A Stranger Is Watching

by Linda Randall Wisdom

  Jenna kept her gaze on the table. It was safer there. “I couldn’t allow him to give up his career to enter the Program with me,” she murmured, tracing a random pattern on the plate with her fork. “He was meant for big things.”

  “Riley was always his own man. He never wanted the glory or perks that went with it. Probably because he knew you can’t climb the ladder when you’re ticking off everyone hanging on the rungs above you.”

  Jenna smiled. “Riley does tend to speak his mind whether you want to hear it or not.” She speared a cube of French toast and dipped it in syrup. She chewed and swallowed. “I prefer to evade the issue, and he would just dive right in. I’d forgotten that trait of his.” Her voice trembled.

  Dave patted her shoulder. “You’ll be fine, Jenna.” He left her alone with her thoughts.

  “No, I won’t. I was fine before, when I convinced myself I was over Riley.”

  “Well look at you! Are we goin’ macho or what?” Scarlet-polished talons threaded through Riley’s hair. “I love all this hair, darlin’, but you could use some shapin’.”

  Riley grinned at the woman standing before him. “Sweetheart, the last person I want near me with a pair of scissors is you. Besides, I have someone else in need of your expertise.” He left the room and came back with Jenna in tow. “Sassy, this is Jenna. Jenna, this is the woman who’s going to turn you into a new person.”

  Jenna gazed wide-eyed at the woman standing before her. Even without the leopard-print stiletto backless heels she had to be over six feet tall. Her strapless, leopard-print catsuit showed off a body that didn’t have an ounce of fat on it. Jenna’ gaze didn’t seem to move from the black enamel panther pendant hanging from a thick gold chain. Matching earrings swung to and fro.

  “Sassy used to work in Hollywood fixing up the rich and infamous,” Riley explained.

  “Until I decided to head for home and open my own place here,” Sassy said in a throaty voice. “What do you want me to do, Riley?”

  “Whatever it takes to make her look like someone else. I don’t want anyone to recognize her.”

  Sassy tipped her head from one side to the other as she surveyed Jenna in a businesslike manner.

  “Honey, when I get through with her, her own mother won’t even recognize her. Why don’t you use those lovely muscles of yours to bring in my equipment? Now, Jenna, sweetie, why don’t you lead me to the bathroom. We’ve got some work ahead of us.”

  Jenna felt swept away as Sassy took charge. The hairdresser didn’t waste any time as she washed her hair and slathered it with a conditioner.

  “Honey, your hair is crying out for a moisture pack,” she chattered, folding a towel around the peppermint scented strands. “Your skin can use some help, too. Good thing I brought a little of everything.” She placed her hands on her hips and studied Jenna. “Are you willing to go along with anything I do?”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “We can always compromise. I’m talking about cutting and coloring.”

  Jenna gulped. The most she’d done to her hair for the past few years was a trim every six months.

  “Riley said you were to do whatever was necessary.”

  Sassy’s laughter was bold and bawdy. “Then let’s give the man a big surprise. He’s an impatient stud, but that’s all right. There’s nothing more excitin’ than an impatient stud.” She rummaged through the large tote bag that carried the tools of her trade.

  Jenna stared at the array of tools Sassy laid out on the counter.

  She had a strong feeling her life was going to take a radical turn.

  “How long does it take to do somebody’s hair?” Riley grumbled as he checked his watch for the fifth time in the past hour.

  “You told Sassy to give her the works,” Dave said as he idly flipped through a magazine.

  “I meant give her a haircut so she doesn’t look the same.”

  Dave looked past Riley. “I’d say she definitely looks different.”

  Riley spun around. Jenna, or at least the woman he thought was Jenna, stood in the doorway.

  Her hair was several inches shorter in a layered cut and was now a glittering mass of bronze and golden blond strands that lay against her nape and cheeks. Her eyebrows were darker and seemed to have more of an arch while her eyes were shadowed and looked luminescent. A bronzing gel had been smoothed onto her skin to give it a darker glow.

