In the Shadow of Vengeance (12 page)

He wiped a hand over his mouth and sucked in air. How in the hell had he allowed himself to lose control like that? Elizabeth's life was in his hands, and his libido had converted to his teen years.

“Don't start cussing,” she whispered, touching her hand to his cheek. “You don't even like me. How in the heck do you kiss when you like someone?”

“I like you just fine, Elizabeth Merlot. I don't like your secrets.”

She swallowed and lowered her gaze to her lap. “Everyone has secrets, detective. Just because I enjoyed myself doesn't mean I'm ready to share my soul. It was just a kiss.”

“No, it wasn't, or I've been doing it wrong for years.” He dropped the hand that still cupped her neck. “I didn't mean for it to get so—”

“Don't spoil it.” She eased off his lap onto the seat and glanced through the back window. “Did we lose them?”

He studied the woman next to him. She wasn't acting like she was supposed to act, and it was throwing him further off his game. Why wasn't she slapping his face, staring him down, something?

“Noah, did you hear me?”

“What?”

“Did we lose them?”

“Yes,” he said and repositioned himself on the bench, facing forward. “You're safe.”

“Now what?”

“I'm working on that. Do you have any idea where this bus is going?”

“Yes, this is the orange route of the Charm City Circulator.”

He took his phone out of his pocket, but before he could place a call, she yanked it out of his hand.

“How come you can use your phone, but you tossed mine into the mailbox?”

“Because I have a brilliant sister-in-law who encrypted it. It's almost impossible to trace.”

“Then call my kids. I need to know they are safe.”

The small light of trust from earlier evaporated into thin air. Noah couldn't help feeling sucker punched. “I told you—”

She placed her hand on his arm. “It's not that I don't believe your brother is taking good care of them.”

Her eyes filled with tears, and for some reason, they hurt more than her lack of trust in him. She pressed her hands to her face and said nothing for a long time.

“So maybe we do need to do some soul sharing.” She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Danny and Erin can't go home. It's not safe for them there. I need to tell them that.”

“Adam isn't taking them home, and he has their cell phones. Elizabeth, do you know who those men were who tried to grab you and Erin?”

“No, I have never seen them before.”

Apparently she felt more comfortable talking to the damn window than to him. From the tension in her shoulders to her rod-straight spine, it wasn't hard to read that she was scared shitless. Why didn't she just tell him what was going on? And how in the hell could she kiss him with such passion, such trust, then turn her back to him?

He raised his hand to the taut spot at the base of her neck but dropped it back into his lap. “Come on, spit it out. What's going on?”

“I can't tell you, but I do know what this is about.” Her hand reached out and gripped his. “Noah, I have to call Derek.”

I'm right fucking here, damn it. Ask me for help.

Shoving down the anger, he lowered his tone and asked, “Why? I don't trust that guy.”

His arms tightened just a notch and he eased her into him. A protective instinct like he had never known coursed through him. He wanted her safe, wanted the laughter she shared with her children back in her eyes.

“I do. He's a federal marshal assigned to protect me.”

Elizabeth pushed herself away from Noah, pressing her back into the corner of the bench. How could she have allowed those words to slip out? What had she been thinking?

It was Noah's fault for kissing her silly and turning her into a mindless idiot. One moment she was in the most passionate embrace she had experienced in her life, and the next, her nightmare slapped her across the face.

She threaded a hand through her hair and tried to focus. Maybe she could laugh it off, or imply she said that to shut him up. If Noah bothered to look up Derek, his cover was as solid as hers.

As each lie formed, she rejected it. There was one truth about the man glaring next to her: He wasn't anyone's fool.
Nope, she couldn't take those words back.
And from the tense expression in his eyes, Noah heard every word and was slowly filling in the blanks.

“You don't get to say something like that and go quiet on me.”

She scanned the bus. No one was glaring at her, so maybe Noah was the only one who heard her confession. He placed an arm around her shoulder and drew her next to him. His irises seemed to turn a darker blue, almost black. She had seen that look on his face the night Danny was attacked.

“Your boss, the guy I met in your townhouse, is a federal marshal?”

She could only bob her head up and down because she couldn't get the words past her throat. Every lie she'd told him was probably parading like proud soldiers in slow motion. Part of her wanted to apologize for the lies, but every decision she had made since her nightmare began was for her children. She refused to ask forgiveness for being a good mother.

“How long have you known Derek?”

“Almost fourteen years. He was part of the task force assigned to protect me.”

His expression hardened and the little vein at his temple began to pulse. She ached to massage it with her finger, but she kept her hands pressed into her lap.

“Are your parents dead?”

“Just to me,” she choked out.

“Brothers and sisters?”

Her heart was pounding so hard against her ribs, she had trouble hearing herself think. Why did she believe ending the lies, at least with one person, was going to be easy?

“I'm a middle child, two older brothers and one younger sister.”

“And what do they believed happened to you?”

“My family believes Erin and I are dead.”

“And Danny?”

“They don't know he exists.”

Overwhelming grief so raw and painful cut through her. It didn't matter how many sacrifices she had made to keep this day from ever happening. They had found her anyway.

She leaned her head against Noah's shoulder. “I'm in witness protection and my cover may have been blown. I have to contact Derek. He's going to have to move us, and fast.”

Derek had talked himself hoarse trying to convince her to open up to Erin and Danny about their father and the program for years. She came up with one excuse after another for keeping them in the dark, praying this day would never come.

If the U.S. Marshals Service ruled Elizabeth's identity was compromised, she would be given a new name, new everything. Danny's and Erin's lives would be erased as well and new identities created. If that weren't terrifying enough, she would have to tell them who their father really was. How would they ever trust anything that came out of her mouth again?

