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“Key, key, key,” I mumbled and grabbed his jacket. I hadn’t thought about the key when snatching the cuffs, and my hands fumbled through the pockets, a surge of relief hitting me as I found it.
I went back to the bedroom, where he still sat on the bed. No choice there, really. I stopped a moment, taking him in. He looked strong and vulnerable at the same time, naked and trapped, yet energetic and forceful.Oh dear,I thought at the sight,I’m starting to feel all kinds of things for him.That could not be good, especially since he didn’t think like that. He was actually looking at me with worry in his eyes, brows slightly creased.
“Why are you just standing there?”
Confusion hit me a moment before I remembered the key in my hand. “Oh yeah, this,” I said.
“Yeah, come on then.”
I nodded, took a step forward, and then stopped myself. “So, Annalise…she’s not the easiest of people.”
“Fine,” he said. “Let me get dressed and we’ll go.”
He’d noticed I was ready to leave, I could see he was tense, not trusting me. I wanted him to, but I couldn’t blame him. “Yeah…” I said letting the word hang there.
“Don’t you dare leave me here,” he warned, his eyes widening at the thought.
“Of course not,” I said, forcing a smile. “I’d never do that.” I stepped forward, and quickly placed the key in his hand before turning and leaving the room. I heard him calling for me to wait, but grabbed my purse, scribbled something on a note, and headed for the front door before he could free himself and catch up.
Chapter 12
“You’re late,”Annalise said as she opened the door, looking sharp in a red leather jacket I would have killed for. She must have slept well that night, and when that happened, both her mood and her health were better.
“Sorry,” I said and didn’t mention that we hadn’t actually set a time for our meeting. I had texted her as we left Gerard’s, knowing she always kept her phone in silent mode during the nights. That way she would see the text when she woke up.
“Well, don’t stand there like a garden gnome. Come in,” she said and stepped aside for me to walk in through the door.
“I talked to Gerard earlier,” she said as she closed the door and told me to sit. We were in her small den, the first room one entered in her house. Deep green-colored soft chairs surrounded a dark coffee table, and the walls were covered with shelves in the same color, filled with books. She had been a college professor in Ashdale before her illness had made her decide to retire to make the most of the time she had left. She wanted to spend it on the Community.
I sat down in the chair she guided me to, my back to the door. I didn’t like that. I nodded as she asked if I wanted coffee. I noticed she seemed very sprig indeed today. No tremors to be seen.
“So,” she called out from the kitchen. “Where is the police detective who knows too much about us?” Clearly, she didn’t agree wholeheartedly with Gerard’s approach in dealing with him.
“He’s around somewhere,” I said, guessing he was on his way. With him not having a phone he could use at this point, I had left him Annalise’s address. I needed to talk to her about something without him there. He was likely pissed, though. I would be.
Annalise came back with a large mug of coffee for me, the familiar smell relaxing me. Quick as she’d been she must have made it before I showed up.
“I understand you have questions for me,” she said and sat down on the table, facing me. I nodded as I sipped the hot coffee, dark roasted, strong and energizing.
“The new identity,” I said, surprising her a little. She hadn’t expected that. Not from what she’d learned from her phone call with Gerard at least. She straightened her back a little, eyebrows slightly creased.
“What about it?”
“Is it done?”
“Not quite.”
I knew it took some time, and Eddie was thorough in his work. Very good at it.
“Where will I be going this time?” Things had been happening at an alarming speed the last few days, but my talk with Tegan yesterday had left me with a bad feeling. I had taken the news with a silent resignation when Annalise and Gerard had told me a couple of nights ago, but I didn’t feel like that now. I’d been through this before. Leaving friends behind. Friends who now could only guess whether I was alive or not, because I couldn’t contact them.
Annalise pressed her lips together a moment, considering my question. “As I understand it…this will be the third time in your life you’ll have to relocate.” She looked at me for confirmation she didn’t need and then went on. “Last time, because the FBI started hassling you. Wanting to use you.”
It was the same thing now, only a different agent. How had they found me? I gulped down some more coffee, not caring that it almost scalded me.
“You can do this, Maggie,” Annalise said and patted my knee. “You’ve done it before. You moved across the country last time.”
“That’s not the issue, though,” I said. “I’m tired of leaving friends behind. What am I supposed to do about Rob? Tegan? You?”