  “She looks like she’s barely out of high school!”

  Sassy didn’t bat an eye under Riley’s explosion.

  “Honey, you wanted a completely different look and you got it.” She smiled, clearly proud of her work. “I told her I’d send over some clothes more fitting to her new image.”

  Riley sat down hard on a chair.

  “I never thought it would be so fascinating to look younger,” Jenna commented wryly.

  Riley’s reply was more profane.

  Dave grinned. “What are you going to do with Riley, Sassy?”

  The hairdresser sashayed over to Riley. “Anything he wants, sugar.” She shot Riley a come-hither smile. “Come with me, darlin’. I’m going to turn you into a new man.” She glanced at Dave over her shoulder. “And you go on over to my shop and take Renee shopping. I’ll call and give her sizes.”

  “I could do this at home, you know,” he muttered, pushing himself out of his chair.

  “See what a little shaping will do?” Sassy declared, after she brushed Riley’s hair back and tied it with a leather thong. “Very sexy, honey.” A mirror was thrust into Riley’s hand.

  Riley barely glanced at his reflection before he set the mirror down. “So tell me, Myron,” he said as he stressed the name, “why did you turn a mature woman into a teenager?”

  Sassy winced at the mention of his real name.

  “She had the face for it as long as the hair, makeup and clothing fit the image. You wear some sexier clothes, look the image of a wealthy man with nothing more important than escorting his niece to wherever you’re going, and no one will give the two of you a second glance.”

  Riley would have liked to argue with the hairdresser on the observation, but he couldn’t. Sassy had helped him out several times with disguises. Her years working in the film industry had helped hone her skills, and it had been a stroke of good fortune that she’d settled in Kansas City.

  “I saw the way you looked at her, darlin’ and that wasn’t some uncle looking at his beloved niece,” Sassy told him. “Something tells me she was the one you had your briefs in a twist about.”

  The dark glare in Riley’s eyes had felled many a man. Sassy didn’t back down an inch.

  “Aw, honey, you know better than to try staring me down.” Within moments everything was packed in her tote bag.

  “I’m back,” they heard Dave call out from the back of the house.

  Sassy and Riley met Dave in the living room as he set down a variety of bags.

  “You really think we have an unlimited budget, don’t you?” Riley asked Sassy.

  “No, I just knew you wouldn’t let one of your people leave without the right accessories. Bye, Jenna, you hold on tight, you hear. This man will keep you safe.” Sassy took Riley’s arm. “You can drop me off, can’t you?”

  Riley didn’t look at Jenna as he left. After he dropped Sassy off at her shop, he headed for Jenna’s apartment. Breaking in was no problem.

  The interior was dark, so he waited a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the dim light.

  Overturned furniture told him of a struggle. He crouched down and touched dark brown spots marring the beige-colored carpeting. He didn’t need the lights on to verify it was dried blood. Fury boiled deep down as he visualized a man beating Jenna.

  Another visualization entered his mind. A more welcome one. He couldn’t see the face of the man he was beating to a pulp, but it didn’t matter. He was too happy giving him what he deserved.

  He straightened up and went into the bedroom. That room was also a mess, but not from a b
attle. This was the work of someone who had deliberately wanted to create chaos. Drawers were pulled open, the sliding closet door taken off its track and clothing strewn everywhere and torn into rags.

  Riley did a search of his own. He didn’t expect to find anything. When Jenna entered the Witness Relocation Program, she’d had to leave all signs of her former life behind. There were no drawing pads, drawing pencils or paints lying around. A woman who had been deemed an up-and-coming artist now lived in an apartment that boasted no artwork on the walls. He left the apartment as empty-handed as when he’d entered.

  Chapter 3

  “Don’t walk so fast,” Jenna ordered, practically running to catch up with Riley’s swift stride.

  He frowned. “We’re already running late. I don’t intend to miss this flight.”

  “How can we go to Mexico? I’d need a visa.”

