Nowhere to Turn (14 page)

Adam glanced in the rearview mirror for the umpteenth time since they’d left the safe house. David had taken Blake to the hospital and would report in when he knew something.

Tabitha claimed she was fine and insisted she could handle the cleanup at the house and deal with the questions from the cops.

Adam had no doubt she could.

“Where are we going?”

Dani spoke for the first time since sliding into the passenger seat after the latest restroom break an hour ago.

“Do you or Simon get seasick?”

“No.” He heard her confusion.

“How do you feel about living on a houseboat for a while?”

“Isn’t that kind of confining?” In other words, if they were found again, how would they escape?

“A little. But no one can get close without us seeing.”

“And Stuart can’t walk up and ring the bell,” she murmured.

“Exactly.”

She shot a glance in the backseat and his eyes followed hers. Simon had his head against the window watching the world go by. He hadn’t said a word since they left.

They’d been driving for hours with only two stops for food and restroom facilities.

But Adam wasn’t taking any chances.

“You keep watching the mirrors,” Dani said. “Have we been followed?”

“No.”

“How can you be so sure?”

He shrugged. “Nothing is a hundred percent, of course, but I’m as certain as I can possibly be.”

“How?”

“Because I’ve had Operation Refuge employees following, doubling back, tracking and watching our tail.”

She lifted a brow. “You have?”

He gave her a half smile. “Yes.”

“Oh.”

“So while it’s not out of the realm of possibility that we were followed, it’s extremely unlikely.”

She closed her eyes and blew out a breath. “Good. That’s good.”

His phone rang. “Hello?”

“Blake’s going to be fine,” David reported. “The bullet’s out and he’s getting patched up.”

“Good, thanks for keeping me updated.”

“Sure thing. I’m letting Tabitha and Isaac handle the questions from the cops about the shooting. Dani and Simon were never there.”

“Excellent. What about Stuart?”

“He’s disappeared. I’d put a BOLO out on him, but he hasn’t done anything we can arrest him for.”

“Yet.”

“Yes. Yet.”

“Keep your phone on. This isn’t over.”

“Ten-four.”

Adam drove the last leg of the trip in relative comfort, but refused to lower his guard. He’d been honest with Dani when he said he didn’t think they’d been followed.

All of Operation Refuge’s employees had stellar skills, either from a military or law enforcement background. Operation Refuge had exploded into a full-fledged protection agency shortly after David and Summer Hackett had birthed the idea and taken it to the governor. She’d immediately given her stamp of approval.

With fourteen operatives, there was always help to go around. Granted, Dani and Simon’s case seemed to be a bit extreme. He had to admit all of the other cases bored him in comparison. Except when David and Summer had been on the run.

Yeah, on the run, lied to by family, and getting shot were enough excitement for the next hundred years or so. He’d take boring.

He slid a sidelong glance at Dani, then turned his attention back to the road. Something told him boring wasn’t going to be in his future anytime soon.

When Dani stepped out of the car, a frigid breeze off the nearby lake froze the air in her lungs. She pulled her scarf across her mouth and nose and turned to make sure Simon had his hood up. Of course he didn’t. She signed for him to do so. With a roll of his eyes, he snapped the hood over his head.

She tapped the tips of her fingers to her lips and pulled them down, palm facing up.

“What does that mean?”

Adam had a bag slung over his shoulder. She grabbed her small carry-on and said, “It means ‘thank you.’”

“I see he’s got the eye roll down pat.”

“Oh yeah.”

Adam shook his head and stepped closer, his eyes roaming behind her. “Is it okay if I act like we’re a couple and put my arm around you when we start walking to the boat?”

“A couple?”

“Yeah. Just to be on the safe side. I don’t think anyone followed us, but appearances can be everything if someone starts asking questions.”

“Um . . . okay.”

Dani made sure Simon had his things and told him what Adam was going to do.

“Pretend?” he signed.

She snagged his fingers. “Maybe we shouldn’t sign when we’re in the open. I wouldn’t put it past Stuart to hire someone who knows sign language to report back to him what we’re talking about.”

Simon’s jaw tightened and he looked at Adam.

Adam lifted a brow and said, “I’m impressed. Good thinking. Like I said, I don’t think we were followed, but that’s a good precaution to take.”

He settled an arm around her shoulder and reached out to ruffle Simon’s hair. “Come on.”

When Simon didn’t pull away or frown at the familiar touch, Dani felt a catch in her heart.
Oh
Lord, continue to heal us.

They started toward the marina, Adam’s arm a welcome weight. She felt . . .

. . . safe.

