Silent Pursuit Page 8

  She watched his lips move as he talked. He’d almost kissed her back there in the lobby—she was sure of it. Butterflies attacked her stomach and she shivered. What had he been talking about? Her fatigued brain had just about reached capacity today.

  He pulled her closer and said, “You’re freezing.”

  Gina didn’t bother to tell him he’d misinterpreted her shudder and that she was more than warm.

  “Here’s the room.” Slowly, he lowered her to the floor, where she stood on her uninjured foot.

  “Did I leave a trail of blood behind?”

  “No, I was watching for that. The wound must be clotted, but you still need to clean it out.” He pulled the key out of his shirt pocket and inserted it. The door swung in.

  “Great.” She sighed. Not exactly how she pictured her night playing out.

  “Sorry.”

  And she could see sympathy shining in his eyes. He reached out to pick her up once more, but she held out a hand to stop him. “I can walk.”

  “Does your foot hurt?”

  “Well, yes.”

  “Then no need.” Once again, he scooped. She sputtered, then relaxed. Amusement danced in his suddenly unguarded eyes and Gina sucked in a breath. Wow.

  “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” she asked.

  A chuckle escaped him. “Kinda.” Then he turned serious. “I’m not manhandling you, I promise. I just want to make sure there’s not anything like glass embedded in there. You don’t want to walk on it and shove it in deeper.”

  “Good point.”

  Carrying her just inside the room, he pushed the door shut with a foot. Then he set her on the edge of the bed while reaching behind him to pull up the desk chair.

  “Let me see.”

  Without a word, she acquiesced.

  Tenderly, he held her foot as he examined the wound. “I’m going to have to clean this up. Hang on.”

  Walking over to the sink, he grabbed a washcloth and soaked it in warm water. She watched him wring the cloth out and thought how comfortable he appeared. Mario always seemed to be moving, and when he did, it was with such energy and flamboyance that being with him for extended periods of time tended to exhaust her.

  And yet, she’d loved him.

  Ian returned with the washcloth and began cleaning. She flinched at the sting but didn’t pull away.

  “I know this hurts, but you don’t want it to get infected.”

  Through gritted teeth, she said, “I’m fine.”

  He glanced up at her. “Uh-huh. It’s actually not that bad. You should be able to walk on it.”

  “Like I said, I’m fine. How much time do we have before we need to get out of here?”

  “Probably a couple of hours. I’ll call Mac when I’m done with your foot and see where they are. I’ll also have Jase deliver us another car.”

  “Tell him to make it a bulletproof one,” she muttered.

  A hint of humor flashed in his eyes. “Right. Keep up the good attitude—you’re going to need it. We might be on the run for a couple of weeks.”

  “Couple of weeks!” She sat straight up, wincing as the pain in her foot bit at her.

  Unfazed by her outburst, he simply looked up and said, “Yep. Now hold still. There’s a piece of glass in there, I think.”

  She flopped back and sighed—then yelped and sat straight up. “Hey!”

  He held up a small sliver of glass and said, “Now you should start feeling better. When was your last tetanus shot?”

  “Two years ago when I sliced my hand on a rusty nail.”

  “Good. That’s one thing we don’t have to worry about. When Jase gets here, he’ll have a first-aid kit on him. I’ll bandage it up and we’ll be good to go.”

  “I hope you told him to bring me a pair of sneakers.”

  Jase brought the car. Ian gave it a thorough examination finding it to be clean of any tracking devices. One more lightning-fast stop found Gina a pair of comfortable shoes that fit, since Jase had neglected to bring that necessary item.

  Then they were on their way back up the road, retracing their steps. Ian drove past the area they’d just run from a couple of hours earlier. The roadblocks had been removed, as had most of the evidence that there’d been a shooting.

  “The car’s gone.”

  Ian nodded. “They took it back to the lab. Mac texted me. They found a tracking device on the inside of the hubcap. That’s how they found us so fast. He also said that two of the officers who set up the roadblock are dead.”

