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The look on his face was so comical Eden almost laughed.Almost. She had a feeling she’d probably pushed him as far as he’d allow for the day. She had to admit it sounded crazy. Maybe Joe had been smoking his pipe too much.
“It’s one of the possibilities,” Joe said.
“What’s the other?” Eden asked.
“That he circled back and is hiding in town the same as you are.”
ChapterEight
Four days of miserable weather pounded the west coast of Alaska, burying it in layer after layer of snow and ice.It had taken Eden less than twenty-four hours for stir-crazy to set in.
The days and nights had blurred into one another—the snow and wind a relentless force. The only difference between day and night was the sky going from a stormy gray to pitch black and back again.
She needed to get out and search for Jonah. The back of her neck had been itching ever since the snow had begun to slow. He was out there. And he was close. He had to be.
Joe and Ahnah’s tiny house had one bathroom upstairs with a shower that was so small it was difficult to scrub without knocking elbows against the faucet. But she’d escaped to the small space to put some space between her and Nate, and she let the hot water beat down on her as she tried to think of anything else.
He was driving her crazy, and it hadn’t helped that she’d spent each night lying inches away from a man who intrigued her both physically and intellectually.
She’d never met anyone like Nate before. He was an unusual combination of an open book and a man of mystery. Many mysteries. She felt like she’d known him forever and knew nothing about him. Fascinating was the only word that came to mind.
She knew he had a daughter he loved more than anything, and that he’d been divorced for more than a decade. His ex-wife hadn’t wanted to live with the secrecy and constant travel, and Nate hadn’t blamed her for wanting to move on. They maintained a friendly enough relationship for his daughter’s sake, but there’d been no other woman long term in his life.
She knew he liked old black-and-white movies and he hated Chinese food. She knew his sense of humor edged toward the ridiculous and he could make her laugh at the oddest moments. And she knew he slept flat on his back with his gun tucked just under his sleep mat where he could reach it easily.
Just like she knew in her gut that he’d been the agent known as Warlock during his time with the CIA. But she could never get him to confirm or deny her suspicions. He’d been happy to share whatever she wanted to know about his personal life, but his professional life had been completely off limits.
The stories about Atticus’s team were legendary. They’d been an unstoppable force and there were contracts out for each of them in multiple countries. She couldn’t blame Atticus for going out on his own and setting up shop on a few hundred acres of ranch land in Texas—not answering to anyone he didn’t want to answer to, taking only the jobs he wanted to take, and hiring only who he wanted to hire.
Atticus Cameron was a god unto himself, and if the government could get rid of him altogether without starting World War III they’d jump at the chance. Atticus couldn’t be bought, he was ruthless, and he was known to always put the people’s, and his agents, needs above the puppet masters who tended to run the things of the world.
Those who worked for Atticus were those whose pasts would one day catch up with them if they weren’t very careful. Not to mention their families being caught in the crossfire.
She’d missed the dance of getting to know someone. The slow flutters in the stomach and the endless conversations. The last time she’d felt this way was with Jonah, which only served as a reminder that you couldn’t trust anyone—not really—and she especially couldn’t trust her instincts when it came to men.
But Nate was getting under her skin. A long look from across the table as they played cards or told war stories. A subtle touch against the back of her hand or neck. She knew what he was doing. He was treating her like a skittish horse—easing his way in until she didn’t realize how close he’d come. She didn’t know how to stop it, but knew she couldn’t let it continue.
The problem was shelikedhim. But she didn’t trust him. Couldn’t allow herself to make that mistake again. She blew out a frustrated breath and wiped droplets from her face. She turned off the water with an annoyed flick of her wrist and grabbed a towel, drying herself off quickly.
She dressed in the clothes Ahnah had washed, and she brushed out her hair, braiding it quickly so it was out of her face. She used the toothbrush that had been given to her and made sure she’d left everything as she’d found it before making her escape.
Eden opened the door and stopped short when she saw Nate standing only a few feet away, a folded towel and change of clothes in his hands.
“Did you have a good shower?” he asked.
She felt heat flood her cheeks and hoped he couldn’t read her thoughts. She’d just spent the last fifteen minutes thinking about him.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Just ready to get out of here.”
“Joe says we’ll have clear skies in the next couple of hours and the weather will stay that way for the next few days.”
“Did he see that in his pipe smoke?”
“Nah, he was listening to the weather on the shortwave radio.” The corner of Nate’s mouth turned up in a half smile. He had a nice smile. It was one of the first things she’d noticed about him. “You’re looking a little flushed, Kane. You sure you’re okay?”
“Never been better,” she lied.
