by Eason, Mary
I remembered the things that my brother had told me about Noah, more specifically the things that he hadn’t said. Had Judah been trying to warn me of Davis and Noah’s connection? My head literally throbbed from all the hours spent reading through files that held so much damaging proof of Judah’s lies but still part of me didn‘t want to believe what I‘d read there.
The computer screen went black and I knew that I’d been caught. I disconnected and shut the system down entirely before a trace could be put on Noah’s computer.
Like it or not I was right back in the middle of the past I’d walked away from. But this time it was different. The stakes were much higher. This time my son was in danger along with me.
I went upstairs to check on Ben who still slept unaware of the danger I’d discovered. He didn’t wake even when I kissed his forehead.
In my gut I knew that we weren’t safe here any longer. Our identities had been compromised. But I couldn’t leave. This was the only place that Noah knew to look for us if he chose to look for us.
To protect my child I would have to be on alert at all times. Unfortunately I knew the reality of our situation as well. It would only be a matter of time before trouble showed up on my doorstep. I just hoped that I hadn’t been out of the game long enough not to know how to defend my son when that time came.
I awoke the following morning still seated next to Ben’s bed holding my weapon. Luckily, Ben had slept straight through without waking.
I found a place to put the gun where I knew that I could get to quick enough but someplace that my son wouldn’t be able to reach. Before Ben woke I took a look around the place.
Bo and I walked the parameter of the house, looking for some visible signs of my mysterious thief, but we found nothing. Not even a footprint or a broken plant. Nothing to indicate that anyone had been here in the week that we were gone. And I begin to wonder if I’d imagined the whole picture thing. Had I simply put the photo away someplace, after Noah left and forgot about it?
Or had Noah taken it with him and I’d just never missed it until now?
I tried to convince myself that was the case because at least that meant that Noah cared enough about our family to want to remember us. It gave me a small amount of comfort to believe that our connection to Noah hadn’t been discovered by someone meaning us harm just yet. Unfortunately deep inside, I knew the truth and it was none of those things.
By the time Ben awoke that morning, every window and door in the place had been checked as well as every square inch of the house, every hiding place both inside and out.
“Momma what were you doing outside?” Ben asked when I found him in the kitchen a short time later eating cereal.
“Oh nothing much, baby. Just taking a look around. I really missed this place.”
Since we’d left Washington early yesterday morning, Ben had been exceptionally sullen around me. I knew he was still angry with me for making him leave, just as I was certain that he believed if we stayed a little while longer his father would find us. I decided it was time to clear the air between my son and myself.
“Baby, you know you father will come home when he can. It wouldn’t have mattered how long we stayed in Washington, your daddy didn’t know we were there. He’ll come back to us when he can.”
“Momma, daddy was there! I know he was. I could have stayed with him there. You’re the reason he can’t come back here! I could have stayed with him in Washington, I know he would want me.”
“Ben!” I tried to comfort him, but my son ran away from me. Something that he’d never done before. I felt the hurt of that rejection drive through me like a knife. I’d lost Noah and now I was close to losing my son and I didn’t know what to do to stop it.
I spent the rest of the morning cleaning house and looking for other tale tell signs by the light of day to prove that someone had been there. But I found nothing at all.
By lunchtime I sat scrolling through the emails I’d received from my website when I heard Ben’s reluctant footsteps coming down the hall.
I turned to watch him as he entered my office and stood before me with tears in his eyes.
“I’m sorry momma,” he said in that little boy voice that always tore at my heart.
I held out my arms to him, “It’s okay, baby. It’s okay. Come here.”
Ben ran into my open arms and I held him like I used to when he was just a baby. For a little while he let me. Then my son pulled away from y touch and stood beside me staring at my computer screen.
“Momma, is daddy really coming back?”
I wanted to be honest with him, but when I looked into that innocent face and saw his need, I decided for the moment that it was okay to let him hold onto that hope. Who knows maybe Noah wouldn’t let his son down after all.
“Of course he is baby. We just have to be patient. Your father has an enormous job to do. He’ll come back just as soon as he can. Now, how about we have some lunch and then take a walk. See if we can find old Winston.”
After sandwiches and milk Ben, Bo and I set off for the small mountain range on our property that Noah and I had first seen the huge black bear that we’d named Winston. That had been the only time we’d ever seen Winston but he’d become a legend around our house.
Ben had grown up hearing stories about the time we’d spotted the bear and it had become our little game, to go out searching for Winston.
“Momma do you think Winston still lives here?” Ben asked when we reached the first smaller peak of the mountain range.
“I don’t know, baby. We haven’t seen him in years, have we? Could be that he’s moved on. You know there’s more people around this area than there was when your father and I first moved here. Could be Winston’s shy?” That at least made Ben laugh and I smiled at the way my son had taken up carrying a stick with him everywhere he went just like his father used to do.
