WAY OF THE SHADOWS

by Cynthia Eden

  Noelle.

  He kept stroking the center of her need. He knew now just how she liked to be touched. Knew the caresses she needed. Knew just how to make her eyes go blind and to make her gasp.

  When she moaned his name, he smiled.

  When she came, crying out, her body tensing, he took over.

  His hands locked tightly around her hips. He lifted her body, up and down, again and again, driving in the rhythm he needed. When it wasn’t enough, when he needed more, deeper, he twisted with her, putting her beneath him on that rug.

  And he took her. Claimed her. Pleasure flooded through him.

  He kissed her when the release erupted. Kissed her and tasted life and hope. Tasted everything he’d ever wanted.

  Thomas knew that, in an instant, he would kill to keep her by his side.

  * * *

  THE STORM HAD PASSED. Noelle stared out at the sea of white around the cabin. In the distance, she could hear the rumble of snowplows.

  The road in front of their cabin was covered, but she knew they’d be getting out of there soon enough.

  Her gaze slid toward the trees that lined the property. Had the perp survived the night? She bet he had. But...

  “My bullet hit him,” she said quietly. Thomas was behind her. Not talking. They hadn’t talked much during the remainder of the night.

  They’d made love, and exhausted, she’d fallen asleep in his arms. When she’d woken up, he’d been dressed. Armed.

  And the day had dawned.

  “I grazed him,” Thomas said, as he drew closer to her. “Or at least, I think I did.”

  Her shot had been at near point-blank range, so Noelle figured the wound she’d inflicted had to be bad. “He’ll need medical help.” She glanced toward Thomas. “I hit him in the chest. Not his heart, but enough of a wound that the guy can’t just keep walking around without treatment.” Not even close. “If he survived the storm, he’ll be looking for someone to patch him up.” So they’d check first with local doctors and veterinary personnel. Someone with medical training.

  “He’ll look, unless he’s the kind of man used to taking care of his own wounds.”

  Noelle thought of the scars on Thomas’s body. “You’ve done that.”

  “When it comes down to either being able to stitch up yourself or dying, yeah, you learn to stitch that skin pretty fast.” His voice was grim. “I’ve dug bullets out. Hell, I’ve even cauterized knife wounds. In the field, you do what you have to do, and you keep going.”

  The words of a soldier. But they weren’t looking for a soldier. They were looking for a killer.

  Or are we looking for both?

  The whir of the snowplow was louder.

  “The sheriff will be coming for us,” Thomas said. “We’ll talk to Jenny and get her to describe the man who took her.” He glanced up at the now-clear sky. “And we’ll talk to Mercer. Find out what the EOD has learned about those victims.”

  Before they did... “We need to talk first,” she said as she gave a determined nod.

  His gaze instantly became shuttered.

  “No more secrets, no more lies.”

  He flinched at that. “I haven’t lied to you.”

  It almost seemed surreal to have this conversation with him. After everything that had happened the night before, they should have been close. Heck, it didn’t get much closer than being someone’s lover. But there was a wall between them.

  Secrets.

  And, yes, despite what he’d just said...lies.

  “I want to know everything.” They were alone. Now was the time to put it all out on the table. “From the moment that you saw me—running in those woods—until the moment you left me tied in that cabin.” Because, yes, that part was obvious. She’d been left there with a dead man.

  The sound of the plow grew louder. They’d tried to call the sheriff earlier, but they still had no service in the area. While they had a few more precious moments of privacy, she needed to hear the rest of Thomas’s tale.

  Even though part of her was almost afraid to hear what he had to say.

  Hiding from the truth won’t do any good.

  “You heard me screaming in the woods, and you found me.” She looked down at her wrists. “I’d been tied up, bound—”

  “And he was hunting you.”

  Her head whipped up. Thomas wasn’t looking at her. He was staring out at the snow.

  “I knew what he was doing pretty quickly. Another hunter always knows....”

