Protecting the Enemy

by Christy Newton

“Put your money away. The only way you can pay us to keep quiet is to provide us with Mr. Voss.”

  “Then I think we are done here. I can’t give you something I don’t have. Believe me, I want him more than you do.”

  Reid stepped aside. Senator Grant walked past him and out of the noisy club. The senator was really pissing him off. He counted to ten to regain his calm then headed to the door. Before Reid pulled the door open for Julianna, the sound of an explosion drowned out the crowd and caused the building to rattle.

  They ran outside. What was left of Grant’s town car was in flames and blackened parts were scattered around the alley. The whole side of the brick building that the car had been parked next to was blown to bits. Trash littered the entire street.

  “Oh no!” Julianna stared at the debris.

  People started rushing out of the club to gawk at the disaster. If Senator Grant were inside his car, he was dead and Reid had a pretty strong feeling that Boss had been behind it. Sirens screamed through the chilly night air as Reid and Julianna made their way away from the crime scene on foot. Reid stopped at a pay phone and called 911 about a possible bomb inside the sedan they’d borrowed. Just in case Boss had done the same to their car, he didn’t want some unexpecting car thief to get blown up.

  ***

  Julianna sat on the edge of the bed next to Reid in their newest hotel room. While the hotels weren’t dumps they were far from the luxury she was accustomed to. And even though she’d been eating lots of fast food and junk, her waistline was shrinking from staying on the move and staying in a constant state of worry. The newscaster on T.V. confirmed Senator Grant was killed in the car explosion outside of the gentleman’s club. The police suspected no foul play. The town car had unknowingly been parked next to a storage building with a gas leak. There was much speculation as to why he was in the alley behind the club. His wife made a statement to the press that he was most likely trying to clean up the city. Yeah, right. How many people would buy her load of bull?

  Julianna leaned on her hands and frowned. “He was our only link to finding Boss. I don’t know how we’ll ever find him now.”

  Reid stood up and shut off the T.V. “I have an idea. We need to go back into the senator’s residence. Maybe there was something I missed.”

  “The funeral is in two days, which might be a good time.” She’d find Boss if it was the last thing she did… if he didn’t find her first.

  ***

  Weasel opened the door with a big, goofy grin. “You two really like the Weas. I was thinking, maybe I could join the CIA and we could team up officially.”

  Reid handed the kid a cold six-pack of Mountain Dew and a party-sized bag of cheese curls, then gave him his scariest glare. “I never said we were CIA.”

  Weasel opened a can and chugged it. “Just playing. Your secrets are safe with me.”

  Julianna walked over to him and batted her lashes. “You know we don’t have any secrets, because Reid and I, we don’t exist. Understand?”

  “Sure, Juli—ma’am.”

  She wore a low cut top and bent over his desk. After licking her lips, she smiled at him in a way that would make a kid like Weasel pee his pants. He wouldn’t know what to do with a woman like Julianna. It’d been a long time since Reid had seen her at work. It was entertaining. “Good, I’m glad we established that.” She flung her blonde hair over her shoulder. “Now can you help us with one more thing? I promise it will be the last favor, then you’ll never see us again.”

  A look of disappointment came over his face. “Never?”

  She shook her head and frowned. “No. And why will you never see us again, Weasel?”

  He looked at her and then at Reid. “Uh, because—” he looked back at Julianna. “Because, you don’t exist?”

  She smiled and ruffled his hair. “Now you’ve got it.”

  Chapter 11

  The explosion brought back painful memories for Julianna which she’d swiftly shoved aside. She guessed it must have dredged up some unpleasantness for Reid as well. Senator Grant was being laid to rest, so they were inside his house combing the basement office from top to bottom.

