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“Of course they wouldn’t. Tony’s using FBI money to pay Blackhawk Security to do this. Your husband is involved with one of the cases we were working on.”
“So what was your plan?” Alex asked, studying him. She knew better than to believe everything she heard. But if he was lying, he was very good at it. She’d interrogated enough liars to know their tells. Gideon Wolf hadn’t shown any of them. Not so far, anyway.
“My plan was to take you to the Blackhawk Security compound in Montana. You’ll be safe there. The property is completely secure, surrounded by unclimbable fencing topped with razor wire.” He pressed his lips together, as if absorbing something distasteful. “Snipers are a worry, but I assume Mel and Dev have that covered. So even if Trotter sends someone else after you, you should be safe. I’ll leave it to Mel and Dev to arrange the details of your security while you’re there. They’re very good at what they do.”
“So you’re just going to drop me off at this… this compound and disappear? To keep researching your case?” She narrowed her eyes again, still not sure if she believed him.
Or if she wanted him to disappear. Which was an unsettling realization.
What the hell was wrong with her? She was… attracted to a guy who’d been hired to kill her.
“No, I’m not disappearing. Most of the Blackhawk Security operatives live at the compound, so I’ll work on the case from there. What I’m doing is mostly online, anyway. The guy who fired me? I’m digging into his paper trail. I’m pretty confident he has no idea I suspect him.”
“I planned to go to Seattle,” Alex said. “A place I’m familiar with. I’ll do that instead of going to this compound of yours.” Although there was something tempting about being in a fenced-in place, with people who knew how to keep intruders out.
Gideon shrugged one shoulder. “That’s your decision. No one’s going to force you to stay at the Blackhawk Security compound.” As he studied her, his mouth curled into a tiny, momentary smile. “If they tried, I’d pay to watch that conversation. You’ll be free to go, but at least listen to Mel and Dev before you do anything stu… before you drive away. Especially if Trotter’s in the wind.”
Irritation skittered down her back, and she sat straight. “You think it’s stupid to go to a place I’m comfortable? A place where I know all the back alleys, all the places no one thinks to look for people?”
He raised one eyebrow, and she wanted to snatch the words out of the air. She’d spoken before thinking and given away more than she intended.
“You know all those places in Seattle?” He waited, but she kept her expression impassive. Finally he nodded, watching her carefully. “I can see why you’d find that alternative attractive. But I suspect those places aren’t very safe, either. Probably come with their own sets of problems.”
She stared back at Gideon. He was right, damn it, but she wasn’t about to admit that. Or share why she knew how to disappear into Seattle’s underbelly. “I’m willing to take my chances.” She had enough money now to pay for a more upscale hidey-hole than a grimy alley.
She wasn’t telling Gideon that, either.
They sat in silence for a moment that stretched uncomfortably long. Finally Gideon said, “You going to go back to bed? Get some sleep? Or are you going to try to run when I fall asleep?”
“Why would I tell you that?” she asked immediately.
“Look, Alex. Either you believe I’m going to kill you in your sleep, or you’re pretty sure I won’t. Which is it?” His voice had an impatient note, but she saw the exhaustion on his face. And, she thought, a tiny hint of hurt.
She tilted her head to study him. Would a hitman be hurt because his victim didn’t trust him? Hell no. He’d probably enjoy it. It’d make the game more fun. The eventual murder sweeter.
She was a light sleeper. Living with Jerry had honed all her senses. She sighed. “I’m going back to sleep.” Standing up, she ripped back the thin blanket and the stiff bedspread. Slid between the sheets and put her back to him. “Do whatever you want.”
She felt his gaze, but she didn’t turn to look at him. Instead, she closed her eyes. The stress of the last few days had caught up with her, and her body demanded sleep. Now that she was warm enough, she drifted to sleep almost immediately. Somewhere, deep inside, she must recognize that Gideon wasn’t a threat.
* * *
After a restless night, Gideon woke early the next morning. The weak, pale light of dawn glinted in the crack between the curtains, and he slid out of bed and padded silently to the window. Widened the opening between the curtains just enough to peek out.
At least a foot and a half of snow covered the driveway in front of their room. Snow was still falling, but it wasn’t the blinding, swirling storm that made it impossible to navigate or see more than twenty feet ahead.
This had to be the tail end of the storm, the last gasp before Mother Nature gave up. He pulled out his phone and checked his radar app. The snow was tapering off. Would probably end in a few hours.
Which meant the plows would be out in force, clearing the roads. And maybe his car would be pulled out of the ditch today. It was possible, although unlikely, they could resume driving.
“What’s it look like out there?” Alex’s voice, throaty with sleep.
Still staring at the snow fluttering down, he said, “Still snowing, but not very hard. Radar shows the storm has mostly passed. Just the last remnants lingering.”
“So we can leave today?” Her voice was bright with hope, and he hated to crush it.
“Probably not. The roads still need plowing. I need my car. And I’d rather leave early in the morning. It’s at least a ten-hour drive from here to the compound, and that’s if I-94 is cleared and all the passes are open. So we’re probably going to be here for another night.”
Complete silence from Alex. Finally she sighed. “I figured that’s what would happen.”