Ben was a few yards ahead of me when I saw something to my far right that caught my attention. A reflection that looked like glass on the far range. Or maybe binoculars. Was someone watching us?
My attention went immediately to Ben who was inspecting a rock. That prickle at the base of my spin was warning me that something wasn’t right here.
I forced myself to walk casually over to Ben’s die and touch his sleeve, bringing him upright from his inspection. His startled blue eyes going to mine.
“Momma, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing baby. But I need you to do exactly what I say okay? Do you see that big rock over there?” I’d spotted the rock, years ago and thought in my twisted spy mentality that it would make a perfect little hiding spot if ever one was needed up here in the middle of the mountain range. It was cut off from view from just about all angles but it allowed the perfect vantage spot for seeing anyone who was approaching.
I saw Ben’s attention go to the area that I pointed to and nod.
“Okay honey, we’re going to play a little game. How’s that sound? I want you and Bo to climb up to that rock there and hide behind it in the cave that’s there. You can’t come out until I come get you. Can you do that for me, baby? Take the walkie-talkie with you.”
“Okay momma,” he told me and started off before I stopped him. “Ben do the zigzag thing,” I told him and knew that he understood what I meant. I’d taught my son a long time ago never to go directly to a spot when climbing a mountain. Sometimes the easiest way to climb a mountain was at an angle.
I watched until I was satisfied that Ben was okay and then I headed toward the glint that was still visible. If it were indeed someone watching us, then they were not frightened by my approach? What did that mean?
I took an angled approach to the spot, coming in from above instead of from either side.
By a few yards away I couldn’t see any sign of movement there. Whoever had been there was gone now, but had they been there simply as a hiker off course, or was it a deliberate attempt to keep track of my son and I?
I crept back down t
o the opening in what appeared to be another small cave, only a few feet in depth and searched around the area. There were signs of someone trying to cover up their presence there and I felt my heart beat faster.
This was no accident. Only someone with the right skills would know how to cover up their tracks that way.
I shaded my eyes and scanned the horizon. I could see in a distance the rock that Ben was hiding behind but my son was not visible. He’d taken our game very seriously. There was no sight of anyone approaching that area so I took a few minutes to take in my surroundings.
This spot of the mountain was still on our property but close to the gentleman’s house that lived further up the mountain. The guy that in all the years we’d lived there neither Noah nor I, or most of the townsfolk for that matter had ever met. The guy was supposed to be some big city attorney who came to Colorado to get away from the pressures of his job. But he’d become sort of a legend around the area and was reported to be somewhat of a recluse.
I quietly radioed Ben to make sure he was okay and told him to stay where he was until I got there.
It was time to take a closer look around the house that I’d only been this close to once in all the years we’d lived here.
Once, when Noah and I had been out hiking, we decided to pay our closest neighbor a visit. Although there had been a car parked in the circular drive, no one had come to the door and we eventually gave up.
Now, I saw the same car parked there again. I had to wonder if maybe the guy just left it there to discourage any would be burglars or vandals.
I peeked through the windows and saw no signs of life at all inside the house. Who ever had been on the mountain today had not come from this house.
After a quick look around the place, I didn’t see any other sign that whoever had been watching us had hung around. I decided that it had only been a hiker off track and too embarrassed to admit it.
I found Ben still hiding behind his rock, and we continued on our little hunt for Winston for a little while longer even though it was hard for me to relax at that point.
I never shared my fears with Ben, because I didn’t want to admit them to myself. I couldn’t accept the fact that our little quiet life here was in jeopardy, and I didn’t want to face the fact that somehow Noah as well as Davis and my brother was playing a very high stakes game with our lives.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
That night like the night before it, I went through Noah’s files searching for something that might further explain why my husband had been called back into service after so many years away. In spite of the fact that he’d been quietly keeping in touch with Adam through all those years. I just didn’t buy Noah as anything but loyal to The Organization which led me to believe that he was deliberately using all means to flush out the mole.
Amongst the files that Noah had obviously thought were deleted were some of the same information that I’d seen on Matt’s.
But I found something after a very extensive search that had me questioning everything again. A copy of the document that I’d been given all those years ago to decode was in one of the folders Noah had believed was deleted. It was clear that the person who had sent the document to Matt’s originally was Davis. If Davis sent the document then which side was he truly working for?
There were more details concerning mole and several notes that indicated Noah was close to figuring out who that person was. Noah’s notes clearly tied the mysterious mole to my brother. It was believed that Judah had deliberately chosen a person in The Organization ranks to keep tabs on our activity. Whether willingly or because of blackmail, it wasn’t clear. Not that it mattered. Someone amongst our small task force had become a traitor.
Several of the correspondence between Noah and Adam were heated. It was clear that Adam believed I was in some way connected, quite possibly without being aware of it. Adam believed that I’d unknowingly given away classified information to my brother. Noah, of course disagreed. According to his notes he believed and said so in several emails to Adam that he was close to discovering the truth. The last correspondence had been a few days before Adam showed up on our doorstep.
