A well-trained undercover agent would’ve stayed inside, not revealing himself with anything more than a subtle gesture. He would’ve exerted caution and patience. But Payne wasn’t thinking like a federal agent. He was only a man.
He flung open the door to his room and strode toward her. His arms enveloped her. He inhaled the clean fragrance of her hair. My God, she was everything he’d ever wanted.
“Back off!” she ordered.
“You came to me.” Ignoring her protest, he embraced her more tightly, hanging onto a dream that just might come true. “You’re here.”
“Well, duh!” Forcibly, she shoved free. “Listen, Payne. Or whoever you are. We’ve got to move. Now.”
“Damn, you’re beautiful.” Her chestnut hair was mussed. Her white silk blouse had come partially untucked from the black skirt. Her breath came in gasps. Her cheeks flushed pink with excitement.
She wanted him. He knew she wanted him.
“Payne!” she shouted. “Did you hear me?”
He nodded, not trusting himself to speak without bursting into a sonnet to describe her melodious voice and fantastic—
“We gotta go,” she said. “My grandfather’s men could be here any minute.”
“Why?”
Eden rolled her eyes. “Because I escaped from the funeral. I snuck through the bathroom window and stole a car.”
“Nice wheels,” he noted.
“But a little obvious,” she said. “Somebody could have followed me.”
He doubted her logic. If she’d picked up a tail, they’d be here by now.
And there they were. Two full-sized sedans rounded the motel office and tore across the motel parking lot, aiming directly for them. Payne snapped a mental Polaroid, memorizing make, model and license plate number for future reference. Then, he grabbed Eden’s hand and dove into his motel room.
“I told you so,” she said.
“Yes, you did.” And it was a little grating for her to mention that fact. He didn’t need to be reminded of his tactical errors.
Crossing the motel room, Payne went through the door into a hallway that ran the length of the building. Pulling Eden along with him, he used his key on a room at the opposite side of the hall which he had also reserved. They entered a room that was a mirror image of the one they’d just left, except it opened onto a rear parking lot where his rental car awaited. “We go out this way.”
“Got it,” she said.
He went first. He could already hear gunfire from the opposite side of the Riverside Inn. Payne yanked his pistol from the holster attached to his belt.
At his car, he signalled to Eden. “Get in the passenger side and duck down.”
She quickly obeyed.
He slid behind the wheel of a midsize rental car with just enough juice for decent acceleration. If the fates were with them, their assailants would be busy on the other side and wouldn’t realize they’d fled until they were on their way.
No such luck! A bullet pinged against the side of the car. He lowered the window and fired back, then glanced at Eden who was crouched on the floor under the dashboard.
“Give me your gun,” she said. “I’ll return fire.”
He’d prefer if she stayed in a more protected position. “No.”
“Give me the damn gun!”
Another bullet. He handed over the pistol. While he drove, she poked the gun through the open window and fired blindly in the direction of their attackers.
Payne raced to the end of the parking lot and merged into a steady flow of traffic. Less than a mile from here was the entry ramp to a major interstate highway. Dodging from lane to lane, barely squeaking through every amber light before it turned red, he drove past the interstate. “Are they tailing us?”
Eden craned her neck to see through the rear window. “I don’t think so. Where are we going?”
He’d studied the maps but hadn’t made firm plans. They approached the intersection of two routes, offering three possible directions for their escape. He made his decision and turned left. “We’re headed south.”
The four lane road stretched past strip malls and gas stations before narrowing to a two-lane. Payne pulled into a cafe parking lot to watch the flow of traffic.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
“I’m making sure they’re not coming this way.” None of the passing cars matched the description he’d memorized. Though their flight had been sloppy, it had worked. His advance planning had paid off. “I think we’re okay on this route. Give me my gun back.”
“I don’t think so,” she said.
He took his eyes off the road and stared into her beautiful but determined hazel eyes. What the hell was going on? “Give the gun back. Now.”
“It doesn’t make sense for you to have the gun. You need to concentrate on driving. I’m riding shotgun. That’s what the passenger seat is called, you know. Riding shotgun.”
“Cute.” But she wasn’t an agent. Eden was the woman of his dreams. “Are you a marksman?”
“That’s not the point,” she said. “And shouldn’t we be moving on?”
He couldn’t believe that she was questioning his authority and trying to call the shots. However, she was correct. He ought to be on the road, putting distance between them and the Verones.
Silently, he put the car in gear, exited the cafe parking lot and headed south, unsure of their final destination. For now, he needed to stay in the Chicago area to pursue his investigation. Tomorrow, he planned to pick up the surveillance cameras he had placed at St. Catherine’s to find out who had attended Eddy’s funeral. He wondered if Danny-O had the guts to show up, to stand beside the coffin of the man he’d murdered. If Danny-O was there, who was with him? Who were the other agents who allied themselves with the Verones?
As he drove, he became aware of Eden staring at him. “What is it?” he asked.
“I’m trying to decide if I can trust you.”
“Are you kidding? I’ve been in law enforcement all my adult life. I’m a senior agent. I teach classes at Quantico.”
“That doesn’t mean you’re trustworthy,” she said. “Twelve years ago, you were good enough at deception to fool my whole family. And me.”
“That was my job.”
“And now? What’s your current assignment?”
“This time, it’s personal,” he said. “I need to find out why your brother was murdered.”
“I see.” Eden hadn’t expected that response. She’d thought he was, once again, working on an elaborate takedown of the Verones.
She leaned back in her seat and stared through the windshield. Though she didn’t believe in her grandfather’s brand of vengeance, she was strangely touched that Payne was concerned about finding justice for her brother. “I didn’t think you even liked Eddy.”
“He was your brother.” Payne shrugged. “That made him important to me.”
And how would he feel when he learned he had a son? Eden wasn’t sure she should tell him. Josh was her child, her baby. She’d raised him all by herself and had done a fine job for a single mother who showed up pregnant in Denver, not knowing a soul. Introducing a brand-new