“I’m trying.” She closed her eyes for a second, doing her best not to let the pit in her stomach grow any bigger than it had already become. “Can I ask you something?”
“I dunno.” He had a mildly teasing smile on his face. “My mom always told me to avoid that question.”
Elle felt her own mouth curve up, just a little. “Probably not horrible advice.”
“That’s probably the most apt description of my mother I’ve ever heard.”
“What? Not horrible?”
He let out a chuckle. “Exactly.”
She was suddenly curious about Noah’s family life. She tried to picture him, sitting at a table, surrounded by loved ones. She thought about the ruined picture in the motel room. Were those kids a part of his family? Was he an uncle, maybe? Or did he have kids of his own? The idea hadn’t even occurred to Elle until right then, and it made her heart do a strange lurch. Bouncing a kid on his knee seemed like something that would be at odds with so many parts of him—his career choice, his looks. But then again, she could somehow see it anyway. A baby on his hip, a grin on his face. And as she thought about it, the picture morphed to include Katie, laughing at his side.
Elle’s face heated. It was a ridiculous thing to imagine. Beyond ridiculous. She needed to rid herself of the fantasy fast. But when she opened her mouth, her intention to change the subject got derailed by her own question.
“Are you close with your family?” she asked.
Noah’s jaw stiffened just the tiniest bit, and his smile disappeared, and Elle expected him to change the subject. Instead, he gave his head a small shake.
“I was,” he told her. “A long time ago. But things happen, and you grow apart, right?”
Elle wished she could say she understood, but she truly had no idea. “I don’t know. Katie is the only person I’ve ever had in my life that I’d call close enough to be real family. I loved my mom a lot. But she died when I was young, and I feel like I never really got enough time to appreciate or know her.”
His head swung her way, and his eyes held hers for so long that she thought it was amazing that they didn’t crash. She saw curiosity in his gaze. But thankfully, no pity.
“Was that the question you wanted to ask?” he said, at last turning his attention back to the road.
She thought about saying yes. She really did want to know more. And she wanted to tell him more, too. But Katie was still gone, Trey was still winning, and that meant everything else could wait.
“No,” she said after another moment. “I was actually just wondering if your job is like this a lot. With the violence and the death.”
His thumb bounced again, and Elle was starting to take it as a sign of reflection. As though the light rhythm helped him carefully choose which words to say next.
“No,” he admitted after a moment. “I’ve been doing this job for sixteen years, and most of the violence I’ve seen is in-the-moment anger. A fistfight here or there. The odd black eye. I once had a target break a beer bottle over his own head, then throw a billiard ball at my head. This whole time, though, I’ve never seen anyone get murdered. Closest I’ve come is dragging a near-dead woman from the ocean after her ex hit her with a fishing rod.” Tap, tap went his thumb. “I guess that’s probably not what you wanted to hear.”
“No. Or maybe yes.” She sighed. “I don’t know. I want the truth, but I want to feel less responsible, too.”
“I wish I had some better words to offer,” he replied.
His statement was followed by a brooding silence, and Elle directed her attention outside. The highway looked never ending, and the sunlight was starting to wane. Time was passing too quickly and too slowly at the same time. Clouds had started to set in, and the sky was showing signs of darkening instead of the clear blue it had been just hours earlier.
Elle pressed her forehead to the window, wondering if Katie could see it, or if Trey had her closed in some dark room. She hoped for the former. So desperately that it hurt to breathe.
Please, please, she begged silently. Please let her be okay.
Her mind wandered to that dark promise Trey had made. He’d said he’d keep her alive. But what if it was a lie?
Swallowing against the sick feeling that threatened to overwhelm her, she tried to drag herself back to being solution oriented. Noah was quicker.
“Onward and upward, okay?” he said. “Have a look at the final page in that file.”
Elle flipped to a creased-up paper, which showcased what appeared to be a map of some kind. There were no street names and no indication of what city it was, and the only marks aside from the intersections were three red dots in the upper right-hand corner.
“Whoever killed Spider did a pretty good job destroying everything else that looked important, I think,” Noah stated. “But he wasn’t quite thorough enough. The pictures of Dez, King James and Beldon were jammed inside the printer, which is how they got overlooked. And that map was sticking out of Spider’s pocket.”
Trying not to imagine Noah touching the dead man, Elle studied the map for another moment. “But what does it mean?”
“That’s what I was trying to figure out when—”
He cut himself off, and Elle knew immediately what he’d been about to say. That’s what he’d been trying to figure out when he found the copy of Katie’s birth certificate. She waited for him to add it. Or at least try to cover it up with something else. But he just let out a little cough, then said something else completely.
“I’d bet my left arm that that’s a map of Vancouver,” he told her. “I know there aren’t any street names, but a lot of my work is done in the city, and a few of the intersections are easily recognizable. I’d know the Georgia Viaduct anywhere.”
“And what about the dots?”
“I don’t want to jump the gun or anything…but three dots, three names…”
Three dots. Three names.
“You think they met there somehow?” Elle asked.
