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Emotional safety? That was a different matter. She’d accused Gideon last night of betraying her. But she wanted to stay with Gideon, even though she hadn’t trusted him with her emotional safety last night.
That fall must have rattled her brain, because even she knew that didn’t make sense.
Some of what she was thinking must have shown on her face, because Gideon leaned past Nico. “I’ll be right back,” he promised her. “Less than five minutes, depending on where they keep the wheelchairs. Nico is an excellent bodyguard.”
“I’m sure he is,” Alex sighed. “That’s not the point. The point is…”
She stopped abruptly, and Gideon asked, “What’s the point, Alex?”
The point was, she wanted to stay with Gideon. But after the way she’d acted last night, she’d lost the right to say that. So she shrugged. “I don’t really know Nico.”
“Now’s your chance to fix that,” he said as he stepped away from the car.
As Gideon walked into the building, Nico touched Alex’s shoulder. “Tough luck with the arm,” he said.
“Tough luck had nothing to do with it,” she sighed. “It was my own fault. I made a stupid mistake.”
Nico nodded. “Takes a big person to admit to that.”
She didn’t feel like a big person. She felt small. A weak, small idiot. And she wanted Gideon.
But last night, she’d torn into him without hesitating. Accused him of betraying her trust. Snooping in her belongings without permission. She’d given him no chance to explain before jumping to conclusions.
He’d been hurt. Maybe angry, as well. And she didn’t blame him.
If she could do it all over again, she hoped she’d react differently.
But maybe it was too late for regrets. Maybe she’d ruined everything with Gideon.
A couple minutes later, he came out with a wheelchair. He helped her out of the Forester and eased her into the chair. Then he tossed his keys to Nico and nodded at Brynn. “See you inside in a few minutes.”
“I’ll be there, Conway.”
Gideon wheeled the chair to the door and pushed the handicapped door opener. She felt him swiveling behind her and twisted to see him studying the road.
She saw cars driving down the road past the hospital grounds. Brynn and Nico, standing near the big SUV. Someone glancing at them casually would assume they were a family, come to support one of their own who’d had an accident.
Not security experts making sure they weren’t ambushed.
Yeah, Conway, you’re not in Evanston anymore.
* * *
Jerry sat in a different place outside the compound today. Sergei had taken his spot near the front gate and banished him to the far corner of the compound. This spot was even more boring than the gate. At least, at his previous position, he’d been able to see the people in the compound. Watch them moving from building to building. Here? He’d seen two guys running around the perimeter, and that was it.
His phone pinged about an hour after they’d settled into their lookout spots. A text from Sergei. Alex had left the compound with a man, followed by another man and woman in a black Chevy Suburban. According to Sergei, Alex had come out of the gym with her arm in a sling. Her companion was the guy who’d tied them up at the motel in Boughton.
Sergei figured they were headed toward the hospital in Helena. So that’s where he and Yuri and Jerry would go. Check out the situation at the hospital. Take care of business.
Jerry sent a text back that he understood. He’d meet them at the cars.
As he pushed through the undergrowth, he knew this was his chance. Alex probably wouldn’t have his files with her, or his money, but they could take her hostage. Force the guy go back to the compound and retrieve the files and the money.
The Russians wouldn’t care about his files. All they wanted was the money. So they’d get the money, he’d get his files, and maybe the Russians would kill Alex and the guy. Then Jerry could claim the insurance money.
Sergei had said Jerry wasn’t going anywhere until they had the payoff for Alex’s death, but Jerry was sure he could figure out a way to escape. Both Sergei and Yuri drank a lot in the evening. If they got the money Alex had taken, they’d celebrate. Drink too much.
Once they’d passed out, Jerry would take his files and disappear. Trade them to the FBI for a slot in the Witness Protection Program. He’s start a new life somewhere far, far away from both Evanston and Montana.