  Riley skidded to a stop and grabbed her arm in a firm grip. “This is not something to announce to the world,” he stated between clenched teeth. “It’s all taken care of. Visas are only necessary for extended stays. They’ll only want ID when we leave the country.”

  “Well, pardon me, but I’m not used to acting like James Bond.”

  Riley looked at Jenna, dressed in an oversize T-shirt and tight jeans. With her shorter hair and big eyes highlighted, she looked as if she wasn’t out of high school.

  “Just be a good little girl and I’ll let you have a soda on the plane.”

  Her eyes narrowed to mere slits. “You’re so good to me Uncle, dearest.”

  Riley stared at his watch and swore under his breath.

  He had wanted to reach the plane at the last minute, but they were cutting that last minute a little too short. He took Jenna’s hand and practically dragged her down the airport’s concourse.

  “Fine, just pull me along like a piece of luggage,” she muttered. “Just tell me something. Isn’t Mexico a little obvious?”

  Riley shot her a quelling look that effectively silenced her. His smile practically sizzled as he handed their boarding passes to the flight attendant. Not immune to his charm, she smiled back.

  “You just made it, sir,” she murmured.

  “Thanks.”

  Once on board, Riley almost pushed Jenna into the window seat in first class before taking the seat next to her. He smiled at the flight attendant who handed him a glass of wine.

  “Would the young lady like anything?” she asked, keeping her smiling gaze fastened on Riley’s. Obviously she cared more about what Riley wanted than what Jenna wanted.

  Jenna’s smile could have frozen hell as she looked up at the attendant.

  “A diet soda, please.”

  Jenna offered a brief smile as the attendant handed her her drink. She started to reach out with her right hand until she realized it couldn’t hold anything. She quickly switched to her left hand.

  Her cold smile transferred to Riley. “You call taking me across the border hiding me?” she whispered.

  “It’s called hide in plain sight,” he murmured once the attendant had moved on, pulling a magazine out of the seat pocket and opening it. “They’ll expect you to run for it, but they’ll think you’ll go east or west. Maybe even north to Canada. Mexico is too obvious.”

  Jenna slumped in her seat and studied her nails. The deep bloodred polish wasn’t something she would have chosen for herself, but Sassy insisted it was part of her disguise. Sassy had even decorated her bandages with colorful sayings and pictures. Jenna only had to look in the mirror to think she was back in high school.

  She thought over the traumatic events of the past few days and wondered why she wasn’t cowering in a corner screaming her head off. A picture flashed by in the back of her mind. Darkness mingled with pain, a man’s velvety voice promising even more pain. The plastic glass trembled violently in her hand.

  Riley took it out of her hand and set it on the pulldown table in front of him.

  “Flashbacks are expected,” he murmured, taking her hand between his own. “All you can do is go along for the ride. They’ll taper off after a while.”

  “Better a flashback than the real thing again.” She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and sleep. By sleeping, she could hope she’d wake up and discover all of this was just a horrible nightmare.

  His hand tightened around hers. Not hard enough to hurt, but to remind her he was there.

  As she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, she noted the dull green cotton shirt tucked into tan chinos. The sleeves were rolled up to reveal dark bronze forearms dusted with brown hair tipped with gold from the sun. Aviator-style sunglasses were slipped into his shirt pocket to add to the picture. With his hair tied back with a leather thong and the way he’d unobtrusively scan the passengers, he made a dangerous looking picture. She wasn’t surprised the flight attendant kept giving Riley her best come-hither looks. There was something about dangerous men that women found attractive. A part of her wanted to explain none too politely to the woman that he was taken. Another part reminded her she’d given up that right when she entered the Witness Relocation Program.

  She slumped down in her seat. Maybe she could go to sleep after all. And if she was lucky, she could wake up to find out she was back in her old life again.

  Riley noted Jenna’s sleeping form and requested a pillow and blanket. He carefully shifted her to a more comfortable position and slid the pillow under her cheek. He tucked the blanket around her and sat back so he could stretch out his legs.

