His team? She stepped back, not only because he was bigger than her and he’d crowded her into the diner by sheer force of his size. Without even touching her.
“I… you…” Her brain wouldn’t even work.
“Pick a seat,” Patch called out from across the rear counter, where he stood in the kitchen. “Coffee will be right up.”
He turned away and slid into a booth.
It was enough for her to exhale. To fake a smile and welcome a couple more of the regulars, and get the big man his coffee. How had she walked into this? She was supposed to have left, but Patch was shorthanded. And now the man was here, talking about things no one was supposed to know.
Patch was watching.
Keeping Aaron Jones away from you.
Long enough for my team to bring him down.
Her mystery man wasn’t working with Jones, and he wasn’t working for the person behind Jones. Emma was glad to know this, but it wasn’t like the knowledge allowed her to relax. Then again, the big man might be here, but he wasn’t on her side. He couldn’t protect her.
She wandered back to the rear counter to pick up her protector’s breakfast—different from what he’d ordered yesterday. Patch was on the phone.
“When you get this, call me. Want to know you’re okay, Kerri.”
A sinking feeling moved through Emma’s midsection. The other waitress was probably sick, laid up in bed and unable to get to the phone. Just because she wasn’t here didn’t mean Aaron Jones had done anything to her. This was only a coincidence of timing.
He hung up the phone and shot her a look. “Still can’t get ahold of her. I called Barb, though. She’s coming in early, so you can take off when she gets here.”
“Okay.” Emma appreciated him thinking of that. It was a weekday, so the diner wasn’t going to be crammed. But it would still be busy.
She refilled a few coffee cups. The big man shot her a look, but she didn’t offer him any more to drink. He could sit there until the end of time for all she cared. That was how much she didn’t want to tell him anything. Just the idea of sharing what had happened that night made her want to be sick.
The FBI wasn’t going to understand that she hadn’t wanted to shoot him. She might not have hit him, but how could she prove it? It wasn’t like her word meant anything. All they were going to see were her fingerprints on the gun. Her blood in the hallway. Her motive—or whatever they figured would’ve been her motive for doing it. What did it matter if it was true, or not?
Barb showed up. Emma told her she was going in the back for a break.
She had her backpack on and was headed out the fire exit before she even registered that she still wore her uniform. Flight mode had kicked in and there wasn’t much she could do about it. She needed to run. What was the point in staying only for Aaron Jones to catch up?
But first, she needed to make sure Jones hadn’t caught up somehow to Kerri and hurt her. Part of Emma didn’t want to know. She forced herself to walk to the other waitress’s house anyway. Praying it was nothing, that the girl just had the stomach flu or something.
When she found the front door open, she knew it wasn’t nothing.
Then there was the blood. All over the hallway.
She shifted to step inside, to go search for conclusive news. A hand grabbed ahold of her backpack and used her grip on the straps to pull her back. She stumbled and fell against him before she managed to right herself.
The big man’s dark eyes stared down at her. “Don’t.”
“But—”
“Don’t say anything.” He hauled her down the front walk. “Just get in the truck.”
Chapter 4
“You killed her.”
He watched blood drain from her face while frustration boiled up in him. “I didn’t kill your friend.” He sighed. “What are you even doing here?”
He tugged her away from the front door, but she yanked her backpack out of his grip. He could hold her in a way she’d never get out. He could. But he wouldn’t do that.
She looked about as frustrated as he was. “I’m looking for Kerri.”
“You were running.”
“I came here, didn’t I?”
And she’d done it with her backpack, which he guessed contained everything she needed to make a run for it. “I’m not chasing you across the country again. Not when you’re risking your life to make a foolish move.”
She gasped. “Foolish? Aaron Jones is going to kill me.”
“Told you I’d protect you.”
“I don’t know you. I don’t trust you.”
“That’s fair.” He’d have said the same in her place. “But I’m telling you that you can trust me.”
He watched her wait, expecting more. When he didn’t say anything else, her eyebrows lifted. “That’s it? I can trust you, so I should?”
“Do you need it to be complicated? Because we don’t have time for that.” He glanced over her shoulder at the hallway. He could smell the blood inside and could make out dark stains on the walls and hallway.
It was on the tip of his tongue to say, “Wait here,” but knew she wouldn’t. She’d split as soon as his back was turned. Instead, he tagged her hand in his and pulled her to the door. Ignored the sensation of her skin against his.
She stood to the side, facing the street, while he stared inside. Like holding his hand was nothing, which was good. It meant he could work on pushing away the feeling when it clearly didn’t affect her.
There wasn’t much else he could do when he didn’t want either of them going in, contaminating what physical evidence had been left.
Was this Kerri person even dead? He didn’t see a body. Might be worth walking around the back, peering in windows. Or maybe that would only lead to them stepping in footprints that could be the killer’s. Aaron Jones needed to be stopped. If that meant jail, Mint wasn’t going to get in the way of a sheriff’s investigation that would put him there.
“Is she dead?” Emma’s voice was soft.
Mint didn’t want to soften toward it. But try telling that to his heart. He had to remember this was business. Emma Burroughs might be cute, but she was also nothing but a means to an end. There was a blackmailer hidden in Washington DC, and if they didn’t figure out who it was then more people could die.