  With latex glove-covered hands, Reid removed Boss’ number from the desk drawer and shoved it into his pocket. Not only did they need to find Boss, they needed to erase any trace of ETE 7. Just in case the senator’s death was really still being investigated, they didn’t want it somehow pinned on either of them. It was obvious that Boss had murdered the senator—he was the last of ETE 7 besides Julianna and Reid. They had to be getting close to the truth and had to be getting close to Boss. Julianna slid her hands over the built-in bookshelf while Reid got on his hands and knees to search the floor.

  He stood up. “No secret hidden hatch under the rug.”

  Julianna focused on the bookcase. Reid helped her remove all fifty or so dusty hardcover books one by one and shake them by the binders.

  “No secret phone numbers or addresses jotted down on hidden slips of paper.” As they searched, they meticulously put things back just as they’d found them.

  Julianna put her hands on her hips. “The man is careful, but I wouldn’t expect any less from a senator.”

  “Yeah, I’m betting there’s nothing on his laptop either.” Reid picked up the medium-sized, gray laptop. Julianna reached into the bag and placed an identical laptop in its place. One with the hard drive wiped out from a wicked virus, compliments of Weasel. She removed the fingerprint kit and lifted the senator’s prints from his old computer and transferred them to the sterile replica now on top of the oak desk. While she busied herself with the fingerprints, Reid raked though the small metal trashcan.

  Laptop taken care of, she bent down to watch him sift though the wads of paper. “We should try upstairs. If he wanted to keep his involvement with Boss secret, storing information in his home office may not have been the best idea.”

  “I agree. We’re done here anyway.” He put the bag over his shoulder.

  They climbed the stairs up to the master bedroom. Reid searched the oak dresser.

  Julianna went into the walk-in closet. His and hers—the senator’s clothes on one side, his wife’s on the other. The custom wooden shelving went up higher than Julianna could reach. She spotted a step stool in the corner, on the wife’s side, next to her collection of shoes. Pushing away the longing for her own shoe collection she had to leave behind, Julianna took the stool and placed it in front of the senator’s shelves. Even with the stool she had to step on her tiptoes to reach the dark-stained wicker baskets atop the highest shelf. The wife was a good five inches shorter than Julianna and would have never been able to obtain anything from the shelf unless she had a taller ladder.

  Julianna lowered the three baskets down to Reid. While he searched the contents of the storage bins, she continued to run her fingers over the white shelf. Her heart skipped a beat when her fingertips grazed a file folder. She hung onto the shelf post and reached higher with her right arm while balancing on one tiptoe. “I’ve got something!”

  She lost her balance, the stool tipped over and she fell on top of Reid with a thump. Sprawled out over him with her breasts covering his face, she smiled and rolled over. “Sorry.”

  Reid smiled and moved a stray hair away from her face. “Don’t be, I’m not.”

  She held up the white file folder.

  Reid touched the tip of her nose. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes.”

  He stood up and placed the baskets back on the shelf.

  Julianna pointed to the last basket. “That one was over more, closer to the wall.”

  He moved it over a couple inches.

  “Perfect.”

  Julianna opened the file. “Odd. This is a life book. Foster care records.”

  Reid drew his eyebrows together.

  As she read, her face went pale. She looked at the picture of the little girl at five years, then one at ten, the last at the age fifteen. The pictures looked familiar. As they should…
the little girl in the pictures was her.

  Reid took the papers from her. “What?”

  Julianna’s knees buckled as the room swirled around her sucking her into its twisting funnel.

  ***

  Reid grabbed Julianna before she hit the floor. He fanned her face with the file that had stunned her into fainting. “Jewels, wake up.”

  Her eyes fluttered open. “Why does Senator Grant have my life book in his bedroom closet?”

  He kissed her forehead. “I don’t know.”

  “I used to be so confident. In control. Not anymore, I’m unraveling. I want to go home.”

  “You want to go to the hotel?”

  She shook her head. “Home, my apartment.”

  Reid stood, pulling her up with him. “Too dangerous. I have a better idea.” He shoved the file into the bag with the laptop. He took Julianna’s hand and they left the house locked up as tight as they’d found it.

