Annalise had been through a lot in her life. She’d spent her childhood watching her mother be mistreated by men who had taken advantage of her kindness and her fragile mental state. She had spent her tween and teenage years helping run the home, making sure bills were paid, and doing everything she could to make certain her mother was okay. College had been years of working odd jobs and long hours, commuting back and forth to school because she didn’t want to leave her mother. She knew her mother would be okay on her own, but the bond between them had been forged through years of taking a combined stand against the unfairness of the world and of life. She would have stayed home during law school if she could have, but it had been too far, and her mother had insisted she pursue her dreams.
If Anna had known the outcome of leaving, she wouldn’t have gone. Just like if she had known Gabe was a lying, cheating hypocrite, she wouldn’t have married him. She certainly would have changed the outcome the day of the shooting, if she had known that the car rounding the street corner contained an assassin.
Life had taught her that she had no control. She should have used that to fuel her determination to enjoy the moments she had, to live every day with joy and enthusiasm. She should have taken vacations and gone shopping with girlfriends instead of working on cases that she had already spent dozens of hours prepping for.
She should have bought the house in the country she and her mother had once dreamed of. The quiet property with the fenced yard and room for a dog and cat and chickens.
Instead, she had made sure her life was carefully structured. Predictable. Ordered. Organized. Mondays were for laundry. Tuesdays and Thursdays for working out at the gym. She ran five days a week. Six if she didn’t have court on Monday morning. She paid her bills on the same day every month. She ate out once a week, got together with girlfriends after church on the third Sunday of every month.
And now, she was going to die in an icy field, far away from friends that she hadn’t spent nearly enough time with. No family. No husband. No children. Not even a pet to mourn her passing.
She swallowed down grief that she had no business feeling.
She’d had a good life. A great one. Even with all the struggles and heartaches, she had always had blessings to be thankful for. If she had things she was sorry for, they were her own doing.
And, if she could go back, if she could change things, she would.
She gripped the dashboard as the SUV bounced across snow-covered grass, powered up a slippery hill and fishtailed onto the highway.
“Maybe you should slow down,” she managed to say through gritted teeth.
“We lost them in the field. I want to put some distance between us and any patrol cars that might be heading this way,” he responded, still accelerating, slush and ice flying onto the windshield.
“If we spin out and die, that will defeat the whole purpose of driving like a maniac in snowy conditions.” The comment slipped out before she could stop it.
Mac didn’t seem to take offense.
“I may not seem to be taking precautions, but I’ve driven in worse conditions in a vehicle a lot harder to control in icy weather.”
“If that’s supposed to make me feel better, it doesn’t.”
“I’m not going to do anything that would risk your life.”
“Or yours?”
“You’re my priority.” He took a curve in the road, the SUV fishtailing again, headlights still off.
“Why?” she asked. She really wanted to know. Not some canned answer about accepting a job and having to follow it through to the end. Mac could have abandoned her at any time during the night, and she wouldn’t have faulted him for it.
“Do me a favor. Open the lockbox. I want to see if my grandfather’s stash of cash is still there.” He was changing the subject, rattling off the combination so quickly she had to rush to grab the box from the seat and spin through the numbers.
As a distraction technique, it was effective.
For a few moments, all she was thinking about was getting the box open. Once the lock popped, she lifted the lid and stared into a box filled with money. “When you said a stash, I thought you were talking about a few dollars.”
“Is it more than that?” He glanced at the box, his eye widening. “I guess we have enough for a burner phone.”
“And a plane ticket back to Boston,” she murmured. There were several hundred-dollar bills, a dozen fifties and enough twenties that she couldn’t have carried them in her purse.
“Not yet,” he said.
“What?”
“We’re not going to Boston yet. If we can find the leak and get a firm connection with Moreno, the prosecutor will have an even better case, and you’ll be that much safer until the trial. When is that? A couple weeks?”
“Are you trying to distract me?” she asked, counting the twenties and then carefully removing ten before closing and locking the box.
“Yes.”
“At least you’re honest about it.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“People aren’t always. Not when they want something.”
“The only thing I want is to get off this highway before we’re spotted,” he replied as she reached over and tucked the money into his coat pocket.
“I’ll leave the rest in here.” She slid the box under the seat, trying not to focus on the road again. On the slush. The ice. The snow. According to the dashboard clock it was nearly four in the morning. The sun should rise in a few hours. The temperature would rise with it. The snow would turn to rain and traveling would be safer.