  Gina gasped and felt tears fill her eyes. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry.”

  His hand covered hers. “It’s not your fault, Gina.”

  “But…”

  “But nothing. It’s not your fault.”

  She drew in a ragged breath and whispered a prayer for the men’s families. Oh, Lord, what have I gotten myself into? What has Mario gotten me into?

  Blinking back tears of grief for two men she didn’t know, she blew out a sigh. Determination hardened her jaw. “All right, now we have even more reason to find out what’s going on and who’s involved. Where to now?”

  “Back to the beach house? We need to see if we can find some financial papers or statements. Anything that will tell us which banks to start with. And we need to match that key up to a safe-deposit box. I really think that’s going to tell us a lot.”

  She thought about that for a brief second, then shook her head. “No. He wouldn’t have that kind of stuff there. That house was his haven, his escape from the real world. Financial records and stuff? That equaled work.” She shot Ian a glance. “I guess we need to go back to where all this started. With me, in Spartanburg.”

  Without hesitation, Ian made his way to the exit that would lead them away from the beach and west toward Spartanburg.

  Weariness clawed at her, and she leaned her head back against the seat. A warm hand covered hers, and she opened her eyes to see Ian looking at her. The expression on his face did strange things to her stomach, things that Mario’s looks had never elicited. Guilt overtook her.

  With what she hoped was a subtle move, she shifted, withdrawing her hand from his.

  His eyes shuttered, and he focused on the dark road before them. So much for subtlety.

  He said, “Why don’t you try to get some sleep? It’s about a four-hour drive. I’ll wake you when we get there.”

  “Where’s there?”

  “Good question.” He lifted a brow at her. “Your parents?”

  “No way. I don’t want to lead these guys to them.”

  “You’re right about that. How about Joseph?”

  She paused, thinking about it, then nodded. “I guess it’s going to have to be him.”

  “Joseph is FBI and Catelyn is a homicide detective with the force. I agree that might be the best place to stay.”

  She paused and looked at him. “How did you know about Catelyn?”

  He blinked. “I did my homework when you called. I never go into a mission without a thorough briefing.”

  “All right. Give me your phone and I’ll see if that’s okay with them.”

  Ian handed over his phone and Gina punched in the number. Joseph answered on the second ring. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Joseph, it’s me.”

  “Gina, are you all right?” Joseph’s burst of words nearly deafened her, and she pulled the phone from her ear. He demanded, “What’s going on? Any progress on the case? Is Ian with you?”

  “We’re on the way back to Spartanburg. Yes, some progress. Yes, Ian is with me. Now hush.”

  “Sorry.”

  “I really don’t want to go back to my house—yet. Could we stay with you?”

  Without hesitation, he said, “Absolutely, I’ll tell Catelyn to expect you. She’s working a case right now on the other side of town, but we’ve got plenty of room. You know that—you sold us the house. Ian can use the small efficiency apartment across the drive, and you can have the guest room.”

  Relie
f flooded her. She hadn’t realized how stressed she’d been about the thought of returning to her home. Although she knew she’d have to face it soon, she also knew it wouldn’t be pretty.

  “Thanks, Joseph. See you soon.”

  She handed the phone back to Ian. He slipped it into the cup holder. “Go ahead,” he told her. “Get some rest.”

  “What about you?”

  “I’ll get some when I know you’re safe and we’ve found who’s after you.”

  She stilled, reading the concern in his eyes, the determination to get to the bottom of all of this. An unexpected lump formed in her throat. Why was his leaving the unit considered so awful? What had Ian done to enrage Mario so? How could she believe that he’d done something to betray them?

  She couldn’t.

  And yet, the facts were there. He’d left at a critical time. They’d just finished a successful mission. Morale was high, emotion flowing. And he’d asked to be reassigned. Why?

  But she wouldn’t ask him again.

  And he wasn’t volunteering the information. So why did Mario trust him, tell her to go to Ian when she was in trouble? There must be some reason. A strong reason.