Emma was his ticket to Aaron Jones.
Aaron was their route straight to the blackmailer.
That was it.
Emma made a noise. Then she said, “I don’t know your name.”
“Mint.”
“Like the flavor? Mint?”
He shrugged. “Call sign.”
“Like in the military?” When he didn’t confirm or deny, she said, “What’s your real name?”
“Does it matter?” That was another step toward a connection with her. One that was decidedly not required in order for him to complete this mission.
“Okay, Mint.” She drew out his name, exaggerating it like she was making some kind of point. “Is Kerri in there?” Emma paused. “Is she dead?”
“I don’t see a body, and I may not without looking around inside.” He turned and started to tug her down the front walk of the house again. This time she actually moved with him. He didn’t think she’d given up the fight, though. She was cleverer than that.
He said, “I’m not about to go in there and leave my footprints in the blood trail.”
Emma said nothing, just shuffled down the sidewalk beside him. He headed for his truck. Halfway there, she shifted her arm. He felt her fingers touch his, and he shifted his hand away in a sharp movement.
For a second he thought she was going to hold his hand, but then she grasped his jacket sleeve instead. He glanced at her, but she kept her gaze forward. Refusing to make eye contact with him while she clung to him as though he was the one keeping her afloat in a choppy sea.
He clicked the locks and pulled the passenger door open.
She sat, but shoved one hand on the door before he could sh
ut it. “We’re just going to leave her there?”
He glanced at her. “I’ll call it in. The sheriff will take care of her.”
She bit her lip but pulled her leg in. He shut the door and called the sheriff’s office, leaving an anonymous tip about the open door and the blood. If this other waitress from the diner had been killed, it was an awful coincidence. Had Aaron Jones come here last night, after he’d broken into Emma’s motel room? If he had, he’d likely been hopped up on adrenaline. He could have snapped and killed a woman who’d invited him into his home.
Or, she could have been on the front step at just the wrong moment, and he’d forced his way in.
It could be a completely unrelated death. Done by someone Kerri knew, but for another reason.
He fired up the engine and drove, not really knowing where to go other than the motel. He headed for the town store instead, mostly so they could sit in the parking lot and talk. He hadn’t eaten much of his breakfast before he realized she’d disappeared from the diner.
Patch had noticed as well, when Mint realized Emma had gone. The man’s nod of approval when Mint had stood, intending to go after her, was interesting. And appreciated. Patch had figured out what kind of man Mint was, and Mint had done the same with the aging biker. And that was before the background check had come in yesterday. He didn’t need Patch’s approval now, but it was nice to know Emma had landed somewhere she had that kind of support.
The sheriff’s car drove past them, headed in the opposite direction. Toward the house. Lights and sirens on.
Emma turned to watch it out the back window. “I want to hope she isn’t dead. But that’s probably futile, isn’t it?”
Mint said, “Did you know her well?”
“We’ve worked together for a few weeks, but outside the diner we haven’t really hung out that much.” She rubbed the edge of her diner uniform. “And that’s not the point, is it? Someone knew her. Someone loved this woman. Now she’s dead.”
“We don’t know that for sure.”
She huffed. And honestly, he agreed with the sentiment. “You saw the blood. What reason could Aaron Jones have for leaving her alive?”
“I could ask you what reason he would have for killing her,” Mint offered. “It’s close enough to the motel. Aaron Jones might have run this direction. But he also might not have.”
She sat silently for a while. Mint glanced at her. Pale face, lips pressed together. He pulled into the parking lot of a drive-thru coffee shop and shifted to park. “I know you didn’t kill the senator. Aaron Jones did, right?”
She nodded. Mint thought there might be more, but he didn’t ask about it.
They could get to the part where she needed to tell him everything she knew about the senator and his dealings with other people in Washington. It was possible she knew who the blackmailer was.
Information. That’s why he was here with her.
He’d been injured in the bank, helping the team get Alexis back from a crazy kidnapper. He didn’t think Emma had escaped Aaron murdering the senator completely unscathed. He could see it in her eyes. That haunted look. The one he’d seen in the mirror so many times.
**
Emma sipped her coffee and studied the man in the driver’s seat. “Mint” whose real name was apparently a closely guarded secret. Oddly enough, Mint actually suited him. She thought that probably there was a reason he’d been given that moniker. A reason she might like to know someday. Or in another life.
After all, this one wasn’t likely to last very much longer.
Kerri. All that blood.
Emma shoved the drink in the cup holder and swallowed.
“Here.” He twisted the cap off a water bottle and handed it to her. It was room temperature but helped keep the nausea down.
When she could speak, she said, “Thank you.”
His phone beeped. Mint pulled it off the dash and turned it to see the screen. “The sheriff just called in to his office. Kerri has been listed as a missing person in extreme danger.”
“What…” Emma didn’t know what that meant, but it likely wasn’t good.
“He thinks she was kidnapped. And judging by the amount of blood in her house, he thinks she’s hurt,” Mint said. “He’ll be checking local hospitals, doctor’s offices, the pharmacy and even veterinarian offices. Anywhere the kidnapper might take Kerri to get her medical attention.”
