Paul sat up as they entered. “About time you got here. Both of you.”
“How are you feeling?” Ben asked.
Connor knew it was polite and the right thing to do. The poor man had been hit and the result could have been so much worse. But worry ate away inside him. He needed to get to the part about Maddie.
Paul skipped answering and scowled at both of them. “Did you get him?”
Connor felt everything inside him freeze. “Who?”
“The bastard who hit me.”
That answered one question. Connor had more, but he wanted to be sure. “It was a man?”
“The one who doesn’t like you.”
A list of questions flooded Connor’s brain but Ben stopped him and took over. “What are you talking about, Paul?”
“The new guy.”
“Paul, start at the beginning.”
Paul took his time getting settled in the stack of pillows behind him. Raised and lowered the bed twice before he found the right spot. “I was dog sitting for Winnie and Mr. Higginbotham needed a walk.” He stopped as if waiting for someone to question that. “We went out by Maddie’s place and I saw him.”
Connor didn’t care about protocol or evidence. He wanted an answer. “Evan?”
“I don’t know his name.” Paul waved a hand in the air. “Tall and serious, always frowning at you when you get near Maddie.”
“That’s Evan,” Ben mumbled. “What was he doing?”
“Messing with her front door. It was late, too. Didn’t see any lights on in her house.” He reached for the remote for the bed again and Connor put his hand over it. That seemed to send the message because Paul picked up speed with his storytelling. “I backed away and pretended not to see him, but Mr. Higginbotham barked. The next thing I knew I woke up in here.”
“Evan.” That fucking asshole.
“Right.” Paul nodded before glaring at Ben again. “Did you arrest him?”
“Not yet.”
“Well, Winnie is off getting some clean clothes for me.” Paul shooed Connor’s hand from the remote. The steady buzzing of the motor hummed through the private room as he shifted the mattress to get up. “I’ll come along and help you.”
Connor put a hand on the older man’s shoulder. “Whoa.”
“Stay in bed,” Ben ordered.
“Someone has to watch over Maddie.”
“I will.” And that was a vow to Connor. No more trusting marshals or ignoring his instincts. That mistake could cost Maddie everything.
Paul put a hand to the bandage on his head. “He’s bad news. You get rid of that guy or I will.”
“I’ll do that, too.” No matter what it took.
Chapter 30
Maddie watched the door shut behind Connor. Heard the crunch of his boots on the stones outside. Happiness rushed through her. She smiled because she couldn’t not smile. He made life better. Bigger than that, he made her want to have a life again. Not hiding in shadows. Not wondering what would happen next or if she would make a mistake that sent him running.
He was solid and sexy. A little grumpy, which she loved, but so in tune with her. If she had to travel through the last three years of hell to get to him, it was worth it.
But before she leaped headfirst into a relationship with Connor she needed to be grateful for the one that saved her. She turned around and looked at Evan. He stood a few feet away, gazing around her house and not really paying attention to her.
She thought about his joking. “This is a different side of you.”
“Sure.”
His voice changed from earlier. She reached over and touched his arm to get him to look at her. “Evan?”
He lifted his head and pinned her with a furious gaze. “That asshole doesn’t leave you alone for a second.”
She stepped back. “What?”
“You heard me.”
She saw a flash as Evan turned something over in his hand. It took her a second to recognize that he held her phone. “May I have that?”
Evan’s gaze followed hers to his fingers. His hands tightened around the cell. “No.”
She thought about her gun in the safe. It sat in another room and she’d never get the lock open. He’d be on her, and if he wasn’t, if this was her imagination, he’d likely still stop her from taking it out on principle, then insist she’d somehow had a break from reality.
No, she wouldn’t have a weapon for whatever was happening here. She needed to depend on her smarts. “I don’t understand what’s—”
“The whole protective guard thing got old fast.” He grabbed her arm in a grip that cut off her circulation. “Not sure why you thought bringing him into this made sense. Why settle for an amateur when you had an expert?”
“What are you talking about?” She pushed and shifted, trying to break his hold.
“Get a bag or not, it’s your choice. Either way, we’re leaving.”
“But you just said—”
“No questions.” He yanked on her arm, dragging her even closer. “Don’t make me tell you again.”
But she had a million of them. “What changed?”
“My strategy. I tried to be reasonable and your boyfriend fucked that up. So now you come with me. We get off this floating piece of crap, or Connor is the next one I kill.”
On the way out of the clinic, Connor nearly broke into a run. Ben stopped him. “One second.”
“What are you doing?” Connor yelled the question.
“Making a few more calls.” Ben nodded toward the cell in Connor’s hand. “Try her again while I check on one thing and get some reinforcements.”
Screw that. He wanted to get to Maddie. “She’s with him.”
“He doesn’t know Paul is awake. We have the advantage here.”
That news was the only thing that kept Connor together. He’d never wanted to beat on another person like he did on Evan. He’d terrorized her. And why?
Paul being awake started some sort of timer. If he thought the older man saw him and might wake up and talk, he’d need to make a move. Whatever move he came there to make.