  She shook her head, but he didn’t see the movement.

  “You were leaving a clear trail for him to follow. Broken branches, blood on the rocks. He expected to find you out there, but he didn’t expect me.” His voice was low and rough. “He jumped out of the bushes with a knife, and he went for your throat.”

  Her hand lifted to her throat. “The man...the man found with me that day... His throat had been cut.”

  Now he did look at her. His eyes blazed with emotion. “I wasn’t going to let him kill you. And, like I said, he expected you—” his right hand flexed near his side “—not me. I got that knife away from him, and he was the one who died.”

  Her breath rushed out. “All of that was in the woods? But—but his body was found in the cabin. I was found in the cabin.”

  He looked away from her. “I was working a case. Undercover. Domestic terrorists were in the area. I...I couldn’t be found with you. I couldn’t be caught up in an investigation about a missing teen girl and her dead abductor.”

  “You left me.” Saying the words...hurt. Her hand lowered to her chest and rubbed over the ache there.

  “Yes,” his voice was soft. “I left you. You kept trying to follow me, so I had to tie you up. I couldn’t have you walking from one danger straight into another.”

  The pain in her chest seemed to get worse. “You were following orders.” Mercer’s orders. She’d thought Mercer was her friend. They’d met years before when she first joined the FBI. He’d taken an interest in her. Her supervisor had been in awe of the guy, and even though she hadn’t realized quite how powerful Mercer was, Noelle had known he was a man who could help her.

  Only he’d actually been the man hiding her past from her.

  The pain of betrayal was there, and she wondered if it always would be.

  “That’s what a soldier does.” Anger roughened Thomas’s words. “And, yes, damn it, that was what I did.” He swung to face her. “I took you to that cabin. I...called in backup.”

  “Mercer...”

  “EOD agents put the body inside.”

  She’d gone over the reports. There hadn’t been enough of the dead man’s blood in the cabin, so the police had thought his body had been dumped there, but they’d never been able to find the kill site.

  The EOD were too good at covering their tracks.

  “I didn’t want to tie you up. Your wrists were already raw and bloody.”

  She blinked away tears.

  “You wouldn’t stay behind. You kept trying to follow,” he said quietly. “I didn’t...I didn’t have a choice.”

  “Actually, you did. You’ve known this for years, you could’ve said—”

  “Before I left you at that cabin, I told you that you couldn’t speak to the police about me. I told you I was working a case and lives were on the line.” He yanked a hand through his hair. “At first, I thought you were covering for me. Doing what I’d asked because you promised me that you’d keep quiet.”

  She frowned at him.

  “Later...later I realized you just didn’t remember, and by then, I was in so deep at the EOD that telling you the real truth wasn’t an option.” His hand dropped. “I even thought it might be better for you. Not knowing. You seemed to be making a good life for yourself. Y
ou graduated at the top of your college class. You went to Quantico. You had a wide circle of friends. Hell, you were even involved with that jerk psychology professor for a time.”

  She took a step back as realization slammed into her. “You were watching me.” That was her gut response. He wasn’t just quoting facts he’d discovered in some background report on her. The anger that hummed in his voice when he talked about her ex, Jim...it was too strong. Too personal.

  He’d even told her before that he’d seen her, but she hadn’t seen him.

  Because he was watching me?

  “I needed to make sure you were all right.”

  The growl of an engine grew louder. A snowplow? The sheriff? She didn’t look away from Thomas to find out. “How long have you been watching me?”

  “It’s not... I check on you, okay? When I’m back in the U.S. Between assignments.” He seemed to be weighing his words and responding so carefully. “I just like to make sure that you’re safe.”

  I’ll always be with you.

  “The EOD gathered a lot of intel on your attacker, and we thought it was just one guy, working alone. You seemed to be the first victim he’d taken. Mercer believed that, with his death, it was over, but I...just needed to be sure.” He sighed. “I needed to be sure because at night, when I closed my eyes, I would still hear you screaming for me to help you.”