None of that helped her feel any less sick.
“All of which means she’s not dead.”
Okay, that helped. She nodded and took another sip of coffee. No sugar, just a latte. A good thing, considering a sugar bomb drink would have made her sick for sure. “So what now?”
“Good question. And the answer depends on you.”
“Me?”
He glanced at her. From his look, she’d guess she wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
“Whatever it is, just tell me.”
Instead, he drove back to the motel. “Let’s get inside.”
She hopped out, glancing all around while she gripped the strap of her duffel and headed for her room.
Mint tugged on her arm, just above her left elbow. “This way—”
She couldn’t hold it back that time. The angle, the tension. Emma sucked in a breath and tears filled her eyes at the pain. The spot Aaron Jones’s bullet had sliced at her.
“What…” He asked it as a question even while he led her to a different room—not hers—with his hand on the small of her back.
When he shut the door he said, “Emma?”
“It hasn’t really healed yet. It should have by now, right? I don’t know why it still hurts.” Like that was something to apologize for. And yes, she knew she was talking just for the sake of talking. Nerves and pain did that.
“Show me.”
She dumped the duffel from her other shoulder and then lifted the sleeve of her work uniform. The clothes she’d changed into after Patch had convinced her to cover for Kerri, instead of leaving like she very much should have done.
The wound was still tender under the bandage. Hot, even. Though she didn’t want to admit that to herself.
Mint didn’t seem to think it was weird. His manner switched to all business as he tugged at the tape and unwound the bandage. Gone was the hesitancy in touching her. Now he was all efficiency.
When he pulled back the gauze, he let a breath loose. Almost a whistle. “Infected.” He touched the back of his hand to the skin beside the wound. Red skin. “It’s hot to the touch. Swollen. You need antibiotics.” He sighed. “You probably should have gotten it cleaned and gotten stitches.”
Emma tugged her arm away. “Sorry I didn’t do a good enough job at fixing it up.”
She’d done her best. But what bothered her the most right now was the hurt in her voice. What did she care what he thought? His opinion of her attempt to stay alive and get somewhere safe weren’t the point right now.
She went to her duffel and sat cross-legged on the floor while she dug inside for fresh gauze and a new bandage. He thought she could get antibiotics? That kind of stuff only came with a prescription, and she wasn’t about to draw attention to her flight from Aaron Jones by stealing it. She didn’t even know how. She’d probably have gotten caught if she tried. After that, she’d be in jail. Yes, they had medical care there. She would have been given antibiotics in prison.
And then Aaron would probably have found her there, somehow. Jail for life, for murder. Or dead from an “incident.” Did it matter?
“Emma.”
She didn’t turn around. Mint sighed. He sat on the edge of the bed, a few feet from her, and did something on his phone. Emma scooted so her back was against the dresser and fixed the fresh bandage over her wound.
“You aren’t alone anymore, Emma.”
She taped down the bandage and didn’t look at him. As much as Mint might want to help her, for whatever his own reasons were, he couldn’t fix this. He couldn’t repair the damage that had already
been done.
No one could.
His phone beeped. He checked the screen. “Antibiotics will be here in an hour.”
She looked up then.
“Part of the service. I can better keep you from being killed by Aaron Jones if you’re not feeling miserable and suffering at the same time.”
“You need me ambulatory, that’s it?”
He shrugged one shoulder, then folded his arms. All that did was draw attention to precisely how big—and well defined—his muscles were. Maybe that was his hesitancy with touch. Maybe he thought he would scare her, and so he tread cautiously. Only touched her when he had to. The long sleeve shirt he’d pushed up to his elbows might disguise how much definition he had, but it was still there. Eventually the truth came out.
Kind of like it would with her situation.
After that, she didn’t figure he’d be so fired-up to protect her. Then again, it wasn’t like he was doing it out of a sense of nobility. He was here for his own reasons.
His low, rumbling voice said, “That isn’t a good look.”
She glanced aside instead of answering him. She’d already given away too much.
“Eventually I’ll need you to tell me all of it. But that doesn’t have to happen right now.”
His voice was deceptively soft. It probably worked wonders, charming a nice woman into believing he was gentle. That his roughness had soft edges. Or that the right woman could bring that out in him whenever she wanted.
It had been so long since she’d been in a relationship that Emma honestly didn’t know what her type was. Mint wasn’t it, though. His presence was far too overwhelming. It was like he eclipsed all the space around him. Like everything got sucked into his orbit.
Emma didn’t want to be another casualty of that. She had enough going on right now. The last thing she needed was the added complication of the dance of getting to know someone. Wondering how deep they were in this, or if it was just a game. Being scared of how deep she was falling.
Once burned, and all that.
At least she didn’t have to worry about it with Mint. He probably had that nice woman she’d imagined at home, waiting for him. He didn’t wear a ring, but most people—who didn’t have her mother in their lives—didn’t care about that these days. Emma had a more traditional view of those things. But the fact was, Mint was probably committed to someone.
Deadly Secrets Page 3