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“I started running her face through my facial recognition software a few days ago once I realized that she was with you. I didn’t like that she never left your side. I especially didn’t like the way she was looking at you like you were something beneath her,” he scowled. “Now that I have a first name, it will speed up the process a great deal.”
“Is that how you found me?” I asked.
“I have access to a great many resources, little girl. I modified the facial recognition software that I wrote myself and called in a great many favors to lift the restrictions that had limited me before. It was simply a matter of time until I found you again.”
His fingers curled around mine. I thought I had known this man, but I didn’t. There was so much more to him than I could have ever guessed. I reached for him, wanting to feel my hands against him. My fingertips brushed against the collar of his shirt, just playing with the hair on his chest and that comforted me.
“Who are you?” I asked. I wanted to know more. I wanted to know the real him.
“A long time ago, I worked for a special unit in the FBI focused on domestic crime. Through my work, I made a great number of connections that afforded me a great deal of power. I wrote programs that innovated the way we found and took down criminals and that also granted me a quite a bit of capital,” he began.
How had I missed that? I swallowed my questions, wanting him to continue more than I wanted to ask them.
“Your face popped up on a number of inquiries through our data mining systems. You were spotted with a number of wealthy men. Although you have no social media to speak of, your face still pops up all over the place in wedding pictures on the internet. It was trackable, at least temporarily. In order to learn more, we started following the financial accounts of the men you showed interest in and began to notice a pattern,” he explained.
My blood ran cold.
“How long have you known?”
“Since well before you ever set your sights on me, little girl,” he answered. A tiny squeak escaped me.
“I have no idea how I could have missed something like this,” I gasped. “I mean, you’re FBI. How could even the family’s connections have missed this? They’ve killed people for lesser mistakes.” I couldn’t hide the horror in my voice.
“I used to be FBI,” he said, and I lifted my eyes to meet his.
“What do you mean by that?”
“The task force I was a part of was working on exposing the ring of people around you that allowed you to do what you do. At first, we just watched you and were convinced that it was just you on your own. As you moved around the country, though, we soon realized that it was impossible to accomplish what you’ve done all by yourself. There were pictures that we tracked down of you in wedding dresses walking down the aisle that would disappear soon after they were taken. Every time you assumed a new identity, the paperwork trail was pristine. Whoever created those names for you created a life that went with it, not just a social security number and a driver’s license. It was astounding. It was a real operation that took a lot of planning and a lot of time,” he explained, and he said it like there was a part of him that was proud of me for it.
I remained quiet. I wanted to hear what he had to say.
“I volunteered to go undercover and see your process firsthand. On paper, you were a job. Once I met you in person though, you were something else entirely,” he said softly.
“What do you mean?”
“From the time I first laid eyes on you, little girl, I decided that you were mine,” he replied.
“How could you say that when you knew what I was doing the whole time? When you knew I was nothing more than a criminal?”
“I’ve studied you for a long time. You’re very good at what you do, little girl, but you’ve never been able to hide how you feel from me. When you stood at the altar, there was a certain sadness in your eyes that was unmistakable. The way your fingers clutched at me time and time again with an intensity you didn’t mean to reveal. The way you made love to me on our wedding night,” he continued. “I knew, little girl.”
My mouth opened and closed in blatant shock. This wasn’t possible. I would have seen the signs. I know how to read people. I know how to gauge what their feeling from their body language alone.
This man had outplayed me.
I felt like I should have been angry, but I couldn’t bring myself to be. For some insane reason, his admission comforted me. It made me feel safer and even more secure than ever before.
“You knew about the family the whole time,” I whispered.
“I did.”
“I didn’t run away from you to hurt you. I only ran the second time to keep the both of us safe. Once they realized that I’ve been compromised, they will come to kill us both. I wanted you to live even if I had to die. That’s all I wanted,” I exclaimed fearfully. I wanted him to understand. I was desperate for him to know that I hadn’t done it to hurt him. I’d only done it to save him because I loved him.
“I know, little girl. Daddy isn’t upset with you,” he whispered, and he pulled my body flush against his. He surrounded me with those strong arms and words no longer carried any meaning. He said everything with the wa
y he held me, and his fingers clutched at me so tightly that it felt like he was almost afraid to let me go. Like he would refuse to let me go even if I pulled away.
“You’re so strong, little girl, and that makes me so proud of you,” he whispered, and he pressed his lips to the back of my head with a soft kiss.
