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“I don’t think I have a choice, Mike. You’re all I’ve got.”
And she could do a lot worse than Mike Becker.
* * *
THE SWITCH AT the Newark airport went smoothly. He parked Claire’s Lexus in the long-term parking, buried it among rows and rows of cars so it wouldn’t be lonely.
It had been a stroke of luck that he’d taken his laptop and another bag from his hotel room before going to the bank. The FBI probably would’ve staked out his hotel, and he never would’ve gotten to his computer.
If that man and woman at the bank were even FBI. He didn’t want to worry Claire with his suspicions—yet.
He had cash and documents in his bag and more waiting for him at the cabin in Vermont.
And Claire wasn’t hurting for cash. Guaranteed those bills in her safe deposit box weren’t marked and traceable. Whoever put them there hadn’t expected Claire to make a run for it with cash in hand.
That was one thing he’d learned about his pretend fiancée in the past few days—expect the unexpected. Her stepfather hadn’t been paying attention all those years.
The bus slowed to a crawl as it rumbled over the railroad tracks, and Claire turned from the window, her beautiful face pinched with worry.
He knew her furrowed brow and pursed lips owed more to her concern about Ethan and Hamid than for herself. She could worry about them, and he’d worry about her. Someone had to.
“Are you doing okay? We can get something to eat at the next stop. We’re not going to be in Vermont until almost ten o’clock tonight.”
“Food is the last thing on my mind.” She nudged her toe against the bag between his feet. “Are you going to contact Prospero when we get settled in the safe house?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Can you bring up the news on your phone and see if we’ve made the Most Wanted list yet?”
He pulled his phone from his pocket and dropped it into her cupped hand. “Knock yourself out.”
He extended his legs into the aisle between the seats and slumped down, crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes.
If Prospero found no link between the men in the two videos, he’d have a problem on his hands. He didn’t believe for one minute that Claire had anything to do with the assassination of the CIA director, who’d been the deputy director when Shane Chadwick had been murdered, but evidence pointed to her involvement, and others might not see it the same way he did.
Claire nudged his shoulder, and he opened one eye. “I was planning on getting some shut-eye until we hit Philly.”
She held up the phone in front of his one eye and said, “Look. They have Hamid’s picture out there as a suspect in the car bombing.”
He opened his other eye and studied the earnest face of a young man captured in a black-and-white photo. “Did the FBI pick him up?”
“No.” She skimmed the tip of her finger along his phone’s display. “They can’t locate him.”
“Didn’t you tell me he was at MIT? Does he stay in Boston during the winter break?”
“I have no idea. I wasn’t lying to the agents. I haven’t been in touch with Hamid for a while.”
“Did the article mention your name?”
“No.” She held out his cell to him. “Not yet, anyway.”
He dropped the phone into his pocket and closed his eyes. “Maybe we’ll be in Vermont by the time your name is out there. It’s going to be a long night. Let’s try to get some rest.”
What must’ve been a few hours later, the low rumble of the bus startled him awake, and his eyes flew open. Claire’s head rested against his shoulder, her blond hair cascading down the length of his arm.
He inhaled her scent, which held a hint of dusky rose petals. Her proximity gave him crazy ideas, and he couldn’t tell if these ideas were based in reality or had bubbled up as a result of his overriding need to protect a woman in jeopardy, any woman in jeopardy, just like he’d tried to protect his mom all those years.
“Claire?”
“Mmm?” She shifted her head and then jerked it up. “Sorry.”
“That’s okay.” More than okay. “The rhythm of a bus ride always puts me to sleep, too. Looks like we’re stopping outside Philly, and I’m starving.” He hoisted his bag from the floor to his lap. “Do you want a sandwich or whatever they have at the station?”
