Nowhere To Run (To Protect And Serve)

by Mary Eason

  “Because he’s my old man. Because I trust him.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t know you well enough to trust you and he’s a cop—“

  “Former cop. He’s retired. You can trust him, Jordan. And you can trust me.”

  She sank slowly to the bed and covered her face. “That’s just it. I don’t know how to trust anymore. I can’t stay here and wait for him to come after me.”

  “No.” They both knew it was only a matter of time before Santiago caught up with her. Riley needed her cooperation and more importantly he wanted to save her.

  “Jordan, I need to know the last time you talked to Mariah Jennings.”

  Her gaze shot to his. “I don’t know what you’re talking about—“

  “You do. I know all about her.” She didn’t move a muscle. “You two grew up together in Brooklyn. Mariah became a PI. The perfect person to help you disappear, I’d say.”

  Riley didn’t give her the opportunity to deny it. “Nice plan by the way. Mariah looked enough like you to fool the bored folks in customs no doubt, but since landing in Moscow, she seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. So tell me when you spoke to her last. And what you have on Caesar.”

  Time took a lengthy respite while the war raging inside her showed in her eyes.

  Riley sat down next to her. “I need to know now, because I think Mariah’s life might be in danger.”

  “Oh God…no. Not Mariah.” Tears brimmed in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks.

  Riley brushed a gentle thumb carefully over them. “I need you to trust me, Jordan. Let me help.”

  “No. What if…“ Hazel eyes scanned his face looking for reassurance.

  “What?” He prompted, his gaze dropping to her mouth. He could still taste her.

  “What if you disappoint me too? Can you promise me you won’t?” Like Caesar had? Jeremy? Maybe all the men in her life had let her down.

  He would have given just about anything to make her that promise. “No. I guess I can’t. But I will do everything within my power not to hurt you.”

  Her reaction was evident in every inch of her. Right before his eyes, he watched her guard return as if she’d slammed a door between them and locked it tight. Riley felt as if he’d taken the test of a lifetime and failed miserably.

  So much for good intentions. “I need you to tell me what you have on Caesar.”

  She eyed him suspiciously for a minute. The smile she flashed didn’t have a trace of humor. “I see. You almost had me there for a minute.” She shoved his hand away got to her feet. He did the same.

  It felt as if his frustration had become permanently etched on his face. “I got it. You don’t trust me. Well guess what honey – I’m all you’ve got.”

  “No. I’m all I’ve got. You – can get the hell out.” She started to push past him, but he caught her and brought her against him. Every nerve inside of his body screamed to life.

  “I’m not going anywhere.” He looked into her eyes and forced her to listen. “That’s one thing I will promise you. I’m not going anywhere without you.”

  If there had been any other alternative, he believed she would have rejected his offer of help entirely. But they both knew the truth.

  Jordan Scott was all out of options.

  “Alright.” She shoved both palms against his chest and pushed.

  Sanity returned, little by little. He blinked slow and lazy, as if pulled from a trance. “Alright?”

  “Yes, alright. You’re right. I don’t have any choice.” She shook her head tiredly.

  “I see.” Not exactly, the answer he wanted, which bothered him all the more.

  A couple of minutes passed in silence. Riley cleared his throat and tried to think coherently. “What do you have on Santiago?”

  “I don’t know.” She whispered at last.

  “Jordan—“

  “It’s true. I don’t know. Nothing on those CDs made any sense to me. It was all numbers and words.”

  Numbers and words. Sounded more like code.

  “Wait, back up – what CDs?”

  “Caesar had like a dozen CDs locked away in Caesar’s safe. I found them. They contained page after page of numbers listed in groups of six. Along with the numbers, there were several pages of words. Just random words. Nothing that made any sense.”

  “Please tell me you brought them with you.” God only knew they might just be their only change at convicting Santiago of anything.

  Whatever information was contained on those CDs would probably take Quantico’s best decoding team weeks to crack and clearly Santiago wasn’t taking any chances.

