Nowhere to Turn (9 page)

“It’s been six months since Kurt’s death. You haven’t gone through the contents?”

She shook her head and pressed her fingertips against her lips to keep them from quivering. “I couldn’t. I didn’t want to. I took the money and the will from the bag and put everything else in my end table drawer, intending to put it back in the safe, I just . . . never did. I really haven’t thought of it until now.”

“How much money are we talking about?”

“Several thousand.”

He lifted a brow and made a note of it.

For the next two hours, law enforcement came and went. The crime scene unit arrived and Janessa’s body was finally removed. Dani answered question after question until everyone seemed satisfied with the answers.

Her house was now empty with the exception of Adam and her son.

Adam said, “Pack what you need, including the items from the safe. We’re getting out of here.”

Dani looked at Simon.

He nodded and with fingers splayed like the number five, he tapped his thumb against his chest. Then placed his palm against his chest and moved it in a circular motion.

“What did that mean?” Adam asked.

“They’re the signs for ‘fine’ and ‘please.’”

Adam copied the movement and said, “Fine. Please. Got it.”

Her heart warmed. Kurt hadn’t learned the first sign. Not willingly. He’d picked up a few over the years, but—

Dani cut off the thought and gave a small smile. “Right.”

“What do you think about disappearing?” Adam asked.

She tilted her head and shot a glance at Simon. “As in changing our identities?”

“Yes.”

“I’m very good at being invisible,” she whispered.

Adam flinched, and a look of compassion skittered across his features before he replied. “All right. Then let me get you new IDs, new names, and a new place to live. You’ll go straight there from here and start on your new life. While you’re working on that, we’ll be working on who broke into your house tonight.”

She blinked. “You mean like the Witness Protection Program?”

“Yes. Exactly like that, just not with that title.”

“Oh me. I . . . don’t know . . . I mean, Simon—”

“I know it seems a bit much, but it’s very obvious that someone is after you. There’s no way we can properly do our job until we know what we’re up against. Keeping you safe in your home is not an option now. What if the man who shot at you didn’t make a mistake? What if you were actually the target? After all, you did see a murder. While you say no one knows you saw it except a man who’s dead, how do you know he didn’t tell someone? What if Stuart is going to new lengths to get to you?”

Dani chewed on her lip. “We’re in trouble, aren’t we?”

“I hate to say it, but yes, looks like you’ve got big trouble. Are you ready to disappear yet?”

Dani hesitated, battling their options. One person had already lost her life over whatever reason someone was after her.

Simon said, “Yes, she is. We are.”

Dani blinked to find Simon watching them, his gaze jumping from her to Adam. His hearing aid whistled. She tapped her ear to let him know. He didn’t even roll his eyes this time, simply pressed his mold tighter and the whistling stopped. The brief thought that she really needed to make an appointment with the audiologist fluttered through her mind.

She took a deep breath. “Fine.” She was weary. Beyond exhausted. And grieving for a woman she’d only known a few hours. The audiologist would have to wait. She looked at Adam. “Yes. We’re ready to disappear.”

Simon’s relieved sigh made her heart clench. “Can we get something to eat on the way to disappearing? I’m starving.”

He sounded bone weary and sad. Dani wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. Then she signed, “Go pack. We’ll get some food.”

He nodded and trudged upstairs.

Adam looked at her. “Cheeseburger or chicken?”

She’d sent him home. Disbelief filled Stuart. Restraining himself from giving in to the urge to smash something, Stuart walked into his house and went straight to his office.

He opened his laptop and clicked on the software that would allow him to watch Dani’s every move. It had taken him awhile, but he’d managed to install cameras in almost every room. Except the bathroom. He would allow her to have that one room for privacy.

For now.

However, everything else was fair game. He watched her while she slept, while she fixed dinner, while she paced in front of the window that overlooked her backyard, while she helped Simon with his homework.

Over the last six months, Stuart had even found himself picking up some sign language without even realizing it. Not that he planned on needing it. He was still debating what to do about his nephew. Send him to boarding school or arrange for a convenient accident? The thought of raising Kurt’s son didn’t exactly appeal to him. Once he and Dani had their own children, she’d forget about Simon. Or at least not fawn over him as much. He rubbed his chin as he thought about it.

