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“Right. Because so far things have been a breeze,” Rachel said testily. She was hurt by the harshness of his words and knew it was only a matter of time before she couldn’t pretend that the sight of Galen Marsh didn’t bother her. She used the tissue to open the door handle and found it unlocked.
The stench of death assaulted her as soon as she opened the door, and she held her arm in front of her mouth and nose to try to lessen it. But the cloying smell lingered in the back of her throat, no matter how hard she tried to get rid of it. She stepped back from the car and took a deep breath, focusing on what she had to do next.
Shane stood to the side, his expression challenging and devoid of all other emotion. It didn’t look like he was going to offer a helping hand this time around. Well, she’d asked for it, though she hadn’t thought he’d be able to cut off all his emotions like they were attached to a switch. She was Dominic Valentine’s daughter. She could do anything she set her mind to.
Rachel held her breath and bent back into the car, careful not to touch the red stains that sat in liquid pools around the body. Marsh’s briefcase lay open on the passenger seat and papers were scattered everywhere. All of them were splattered with blood. She made the mistake of looking at his face. His eyes were empty and stared straight at her, and his hair was matted with drying blood.
Rachel backed out of the car and collapsed to the ground, shoving her head between her knees as the little black dots began swimming in front of her eyes. She lost track of time as she tried to get herself under control, but she vaguely heard Shane sifting through papers, doing the job she should have been able to do.
“I don’t see any envelopes,” Shane said after a few minutes. “It looks like someone beat us to it, and now it’s time for us to disappear.”
Her stomach still felt queasy and she wasn’t sure her legs would hold her if she tried to stand. “Shouldn’t we call the police?”
“Not unless you want to go to jail. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a trap so we could be detained until your uncle’s FBI insider can find us and do damage control. Get in the car.”
Rachel let Shane help her to her feet and push her toward the Explorer. The sound of sirens was audible somewhere in the distance, and Shane didn’t waste any time sticking around to find out.
Rachel barely had time to close her door and grab on to the door handle before Shane floored the Explorer. They sped down the narrow ramps at a neck-breaking pace and took the turns on two wheels. The squeal of tires echoed off the concrete walls, and they shot out of the garage onto the main road like a bullet out of a pistol.
The first squad car pulled into the garage, red and blue lights flashing and siren blaring, just as they turned the corner.
“You’re insane,” Rachel said, trying to control her breathing.
“Hey, it’s all part of the bodyguard package. You’re still alive aren’t you?”
It was obvious Shane was still angry about the comment she’d made earlier. And if she wasn’t mistaken, he wasn’t just angry. He was hurt.
“Look, I’m sorry if I seemed ungrateful back there. I know you were just trying to help, but I’ve been on my own for a long time. I’m not used to white knights charging to the rescue, and it’s obvious you have this need to save and protect when someone’s in trouble. I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong back there. I wasn’t prepared for it, and I didn’t handle it like I thought I’d be able to.”
“You did okay, sugar. And I hate to disappoint you, but I’m nobody’s white knight. Never have been. Never will be.”
Rachel saw his jaw clench as he navigated them through the streets and back onto the highway. If she had dared to touch him, she knew he would have been cold as marble. What was going on in the mind of Shane Quincy? Was he really as heartless and detached as he wanted her to believe? She couldn’t believe that she’d read him wrong after he’d risked his life saving her from the fire.
“Can we just agree that we’re both approaching new territory and call a truce?” she finally said.
“Fine with me. I’d prefer to drop it if it’s all the same to you. Marsh is dead, and as far as the list is concerned, it looks like we’re on our way to Chicago,” Shane said. “Unless you sent a copy to someone else.”
“No one else has a copy.”
Shane blew out a breath and smiled, his lips thin and hard. “Well, sugar, it looks like we’re about to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire. And maybe we’ll both come out alive.”
“With an attitude like that, sugar,” Rachel said with brow raised, “It’s a wonder you have any clients at all.”
* * *
Jimmy Grabbaldi waited until the dark green Explorer turned the corner before he started the engine of the nondescript beige Volvo he’d gotten from the rental company. Angelo Valentine was not happy with Jimmy’s performance so far, and Jimmy was already dreading his punishment. Nobody screwed up Angelo Valentine’s plans and got away with it. Not even one of his top men.
He’d lost Rachel and the private detective once they’d left New Orleans, and all he had to show for his efforts were sixteen stitches in the side of his cheek where he’d been cut by a piece of flying brick after Rachel had shot at him. She was going to have to pay for that. His only option had been to head back to her apartment and wait until the scene was clear so he could do a little investigating of his own. And he’d hit pay dirt.
He’d immediately called Angelo and told him what had happened. The silence on the other end of the line had sent chills down his spine. Angelo Valentine could say a lot without uttering a word. Angelo had ordered him back to Chicago and was going to send a more competent person in his place, and that’s when Jimmy had told him what he’d found in Rachel’s apartment.
He’d gotten her phone off the nightstand and found the list of people she trusted enough to stay in contact with, even though she was in hiding. There had only been three contacts in her address book, two friends and her attorney, and Jimmy had relayed the information to Angelo with satisfaction. There was no doubt in Jimmy’s mind that any acquaintances of Rachel’s would be “taken care” of.
In exchange for the information Jimmy provided, Angelo decided to let him continue his search for Rachel. The FBI informant who was working on the inside for the Valentine organization had relayed the information that Rachel and her new boyfriend had been in contact with an attorney who had access to the list. Jimmy’s new assignment had been obvious, and he’d immediately headed to Dallas.
The freelance goons Angelo had hired had failed to kill Rachel and her boyfriend at the zoo, but Jimmy didn’t worry too much about Rachel. Her time would come—just as Galen Marsh’s had. Galen Marsh hadn’t died with dignity. But more importantly, Marsh hadn’t had a chance to give the list to Rachel.
Jimmy kept his eye on the Explorer in front of him as they merged into traffic on the highway headed north. He hit the speed dial on his phone and turned it on speaker.