“I think they emailed there,” he corrected. “I’m not very techy, and I usually outsource that kind of work, but I’m pretty sure that handwritten sequence of numbers on the back of that map is an IP address. Or something similar, anyway.”
As she flipped the page over and glanced at the number in question, she couldn’t quite fight off the immediate bubble of hope, and she couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice, either. “We have to go there. It could be where he’s holding Katie.”
“We will,” he assured her.
His tone dampened her optimism. And sure enough, he tapped his thumb, then went on.
“I want to know what we’re heading into first,” he said. “Whether it’s an apartment or a house or a hotel. Whether it’s guarded, and if it is, by how many people. I want to know who owns the property, and to be a hundred percent sure it’s the right location. Because if it’s not, and we run in with guns blazing…we expose ourselves.”
Elle’s throat tried to tighten, and she forced out a breath. “How long of a delay?”
“We’ve got a couple hours’ drive until we get into Van,” he replied. “Then I want to run the details by Spud. He’s the fastest in the business. I promise. But before that…” He shifted awkwardly in his seat, dug a hand into his pocket, then yanked out an unfamiliar cell phone. “We get rid of this.”
Elle frowned. “Whose it is?”
“Pretty sure it’s the reason our friend in the sedan was coming back. I found it under Spider’s desk, and I know for a fact it doesn’t belong to him.”
“And you took it? What if they can track it?”
“That’s exactly what I’m counting on.”
“What?”
He held it out. “Take it.”
She recoiled involuntarily. “Why?”
“I want you to power it up, then toss it out the window.”
>
“What good will that do if they already know we’ve come this far?”
“We’ve been driving in the wrong direction for about twenty minutes. By the time they track it and follow up on the tracking, we’ll be long gone.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep.”
Elle palmed the slightly warm phone, started to reach for the power button, then hesitated. “What if there’s valuable information in here? Phone numbers or actual locations or something. Can’t we just take out the battery or whatever?”
“Nothing stored on the phone itself,” Noah said. “I already checked. It wasn’t even password protected. Incoming calls are anonymous, no names in there, and the recent texts are suitably generic. But I pulled the SIM card already, just in case, and I’ll give that to Spud, too, to see if he can dredge up anything useful.”
“Okay.”
She pressed her thumb the rest of the way into the button and rolled down the window while she waited for the screen to light up. As the wind blasted in, she drew back her arm, then gave the phone a hardy toss. It was strangely satisfying to see it hit the ground and shatter. For a second, Elle felt pretty good. But once she’d put the window up again, and Noah had pulled a wide U-turn and turned them back in the other direction, her mind decided to run rampant with renewed worry.
What if it they got to the location on the map, and it turned out to be the wrong place? Then they’d have wasted an awful lot of time waiting for nothing. Or what if it was the right place, but Trey moved on before they got there? What if his personal thug—or worse, multiple personal thugs—caught up to them before they even got there?
Noah’s voice cut into her thoughts. “Hey.”
She inhaled deeply before answering him. “Hey.”
“I know your brain doesn’t want to shut off, and you’re worried about everything that could go wrong,” he said. “I can practically feel the doubts bouncing around in your head. But you’ll feel better if you rest.”
“I don’t think I can.”
“You can try.”
She shook her head, but then closed her eyes anyway and leaned sideways so that her cheek rested on the cool window. No semblance of rest seemed near. The lump in her throat and the hard knot in her stomach were both far too thick to let her feel comfortable. But after a few seconds of sitting that way in silence, Noah’s hand came out to rest on her shoulder. It slid gently back and forth, warm and soothing. And without even realizing it was happening, exhaustion took hold, and Elle drifted off.
CHAPTER 11
The blare of a horn ruthlessly yanked Elle from sleep. She jerked into wakefulness, startled to find herself leaned back in the passenger seat with a plaid jacket draped over her body. For a second, she was completely disoriented. Then it came rushing back.
Katie. Noah. Trey.
She tried to sit up quickly, but she failed to do anything but flop back as her muscles protested and refused to cooperate. She settled for letting out a groan, then turned her head in search of Noah. Instead, she found an empty seat. Her heart danced a nervous jig. Where was he?
Against the scream of her stiff body, she managed to sit up a little, performing a visual search for the missing man. She didn’t immediately find her target, but her quick look around did bring her surroundings into focus.
The car was parked in an open lot, and on her left was a busy city street—presumably the source of the honking. In front of the vehicle was the building that belonged to the lot. It was a tall glass-fronted structure with an ornate archway and enormous, burnished wood doors and gilded vines climbing up the sides. Elle stared at it for a second—both impressed and intimidated at the same time—before she swiveled her head the rest of the way to the right. A row of thick eight-foot hedges blocked most of her view. But just in front of the greenery, she finally spied the big blond bounty hunter. He had his back to the car, but he was only a dozen feet away, and there was no mistaking his solid form.