Settling on that word jolted her and she sucked in a deep breath. Safe with him, yes, but not safe in general. “When I walk out in the open like this, I feel like I have a target on my back.”

“I know.” He hugged her closer and Dani finally had to admit his nearness took her breath away. She clearly had some kind of crazy attraction for this man. An attraction she had to let go, get over, move past, or something.

“Where am I going?” she asked.

“To the houseboat down there. The white one.”

To distract herself from the way her heart seemed to change rhythm and the way she wanted to lean into him and give in to the desire to let him help shoulder her heavy burden, she looked back to find Simon walking four steps behind, his eyes glued on the arm around her.

Dani couldn’t identify the emotions she saw flickering in his
eyes, but wondered if he didn’t like seeing her so cozy with Adam. She held out her right hand to him and he lifted a brow as if to say, “Really?”

Right. He wasn’t her baby boy anymore. Holding her hand had become a thing of the past. Unless he was scared or hurt.

“Is anyone watching?” she asked.

“No.”

From the corner of her eye, she could see the earpiece buried in his ear. “You’re keeping in touch with other—” She paused. “What do you call yourselves? Agents? Operatives?”

“We’re not law enforcement. I suppose you would call us employees. Friends.”

“So are your friends listening?”

“Yes.” His head tilted toward her, a smile on his lips, but his eyes never landing, always watching. “On the way here, my friends were also following. If they’d seen anyone, they would have warned me.”

Dani stepped out onto the wooden dock. As they approached the houseboat, a young woman appeared on the deck. Dani stopped. Adam gave her shoulder a squeeze, then stepped forward to greet the woman. “Hi, Tori.”

Tori waited for them to board the boat, then flung herself into his arms. Adam laughed and gave her a quick hug, then set her from him.

Tall, a natural blonde with pouty lips and brown eyes, Tori was a natural beauty. Dani felt a pang of jealousy at her easy familiarity with Adam and wondered at the history between the two.

“This is Victoria Holland, my cousin. Better known as Tori. She’s also with the US Marshals. She just transferred back to the East Coast. Some people catch a plane. Tori bought a boat.”

His cousin. Dani relaxed a fraction and held out a hand. Tori shook it and gave her a sweet smile. “Come on aboard.”

“This belongs to you?”

“Sure does.”

Simon hopped on deck and looked at Dani, a question in his eyes. She held up a finger and he fidgeted.

Tori caught the unspoken exchange. “He can look around all he wants. It’s pretty kidproof.”

Simon signed, “You live here?”

Tori signed back, “Yes. This is my home.”

Simon’s left brow rose and his eyes lit up. Adam smiled. “Another reason she might come in handy.”

“Cool,” Simon said. “Can I raid your refrigerator?”

Tori giggled. “Of course.”

Simon grinned. “I’m going to like this place.”

“But won’t we be putting you out by staying here?” Dani asked, shooting her son a warning frown.

“Not at all. I’m not here much thanks to work. And even if I was here, I have four bedrooms.” She waved them in. “Come on. Let’s go inside and get out of the cold.” Tori opened the sliding glass doors off the deck, and Dani followed her into a spacious living area with an L-shaped leather sofa. “We’ll keep the curtains closed over the doors so no one can see in.”

Just beyond the living area was an open-concept kitchen. The bar-height table was built into the wall and sported four high-backed bar stools. Above the table, a large flat-screen TV hung on the wall.

Simon’s head swiveled on his neck as he took it all in.

“It’s lovely,” Dani said.

“Thanks,” Tori smiled and moved to close the curtains. “I got a sweet deal on it from a friend who was having some financial problems and needed out from under it. I needed a place to live, so . . .” She pointed at a doorway. “If you keep going through here, there’re the stairs to the next level, a bedroom on the right and
a bathroom on the left.” A short hallway connected everything with the outside once again. “The master is upstairs, and down below are two more bedrooms. Take whichever rooms you like.”

Simon thundered down the steps and Dani let him go. He must have been paying more attention than she thought and been reading lips. She looked at Tori. “I’ll take the bedroom downstairs near Simon. Unless we need to share one?”

“Nope, you can have your own.” She gave her cousin a light punch on the arm. “Guess that leaves you with the bedroom off the kitchen.”

“That’s the one I wanted anyway.”

“Kinda figured that.” Tori smiled. “Y’all make yourselves at home.”

“I think my son already has,” Dani muttered with an exasperated roll of her eyes.

Tori laughed and Dani decided she liked this woman.

Adam tossed his bag onto the bed and looked around. Small, compact, and perfect for his needs, the bedroom was tastefully decorated in golds and browns. All Adam really cared about was the fact that the bed was comfortable and the bathroom was across the narrow hall.