  Hammers started pounding on her temples and she shut her eyes. Lord, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know why all of this has happened, and I don’t know what was going on with Mario and what it is I’m supposed to have. I guess I don’t know much of anything. Please, God, get us safely through this…and help me figure out these feelings I seem to be developing for this man beside me. Is it okay, God, to have these feelings? Is it right? And how do I ignore them until I find out why Ian left the unit? Or do I even need to know?

  Her prayer seemed to loop over itself with a string of endless questions. Finally, her prayers faded, her muscles relaxed and she drifted.

  With a start, she jerked awake and looked at the clock. Eight-thirty in the morning. She’d been asleep for three and a half hours.

  And during that time, no one had shot at them or tried to run them off the road. Amazing.

  She looked at Ian. He sat straight, almost rigid, eyes on the road, the only sign of his own weariness in the grooves beside his mouth and a few extra wrinkles around his eyes. Other than that, he looked as if he could keep going for several more days. That was a Ranger for you. A thought hit her. “Did you check on Nicholas? Is he all right?”

  “I talked to him a little while ago. He has a little hideaway not on the house blueprints. He’s fine.”

  Relief flooded her. Then she looked at him. “Are you okay?”

  He glanced her way. “Yeah, I’m all right. How about you? Feel better?”

  “Yes, thanks.”

  “We’ve got about another thirty minutes. Then I need you to give me directions to Joseph’s house.”

  “Okay. So, tomorrow…” She paused and frowned. “What’s today anyway?”

  “Thursday.”

  She gasped and sat up straight. “It’s Thanksgiving Day?”

  Ian barked a short laugh. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

  “I don’t think I should try to see my family today. I don’t want to lead whoever is after me to them. What about you and your family? What will they be doing? I’m making you miss Thanksgiving. I’m so sorry.”

  Ian shrugged and gave another laugh. “Relax, Gina. It’s really not that big a deal. Carly will probably go home. Mom and Dad are used to not hearing from me and not being there for holidays. They won’t even try to call.”

  “Ian, that’s awful.” She was appalled.

  His lips twitched. “It does sound rather pitiful when I say it like that, doesn’t it?” He blew out a resigned sigh. “But it’s okay. This is my job, what I chose to do. Really—” he paused “—I suppose it’s become my life.”

  “Why?”

  He didn’t answer and for a moment wondered if he would. Then he said, “I don’t know. There’s so much injustice in this world. So much hate. So many who are power hungry and greedy….” He shook his head. “It’s wrong and shouldn’t be that way, so each time we’re successful on a mission, the feelings I get are…indescribable. I can almost call it a drugless high.”

  “Mario was like that.”

  “Yeah, I remember. Most of us are. We all have our reasons for choosing this profession.”

  “Mario’s childhood had a lot to do with his career choice.”

  “He never said much about it to me, just that it was rough.”

  “His mother was involved in some pretty nasty stuff—drugs, prostitution, that kind of thing. By the time he was eleven, he’d seen more in his life than anyone, adult or child, should see. Thank God child-protection services finally stepped in and sent him and his sister to live with his grandmother.”

  Ian shook his head. “I never knew all that. He never said a word about his past, but he had a raging passion to get the bad guys off the streets—no matter what it took.”

  “Probably because of his mother. He could hardly stand to talk about her. Blamed her drug addiction and inability to care for them on the crooks who sold the stuff.”

  “He loved the undercover assignments the most.”

  She smiled a little. “Yeah, he did.” Then she sighed and looked at the ceiling. “What went wrong?” she whispered. “Where did he go wrong? What did he take that would make someone willing to kill indiscriminately to get it back?”

  ELEVEN

  Ian gripped Gina’s fingers as he wheeled into Joseph and Catelyn’s paved driveway. “I don’t know, Gina, but we’ll figure it out.”

  The door opened and Catelyn—in full detective uniform, gun and all—stepped out. “Gina! I’m so glad to see you.” She rushed forward to throw her arms around Gina, who gladly gave the woman a tight squeeze.

