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“Yes.”
The honesty was pretty hot, too. Still, Holt knew his plan provided the right answer. “We call the police. We file a report. The report gets back to the New Foundations folks and my cover holds. With all that in place, it becomes that much harder for them to grab you.”
She shrugged. “Or I could leave town.”
A good plan. The smart one. For some reason not one he liked very much. “That’s the better option, but I was betting you’d say no if I suggested it.”
“Why?”
“In addition to the fact that you seem to question everything I say?”
The corner of her mouth lifted in what looked like an almost-smile. “I’m tempted to deny that, but I fear it would prove your point.”
Since he felt as though he actually won that round, he answered the original question. “The people I’m protecting usually refuse to leave their homes, family, friends...you get the picture.”
He’d heard the refrain so many times that he was starting to believe Connor’s argument that people valued family and home above all else. Not one to stick around in one place for very long, Holt didn’t really get it.
He had people in his life he’d die for and a job he loved, but the whole craving a home thing never registered with him. Maybe it stemmed from having a father more dedicated to the army than his kids.
Maybe it was what happened when the person you trusted most left you to die on an abandoned stretch of dirt road in Afghanistan. Holt suspected that didn’t help, but it didn’t really matter how he got to the emotional freeze-out, because that was his reality and he didn’t see it changing.
“You do this a lot?” she asked.
“Rescue? Yeah, it’s all I do.” All he knew.
The final bit of tension zapping around the room ceased. “So you can actually shoot that thing?”
He followed her gaze to his gun. The one she could see. “Yes, ma’am.”
“You’re not a handyman.”
It was his turn to shrug. “I’m handy.”
“Oh, really?”
“I’ve got skills.” He needed to pull back. Knew it but didn’t.
Her expression changed then. “Are you flirting with me?”
So tempting. “That would be bad form, since two guys just tried to kick my butt.” He needed to stay on his feet and aware, though he could understand why she asked. His gaze kept wandering. So did his thoughts.
Not good at all.
“I don’t understand any of what’s going on tonight. I’ve seen you around town. I stay away from the camp and never say anything about what goes on there.” She broke away and walked toward the kitchen, then paced back.
She walked with her movements jerky for the first time. Frustration pulsed off her.
Yeah, he needed this intel. He felt for her, but she talked about knowing what happened in the camp. Didn’t say she “heard” tales. No, she had personal knowledge. He’d bet on it. “You’re saying you don’t know what you did to upset the New Foundations people?”
“Of course I do.”
Round and round they went. She gave new meaning to the term pulling teeth. “And?”
“My entire life is dedicated to ruining that place.”
Bingo. “Well, then...”
She pointed in the general direction of the front door. “They don’t know that.”
“Clearly they do.” And she had him curious. Her hatred sounded personal. That could mean she once lived there. She might know about former members. People his team needed to interview.
“You are not the only one working undercover. For me, it’s more like working underground.” She went back to pacing. “And up until tonight no one ever bothered me. I live just far enough away, keep my name out of the papers and protests. I drive miles outside of my way just so I can avoid driving near the entrance.”
When he couldn’t take the quiet tap of her bare feet against the hardwood one more second, he stepped in front of her. “Maybe someone recognized you.”
He needed more details but decided not to press because whatever the reason, she’d landed on someone’s radar screen. That meant the life she knew and protected was over.
Her head snapped up. “It could be worse than that.”
“How?”
Tension tightened her features again. “Someone up there must have figured out who I really am.”
Chapter Three
Simon Falls leaned back in his desk chair. The only desk chair on the property. Everyone else preferred mats and cushy chairs. He wanted a stiff-backed seat that put him face-to-face with the monitors on the wall and in front of him. Security feeds, including two rotating video shots of places in town.
