by Violet Paige
“What the hell happened?” It didn’t look as if he had shaved since I left. A sexy five o’clock shadow had filled in along his jaw. “What are we doing here? I thought we had an understanding.”
I didn’t know whether to be annoyed or flattered. “I left a note.”
“A note?” He folded his arms across his chest. “It didn’t explain shit. I called. Texted. You didn’t answer anything. It’s been three days.”
“How did you get here? How did you know where to look for me?”
“This is how it’s going to go?” His eyebrows arched. “Question for question? Back and forth until you crack?”
“Who said I was going to be the one to crack?” I was defensive even though I had no right to be. I had skipped out on a promise. I had left him after the most emotionally intense and raw night of my life.
“What are you doing here, Syd? The only thing your note said is that you would explain.”
I exhaled. “You didn’t need to follow me. I’m fine.”
“Don’t pull this shit.” He eyed me.
I knew I had to tell him what brought me to this house. He had a right to know. After everything we had been through together, I owed him that. I had pledged everything to him, and him to me.
“I got a text that someone found my mom. Here.” I nodded toward the house. “This was the address they gave me.”
“After the hell we just went through, why would you do something so stupid?”
My spine bristled. “I thought it was a good lead. I had to hurry. It was an emergency.”
“An emergency. And you didn’t think you should wake me up to tell me?”
“That would have been the polite thing to do.” I winced. “But it wasn’t about you. I had to go. I didn’t think it through. I just acted. I thought this was my chance to find her.”
“And instead you’re at an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere. With no protection and no backup.” He was talking like an FBI agent.
“Yes.” I exhaled. “Someone played a nasty mind game and they won. Ok? Does that make you happy? It was a goose chase. A lie. A trick. The entire trip was concocted. I get it. Ok?”
“You know that doesn’t make me happy.”
“I wouldn’t blame you if it did.”
“Since when have I been the vindictive type?”
“Why are you here?” I asked. My eyes lifted to his.
“Because this is where you are, Syd.”
I felt a tiny crack in the back of my throat.
“Because I’m worried about you. We just went through something that most people can’t handle. You shouldn’t be alone.” The corners around his eyes softened.
“So how did you track me down?”
He smirked. “I chipped your equipment.”
“What?” The indignation returned.
“It was for protection. To keep you safe. I didn’t expect you to run. I wanted to make sure I could find you in case…” His words trailed off.
“In case what?” My voice squeaked.
He shook his head. “I almost lost you. What did you think I was going to do? Leave that to chance? Fuck that, Syd. We were supposed to be in this together. How could you pull something like this? After everything. After the kidnapping.”
“I know. I know. I’m sorry. It wasn’t about you. It was about finding my mom.”
He shrugged his shoulders and sighed. “Isn’t it always?”
“That’s not fair.”
“It’s not?” He strolled toward me, his footsteps heavy on the floorboards. “You’ve got to find a way to deal with this right now that doesn’t put your life in danger. I think you need to stop looking for her.”
I glared at him. “I’m not going to do that.”
“It doesn’t have to be permanent. But until we get a handle on what happened with the airplane hijacking, with the man following you, with Project Compass—you can’t search for your mom like this. It’s not safe.”
I leapt up from the swing. “You don’t know what I might have found here. What if this is her house? What if she needs me? She could have been here. Maybe she was, and I’m just too late. We don’t know that. What if she’s the one in danger?”
He grabbed me by the shoulders. His strong fingers dug into my flesh. “Let her go for now. This is dangerous. This house probably has nothing to do with the woman who is your birth mother. It’s nothing. It’s meaningless. It was a ploy to distract you—nothing more.”
“You don’t know that.” I was grasping at anything I could. This lead felt like the only thing I had. I couldn’t bear to have him take that hope away from me.
“Who sent you the text?” he pressed.
I didn’t want to try to explain, but I knew there wasn’t an easy way out of it.
“A man named Ethan Howard. I met him on the Texas trip last weekend.”
“And you blindly followed it?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. I realized how naïve it sounded to admit that the text felt like a lifeline.
“Ethan wasn’t like that.” I tried to explain why I had believed him when we spoke. “What possible angle could he have had?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t trust him. Look around us. I need to know everything about him. Because he got you to drive all the way from D.C. to Louisiana. This house has been abandoned. We should get out of here. Do you have cell reception? Because I don’t.”
I shook my head. “No, I lost it a few miles before I made it onto the turn.” He finally let go of my shoulders. I felt the warmth of where his hands had been.
He looked out on the horizon. We both saw how black the sky was. The thunder rumbled in the distance.
“Why don’t I follow you in your car into the nearest town? I don’t know that this is the best place to leave a car overnight. We’ll get some coffee and figure this thing out,” he suggested. “I think we’re going to need to stay overnight to get the details sorted. There is a lot of shit going on, Syd. You can’t pull this kind of crap right now.” He ran his hand through his dark hair. “You know Beechum is out there? Jelly Bean Jack? And whoever else was in the marketplace. This isn’t safe. You can’t go out on your own. We’ll head to D.C. in the morning and you’re going under full FBI protection. Immediately.” His eyes bore into mine.