Connor hit her contact and listened for her voice. Again, the call went to voice mail. So did the next one. That made four unanswered calls. She’d never not picked up before.
He debated trying another text, but if Evan was there and saw the screen . . . no. He needed to see her or hear her voice. Now.
He turned to Ben, ready to dump his ass and leave him behind, gun or no gun. “What is so important?”
Ben hung up. The strained look on his face suggested the news he received wasn’t good. “I called yesterday to check on Evan’s status.”
Connor didn’t have time for a play-by-play. He was too busy plotting out the next ten minutes and trying to figure out how fast Ben’s car could go.
They sprinted to the vehicle. Connor asked his question on the way. “Status of what?”
They slipped in and Ben had his keys out. “I couldn’t figure out how he could be here unless he was taking vacation to come see Maddie.”
“And?”
Ben started the car. “He’s been on administrative leave for four months.”
Connor heard a thunking sound in his brain. Too late. He’d messed up last time and this looked like a repeat.
He forced his brain to focus. “What? Why?”
“No one will say but whatever he’s doing here, it’s not for WITSEC.” Ben backed out and entered Whitaker’s version of traffic, gliding in and out of the few other cars on the road. “We need to get to Maddie.”
Only one word registered in Connor’s head. “Now.”
Chapter 31
Maddie waited for Evan to laugh after his weird comment . . . to do something. As far as jokes went, this one sucked. Her stomach dropped when she saw the anger in his face. Okay, yeah, she got it. He didn’t like it when she didn’t listen to him. But he’s the one who said the danger had passed.
Since he dropped her arm, she backed up
, trying to angle her way toward the butcher block. A knife was the closest weapon and, unlike the gun, not locked down. She really hoped she was overreacting and didn’t need either.
The other weapon she had was her. She’d been trained to talk to attackers. Humanize. Stall. Do whatever was needed to gain the upper hand.
One problem. Evan had taught her all that.
She fell back on reason. Maybe they could talk this out. “Tell me what is going on.”
“What’s the fastest way off the island without being seen?”
“Water taxi.” Even Dom would get a distress signal. She had to believe that.
He grabbed her again and pushed her against the edge of the kitchen island. Fingers dug into her arm and his expression, utterly without emotion, suggested she listen.
“Are you really going to risk your beloved Connor’s life by lying to me?”
Guilt smacked into her. Evan would do it. He never hid his hatred for Connor. She didn’t understand but she didn’t have to. Hate could be irrational. And Evan could kill without blinking. He’d told her that a thousand times over the years. He believed she could kill the same way, but he was wrong.
When she didn’t answer, his eyebrow lifted. She felt the challenge like a punch to the stomach. Part of him wanted her to test him. A sick part she’d never seen before, but she could see it now. Every line and every muscle pulled taut. He was ready to pounce and looking for a reason.
The one thing—only thing—she would not risk was Connor’s life. Evan knew her and knew her weakness.
“Over by the prison.” Even as she talked, a rough blueprint of the ruins flipped through her head. She mentally examined escape routes and places to hide. “I keep a small boat there. It will get us to Arnold Island. From there we can jump off to wherever you want to go.”
All truthful. Every word of it. If this were a test, she’d pass.
A satisfied look crossed his lips before dying again. “That’s my girl.”
The words screeched across her brain. She wasn’t his anything. “Evan, tell me what’s going on.”
“You just wouldn’t stop.” He tightened his grip and shook her.
She tried to pry his fingers off her bruised skin but he wouldn’t budge. He weighed more, was taller. More lethal. She kept reminding herself of each one of those things when the need to flail and scream pummeled her.
He could kill her.
She forced her breathing to slow. She needed to stay sharp. “Stop what?”
“Fighting it.”
She swallowed her cringe. “If this is some sort of unresolved love thing . . .”
“Don’t be stupid.” He shook her hard enough to snap her head back.
When he dropped her arm, she rubbed the thumping part he’d just squeezed bloodless.
She tried to keep the pain out of her voice. Not give him that satisfaction. “Then tell me.”
“Not sure how it worked with your boy toy, but you don’t give the orders.” He grabbed her coat off the rack and threw it at her. “The opportunity to pack is closed. You’ll wear what you have on.”
“I’m trying to understand.” She slid her shoes on before he dragged her outside without them. “We’ve known each other for years. We get each other. Please just talk to me.”
“Appealing to my protective side.” His smile was almost feral. “I taught you that.”
She fought the urge to throw up. “That’s the point, Evan. You saved me.”
“And I have to keep on doing it.”
None of this made sense. He’d been territorial and a jerk. But he’d never hurt her before. The menacing thing . . . if she didn’t know better she’d think it was part of some new training. But she did know better. This was not a drill.
“Am I in danger?” She meant someone other than him but he was enough.
His face flushed and he clenched his teeth together. “You got messed up in a financial scheme that put powerful people in prison. Of course you’re in danger.”
He acted like he hated her. Like she disgusted him.
She stalled. “Have you heard about a threat?”
“I don’t have to. I just know.”
He sounded . . . deluded. “Do the other people in your office agree?”