She shifted in her seat, looking out the back window. The road was empty. “I guess we lost them.”
“For now. Someone who is working with them knows me well enough to know about the cabin and to know what road I would take to access. They were waiting for us.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For?”
“It isn’t fun to be betrayed by someone you care about.”
“No, it isn’t. But, I’ll deal with that after we contact my friend and figure out who leaked your whereabouts to Moreno.”
“Do you think your friend will help us?”
“Yes. We were Navy buddies. We look out for each other.”
“Like you and Marshal Avery?”
“Yes.”
“It must be nice to have people you can count on like that.” She faced forward again. A road sign announced the off-ramp that led to Pine Bluff.
“You don’t?”
“If you don’t slow down, you’re going to miss the Pine Bluff exit,” she pointed out, ignoring his question.
“Changing the subject?”
“Yes.”
“I won’t ask why. Until after this is over.”
She didn’t ask what he meant.
“Pine Bluff?” she repeated. “The exit is right there.”
“I think it’s better to drive a while longer. Pine Bluff is the last decent-sized town between us and Abilene.”
“Exactly. You’ll be able to get a phone there and make your call.”
“But we won’t be able to stay there for any amount of time. Anyone who knows this area knows Pine Bluff. Moreno’s henchmen have already seen the SUV. They know what I’m driving, and they’ll be looking for it. I want to hole up somewhere until I can get backup that I trust.”
“Your friend in Dallas?”
“Yes.”
She frowned, biting her lip to keep from asking all the questions that were filling her head. She wanted to know how long they had served together. What they had done in the Navy. If they had been injured. When they had gotten out. She wanted to ask if they visited every year or just kept in contact via phone.
She wanted to ask about Mac’s past.
His life in the military and his life as a child. His family. His goals.
That scared her.
Mac seemed like a good guy. She had never seen him lose his temper or mistreat someone. She had never heard him say a bad word to anyone, criticize harshly or demean a client or employee. He had a steady, even way of approaching life that made the people around him comfortable. He was obviously protective and dedicated to keeping his word.
But, that didn’t mean she should be looking at him any differently than she did other men in her life. She certainly shouldn’t be wondering about his past. She shouldn’t be getting attached to the idea of getting to know him, of spending more time with him, of learning everything there was to know about his life.
But, she was, and she knew it.
And, that was a surefire way to be hurt again.
She frowned, pulling the borrowed coat closer and settling deeper into the seat. She needed to return to Boston and her life. That was what she should be focused on. Anything else could only bring her trouble and heartache. Sure, she had been lonely sometimes. There had been nights when she had returned home after a fifteen-hour day and longed to have someone to talk to, but she had tried marriage. It hadn’t worked out. She’d had roommates during law school. That had been fine, but she didn’t want to clean up messes that weren’t hers, fight for shower time or try to figure out laundry schedules. She wanted to share her heart, but she didn’t want it broken again.
“Maybe a dog. They never lie to you, and they certainly don’t cheat, and any messes they make are just because they’re dogs. Not because they’re slobs,” she murmured.
“What’s that?” Mac asked.
“I think I’ll take a catnap while you’re driving,” she replied. She closed her eyes before he responded, leaning her head against the cold window and praying that the nightmare would be over soon and that she could return home to Boston and the safe, predictable life she had built there.
She wasn’t sleeping.
The cadence of her breathing was too uneven, her body too tense, but Mac didn’t bother asking why she was pretending. They both had troubles they were dealing with. They both had private struggles and secret pain. She had every right to keep her own counsel, to sink into herself and let the world fade away.
He exited the highway, merging onto the interstate. It was a straight shot to Abilene. A hundred miles of nothing but ranchland and farms, homesteads and a few small towns. Another two hundred miles from there to Dallas. He had made the trip a few times over the years, visiting Seamus and a few other buddies who had settled in the area. It had been a few years, though. The ranch took up all his time and energy. As much as he tried to keep up with the lives of his friends, he sometimes went months without checking in.
Seamus wouldn’t hold that against him.
If he could, he would help.