“I haven’t changed my mind. I still don’t want to have anything to do with Project Compass. Or FBI protection. Unless that’s you. You know that,” I protested.
“One thing at a time. Let’s find some coffee and a room for tonight. Ok? We’ll talk about Project Compass once we’re dry and out of the storm.”
I nodded. The exhaustion had started to hit me and my wet clothes stuck to my skin. I hoped AJ realized we weren’t staying in a random motel. As soon as we had reception, I’d book something at the highest star rating I could find.
“All right. Let’s go.”
He guided me off the porch and we made a run for it as the rain started to come down in sheets.
I pulled open the driver side and slid into the seat, coating the soft leather interior with water. I winced at the mess I had made. I turned the key in the ignition, and nothing happened. It was silent. I cranked it again. I looked over at AJ in his car.
I saw the confused look on his face. Neither car would start.
He stepped out of the car and jogged over to me.
“Get out of the car!” he shouted through the window.
“What’s going on?” I met him as a streak of lightning rocketed nearby.
“Nothing good,” he answered. “Come on.” He grabbed me by the arm and tugged me up the front porch.
I watched as he paced in front of the railing, scanning the brush beyond the oak trees.
“What’s going on? Do we need a jump? Is it our batteries?” I questioned.
My lungs seized when I saw him reach against the small of his back and pull out his gun.
“It’s not the batteries. Stay here,” he ordered. “Out of sight.” He jumped
off the porch, gun drawn, and ran across the lawn. I couldn’t stop him. He was headed straight for the woods.
Chapter Four
It was happening all over again. I huddled in the corner of the porch and watched, horrified, as AJ disappeared between the trees and branches. I thought I saw the outline of his black T-shirt, but then it was gone.
The wounds on my ankles and wrists, still fresh from the zip ties that bound me in the wooden crate, suddenly ached.
Hadn’t I just experienced this with AJ? The hopelessness of not being able to stop him from running into danger? The inability to keep him from trying to protect me first above anything else. We had escaped the precipice of death, only to face more uncertain darkness. And why? Because I was drawn to anything that shed light on who my parents were—even danger. I couldn’t resist.
I nervously crouched and waited.
What was happening? What did he see in the dense foliage? Why wouldn’t our cars start? Why did he always insist on leaving me behind? I would have felt better running with him.
How could I pull him back to me? What right did I have to even ask that, considering what I had just put him through?
I pushed forward on my knees and crawled to the edge of the porch so I could peek through the slats in the railing. Some of them were cracked and splintered. The more I looked around me, the more I realized how deceived I had been. When I had parked in front of the house I had seen what I wanted to see. But now, I realized it was obvious no one had lived here in a long time. The house wasn’t quaint. And it shouldn’t be on a magazine, unless it was the before shot of a fixer upper.
My eyes narrowed toward the edge of the yard. It was hard to see through the storm. The wind had picked up.
“AJ!” I yelled. I couldn’t hold in the panic that gripped me. “AJ!”
The gusts from the storm drowned out my voice. There was no way he could hear me in the thicket. If I left the shelter of the porch there was a chance we would miss each other. Me running into the woods while he ran back out. However, staying here didn’t feel like something I could do either.
I had to accept the part I played in this. AJ was in danger now because of me. If I hadn’t left his bed the way I did, he wouldn’t have followed me. None of this would be happening.
“Oh God, AJ.” I breathed heavily when I saw him emerge from the bushes. He trudged through the yard, shoving his gun behind his back.
“What was it?” I rose from my knees. “What did you see?”
He shook his head. The water dripped from his nose and the sharp angles of his jaw.
“There’s nothing out there. Nothing I could find.” He climbed the stairs to meet me at the top. “But there had to be someone waiting. I thought I saw the branches snap back in place over there like someone had run through.” He pointed to the spot. “I still think I did.”
“What do you mean?” My stomach lurched with nausea.
“The cars.” He closed his eyes. I saw just how tired he was. I knew that was my fault. He had chased me for three days. “They’re both dead, and that’s not a coincidence. But I’m not about to go digging under the hood during this tropical storm.”
“Did you say tropical storm?” My eyes bulged.
“Yes. Haven’t you seen the news? It’s about to be a hurricane.”
“But—” I lowered my head. I hadn’t focused on anything but myself. I had zeroed in on the information from Ethan Howard and nothing else.
“There’s a good chance that lake is going to flood out the road. I don’t think it’s safe for us to hike out of here tonight.”
I stared at him. “Are you saying we have to stay here? In this house?”
“You have a better idea?”
I pinched my lips together. “But there’s someone out there. In the woods.” I shivered. I was soaked. “How can we stay here? What if they come back?”
He planted his hand on my upper arm. “We’re safer inside than out here. At least we can get you in some dry clothes. You have a suit case, don’t you?”