Had Noah discovered the identity of the mole at last? Was that why he’d wanted Ben and myself out of the D.C. as fast as possible? Was Noah only trying to protect us? If so, who was he protecting us from?
I wished more than ever that Noah would just come back home and everything would be as it was before. That I’d never seen any of the things that had been printed about my brother.
Over the next few days the uneasiness I felt, that had begun with our return and my belief that someone was watching us only increased. By the end of that first week, I was as close to running as I’d ever been.
Until it was proven that I was too late.
The night before I’d had made the decision to leave our home, Davis came back to me.
I was sitting in my office pouring through Noah’s files after Ben had gone to bed when he simply appeared before me.
But I trusted Davis even less than I had before. I no longer trusted anyone. The lines between right and wrong had been blurred. I didn’t know who was on my side or even what side I now was on.
“Hello Cameron.” He spoke so quietly that I slowly dropped the laptop I’d been working on before facing him.
Those eyes that I’d imagined myself close o falling in love with once, watched mine fill with sadness now. Davis knew exactly what I was thinking.
“What are you doing here, Davis?” I asked my mind mentally calculating how fast I could reach the gun that I’d tucked away in the same drawer I’d kept Noah’s computer.
“I wanted to see you again. Is that so wrong?”
“Yes,” I said my eyes going involuntarily to the drawer.
“You can take it out and point it at me if that brings your comfort. But know this, I would never hurt you.”
“You...can’t be here Davis. You can’t. I’m married. Whatever almost happened in the past is over. Done with. Noah is my husband. The one that I love.”
“Are you so sure of that? Are you sure he’s coming back to you?”
“Yes. Of course, he’s coming back. What do you mean? What do you know Davis?” Suddenly it felt as if everything I thought I knew about Davis had been wrong. The same eyes that I’d loved in the past were now veiled. I didn’t understand what he was hiding from me.
“What do you mean? Do you know where Noah is? How do you know where Noah is?”
“I know everything about you—about him. About the child. And I’m not the only one. You think he’s coming back but maybe you’re wrong. Maybe this was just the out Noah was looking for.”
At those words and the confirmation that they represented I started to cry. I couldn’t control my tears. Davis’s words said aloud what I believed I knew already in my heart.
“Cameron, don’t. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” Davis was standing closer to me when I looked up again. Too close. But I still couldn’t read what was in those eyes.
“Tell me what you mean by that?”
“You don’t trust me anymore,” he said instead. “Why is that? Who has poisoned your mind to me? Was it Noah? Was it Adam?”
“I never trusted you Davis. And what do you know about Adam?”
Suddenly Davis grew tired of the game we were playing with each other.
“Cameron, I’m not here to argue with you. I came to take you away from here. We have to leave here immediately.”
“Why is that?” I said taking in every little detail of him. In the five years since I’d seen him last, Davis looked thinner than I remembered. But only slightly older. Those fine lines around his eyes were more pronounced. But he was every bit as attractive as the man I’d come close to giving into all those years ago. And every bit as dangerous.
“I would never hurt you or the boy.”
“I don’t want you to talk about my son.”
“No? Why? Does it remind you of Noah? He sh
ould have been mine you know? I wished that he were. Noah doesn’t deserve all that he has. He doesn’t appreciate you.”
“How do you know my husband?”
Davis laughed and moved away from me--away from the questions in my eyes.
“I told you. I know everything about you. He’s a beautiful boy, Cameron. You’ve done a good job raising him.”
“We’ve done a good job. Noah and I. He’s our son.”
“Yes, there’s no doubt of that, is there?” I didn’t miss the sarcasm in Davis’s voice as he reminded me of Noah’s doubts.
“What are you here for, Davis. There’s nothing for you here.”
“You. There’s you. And believe it or not I do care about you. I always have.” When I wasn’t moved by his words Davis sighed and told me again, “You and the boy have to leave and you have to do it soon.”
“Why? What am I running from?”
“I can’t say.”
“Yes, you can? Who? From the mole? The Organization mole? You know who it is don’t you, Davis?” I was only guessing when I said that--hoping to get him to reveal something to me. But Davis wasn’t caught off guard as I’d hoped. He merely laughed at me and came closer. I couldn’t keep from taking an involuntary step back.
“No, Cameron. I’m not going to tell you who the mole. And no matter what you think I’m certainly not a danger to you and your son. But someone is. Someone means to harm you and Ben to get what they want. And they will stop at nothing.”
“It’s not, Noah. Noah would never hurt us that way.”
“You’re looking in the wrong places again. It’s not Noah. At least not the way you mean, although he will hurt you. But he isn’t after your life. I was sent here by Noah to get you out of here before its too late.”
“What are you talking about? Noah sent you? How do you know Noah, Davis? Tell me!”
“Cameron, we’re on the same side. That’s how I know your husband. We are on the same side.”