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She placed them both on the bed and unzipped the empty one. When she yanked open a drawer in a dresser that looked to be a century old, he moved to stand beside her. “Please don’t do this. Sit down for a minute and let’s talk this through.”
“I can’t. There’s no time. When they follow up to see why you’re here, I need to be gone. They can’t make any connection between us or they’ll kill you. Or worse. I can’t risk you. I can’t risk the people here. I need to go.”
Her obvious panic had him striking the possibility of her being a mole off the table. No one was that good of an actress.
Which meant she was still his Cat. Tess. Tessa. He couldn’t lose her after having just found her. His hurt feelings that she hadn’t contacted him faded away as he realized she’d been following the rules to keep him safe.
“Tessa, we can not only protect you here, we can work together to take them down.”
Her head was shaking before he even got three words in. “They’re too big. Too powerful. Too evil. I can’t lead them to you. To any of you.”
She was shoving everything from her drawers into the duffle. “Please leave. I need to do something private.” Then she stopped and her laugh was shaky and harsh. “I guess it doesn’t matter anymore.”
In the closet, she did something to a sheet of panelling and it slid soundlessly backward a couple of inches. Tessa pushed it to the side, revealing a tiny space. Large enough for her to hide in.
She reached in and grabbed a pouch then closed the panel. Not only did she have a prepared Go Bag, but a secret room and probably fake IDs in the bag.
Flynn stepped into her as she moved to put the pouch in her bag. She hadn’t raised her face to him since they’d been on the dock and he needed her to see him, to truly listen to him past the fear. “Tessa.”
She flinched at the name and a shudder ran through her.
“Tessa. We can figure this out, but you have to stay for us to do that. I want to help. I want to talk to you and get to know you all over again. Please, let me help.”
When her head started to shake again, he couldn’t stand it anymore. He stepped forward and wrapped her in his arms. Her entire body shuddered and she drew in a sharp breath of air.
Flynn kept his arms firm around her, even as he watched for signs of fear or tension. He’d let her go if she needed it. After another shudder, Tessa wrapped her arms around his waist and held on. She took deep steady breaths, possibly to keep in emotions. He did the same.
For long minutes, they stood wrapped around each other. Flynn wasn’t sure he ever wanted to let her go. She felt exactly right where she was. And she was safe. At this exact moment, Flynn felt peace wrap around them both.
His doubts, worries, hurts were all gone. A sleepless night had brought him to the conclusion that he’d been a jerk to Tessa the day before. He should have donethisright away. Held her, told her he’d missed her, that she was important.
“I’m sorry I was an ass yesterday. Apparently, I don’t do well with big shocks. I’m so glad you’re alive. I’ve missed you every damn day and I don’t want to lose you again. Please give me a chance to help.”
She shuddered again and Flynn held her more closely, rested his cheek on the top of her hair.
“I don’t want anyone getting hurt because of me.”
The sadness in her voice melted something inside of him. “First, none of this is because of you. Unless you’re the kingpin of the crime family, hiding out here to lure in random FBI agents.”
He regretted the flippant words immediately, but Tessa snorted out a half laugh and squeezed him. “That’s right. I blew myself into a coma to throw you off the scent.”
Coma?
That word had Flynn finally thinking about the situation from Tessa’s point of view. His feelings had been hurt because she hadn’t contacted him, because he’d spent years thinking she was dead.
She’d been alone since the moment of the explosion. In reality, she’d been alone most of her life. And he’d almost let her slip away without even thinking about it from her perspective. She’d lost everything that day. Her home, her family—such as they were—her identity. The rest of senior year in high school. The schooling she’d wanted to pursue. Her future.
He was a selfish, self-absorbed bastard. And that was changing. Now.
While they held each other, he organized his thoughts. Strangely, her touch made it easier to see things clearly. “No one at the office knows where I am. They know I’m on vacation. A few of them know I’ve gone up north to see about a business opportunity and to spend time with friends. I’m not sure I’ve even said Vermont, but certainly nothing more specific than that.”
She nodded into his chest to show she’d heard, but didn’t respond otherwise.
“Midnight Lake is probably one of the best places in the world to hide. Not only does it require that two-mile hike in, but the security is about as strong as it can be in the middle of a forest.”
She nodded again.
“Let’s take some time to figure this out, Tessa. I won’t let them get to you.”