  ***

  They made it to the car parked down the street without any problems. The cool air did nothing for Julianna. Her world was still spinning. A memory popped into Julianna’s head. She was ten, sneaking out of her foster parent’s house. She was unhappy. No, more than unhappy, miserable and afraid. She wanted to belong—she’d never belonged.

  Reid opened the car door for her, bringing her back to the present.

  She got inside and stared out the window to the blur of trees. “Where are we going?”

  “Our place.”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. “We lived together?”

  “Not exactly. But we met at our special place whenever we could.”

  Julianna’s stomach twisted into knots. Why did the senator have her records and no one else’s? Why was she different than the rest of ETE 7? If only she could remember her past maybe something would make sense. Reid pulled up to a Chinese restaurant. The building was old with a flickering orange neon sign. For some reason that sign comforted her. He pulled the car around back and parked it in a carport.

  Julianna stepped out of the taxi and looked at Reid with a raised eyebrow. “Our place was Chopstick Kitchen?”

  His hands cupped her face and he smiled. “You’ll see.”

  She followed Reid to the back of the brick building to a set of metal stairs that climbed up to the top floor of the restaurant. They reached the landing and Reid picked the lock.

  He took out his gun and walked inside. “It doesn’t look disturbed. I wasn’t sure if ETE 7 had discovered this place.”

  Walls painted in various shades of red met her with a welcoming embrace. The next thing to catch her eye was the large, tufted-back white sofa. She was drawn to the richness. She adored velvet and had had white velvet drapes in her apartment. She walked over to the sofa and sank down into the softness. “It’s nice.”

  Reid smiled. “And a pull-out bed.” He winked. “We had a lot of fun in this place.” He continued to search the apartment.

  She watched him disappear into the bathroom. Her fingers glided along the smooth cushion as she continued to take everything in. Round mahogany end tables flanked either side of the sofa. One held a lamp, the other a decorative glass plate. The red walls were bare except for the flat screen TV that hung opposite the sofa. Since the apartment was open concept, the kitchen was in plain view from the sofa. No upper cabinets, just some shelves that held stylish plates and glasses. The stainless steel appliances were compact size. The glass bowl that had once held green apples set on the countertop. It was the kitchen she’d remembered in one of her flashes of the past.

  “It’s clean. No one has been here. We were so cautious… that’s why I don’t think Boss knew about our relationship.” He sat down beside her.

  She rested her head on Reid’s shoulder. He reached over to the red velveteen throw blanket on the edge of the sofa and pulled it over her.

  She could smell the faint scent of soy and garlic from the restaurant below. “I like it here. Can we stay?”

  “Me too.” His fingers weaved through her hair. “I guess we’re just as safe here as anyplace at this point.”

  She tilted her chin up to look into his eyes. “I don’t know what the truth is anymore. I don’t even know who I am, but I do know I feel comfortable and safe here with you.”

  “You are Julianna Fox and you are protected and loved.”

  She licked her frowning, bottom lip as tears blurred her vision. Reid’s mouth met hers. What came next was soft and sweet and Julianna was pretty sure she’d never been made love to that way before.

  ***

  Julianna woke up before Reid, for once. She stood up to stretch, letting the blanket fall. Completely naked, she got up and walked around the small, warm apartment. Reid must have cranked up the heat while she slept. Curious, she opened the fridge which was empty except for a few bottled waters. The cabinets underneath the white marble countertop were also vacant. Even though Reid kept up the payments and utilities, he must have quit coming there while she was gone. If only he would have found her, maybe things would be different. She pushed away the what-ifs—there were just too many.

  She opened up a large drawer next to the sink. Take out menus, bullets, a close-up picture of her and Reid smiling, birth control pills. Her eyes darted to the round plastic container. She gasped. Not once had she stopped to think about birth control. Her heart thumped inside her rib cage. She hadn’t been with a man in a long time. When they’d been smoked out of her apartment, she didn’t have the chance to think about grabbing anything. And being on the run hadn’t helped either. She tried to shake off the uneasy feeling that they’d made a huge, irrevocable mistake.