If he couldn’t, he would know who could. Unlike Mac, Seamus stayed in close contact with old friends. He had a network of people across the country who he had met and made friends with. His tough, hard-edged exterior belied a softer exterior. He would do anything for a friend. Even put his life on hold to help. In a fight, though, he was a formidable opponent. He fought hard, and he fought to win. He had been the guy everyone on their SEAL team had wanted as a flanker. The person who everyone trusted implicitly. He had been injured in the same IED explosion that had ended Mac’s military career, but his face had still been the first one Mac had seen when he had come out of surgery.
The drive to Abilene took less than two hours, snow slowly turning to sleet and rain as Mac drove south and connected with Interstate 20. He expected to be pulled over by the state police, but traffic was sparse, police presence nil. Hopefully, River was focusing state and county attention on Pine Bluff, targeting resources in that direction.
It was still early, the sun just edging above the horizon as he pulled into a Walmart parking lot and parked the SUV close to the entrance. There were several vehicles parked nearby and a few eighteen-wheelers on the outskirts of the parking area.
“We made it,” Anna said, straightening in her seat. “Let’s go in and get the phone. I don’t know about you, but I’m anxious to get back to my life.”
She started opening the door.
He reached across her and held it closed, his forearm brushing her muscular thigh. She stilled, all the excitement and energy reined in as she stared into his eyes.
She was beautiful.
There was no question about that.
Large eyes. High cheekbones. Smooth skin with just a few freckles on her nose and cheeks. Fair hair that she usually pulled back from her face. A slim, muscular figure. Mac had spent years telling himself he was too busy to pay much attention to the women who came and went on the ranch. He had plenty of highbrow clients who were there for a good time, more than a few single women who had been actively looking for a partner. He had no time for games. Even if he did, he wouldn’t have played them. For the past few years, he had accepted the bachelor life and been happy with it.
Now, he wondered if the reason he hadn’t been noticing the women who came and went was because none of them had been the right woman.
Until Anna, there had been no one who drew his attention and kept it. Until her, he hadn’t given any woman more than a passing glance.
“Sorry,” he said, pulling back, his arm sliding across her thigh again. She blushed, the warmth in her cheeks obvious even in the dimly lit interior of the SUV.
“No need to apologize,” she said brusquely. “We’re both adults. I think we can handle a little unintentional touch. Now, how about we get moving?”
“I want you to stay here.”
She’d grabbed the door handle again, but she didn’t open the door. “Why?”
“Because River probably issued a BOLO for us. If not because he is involved, then because he is worried about us and wants to get us in custody before Moreno’s men find us again. The police will be expecting a man and a woman together. If this were normal shopping hours, there would be dozens of couples walking in and out of the store. It’s not. You stay here, ducked down so no one can see you. I’ll go in. I’ll be out as quickly as I can.”
“I don’t like that idea.”
“Have you liked any of my ideas so far?” he asked as he took the twenties she’d tucked into his coat pocket and put them in his wallet.
“I’m sure if I think long enough I can remember one that I was keen on,” she replied. Her voice was light, a half smile on her lips, but he could see the concern in her eyes.
“It’s going to be okay, but just in case something unexpected happens, I’ll leave you the keys.” He took them from the ignition and placed them in her hand, folding her fingers over them and squeezing gently. “I’m also going to give you my friend’s business card. His name is Seamus Murphy. He owns a security company in Dallas. Tell him I gave you his contact information.” He took the well-worn card from his wallet and set it on the dashboard.
“I would rather not have to do that,” she said, her voice raspy and dry with fear. He didn’t want to leave her in the SUV any more than she seemed to want to be left, but they were a lot more noticeable together than they were alone.
“You won’t. Like I said, this is just in case something unexpected happens.”
“Do you know how many times unexpected things have happened to me? Do you know how many times my life has been thrown into turmoil because of stuff that shouldn’t have happened but did?” Her voice cracked, and she looked away. He wasn’t sure if she was referring to the shooting in Boston or something else, but he didn’t want to leave her defeated and uncertain.
He touched her chin, urging her to meet his eyes again. “Nothing unexpected is going to happen. No one knows we’re here, and no one is going to know. Stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” His finger trailed the curve of her jaw, skimming over silky flesh and soft strands of loose hair before he forced himself to turn away, to exit the vehicle, to walk toward the store as if he wanted to do it.
He was worried too.