  “Hey, Catelyn, thanks so much for letting us stay here. This is Ian Masterson. Ian, my sister-in-law, Catelyn Santino.”

  The two exchanged greetings; then Gina asked Catelyn, “Where’s Joseph?”

  “He’s tying up the loose ends of a case, but he promised me he’d call your mother and explain why we won’t be there today.”

  “We? What?” Gina’s eyes went wide. “No, no way. We’re not ruining your Thanksgiving. This is Stefano’s first, and I know Ethan and Marianna want to show him off.” Marianna, Gina’s sister, had married Ethan O’Hara, the detective who’d been in charge of finding the killer of Marianna’s roommate a year and a half ago. Marianna had given birth three weeks ago to a son, her parents’ first grandchild. Gina had popped in at the hospital to see the little guy; then a week later she’d walked in on the goons tearing her house apart.

  Catelyn offered a little laugh. “We’ve been by to see that kid a dozen times since he was born. I promise, your mom and dad will be glad for two less people around to hog his attention. There’s no way we’re letting you spend Thanksgiving alone. Plus, we want to help you figure out what’s going on and we can’t do that in a room full of people.” She turned serious. “Now, come on in and let’s get you guys settled.”

  “Did we pull you from a case?” Ian asked as he stepped inside the house.

  “Well, you know there’s always a case. But nothing that won’t wait an hour or two—and it is Thanksgiving. I’ll get Gina settled in the guest room.” She pointed Ian in the direction of the kitchen. “Ian, why don’t you take the apartment across the drive? It’s kind of like a mother-in-law suite. Just go back out the way you came in. You’ll be able to figure it out.”

  “Thanks.” He grabbed up his backpack and disappeared.

  Catelyn turned to Gina and pulled her in the direction of the guest room. “Now spill it. What’s going on?”

  And so for the next twenty minutes, Gina filled her in on the details of what her life had been for the past two weeks. And how Ian fit into the picture.

  “So, you trust him? With your life? After the fuss Mario pitched about the guy leaving?” Catelyn’s skeptical expression said a lot.

  “Mario sent me to him. Him, Catelyn. Not you,
not Joseph. Ian. That says a lot to me. And I don’t know why he asked for a transfer. He hasn’t shared that with me, but obviously it’s not anything that’s going to put me in danger. Rather, he’s saved my life a couple of times already.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what to think, to be honest with you.”

  Catelyn stood from where she’d been sitting and paced. “I only met Mario a couple of times. He was intense, a loner. But he was crazy about you. I’m having a hard time believing he’d do anything to put you in danger.”

  Gina pulled the letter from her pocket and handed it to her sister-in-law. Catelyn read it and gave a low whistle. “Wow.”

  “Yeah. A key was in my locket. So now I just have to figure out which bank he might have used. We called yesterday, but they were already closed. Even if they’d been open, we couldn’t have gotten there on time.”

  “And no one is open today.”

  “Right.”

  A door shut and Gina jumped.

  Had the people after them found them already?

  Catelyn whirled, placing a hand on her weapon as she slipped out of the room and down the hall. Gina, heart in her throat, followed silently behind her.

  They met Ian coming out of the kitchen, gun pointed in the direction of the sound they’d all heard. He must have come back in the house just as the door shut. Catelyn and Ian made eye contact, and Catelyn drew her weapon, moving with quiet stealth to the den area, then through to the back. Ian coordinated his movements to support Catelyn’s. Gina bit her lip and tried to stay as silent as she could. Her eyes darted around the area, looking for a potential weapon.

  “Hey, Catie? Gina? Where are you guys?”

  Ian halted, Catelyn breathed in deep and Gina wilted against the nearest wall, the tension falling from her. “Joseph!”

  Her brother rounded the corner and Gina threw herself into his arms. He held her close for a moment, then pushed her away. Spying Ian, Catelyn and the guns, he raised a brow. “Guess I should have called first.”

  Catelyn nodded. “Might have been a good idea. What are you doing here?”

  “I got things settled a little earlier than I thought I would and wanted to check on my baby sister here.”