“My judgment matters, not theirs.” Evan shook his head. It was almost as if he was talking to himself and not her. “They don’t understand. They think of this work as a job. It’s so much more than that.”
“You like helping people.”
“I create survivors.”
What the hell? The words sounded sick and twisted. Like she was more machine than human to him.
Her heart hammered in her ears. “I’m not a creation.”
“You sure as hell are.” He smiled as pride crept into his voice. “The way you conquered your fear of heights. All those drills. You learned to shoot despite watching people die in front of you in a hail of bullets.” He held up a fist. “Nerves of steel.”
“No.” She shook her head. If he saw the truth maybe he would back down. “I’m a mess.”
He got right in her face. “Because you’ve been away from me. Getting soft.”
“I’m trying to have a life.”
“You don’t get to. You fucked up and your life was turned over to me.”
He did hate her. She could hear it in the dismissive tone. As far as he was concerned she’d forfeited her life and now it belonged to him.
It was all so clear now. The way he treated everyone, including her. His immediate hatred of Connor and anyone who cared about her. The way he yanked her back for more training whenever she started to venture out and live. Made her log hours at the shooting range. Buried her in guilt. The emotional manipulation and all that talk about keeping to herself.
He’d shown Whitaker to her. She could disappear here. Live in the woods. All of his words came back to her. Slammed into her with enough force to knock her over.
A new wave of fear crashed over her. “Evan . . .”
“For once I am going to keep what’s mine.”
Connor could not stand still. They’d been to Maddie’s house and his cabin. Now, he paced the small confines of Sylvia’s office. He could feel Ben watching, along with Sylvia and Jenna. They gathered there to make plans. It would be at least an hour before reinforcements could get there. They expected snow showers today, which would only delay the assistance.
For now, the rescue was on them.
Jenna hung up the phone on the corner of Sylvia’s desk. “I grounded Dom’s water taxi. No planes can come in or out without Ben’s permission, and the marinas are shut down. No boats in or out.”
“I have my volunteers and the few officers we have split between searching and watching the obvious ways off the island,” Ben said. “More officers are on the way, but we need to move now.”
That sounded positive but Connor feared it wouldn’t be enough. Despite being a small island, Whitaker had too much water and land to cover. Too much land where no one lived and other patches where people did but didn’t take to strangers.
“Are we saying this marshal killed Owen?” Jenna asked.
Ben studied a map of the island they’d tacked up on Sylvia’s wall. It wasn’t recent but it could give them a lead. “We don’t know that.”
“We can assume.” Connor didn’t think it was a leap to get there.
Ben turned and faced the one other person in the room. Daria sat in the chair across the desk from Jenna. He brought her in because with everyone else out looking for Maddie and Evan, and warning residents, either they moved to babysitting duty or they dumped her in a jail cell. Connor preferred the latter but Ben insisted she might help.
“Someone has been feeding you information,” Ben said to her. “That’s why you started all of this. The PI, the case files, coming here. You believed Maddie until the moment you didn’t, and someone wanted it that way.”
“Yes. I started getting emails. They claimed to be from someone in the pros
ecutor’s office and talked about Maddie being in on the financial scam. There were suggestions she was Grant’s partner and played me. That she walked away with a pile of cash and her freedom.” Her voice no longer held a defensive edge. The verbal battle she’d unleashed when she got to Whitaker was gone. She didn’t talk about things Maddie had done or cast blame. She sat there looking as confused and unsure as the rest of them.
Those emotions were nothing compared to the battle waging inside of Connor. It took all of his energy not to let his mind wander to the worst-case scenario. He would not be too late this time. They would get to her and stop whatever Evan had planned. There was no other answer.
A part of Connor still hoped Evan’s only need was escape. That he was using Maddie’s knowledge of the island for passage and holding her as a shield. But that didn’t explain the notes or trying to break into her house or Owen. No reasonable explanation covered all of those. And he refused to give the unreasonable reasons any space in his brain. Letting his mind go there spelled disaster.
“None of the stuff about Maddie being in on the financial scam is true. She was used just like you were. These brothers didn’t care who they destroyed so long as they collected the cash.” He needed her to know that. He needed everyone in the room to be clear on that.
“You’re sure about Maddie’s role? I mean, none of it matters now but, if true, it could point us in other directions. Maybe we should keep an open mind here.” Jenna’s voice sounded genuine rather than accusatory. “You haven’t known her that long. Right?”
“Connor has been here almost two weeks, but I met her after she arrived here years ago.” Sylvia looked at Ben as she spoke, then back to Jenna. “I agree with Connor. No way is she heading up some elaborate scheme and letting other people pay for her crimes. Not Maddie.”
“The question is, who would benefit from feeding Daria false information?” Ben said, cutting right to the point.
Daria shrugged. “No one.”
“Evan.” All the confusion and frustration blocking Connor cleared. The truth stood out in its starkness. So clear that he wondered how they all missed it before. “Don’t you see? He gets you enraged and doubting, Daria. Picks at the friendship and the doubts, but does it anonymously. Basically weaponizes you and then pretends Maddie is in trouble.”
The Secret She Keeps Page 22