He knew as well as she did that things could go wrong and often did. But he had to trust in his plan. He had to have faith that God was in it. He had to move forward with confidence and purpose. Hesitation could kill a man. He had seen that during his time overseas. Moving forward on any plan was better than sitting frozen with uncertainty.
He walked into the store and went straight to the electronics section. He didn’t waste time. He knew what he was looking for. He bought three phones and paid cash, ignoring the cashier’s curious look as he grabbed a few protein bars and packages of almonds onto the conveyor belt, adding several bottles of juice and water, and waited to be rung up. The cashier raised an eyebrow when Mac handed her twenties to pay. She checked one at a time, using a UV light to study each banknote. Finally satisfied, she bagged his purchases and handed him change.
Mac had the first phone ready for use as he walked out of the store, and he was dialing Seamus’s number as he slid into the SUV.
“Murphy here. What’s up?” Seamus said curtly.
Mac met Anna’s eyes and gave her a thumbs-up.
“Hey, Shay, it’s Mac.”
“Is it now?” he asked, his Irish accent barely noticeable. He’d spent the first fifteen years of his life with his mother’s family in Ireland. He’d never said much about the reasons why he had joined his father in the US, but Mac knew it wasn’t a happy story or a good one. “Then why don’t I recognize the number?”
“Because I’m in a bit of a...bind, and I can’t use a traceable phone.”
“You’re at the ranch?” he asked, his voice sharp.
“No. I’m in Abilene.”
“That’s a little over two hours from here.” He muttered something under his breath. “How much trouble? The kind that could get you arrested? Or the kind that could get you killed?”
“Both.”
“In that case, it’ll be best if you stay out of sight. I’ll come to you. Where are you?”
“In a Walmart parking lot on the western side of the city.”
“Not going to do you much good to sit there. The sun is going to be up in an hour. You’ll be clear pickings for whoever is after you. Hold on. I’m looking at a map. There’s a motel just off I-20. About seven miles east of your location. Looks like the kind of place a man can check in using cash. White House Inn is the name. Check in there. Call me with the room number. Other than that, no contact until I arrive. We’ll figure things out when I get there.” He disconnected, the silence the only indication that he was ending the call.
Mac tossed the phone onto the console and took the keys Anna was holding out to him.
“What now?” she asked, her skin pale, her eyes deeply shadowed. A couple of hours of sleep would do her good. He’d worry about rest for himself after Seamus arrived.
“We check into a motel until Shay arrives.”
“How long will that be?”
“A couple of hours. He drives fast when he has somewhere to be.” He pulled out of the parking lot and merged onto I-20. The city was beginning to wake, cars speeding along the road as people began commuting to work. He drove the speed limit, checking his rearview mirror as he spotted the White House Inn and exited the freeway. If they were being tailed, it wasn’t obvious. He did a slow trek around the area, driving from the hotel to a nearby fast food restaurant and ordering two cups of coffee. Black for him. Two creams for Anna.
He handed her the cup as he pulled away. “There are almonds and protein bars in the bag. Go ahead and eat something.”
She rifled through the bag and pulled out two protein bars, opening both. She took his coffee and placed it in the cup holder, then handed him a protein bar. “I’m not the only one who needs to eat.”
“I ate dinner last night.”
“I did...” Her voice trailed off. “Maybe I didn’t.”
“You didn’t.”
“How do you know? You weren’t there.”
“You never eat before you run.”
She frowned. “That’s true.”
“You grab some fruit and protein when you’re done and go to your cabin. I figured you ate there. Since you didn’t make it back last night, you’re probably hungry.”
“Now, that you mention it, I am.” She bit into the protein bar. “Do you think your friend will really be here in a couple of hours?”
“Yes.”
“So, he’ll just drop whatever he was doing and leave? No packed bags or getting ready? Just climb in a car and drive here?”
“Yes.”
“Wow.”
“Wow what?”
“That’s the kind of friend we all wish we had, I guess.”
“I’d do the same for him.”
“Then you are also the kind of friend we all wish we had.”
“Wouldn’t you do what you could for a friend?” he asked, pulling into the White House Inn parking lot. The place had seen better days, the white paint gray with age, the windows smudged and cracked.
“Well, yes. But not everyone is like that.” She shrugged, taking a sip of coffee and smiling. “That’s good coffee.”
“Or, you’re really desperate for caffeine,” he responded, returning her smile as she took another bite of protein bar. Color had returned to her cheeks, and she looked more energetic, her normal good humor replacing fatigue and fear.
