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Paul nodded and went to the truck he had been renting to remove his personal items. He knew Darrall would arrange to have the truck moved and checked for tracking devices before replacing it with something different.
He took a minute to get his head on straight before going back into the apartment. He would take over the protection detail while Neptune did what he did best, cyber tracking to find out who was behind all this.
Nicole looked at the clothes she had put in her suitcase. What did one pack to hide from a stalker or whatever this was? Paul and Darrall still hadn’t convinced her it wasn’t Huang or even Jin trying to get to her.
The talk she’d had with Monty before she started packing had their reasoning making a little more sense, though she had no idea who it could be if it wasn’t Jin or Huang.
She’d met her share of people over the years, but no one stood out in her mind. She didn’t have any ‘jilted ex-lovers’ as Monty suggested. The few relationships she’d had before Jin had all ended amicably, and she was still in contact with one or two of her boyfriends from her college years, not that she’d had much time to date.
The only person she’d hung out with in high school on a regular basis was Nick Sawyer and there was no way he’d do anything like that. She hadn’t even seen the man in years.
Monty suggested she make a list of everyone she could remember having a relationship with, whether it be long term or short. “Even someone you just met for coffee or dinner and things never went any further. You never know what might trigger someone.”
So now while she decided what clothes to pack, she was trying to remember everyone she’d ever dated or hung out with. The list was short. Very short.
She was just putting the last pair of leggings in her suitcase when Paul came into the room.
“How are you doing?” he asked, moving a discarded pile of clothes she’d decided not to take and sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Truthfully? I don’t have a clue. My head is a mess. Why is all this happening to me? I’m not a bad person. I try to help everyone I can. I’ve spent most of my life helping others. I left my family to be there for others. What did I do to deserve any of this?” Nicole let it all out. She was tired and scared. She wanted her life to go back to normal. She wanted to go home and mostly she just wanted to see her son.
“I wish I had answers for you. The sad thing is sometimes bad things happen to good people.” He looked at the duffle she’d been packing. “Do you have everything?”
“I don’t know. I guess maybe.” Nicole picked up the pile of clothes sitting on the bed.
“Don’t worry about it. It should only be for a few days. If we have to, someone can come back and get you a few things.” Paul hoped he wasn’t lying to her and this thing was over quickly.
“I guess that’s everything then.” Nicole reached to close the zipper at the same time he did, and their hands met.
“Sorry,” they both said at the same time.
“No problem,” again, they both said at the same time.
“We have to stop doing this,” they said in unison.
Nicole burst out laughing. “Seems like great minds think alike.”
“You got it. And you’ve got this. I know it’s hard, but we’ll figure it all out. I’m just glad we can be here for you. I heard back from some of my contacts at the consulate. When we get to the safe house, I’ll fill you and the others in.” Paul grabbed her bag in one hand and followed her into the living room where Monty was waiting.
8
The trip to the safe house took about two hours, even though Paul had told her it was only a few minutes away from her apartment. They changed cars three different times and took so many twists that Nicole had no idea where they were.
“We had to make sure we weren’t followed,” he had explained as he helped her into the house.
“I doubt anyone would have been able to keep up with all that. I’m not even sure where we are.” Nicole glanced around the small house he had brought her to. It was just a house in a normal neighborhood. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but this wasn’t it.
When they’d told her, they would take her to a safe house, she’d had a vague idea of a super-techy spy house out in the middle of nowhere. This was nothing close to that.
Paul saw the expression on her face. “Not what you expected?” he asked as he carried her duffle towards the back of the house where she assumed the bedrooms would be.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect. This is nice though.” It was. She glanced around. The furniture was plain, but good quality. There was a huge television and what appeared to be a game console against one wall, with a large selection of movies and games.
On the wall opposite the television was a large fireplace. Where the third wall should have been was a large opening leading into the eat-in kitchen. The appliances were fairly new, and the kitchen was more up to date than the living room.
Paul moved from the back of the house and led her through the kitchen onto the enclosed lanai. There were lots of plants, but not much else. When Nicole questioned him about the furniture, he replied. “This area is a little too visible to be used often.”
The back yard was enclosed with a privacy fence that was tall enough to prevent Nicole from seeing any of the houses around them. “I guess privacy would be the top priority.”