For years she kept their father's memory alive for them, or at least the man she thought she'd married. She made their father out to be a hero when he was a monster. Danny already had such low self-esteem. What was going to happen when he found out who his father really was?

Best-laid plans and all that crap. The ugly truth was she had no choice but to allow the U.S. Marshals Service to rip her kids out of the only home they had ever known. Everyone in their lives would be lost to them, including the man sitting next to her.

She gulped down a sob because she refused to cry over something she had no power to change. She pulled away from Noah's shoulder and straightened her spine. “I need to make that call.”

“Let me talk to Adam first. Once you notify the marshals, I can't help you.”

“What would your brother be able to do? Just having the kids with him could place him in danger.”

He let out a rough laugh. “Adam is a super soldier, a real badass. Danny and Erin couldn't be safer.” He took her hand in his. “I know you have no reason to trust me, but there may be something else going on here. We need to find somewhere we can talk in peace. Just give me time to explain what I think is going on.”

Avoidance had become a game she played very well. What would an hour matter? The little devil on her shoulder screamed the answer in her head before she could shut it up.
In sixty minutes, all hell could break loose.

Everything she had learned about Noah through Danny gave her hope that taking a small leap of faith and trusting Noah might not be a bad thing. He had strength of character that couldn't be faked. While she still considered her taste in men her worst quality, at least her judgment of men had grown with her maturity. She was not the same naïve or gullible young woman who married Spencer.

Noah waited patiently for her decision. It was her moment to step off the cliff.

“Okay, make your call to your brother.”

Elizabeth had followed the rules of the program almost to the letter for years, never daring to venture off into the unknown. In the last few minutes, she'd torn those rules into tiny pieces.

As the bus maneuvered around the harbor traffic, bits and pieces of Noah's conversation with his brother slipped through. The brief, one-sided dialogue sounded so cryptic, by the time he placed the phone in his back pocket, she was ready to jump out of her own skin.

Paranoia had become a comfortable blanket. Most days, she had to force herself to fold it up and hide it away. Today, that blanket sharpened her focus and kept her safe. What did Noah need to talk to her about and how was it related to the men who tried to kidnap her and Erin?

“Adam asked me to reassure you that the kids are fine. They will love my niece, Anna. She will probably talk them into one of her Disney marathons.”

“How old is your niece?”

“Six going on thirty.”

The unease grew tenfold. “Are you sure we aren't placing your brother's family at risk?”

He pressed her fingers gently. “They are very safe, and he has a vehicle we can borrow in a lot about twenty minutes outside the city. Are you up for a subway ride?”

“Can't we just backtrack and pick up your truck? Those men were after me. How would they even know you?”

“We should stay away from the hotel. It's better to be a little cautious until we know more about what we're dealing with.”

“Can I ask why your brother keeps a vehicle stored miles from his home?”

Noah shrugged. “It's part of his training from his past life. I can't tell you more without going into his life story. If you are still okay with the plan, we need to get off at the next stop and take the Marc train.”

“One more question. Where do we go once we have your brother's car?”

“I have a plan.”

Elizabeth's heart skipped. “If that was an attempt to calm me, it's not working.”

Another grin crossed his lips. “Just hear me out. My family has a cabin in West Virginia.”

“West Virginia?” She bit down on her lower lip.

“Once we pick up the vehicle, it's about a two-hour drive. Adam could bring the kids tomorrow morning. It's a great place—private, protected.”

“I don't think that's a good idea. Can't we just find someplace—”

“It's the safest place I know, but I'll do whatever makes you feel comfortable. I'm not trying to make this harder on you. The cabin is surrounded by beautiful woods, hiking trails, and has great thinking air. It's where I go to recharge.”

She let out a short laugh. “Thinking air?”

“I call it what it is,” he said, and stood the instant the bus came to a stop. “This is us. Just think about it on the subway ride.”

She stood and navigated the aisle behind Noah. He reached for her hand as she exited the bus stairs and moved briskly toward the subway entrance. She couldn't help looking in all directions for signs of the men before she remembered Noah's instructions. Rolling the tension from her shoulders, she set her gaze straight in front of her.

They reached the platform just as the train arrived. Thank God the car was almost empty so they had their choice of seating. Noah chose to sit where he could see anyone entering the train.

“Lean your head on my shoulder and rest your eyes.” He brushed a finger over the top of her brow. “I'm sure whatever they used to knock you out has left behind a nasty headache.”

“I can't sleep.”

Noah placed his arm around her shoulder, and like the bus, drew her so close to him, she was almost sitting in his lap. Why the closeness didn't send her over the edge, she didn't understand. But she now understood why Danny liked this man so much. He made you feel safe.

“Elizabeth, I need to share something with you.”

Her heart skipped. “What?”

“I don't know where the men after you disappeared to, but they are not here.”

“How could you know that?”

He lifted her chin with his finger. “See that camera?”

She nodded.

“My brothers Mac and Jason and my sister-in-law Sarah are watching out for us. Adam called them the instant I gave him our bus route.”

She couldn't keep from sucking in a noisy breath. “What do you mean, they've been watching us?”

“They're using their connections to access the traffic cameras.”

“What connections?”

“Mac, Jason, and Sarah are FBI. Adam is CIA. Sarah—that's Jason's wife—kept a lookout in the subway terminal, and Adam is probably staring right at us.” He lifted his hand. “Wave.”

She raised her hand then dropped it back to her lap. “Okay, that is creepy.”

Good God, who are these people?
Could she have just jumped from one explosive pan right into the fire? She swallowed a lump in her throat and asked, “Is that even legal?”

Noah let out a deep, sexy-as-hell laugh. “You have nothing to fear from me, Elizabeth Merlot.”