I nodded. “It’s in the backseat of the car”
“Good. I’ll grab it and we’ll see what’s in the house for the night.”
“In there? We’re staying inside? But this place is falling apart. I doubt there is running water or electricity.”
“Got a better idea, babe?” He pressed his lips together, grabbed my keys, and jogged to our cars.
Chapter Five
It wasn’t the first time I had witnessed AJ break and enter. I wondered what the Bureau thought about his special skill set. Maybe it made him an asset when he was at the Academy.
I stood behind him with my suitcase and his overnight bag while he worked the rusted lock. I couldn’t believe we were doing this. He jiggled the handle in his fist until finally it gave way. He grinned. “Voila.”
He ushered me inside just as another explosive burst of thunder erupted over us.
“How bad is this storm supposed to get?” I asked. I had been irresponsible, driving headfirst into a tropical depression with no interest in the forecast.
“Maybe a category two? I’m not sure. I was hoping we’d be out of here before it hit, but I guess not.”
“But it’s fall,” I argued.
“We’re in the Gulf. Hurricanes hit here until November. It’s still hurricane season. How do you not know that? You’re from a coastal state.”
I wasn’t in the mood for a meteorology lesson or a lecture on how negligent I was. Our cars had been tampered with, and AJ thought there might be someone loose on the property. My heart rate hadn’t returned to normal. My palms felt sticky.
He closed the door behind us, locking the deadbolt at the top. It didn’t make me feel safer.
I looked at the row of windows along the living room wall. “Holy shit,” I whispered.
AJ drew his gun protectively. “Stay behind me.”
I realized now why I couldn’t see anything inside the house when I tried to peek in from the outside. The glass had been painted over with a thin coat of gray paint. The empty buckets had been left behind, along with a stiff paint brush. There was crusted paint on the bristles.
“Syd,” AJ warned when I spun on my heels. “Get behind me now.” He gritted his teeth.
The coldness fell into my stomach. My jaw slackened with shock. “Wh-what is that?” My finger rose as I pointed to the opposite wall.
AJ pressed his palm into my chest until I was wedged against the door. I knew he didn’t want me to move. I was already frozen with fear. He inched forward, but I stayed plastered in place. The terror prickled across my skin.
“AJ,” I whispered. I wanted to reach forward and pull him to me. I needed his closeness.
“Shh,” he hushed me.
The wind howled outside, but inside everything was quiet. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the sitting room next to us, panning with his gun in position at chest level. He walked heel to toe until he was in the kitchen. I didn’t move.
I didn’t know how long it took for him to inspect the other rooms. I only knew it felt as if time stood still when he was gone. The enormity of what we had survived this week washed over me. And now this?
Had it only been three days ago that we found each other and almost died together? Three days ago we were huddled in the bottom of an airplane, confessing our darkest thoughts about each other. About our relationship. About how losing each other shattered us both.
Here we were again, surrounded by danger and I couldn’t breathe. What if something happened to AJ?
He strolled into view, checking his gun in its holster. “All clear. There’s no one here.”
I felt the tension slide from my shoulders. “But someone was here,” I eked.
He stopped in front of the wall, eyeing it. “Someone who knows you very well.”
The sick feeling in my stomach flipped once then twice. I inched closer. Afraid to examine the wall, yet drawn to it at the same time. I couldn’t ignore it.
“Who
would have done this?” I whispered.
“I don’t know.” He reached for his phone and started snapping pictures. At least his battery wasn’t dead yet even if he didn’t have a signal.
I didn’t know how to digest the image on the wall. It was a crude map. A rough sketch, drawn by hand that canvassed the entire length of the room. I was scared to touch it, as if some of the horridness would bleed through my skin. I traced the lines in the air, careful not to make contact.
“This is my route.” My eyes darted to AJ. “Every stop I’ve made to interview someone about my mother.” I inhaled. “Do you see it? Every town for the past six months is on here.”
He nodded. “It definitely looks familiar. I recognize the stops, and they are in order.”
I stepped sideways, following the pattern that I had taken across the country over the past half year. There were bright red dots, circling the towns I had stayed in overnight. There were no messages. No explanations. It was as if someone had dropped a creepy hieroglyphic inside this house for me to find, without the next clue.
“What is happening? Why is someone doing this?” I felt the hysteria start to rise. But I couldn’t let it take hold. I couldn’t let it win. Not now when we were trapped in an abandoned house with a hurricane on the doorstep. “Nothing makes sense. Do they want to hurt me? Is that it?”
I didn’t know if he had forgiven me for leaving, but AJ wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest. I inhaled his scent and let the warmth of his body penetrate the chill of my wet clothes. For a brief second, I let him take away the fear. I let him hold me, and I let myself pretend all I needed in this world was the safety of his arms. And everything was going to be ok.
Chapter Six
AJ opened and slammed the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen until he found a box of matches.
“I don’t even know if these will work.” With a flick of the wrist the flame sparked. He grinned. “That’s a good sign. He lit one of the candles I found in the coat closet.