Elle let her eyes close for another moment as a surprising amount of emotion rolled through her. There was relief, obviously. But there was more than that, too. A warmth deep in her chest that felt an awful lot like affection. And the slightest ease of all the tension that plagued her body, too. And under that, a sense of longing she wasn’t a hundred percent sure she was ready to define. She lifted her lids and let herself stare at his wide shoulders for another second. And right away, her fingers tingled with a need to touch him, and she very nearly flung open the door before realizing that Noah wasn’t alone. But her shifted position let him see that he was with another man.
Elle’s initial reaction was worry. But Noah’s body language suggested that he was there by choice, and the discussion didn’t seem to be causing any agitation.
Elle leaned forward a little more, squinting and trying to get a better view of Noah’s companion. Who was he?
Spud, maybe? she wondered, recalling that he’d said he wanted to meet up with the other man.
She decided to wait for him to finish rather than rushing out to demand answers, and she sighed and leaned back against the reclined seat. Through the top of the front windshield, her eyes found the sky. She could see that the weather had changed drastically while she slept. The deepening clouds suggested that it would only be a matter of time before they opened up for a summer storm. And even if the grayness hadn’t already been creeping in, the sun had done a rapid descent into the west, too, further darkening the sky. A little belatedly, Elle realized that she hadn’t just napped; she’d slept so soundly that they were likely at their destination.
Guilt stabbed at her. How could she possibly have slept for hours while Katie was still under Trey’s control? She made herself sit up again, searching for confirmation that she was right. Instead, she saw Noah again. The man he’d been talking to was gone, and now the bounty hunter was striding toward the car. When he spotted the fact that she was awake, a smile tipped up his mouth, and Elle’s heart tripped. How did he manage to make her feel like that? Hopeful and happy and safe, in spite of everything. The itch to touch him was back, and it took a significant amount of willpower not to jump out and throw herself into his arms. Forcing her hands to stay still, she waited until he reached the car before making her move. And even then, she just cracked the door enough to call out a question.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, pleased that her voice sounded far calmer than her pulse felt.
Noah’s smile widened, and he swiped a hand over his face like he was trying to contain it. “Peachy on this end. Spud wants an hour or two to narrow it down, but he agrees that the numbers are something to do with an IP address. Made me feel smarter.”
Deeper relief washed over Elle. “That’s good news. About the IP address, I mean. You were already smart.”
A blush immediately followed her statement, but Noah just chuckled and pulled the door open the rest of the way.
“C’mon,” he said. “We need to check in.”
Elle started to swing her legs out, but got only halfway before she clued in. Forgetting her embarrassment, she lifted her eyes to the opulent building.
“We’re staying here?” she blurted.
“Figured we could both do with some momentary luxury.”
“But…”
“What?”
“How much does it cost?”
Noah shrugged. “I dunno. Spud booked it on our behalf.”
“It’s got to be at least three hundred dollars for the most basic room,” Elle said.
“So?”
“I already owe you more than thirteen thousand dollars.”
“Thirteen thousand, two hundred and fifty dollars,” he corrected easily, holding out his hand as he spoke. “And that doesn’t include my usual fee.”
She stared at his hand for a second, then brought her gaze up to meet his eyes. “I wasn’t kidding when I asked you what would
happen if I couldn’t pay.”
“You can work it off. I was thinking of taking on an apprentice anyway.”
“Noah…”
Unexpectedly, he dropped down to one knee, putting him just below her eye level. He reached out and took both of her hands, which in turn pushed his body against her inner thigh. Elle’s pulse thrummed in response to the contact.
“Listen to me,” Noah said, his voice low and urgent. “I told you I’m not here for the money. I want to help you. I want to get Katie back as quickly as possible, and I don’t expect anything in return.”
Elle refused to let herself be swept away by his tone, his words, and the look in his eyes, too. “We’re not talking about pocket change. I could maybe accept the cost of the pizza. And because it’s Katie… I’d find a way to get the cash for Spud, and for your neighbor, Roget. But the rest…the money for Dez…” She trailed off, a little choked up, then cleared her throat and nodded toward the hotel. “Especially this. There’s no reason why we can’t find some crappy hole-in-the-wall to stay at for a few hours.”
“It’s not a problem.”
“How is it not a problem?”
“Because I have money, Elle.” He said it almost resentfully—so much so that Elle thought she must’ve heard him wrong.
She could hear the puzzlement in her own voice as she replied. “What?”
“I have money,” he repeated. “Enough that I don’t care about recouping the cost. Thirteen grand might not be pocket change, but they’re my damn pockets. And if I want to dig around inside of them to pay for stuff, you’re going to have to physically fight me to stop me.”
Elle stared at his face. His grim expression was utterly at odds with his generous words, as was his tone. She didn’t know if she was supposed to laugh or cry. So instead, she did something else. She freed one of her hands. She brought it up to grip Noah’s shirt. Then she yanked him forward and pressed her lips to his. Hard.
For a moment, he didn’t react. His mouth was still. Completely unmoving. And in the back of Elle’s head, she pictured them as a tableau. Two people, locked together in a frozen moment.
Harlequin Romantic Suspense January 2021 Page 80