  “I have a naked woman standing in my kitchen. That has to be every man’s fantasy.”

  She jumped and turned around. With a frown, she held up the birth control pills. “How many times have we had sex?”

  “Oops.” He took the container from her and tossed it in the trashcan. “Too late now.”

  Her mouth fell open. “Too late?” She pointed to the door, her stomach nauseous. “Please go get me a pregnancy test. I saw a drug store on the corner.”

  He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Don’t worry. If you’re pregnant, we’ll deal with it.”

  “That’s easy for you to say.” She wiggled out of his arms and turned to search his eyes for the worry and dread she was feeling, but couldn’t find it. “Wait, did we—did I want children?”

  Reid sighed. “I could lie and say that you did, but no. It was the one thing we argued about. I wanted to start a family as soon as we were married. You didn’t.”

  She started to shiver and crossed her arms over her bare breasts. Reid put his arm around her and steered her toward the sofa with the blanket. “You had a terrible childhood, Jewels. Life can be hard on foster kids. Especially, when other kids are mean to them. You confided in me that other girls were always jealous of you. Boys treated you like trash.” He rubbed her arms. “You never had anyone that treated you like a real family member. I had my foster brother at least. He looked out for me.” Reid paused. “You told me you just weren’t the mothering type. But I don’t buy it.”

  “How could we have a child without Boss finding out?”

  “We couldn’t. I had a plan. We would change our names and go far away where ETE 7 would never find us.”

  She pressed her finger tips to her temples. “But what if they did? You said yourself that we couldn’t run, that we would always be looking over our shoulders.”

  “I know that now. I was selfish. I wanted the family neither of us ever had. Having children with you was something that probably never would have really happened.”

  “I cannot have this conversation right now.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll go get you the test, but keep your gun on that door until I return.”

  She nodded and took the gun from the table. “Did you—” She paused to find the words. “Did you do this on purpose, to get me pregnant?”

  “
No, Jewels. I didn’t. But would it be such a bad thing?”

  Her eyes widened. “Yes! Until Boss is erased, we’re still in serious danger. And my head is all messed up. I’m not even sure who I was six months ago!”

  Reid opened his mouth, then shut it. He turned the handle. “Gun on the door, until I return.”

  ***

  Son of a bitch. Reid stood in front of the feminine aisle, baffled. How many freaking tests did a woman need to tell if she was pregnant? He counted ten different tests. Some with a plus or minus sign, some turned pink or blue, some even had the amount of days typed out. He didn’t have time for this. With a sigh, he grabbed the five most expensive boxes and tossed them in the plastic basket. He didn’t try to get Julianna pregnant on purpose. That would be stupid. But what if his subconscious did? He grabbed a box of condoms, angry at himself.

  He picked out some donuts and filled two cups of coffee.

  The checkout lady rang up his purchase. She raised an eyebrow. “That’s some combination you have going on there, pal.”

  Reid tossed her the money and glared at her. The last thing he needed was to be judged by some drugstore cashier. He shoved the box of condoms into his pocket.

  Paper sack in one hand, and cardboard drink carrier in the other, he made his way down the street. He kept his eyes peeled to make sure he wasn’t being followed. Could Jewels be pregnant? Part of him wanted her to be, the other part didn’t. He wanted her to be madly in love with him the way she once was, before they created a child—a family. Something neither of them had ever really had. His plan would have worked. Maybe it still could.

  “Julianna, it’s Reid.” He called before he sat down the bag to open the door.

  “Good, I have to pee.”

  He walked inside. “I got chocolate glazed donuts.”

  “I can’t eat yet.” She grabbed the sack from him and looked inside. She raised an eyebrow. “Five? How many babies do you think we made?”

  Reid shrugged. “Yeah, I didn’t know which one to get so I narrowed it down. There were a lot more than that.”

  She disappeared into the tiny bathroom with the sack.