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Rolling hills of white went for as far as the eye could see, and in the background were snowy mountains that peaked straight into the clouds. Frozen rivers and streams jutted off in all directions, and she bet it was beautiful once the weather warmed and there was color. But for now it was a frozen palace of snow and ice, isolating and eerily quiet in its solitude.
There was nothingbutsolitude.
“This isn’t going to be easy,” she said as Nate retraced their route back to the docks where she’d been taken—where she’d fired the shot at Jonah. “There’s so much empty space here. It’s the perfect place to disappear. And it’s snowing again. If we don’t hurry all the tracks will be gone.”
“It’s hard to disappear with a bullet wound and dripping blood everywhere. We’ll find him.”
Eden hadn’t relaxed since she’d gotten in the car with Nate. She’d gotten on the phone with Atticus Cameron at Dynamis as soon as Nate had dialed the number for her. He’d assured her that Nathan Locke was exactly who he said he was. But still…the car ride had been filled with uncomfortable silence, and she’d sat coiled and ready for whatever awaited her.
“You were lovers,” Nate said after a few more minutes of silence. “You and Salt.”
“That’s none of your business. We should be getting close to the docks. I was only in the car for an hour or so.”
“I told you I read your file.” He completely ignored her attempt to change the subject and her shoulders tensed as she sat up straighter in the passenger seat. “It doesn’t take much deductive work to figure out from the way you were found and your medicals that you were closer than partners. And now that I know he’s alive, I can deduce that he’s the one who shot you. That’s cold. No wonder you’re out for blood.”
“Thank you, Agent Locke, for that analysis,” she said, her voice as frigid and brittle as the wind outside.
She heard his sigh and ran through scenarios of how he could use the information against her. In their line of work, information was power.
“I just want you to know I understand what it took for you to come with me. To agree to work with someone again. To hell with Jonah Salt. He’s got his own agenda and never intended to utilize your talents. His only thought was to use you how he saw fit. But he underestimated the agent you are.”
Eden turned to look at him and found his dark gaze steady and intent on hers. There it was again. That connection that inexplicably linked two people who’d never met and made it seem like they’d known each other forever. He was the one that broke the spell this time as he focused back on the road.
“If he’d bothered to read your file from front to back, he’d have known what a mistake it was to let you live once he’d gotten the word you’d survived his first attempt to kill you. Your profile suggests you don’t quit until the job is done. It’s you who’s going to stop him in the end. I believe that with every instinct in my body.”
If Eden had the ability to cry, she might have in that moment. She felt the burn behind her eyes, but no tears formed. She hadn’t felt anything but hate since she’d died on that operating table. It had been too long since she’d been around people, and she realized how she must seem to someone like Nate Locke.
He seemed to be fairly laid back with an easy temperament. He took situations as they came, but he was also able to assess them quickly. She hadn’t seen how he worked yet and she didn’t know his skills, other than his quick display back at the warehouse, but she knew the reputation of Dynamis Security. Atticus Cameron only hired the best agents, so Nate, whatever his skills, was no slacker and he wasn’t someone to underestimate.
To him, she probably seemed like a madwoman—cold, brittle, and scorned. A loose cannon if ever there was one. And if she’d been Nate, she’d wonder why her boss was sending her on a wild-goose chase to recruit an agent who was hell bent on vengeance.
But she was still human. And though she didn’t want them, she had feelings and understood that Nate was extending an olive branch of sorts. She wasn’t cold, and she missed human contact.
“Thank you,” she said softly. And that was all that had to be said. She relaxed and felt the tension leave her shoulders as they made the rest of the drive to the docks.
* * *
It was past noon by the time Nate parked the Humvee at the edge of the docks. The snow was falling harder now and they maybe had an hour before all the tracks were covered.
There was no sign of the Russians, so they’d probably come and gone. The longer she and Nate spent retracing their steps, the farther behind Jonah they’d be, and it wouldn’t be long before more Russian agents appeared.
“The docks are pretty deserted,” Nate said, grabbing a pair of binoculars to look farther down the shoreline.
Eden saw the tanker in the distance where she’d taken the shot at Jonah. It had traveled a good distance, but was still visible to the naked eye. She knew now there was an explosive device somewhere underneath.
“That’s the tanker where I found Jonah this morning.”
“We’ll leave it as is for now. Jonah probably has sensors near the explosives and we don’t want him to detonate if he thinks there’s a team down there trying to disarm it. I’ll pass the information along to Atticus and let him make the call. Come on. Let’s go see if anyone remembers seeing anything.”
Gray clouds grew thicker as the snow fell—bulging and obese, they looked as if their seams were ready to split and dump white powder over the entire town until it was buried to the rooftops. She pulled a black ski cap over her hair and realized there was nothing she could do to cover the bruise forming on the side of her face. It throbbed painfully, but there was nothing to be done for it.
“I wouldn’t mind paying a visit to my good friend fisher Jerry that sold me out to the Russians,” she said, narrowing her eyes.
“If you could see your face right now. Remind me not to get on your bad side.” Nate grinned and pulled on his own watch cap and then the hood of his jacket over that. “I’d be shaking in my fisher boots if I was him.”
She groaned before she could help it and rolled her eyes. “You can’t be for real. Atticus would not hire an idiot for his team.”
“Just remember that, sweetheart, and we’ll be good to go. I’ve learned in this business you have to take your pleasures where you can. Otherwise you’ll burn out and end up eating your own bullet. Besides, I’m a dad. I’m honor bound to tell the occasional dad joke.”