  She bit her lip. “No, but I did manage to make copies of them.”

  Riley breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God. “Where are the copies now?”

  She tossed him a wary look. She wasn’t going to give him anything more for the moment. As much as it hated that she couldn’t trust him, he found himself impressed by her courage.

  “Whatever’s on those CDs is all we have on Santiago. Without them, I can guarantee he’ll get away with Jeremy’s death.”

  Still she hesitated. “Jordan…please.”

  She dragged in a breath. “They’re not here.” When he released a frustrated sigh she said, “It’s true. I mailed them to an address Mariah gave me. We figured if he found me, maybe he wouldn’t try anything with the CDs still out there somewhere.”

  “Smart thinking. Any idea where they’d end up.”

  “Yes. The address was a P.O. Box in California. Mariah’s ex-husband, Blake lives there now. I believe she had me mail them to him.”

  “That’s a good place to start. I’ll try calling him and see if he’s heard from Mariah.”

  “I want to call her. Do you think—“

  “Jordan, I don’t know. Let me handle it. There’s a good chance Santiago has your calls monitored. You can’t afford giving away your location by making any calls that might be traced back here.”

  “I feel like such an idiot for ever trusting him. I’m responsible for bringing him into Jeremy’s life—“

  He took her hand and held it. She was trembling. “No. You can’t think like that. This is not your fault. Santiago’s good at fooling people. Why do you think no one’s ever been able to pin anything on him? He knows how to put on a good front. Hell, he almost had me convinced of his innocence as well. “

  She shook her head, but he could see that she didn’t really believe him. “Jeremy made his own choices in life. He chose to get involved in Caesar’s crimes. He chose to use drugs.”

  There was just a small amount of hope in her gaze when she looked at him. “You need my assistance.” She told him. She sounded disappointed.

  “Yes, I won’t deny that. I do need your cooperation, but I also want to help you.”

  He could almost feel her building walls between them. He didn’t want that to happen. Riley knelt in front of her and took her hands.

  “You and I need each other, Jordan. You need me as well. Admit it. I can help you if you let me. But you have to trust me.”

  She pulled her hands free and got to her feet. “I’m tired and I can’t think clearly anymore.”

  After a moment, he nodded. “You’re right. It’s late. Why don’t you try and get some sleep.”

  “What about you?”

  He flashed her a smile. “As I recall, there’s something resembling a couch in the living room. I’ll bed down there.”

  “But—“

  “Unless you have a better offer?” He certainly could think of a better way to spend the night and it had nothing to do with a lumpy couch.

  If the color creeping up her face were any indication, her thoughts were headed down the same path as his.

  Chapter Twelve

  The sight of him, standing in her cramped kitchen wearing only jeans was enough to remind Jordan of the hours she’d spent praying for sleep the night before.

  “Good morning.” Riley’s easy smile had a way of sneak
ing up on her. Before she knew it, she was returning it and trying to keep her thoughts focused. This was the last thing she needed right now.

  “Want some coffee?” she needed to do something. A distraction to take her mind off the shirtless hunk standing in front of her.

  “Sure. Coffee’d be nice. While you’re making it, I’m going for a quick shower.”

  Jordan turned away and reached for the first thing her fingers came in contact with. Unfortunately, it was the flour canister. Somehow she managed to keep flour from going everywhere.

  Riley laughed, thoroughly enjoying her embarrassment. He headed for the door then stopped as if suddenly realizing something. “Wait. You’re dressed.” He said more to himself than her. “Where are you going so early?” He turned from the doorway and pinned her with the question.

  “To work, of course. I have the early shift.” She carefully placed the flour canister back on the counter, dreading what would follow. If the look in his eyes were any indication, it wouldn’t be good.