“I was definitely desperate for caffeine. It’s just the way I like it, by the way. How’d you know?”
“You have a cup of coffee every Sunday after church. Always with two creams.”
“I do?”
“You also eat exactly half a glazed doughnut. You always give the other half to Stacey.”
“That’s probably true. I do like glazed doughnuts, but not enough to eat the whole thing.” She frowned. “You’ve spent a lot of time studying what I do, Mac.”
“You’ve spent six months on the ranch. You’ve attended church every Sunday. I didn’t have to study you to notice those things. I just had to pay attention.”
“Ha! Tell my ex that. We dated for four years and were married for three, and he still always brought me coffee with sugar and no cream.” She pressed her lips together and turned her attention to the motel. “I guess we should see if they have a room.”
“Seeing as how the parking lot is nearly empty, I’d say it’s a good possibility they do.” He wanted to ask more about her marriage and her ex, but it wasn’t his business. He was there to keep her safe and to get her to trial, not to dig into her life and her past.
But he was curious.
He had been curious since the day she’d arrived at the ranch. He could admit that. What he couldn’t do was allow himself to be distracted by it. He had to stay focused on the mission and the goal. He couldn’t allow anything or anyone to get in the way of that.
Not even himself.
But looking into Anna’s eyes, seeing the concern and fear in her face, he had a feeling that might be a bigger challenge than he imagined.
“Are we going to sit here staring at each other all day or go check into the motel?” she asked, turning away and opening the door.
He took several twenties from the lockbox before stepping out of the SUV and surveying the parking lot. He had pulled around to the back of the building, parking near bushes and the dumpster. They partially blocked the view of the street.
She climbed out before he had a clear visual of the surrounding area.
“Get back in the car,” he said. “We don’t know if we were followed.”
“You spent most of the drive looking in the rearview mirror. If we were followed, you’d know it,” she said confidently.
She was right and he wasn’t going to waste time arguing about whether she was in the vehicle or out of it. He grabbed the lockbox and took her hand. She didn’t resist as he crossed the parking lot and entered the back door.
They could have been any couple checking into a hotel after a long night driving. Their fingers entwined, their steps synced, they walked through a dingy hall and made their way to a small lobby. An elderly man sat in a leather chair behind a dusty counter, his hair sticking out in gray tufts around his thin face. He looked up from a book he was reading as they approached, his gaze jumping from Mac to Anna.
“Forty dollars a night. You pay the same amount whether you stay an hour or six weeks,” he said gruffly, grabbing a key from a drawer in the desk.
Mac handed him two twenties.
“You paying by the night?” the man asked as he shoved the cash into another drawer. “Because if you’re staying more than one, you gotta pay up front.”
“Just one night,” Mac responded.
“Room 105 is at the end of the hall.” He gestured to the left. “Place is quiet. I like to keep it that way.”
“No problem.”
“No security cameras, and I don’t talk. You pay your tab and keep quiet, I don’t care why you’re here.” He thrust the key in Mac’s direction and turned his attention back to the book.
“Thanks,” Mac said, his hand tightening around Anna’s as he walked through the narrow hall. It smelled of stale smoke and vomit, the carpet so threadbare, plywood was visible beneath it. Room 105 was the last door to the left, next to an emergency exit that Mac was happy to see. The more escape routes, the better.
He unlocked the door and pulled Anna into the room with him. They had been running for hours, and he wanted to stop, to think through plans and to make certain he had everything in place to do what needed to be done: head back to the ranch, find the person who had betrayed him, and stop him before he could do any more damage.
Anna’s life depended on his ability to do that.
He wouldn’t forget that. He couldn’t forget it. He certainly wouldn’t let his anger and hurt cloud his judgment. Once Seamus arrived, he’d discuss the plan with him. If Seamus agreed it was sound, they would move forward. If not, they would come up with a new one.
Whatever they decided, Anna’s wellbeing had to be a priority. Not just because she was an assignment he had agreed to take, but because she was a person that he was beginning to care about. Someone he wanted to get to know better.
After this was over.
After they were safe.
After he made sure she could live the life she wanted. The one she had left behind in Boston.
He shoved the thought away.
He would worry about that later.
For now, he needed to focus on keeping them both out of the line of fire.