Don’t come any closer. The way you’re dressed and your condition might raise alarm. And I don’t know about security cameras.”
    He nodded.
    “Stay right there. I can see the phone from here.”
    “Okay.”
    “ For now, I’m just going to have them get us a few things to survive.”
    Again , he nodded.
    She walked ahead and stepped into the phone booth. She stared at him like she didn’t trust him to wait. He wondered about the conversation taking place on the phone. Could he believe this woman? What if she summoned more reinforcements?
    He ’d turned to walk away when she called out to him. “Hey, wait up.”
    He stopped.
    “Everything we need will be here in less than ten minutes.”
    “Who’s coming?”
    She shook her head. “No one. I just explained the situation, and Mac told me not to push too hard.”
    “This Mac is a friend?”
    “You’re practically brothers.” She blew into her hands. “All you Falcon agents are close.”
    “How many of these Falcon guys are there?”
    “I don’t know for sure. Like I said, I’m a reporter. But I do know Mac, Brody, Arman, and A.J.” She smiled. “And of course, Frank.”
    “This Frank, he the boss?”
    “Oh, yeah. W ith a personality like a pit bull. But President Davis loves the guy. So, Frank gets a lot of stuff done.”
    Tony looked back the