  He hadn’t realized how easy it would be to return to his old way of life.

  How many witnesses had he looked after? How many criminals had he tracked down and brought to justice? How many prisoners had he run to ground? Some had even given him interesting memories.

  The well-known forger who escaped prison and was caught when he misspelled a name on a check.

  An embezzler who lost the map to where he’d hidden the money he’d stolen. Lost it where the authorities could find it and not only find it but track him down, too.

  Dealing with Grieco wasn’t an interesting memory. The bastard was the reason Riley and Jenna had parted. Grieco and another madman, Leonard Randolph, were the kind of memories he wished he could erase.

  The thing was that right now, he wasn’t transporting a prisoner or tracking one down. He was protecting a witness. One who had ties to him—strong emotional ties. Toward the end of their time together, he’d even walked around carrying a ring, in the hope that he would get up the courage to ask her to marry him. Hoping, too, that he’d get over his feelings about starting a family. When she’d entered the Program without a thought about him, he’d put the ring away and never looked at it again.

  He had thought he’d successfully put Jenna out of his mind. At least, he hadn’t thought of her first thing in the morning and the last thing at night Not in the past six months, anyway.

  Now he sat next to her. Breathing in the soft scent of her skin. Hearing the barely there murmurs she made as she slept His fingers itched to touch her. His body clamored to reclaim her.

  He swore under his breath and pushed the call button. Whiskey wouldn’t erase his feelings, but it would help numb them. Riley didn’t want to pretend the past few years hadn’t happened. He needed to keep his distance. It would be the only way he could keep her alive. He reminded himself Jenna wanted a family he couldn’t give her. That, he tried to assure himself, was enough to keep him away from her.

  Jenna felt groggy as she was rudely awakened when the jet made a less-than-comfortable landing in Mexico City. She was unceremoniously hustled off the jet by Riley and across the terminal to another gate.

  “Excuse me?” She snatched her hand out of his grip.

  “What?” He scowled down at her.

  “I’m not getting on another plane until I use the ladies’ room.” Without another word she picked up her tote bag and headed off. She didn’t have to look behind her to know Riley had followed.

  Jenna splashed cool
water on her face to help soothe the fatigue that had been plaguing her since she’d awakened. Grimacing at her reflection, she combed her fingers through the tangles. She reached into her tote bag for her lipstick and blush. Jenna wasn’t going back out there without a touch-up.

  When she stepped out of the rest room, she found Riley standing across the walkway, his back against the wall and one leg bent with the foot planted against the wall. A cigarette dangled from his lips.

  His gaze was hooded as he watched her walk toward him.

  “Our flight is boarding,” was all he said as he took her tote bag from her and pulled their boarding passes from his shirt pocket.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Don’t worry, you’ll like it.”

  “We’re not talking the middle of the jungle, are we?”

  “No jungle. Few bugs. Indoor plumbing.”

  “I guess that means I won’t have to haul water from the river for my bath.”

  Once on the plane, Riley again had Jenna take the window seat while he sat by the aisle. This time he settled back and closed his eyes. He was asleep before the plane took off.

  Jenna rummaged through her tote bag for one of the paperback books she’d found in there and began to read. She had noted each of the passengers boarding the plane but couldn’t find anyone who looked remotely dangerous. She decided if Riley felt comfortable enough to sleep, she could relax and read. Although relaxing wasn’t high on her list. She didn’t want to think about lowering her guard when she was in a country where she couldn’t speak the language and her life was in mortal danger. Only one man stood between her and death. She knew with Riley protecting her, the odds were in her favor. But it still didn’t stop the fear from taking over when she least expected.

  The words on the page ran together. She exhaled a sigh and closed the book. She glanced at Riley. He was slouched in his seat with his legs stretched out in front of him. Sitting in the front row allowed him the extra legroom. His chin rested on his chest and his arms were crossed in front of him.