  There it was. All of the secrets from her past. The truth she’d sought for so long, and now, hearing all of those details just made her feel numb. Like she’d just taken a dive into another ice pond.

  But it made sense. His story explained the strange connection she’d felt with Thomas. The awareness. He was her past. The man who’d saved her in the dark.

  He saved me, then left me.

  No wonder her emotions had been all over the place with him.

  She’d even...even wondered if she might be falling for him.

  “Say something,” he gritted out, his eyes glinting.

  “What do you want me to say?” That emotionless voice didn’t sound right. It didn’t sound like her voice at all.

  “Yell at me. Curse me. Tell me I’m a jerk for keeping the truth from you.” He took another step toward her. “Tell me that I should’ve chosen you and turned my back on the EOD.”

  Her eyes widened. “Is that what you want me to say?” As she stared into Thomas’s eyes, Noelle saw his guilt. Heavy. Thick.

  “You were seventeen.” Another step brought him even closer. “You were terrified. You...you asked me to stay with you. You begged me to stay.”

  She shook her head. The memory was right there. “And you said you’d always be with me.”

  “I’m sorry,” he rasped.

  So was she.

  The growling of that engine was so close. She rushed away from the window and yanked open the front door. Noelle saw not one but two vehicles driving up behind the snowplow. One was the sheriff’s car and the other, a dark SUV. As she watched, they braked and the passenger door of the SUV opened. A man jumped out. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him.

  He wore a thick coat, but she could tell his shoulders were broad. His back was straight. He yanked off his woolen cap as he headed toward her. The closer he came, the more she noticed the gray at his temples, his stony visage....

  “No way,” Noelle whispered. Sunglasses shielded the man’s eyes, but she knew they would be green—and sharp.

  Another man flanked the guy, a man who walked with a tense alertness, which broadcasted his military background.

  She knew the second guy was a bodyguard, even before he turned and blocked the sheriff from heading up to the cabin.

  And the man striding so confidently toward them was none other than—

  “Mercer?” Thomas said, shock in his voice.

  He should be shocked. As a rule, the EOD boss didn’t do field work. He stayed in his office, and he pulled the strings. But, thanks to the recent attack at the EOD, there was no D.C. office.

  “Inside,” Bruce Mercer snapped. “You never know who’s watching.”

  He was the man who’d kept her past from her. The man who knew where all the bodies were buried in D.C.

  And because he was there, right in front of her, Noelle knew the situation in Camden, Alaska, had to be very, very bad.

  If Bruce Mercer was there, then death wasn’t far behind.

  Chapter Eight

  “Judging by the way Noelle is looking at me, I guess you told her everything, Agent Anthony?”

  They were inside the cabin. Mercer was pacing near the fireplace while the man he’d brought with him—Thomas easily recognized Aaron Black—stood guard near the door.

  For Aaron to be there, with Mercer, Thomas knew the situation had to be serious. He’d worked with the ex-SEAL before on cases that didn’t involve hostage rescue. They’d involved cleanup.

  Target disposal.

  Death.

  “You should’ve told me the truth,” Noelle said, voice sharp. “As soon as I came on with the EOD. You should’ve—”

  “I thought the past was dead and buried. Part of it was dead.” Mercer waved toward Thomas. “Thanks to Agent Anthony.”

  His back teeth locked. Mercer wasn’t exactly helping the situation.

  “We thought the man who’d taken you—”

  “Justin Hardin,” Noelle bit out. “His name was Justin Hardin.”

  Mercer would know that. The man knew everything.

  “We thought he was working alone. Our intel was wrong. We didn’t realize just how mistaken we’d been until you uncovered those photographs at the senator’s place.”

  Now he understood why Mercer was in Camden. “You identified those girls.”