  He abandoned the shower idea for the moment and took a step closer, instantly shrinking the kitchen space even more. “You can’t seriously be pretending everything is normal and business as usual. Things are far from normal. It was easy enough for me to find you. How long do you think it will be before Santiago’s goons show up at your job? I need to make arrangements to get you off the island. The only way I know to do that is to contact the U.S. Attorney’s office--”

  “No! I don’t trust the police. I trust the attorney’s office even less.” Jordan glanced toward the door, fighting the urge to run again.

  He stepped between her and the door, as if her reading her thoughts. His blue eyes narrowed in speculation. “We’ve been all through this. I thought you agreed to trust me.”

  Her gaze shifted from Riley to her dwindling escape route as she fought to keep from hyperventilating. What could she say? She trusted him. She just didn’t trust anyone else connected to his job.

  “Jordan?” His fingers circled her arms. Tension filled every molecule of space between them. Her lungs. Her body. His eyes.

  “I trust you, Riley. I do.”

  “But? What is it? Is this about that prick Thomas?”

  “Agent Thomas seemed to think that someone close to the case might be dirty?” She told him and studied his reaction.

  “In other words, he told you it was me.” The brittleness in his tone made it hard to believe she’d ever considered confiding in him.

  She took her time answering. “Yes.” She answered at last.

  He released her and stepped back. “I guess you’ll just have to take your chances, won’t you. If you want to stay alive long enough to consider having a life beyond this thing, then I’d suggest you don’t think about leaving here without me.”

  Riley didn’t wait for her decision.

  She stood staring after him while trying to listen to her gut instinct she’d relied on so many times in the past. It had never let her down before. It was telling her she needed to trust Riley.

  Jordan went about making coffee while listening as the shower turned on then a short time later off again. She poured herself a cup and studied the blue green waters of the ocean. There were deep swells churning some distance out. The forewarning of storms to come.

  “That smells good.” He stood behind her watching her watch him in the window arguing with her gut instinct.

  “Want some?” Gut instinct won out. She turned and faced him once more.

  “Yes. I’ll get it. Come sit down for a minute. I think we need to clear the air a bit.”

  ***

  He took his time pouring the coffee. Riley needed a moment to gather his thoughts.

  He wanted her to trust him, but he’d settle for her cooperation. She sat at the table fiddling with the rim of her cup.

  Riley slipped into the seat across from hers. “I’m late for work.” She reminded him. She clearly didn’t want to talk.

  “Tell me what’s bothering you.”

  “Riley.” She shook her head.

  She continued to toy with her coffee cup and he wondered if she would. After a moment, her eyes challenged his. “You. You’re bothering, Riley. Agent Thomas said you were off the case. He said it’s become a federal investigation. And yet, here you are. The only person who knows where I’m at is you. And you’re a cop.” She added.

  “I’m not working for Santiago--”

  “Agent Thomas said you were once with the FBI.” Slowly her clear hazel eyes met his, filled with uncertainties. “He said you couldn’t cut it.”

  He should have known Thomas would tell her. “I bet he did.” He challenged while holding her gaze. He could only imagine the things Thomas had said to poison her against him. “What else did he say?”

  She didn’t want to tell him. Riley did it for her. “He told you I’d become…involved with my colleague, didn’t he?”

  Jordan untangled her gaze from his then lifted the cup to her lips. Her fingers shook just a little giving away her reaction to this.

  “That part is true. But it was a mistake.” She didn’t want to hear it. She stumbled to her feet. He needed her to listen.

  Riley stood as well. The tension between them filling the small space separating them. “Jordan, please listen.”

  Slowly she sank back down to her chair.

  “Thank you.” Riley took his seat and tried to explain one of his biggest regrets. “Deb and I were good friends all through our days at the university and the academy. I knew she wanted more from our relationship and I guess in a way, I was flattered. One night, we’d been out drinking.” He chanced a glance at her. He had her full attention even though he couldn’t even begin to figure out what she might be thinking.