And he was right next to the entrance to the boat and whoever boarded would have to go through him to get to the occupants below. He’d make sure the other end of the craft was secured. And with the sliding glass doors, a broom handle would take care of that. Someone might get on the boat, but they wouldn’t get
in
without him knowing about it.

Not the best circumstances, he thought, but they had to work with what they had. And he knew they weren’t followed.

The boat rocked with a barely noticeable sway and he hoped
the slight movement didn’t bother Dani or Simon. Adam loved it and always enjoyed visiting Tori when he could. They’d had great fun as kids. Family reunions at the lake had birthed their love for all things water.

“Hey, cuz.”

He turned to see Tori in the doorway. “Hey.”

“Sarah told me about your mom.”

A pang hit him. “Yeah.”

“She’s having surgery on Thursday afternoon.”

His head snapped up. “I didn’t know.”

“Sarah just called me.”

Concerned, he frowned. “On a secure line, I hope.”

“Of course.”

Adam sighed. “I knew she was diagnosed, but Sarah didn’t mention the surgery.”

“I don’t know why she didn’t mention it. I suppose you may still get a call from her.”

“Yeah.” He wondered if she really would call or if his mother would have gone through surgery without him ever knowing. “Thanks for telling me.”

“Of course.” She paused. “So. What are you going to do?” she finally asked.

Conflicted, he didn’t answer right away. He unzipped his bag then stopped. “I don’t know. I suppose it would depend on if she even wants me there.”

“She wants you there, Adam, but would understand if you couldn’t be.”

“And yet Sarah hasn’t called me.” He sighed. “And she probably won’t.” He shrugged. “Maybe this will all be finished by the time she has the surgery and it won’t be an issue.”

“And if it’s not finished?”

“Then I’ll have to figure something out. I want to be there
for her, but my parents still haven’t forgiven me for my part in bringing down your father.”

“Actually, I think they have.”

He snorted. “If they have, they haven’t shared that with me.” He narrowed his eyes. “So how did you manage to get out of going to that stuffy dinner the other night?”

“I pretended I didn’t get the text. Or the email. Or the voice mail.”

“That’s just not right.”

She grimaced. “No, but it worked.”

Adam opened a drawer. “Did you ever wonder how we ended up in a family of politicians?”

“Of course.” She shrugged. “I guess God put us here for a reason. We just have to figure out what that is and work with it.”

He stared at her. “Since when did you care what God thought?”

“Since I almost died about three months ago,” she said softly. “It sort of changes your perspective on things. Like where you’ll spend eternity.”

He blinked. “You almost died?”

She shrugged again. “Long story. I’ll tell you about it sometime when we have more time.” She glanced at her watch. “Bypass Sarah and call your mom.”

Adam nodded and she turned away. Still thinking about the conversation, he pulled out the bag that contained the contents of the safe and walked into the kitchen to spread the items on the table.

In all the craziness, they still hadn’t had time to fully analyze everything. He planned to get that done today. And of course, David and Summer were working behind the scenes trying to find who Kurt might have hired to kill Dani.

So far they must have come up empty, as he hadn’t had a text or call yet. He returned to his bedroom to finish unpacking. He
set his Glock on the bed and stacked his three shirts and two pairs of jeans on the dresser.

A high-pitched whistle behind him made Adam pause. He glanced up in the mirror then turned, catching Simon’s eye. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Simon eyed the weapon on the bed. Adam tapped his ear like he’d seen Dani do. Simon reached up and pressed his mold tighter into his ear and the whistling stopped. Adam picked up the gun. “Your dad ever show you how this works?”

“No sir.”

“You want to know?”

A hesitant nod accompanied an excited gleam in the boy’s eyes. Along with a touch of fear. Simon firmed his jaw and the fear faded. “Yes, I want to know.”

“Go ask your mom if it’s all right,” Adam said.

Simon’s shoulders drooped. “She’ll say it’s too dangerous.”

Adam gave a thoughtful nod. “Guns can be dangerous. But they can be used for protection too. You just have to know how to handle them and treat them with respect.”

Simon bit his lip. “I don’t think my dad was very respectful of his gun.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I saw him hold it to my mom’s head one time and—” he gulped and looked away. Then squared his shoulders and looked Adam in the eye. “I read his lips. He told her if she ever tried to leave him again, he’d—”

Adam’s heart threatened to beat out of his chest as fury swelled inside him. But he kept his expression neutral, his face relaxed. “He’d kill her?”

Simon shook his head. “No. Me. He’d kill me and make her watch.”