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He shook his head. “I’m not an explosives expert, but there are too many devices that aren’t triggered until the second start-up. If someone planted those under the hood of either of our cars we won’t be going anywhere other than blown into the sky.”
“And you can’t just take a peek?”
He eyed me. “Syd, there’s a chance the hood is lined with powder. I’m not touching it without the gear. We’ll send a team to inspect your car. We’ll get it back to D.C. safely after the explosives team has a chance to evaluate the property.”
It was stupid to be worried about my new Porsche when we were caught in an explosion scenario, but I hadn’t had it long. I was already attached to it.
“All right. Then it’s the tractor.” I nodded. “Oh, and bikes.” I smiled. “I think I saw bikes, but the tires might be flat.”
“We’ll head to the barn and see what’s there.”
I looked at my suitcase and all the things I had to leave behind. But if we had miles to hike, I couldn’t drag fifty pounds of accessories behind me. It was all replaceable. All of it except my recordings.
“Wait.” I stopped AJ. “I need to save room for my recorder. I haven’t backed up any of the interviews yet. Please tell me I can open the backseat door and go through that bag. I don’t care about my laptop, but I need that recorder.”
He nodded. “That we can do. And I’m grabbing your computer.”
I smiled. I could buy new microphones and headsets. All the components I needed to record the podcast on the road were an easy one-click away, but the recordings weren’t something I could purchase. Now more than ever I realized I had to go back and listen to them again. I needed AJ to hear them. He needed to listen to what Ethan Howard had told me.
“I know why you want me to keep the laptop.” I looked at him.
He shrugged, holding up his gun. “I have my weapons, and I want to make sure you have yours.”
“But—” My protests fell on deaf ears. There was no way to convince AJ I wasn’t going to join Project Compass. His mind was set, and there was one thing I always knew about him.
He was stubborn as hell.
Chapter Thirteen
AJ slipped the straps over his arms and hauled the bag on his back like a hiking pack. His eyes had a new look. They were no longer warm or sexy. He was in work mode. He scanned the backyard, keeping me at an arm’s distance before he opened the door to the porch. The last time I saw him like this he was trying to save me from the kidnappers.
“Stay right behind me the entire time,” he instructed. “I don’t know if there is anything or anyone in the barn.”
“I walked in there yesterday maybe five minutes before you got here. It was full of junk. The tractor. Some tools. I wanted to find a name or maybe some old boxes in storage, but it was a dead end.”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what happened yesterday. I have to secure it before you walk inside. You stand outside the door and wait for me to clear it. Do you understand?”
I sighed. “Yes, sir.”
He clicked his gun and a quick shiver of fear ran through my stomach.
“Come on. Let’s go.”
He waved me behind him and we took off through the yard. He stopped at the gate, looking to the left and the right. I automatically did the same thing, occasionally looking over my shoulder at the house. I didn’t realize how safe I had felt inside until I was out from under its shelter.
The ground was soaked. Muddier than yesterday. We walked at a brisk pace until we arrived at the barn. The wind whipped up, but the sky was a bright blue. I was thankful there was no more rain. No more ominous thunder.
“Stay here.” AJ eyed me.
I nodded. “I will. I’ll wait.” I wasn’t going to move until he told me to.
None of this seemed likely. The map drawn on the wall. The clues sewn into the quilt. The empty house. The pictures of a woman who was supposedly my birth mother. It made my head spin rapidly. Once again, AJ thought it was best if we were separated. Why did he keep doing this? Didn’t he know how scared I was?
He ducked inside the barn. I took deep breaths, willing myself to stay calm. Once we made it off this property we were going to talk about everything from the past twenty-four hours. We were going to dive into everything that happened on Flight 552. We would talk about Jack. I’d even open up about Project Compass, but I hadn’t changed my mind about getting involved with the FBI. I knew if we didn’t put all the cards on the table, these moments would keep happening. The moments when AJ was out of reach and I was at the mercy of hope. We couldn’t keep doing this to each other. I’d stop running, if he promised to stop moving on without me.
Maybe it was the memory of the dream from last night. Recounting that night together. Or maybe it was that even after I betrayed him, he still showed up to keep me safe. Regardless, we were at another crossroads, and we had to be honest. I knew that in the deepest part of my bones. We had used up all our second chances.
“Clear!” he yelled from inside the barn.