  “We slept together. I knew right away it was a mistake.” Riley shook his head. God, he hated telling her what an ass he’d been. “The next morning – well, we didn’t know what to say to each other. We’d always been able to talk about anything, but I just couldn’t seem to make things right between us. So I left. I just walked out on my friend when I should have made things right.” Riley blew out a breath. As hard as it was to tell Jordan about that time, in some strange way he felt relief.

  “I take it she hasn’t forgiven you?” She inquired gently.

  Riley forced himself to look at her. “No. She says she has, but I doubt she ever will.”

  She nodded. “That’s too bad.” She sounded as if she meant it. “But everyone makes mistakes. Look at me.”

  “You’re not responsible for Jeremy’s death. You can’t keep blaming yourself.” He could tell she didn’t believe him.

  “No. But how do you forgive yourself for introducing your brother to someone as evil as Caesar Santiago?”

  He didn’t know how to answer her, but she didn’t really expect one.

  Something else was troubling her. “So how did you manage to get time off from the job to come here then? If you’ve been following me this whole time, you’ve been away from New York for more than a week already.”

  “Yes. Since Agent Thomas took over the investigation, I’m only off the case. Given the choice between desk duty and vacation, I close vacation. No one with the exception of my father knows where I’m at. Not even my partner.”

  “Why haven’t you told anyone you’ve found me yet? That would be a huge achievement for you. Maybe even a promotion.”

  She looked so fragile.

  “I don’t give a damn about getting a promotion. I made a promise to you to solve your brother’s murder, and I don’t trust Agent Thomas and the FBI to do that. And as to why I haven’t told anyone I’ve found you, well, probably for the same reason you don’t trust me. Unfortunately, we may not have a choice very much longer. If I have to, I’ll bring in my partner. I trust him. For now, the less he knows, the less likely he is to get into a jackpot. And the less people involved the better.”

  Jordan glanced at her watch. “So what do you suggest we do? If I don’t show up soon, Mo
mma Lizbeth will be calling. Or worse yet, she’ll come over.”

  “Let me call my father. He’s still friends with the U.S. Attorney. He’ll know what to do. For the time being, I think you should go into work. The more things appear to be normal the less likely you are to call attention to your situation. Don’t worry. I’ll hang around and keep an eye out for you.”

  “Momma Lizbeth will know something’s up. I can’t explain you hanging around all day. She’ll call the constable--”

  “Tell her I’m your boyfriend. Tell her whatever you want, but make sure she cooperates. Longboat Key isn’t that far from Columbia. Who knows how far Santiago’s reach extends.”

  “You think the constable might be working for--“

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying. I don’t know. But there’s no need to take unnecessary chances, is there? With any luck, we’ll be able to get off the island tonight. How long is your shift?”

  “It depends. If it’s slow then I’m usually off around five.”

  “How many traumas can you possibly have on an island of this size?”

  “Not that many. Mostly colds and a few cuts and broken bones. But we are the only hospital for miles around. We get patients from all the surrounding islands.”

  “Well, lets hope today is slow. Get your things. We should go before Momma Lizbeth sends out the cavalry.”

  Riley could count on one hand the number of ‘emergency’ cases Jordan treated during her shift. A scraped knee. A case of the sniffles. A small boy who had what looked like a small marble crammed up his left nostril.

  Mostly Jordan spent her time trying to fend off a deluge of questions from her head nurse, Momma Lizbeth. If Riley didn’t know any better he’d have sworn the robust woman ran the place. Everyone jumped at her command.

  Riley tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible while keeping a careful eye on both Jordan and the foot traffic outside the hospital. The place was a nightmare and would be next to impossible to secure if Santiago or his goons showed up. He’d placed a call to his father at the first available opportunity.

  Riley’d given as few details as he could get away with and still get his point across. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but he didn’t trust Santiago not to have tied his absence to Jordan’s disappearance by now. If that were the case, and if it were true that Santiago had someone on the force working for him, then his father would be a likely target for some bugging device.