  “Yes.” Mercer turned sharply on his heel and faced Noelle. “They were taken from different states. Two even from different countries, before you went missing. The geographical area was so wide that we never connected the dots together.” He exhaled. “That was a mistake that we have remedied now.”

  Noelle’s arms were crossed over her chest. “Those girls were all taken that long ago? Then they—”

  “I don’t believe any of those girls are still alive.”

  Noelle’s shoulders sagged.

  Thomas narrowed his gaze on Mercer. “Since when does the EOD get involved on a serial’s crime?” They didn’t, not unless...

  “The girls were taken from different states and different countries.” It was Aaron who spoke. His voice was low and devoid of accent. “The techs at the EOD matched all of those abductions with ports of call that Senator Lawrence Duncan visited while he was enlisted in the navy.”

  Noelle shook her head. “He didn’t do this! He’s dead, and Jenny Tucker was abducted after Duncan’s body had already been found. Her mother saw her leave the house that morning, and we know Duncan was killed during the night.”

  “Our mistake before,” Mercer said, cutting through her words but sending a sympathetic glance her way, or at least, as sympathetic as Mercer got, “was thinking there was only one killer involved. Obviously, there were two.”

  Red flashed on Noelle’s high cheekbones. “Justin Hardin is dead.”

  “Hardin was hunting you,” Aaron said. His gaze slid to Thomas. “We, um, learned that from Agent Anthony. He was the man after you in those Alabama woods.”

  He wanted to cross to Noelle’s side. This situation was so messed up.

  “But Hardin had a partner.” Aaron’s head inclined toward Noelle. “One we missed.”

  “You’re still missing the truth!” The red grew darker on her cheeks. “If there was a second killer, there would be more victims.” She pointed at Mercer. “You said the girls were all taken before me. The killer wouldn’t just stop after my abduction. He wouldn’t simply quit killing. It d
oesn’t work like that. Killing would be a compulsion for him. He’d keep taking victims because he had to. If we’re dealing with a serial, he’d have a ritual that he followed and—” Noelle broke off as her eyes widened. “Hunting.”

  “Yes,” Mercer said softly.

  Thomas was lost. His stare drifted between Mercer and Noelle. What was he missing?

  “He kept killing, but he changed his prey.” Noelle’s gaze seemed unfocused, and Thomas knew she was trying to profile the man they were after. “He was hunting girls before, teenagers, but... Something changed.”

  “Maybe the fact that his partner died?” Aaron tossed out. “Maybe that sent the guy into a tailspin.”

  Noelle rubbed her temples. “He’s hunting. Last night, when he lured Thomas and me outside of this place, he was hunting us.”

  Mercer frowned. “He was here? What the hell? Why didn’t you say something sooner?”

  Because they hadn’t exactly had the chance. Thomas locked gazes with the director. “We pursued him in the storm last night. Noelle shot him, but he got away.”

  “He got away because of me.” Noelle’s chin came up. “The attacker threw me onto weak ice and I fell through. Thomas had to pull me to safety.”

  Aaron lifted a brow. “Uh, you went through the ice?”

  “I survived.” Her voice was cold. Noelle started to pace. “He’s a hunter, and he knows this area.” Noelle’s gaze snapped toward Thomas. “He started by hunting girls—they both did—but... After the partner died, maybe our guy realized he needed more of a challenge. He had to go for tougher game.”

  “And that’s precisely what he did.” Mercer nodded grimly. “I got Sydney to pull up every piece of intel we had on the late Senator Duncan.”

  Thomas knew Mercer was referring to Sydney Ortez. The woman was a genius with computers and information retrieval.

  Mercer continued, “It seems that the senator’s enemies—a few in the U.S. but particularly abroad—had a tendency to vanish.”

  “They were hunted,” Thomas surmised. “By the senator?”

  Mercer hesitated.

  “He didn’t get his hands dirty,” Noelle said, and her words sounded so certain. “Not in the attack in D.C. and not when we were pushed off the road that first night. Duncan was a background guy. A puppeteer...”