Finally, he brushed the decision aside. It wasn’t one he had to make right away.

He clicked from room to room and frowned when he couldn’t find her. Where was she?

The master bedroom was empty. He panned the guest room and paused. He recognized the Tyvek suits. Crime scene cleanup. A woman had died tonight. In Dani’s house.

That had been unexpected.

In fact, the whole thing at Dani’s house had been a surprise. Breaking in to scare her hadn’t been part of the plan, but the more Stuart thought about it, the more he liked it. Or he
would
have liked it had it worked. He’d have to talk to Joe about it tomorrow. Frustration had him curling his hands into fists.

Someone had broken into her house and attacked her, had even killed a woman, and still Dani hadn’t called him. Of course she would have called 911 first, but then she should have called
him
.

Who were all these people that she suddenly had at her beck and call? The man who’d rescued her on the side of the road? Where had Dani found him?

More obstacles. More unexpected annoyances.

His jaw tightened. He shouldn’t have gone to her, but he’d waited as long as he could before giving in to the need to see her. He’d really expected her to call and ask him to help her out. The fact that she hadn’t burned a hole in his gut. The fact that she’d shooed him away like a bothersome child sent tremors of vexation racing through him. “You’re mine, Dani. The sooner you learn that, the better off you’ll be.”

One thing did worry him. Slightly. Had Joe left any way to trace the intruder back to Stuart?

His cell phone rang and he snatched it. “Hello?”

“Hey.” The person Stuart had hired to watch Dani when he couldn’t.

“Did you see what happened tonight?”

“No. I got here after most of the excitement died down.”

Stuart blew out a breath. “Great.”

“Well, your sister-in-law took off.”

“Took off? What do you mean took off?”

“She and the kid left with some guy.”

“What guy?” Jealousy simmered. Was it the same person who’d taken her from him just yesterday? He knew he’d acted impulsively and scared Dani to death. He hadn’t meant to, really he hadn’t. It’s just that he’d already waited so long and she’d been giving him the brush-off, distancing herself from him. It had scared him. And made him mad. Like tonight.

A flash of uneasiness shot through him. He didn’t know who the man had been, but he’d handled Stuart like a pro. Who had Dani hooked up with?

“I’ve got his picture but I’m not sure who he is. I’m following them now.”

“Send me the picture. I want to know what he looks like.”

Within seconds, his phone chirped to let him know the photo had arrived. “Where are they going?”

“I don’t know. I’ll let you know when we get there.”

Early Monday morning, hours before the sun would put in an appearance, Adam led Dani and Simon into the house.

David greeted them with a smile. “We’ve been busy while you’ve been traveling.”

Simon signed something to Dani and Adam caught the word “we.” He looked at Dani with a raised brow. She said, “He wants to know where we are.”

Adam looked at Simon. “Near the beach.”

Simon said, “I thought so. I can smell it.” His words sounded slurred.

Dani said, “When he’s tired, his speech gets lazy.”

David said, “Why don’t I show him his room and Adam can acquaint you with the house?”

“All right.” Dani signed David’s suggestion to Simon, who shrugged and nodded. His full backpack had to be a heavy burden and he was probably ready to shuck it.

David held out a hand toward Simon, who flinched and took up a defensive stance, fists raised like a boxer. Dani moved fast, catching his hands. When she had his attention, she signed something, her fingers flying, expression earnest.

Adam felt his anger rise up hot and boiling once again. If Kurt hadn’t already been dead, Adam might be tempted to take care of it himself. Or at least put a serious hurting on the man.

David caught his eye and he could see the same emotion mirrored on his friend’s face.

Simon relaxed and looked at David. “Sorry, I’ll follow you.”

David nodded, but Adam noticed he held his hands to his side and walked four steps in front of the boy. “What did you tell him?” he asked Dani.

Weariness mixed with grief played across her features. “Just that you guys were here to help us and that you weren’t anything like his father. Neither one of you would raise a hand to him in anything except friendship and an offer to help.”

“Did he believe you?”

“No. He said he’d believe it when he saw it.”

Adam nodded. “His trust meter is shot.”

“Yes,” she whispered and he watched her blink back tears.

Adam wanted to hold her, to comfort her. But he wasn’t sure how she would take his gesture, so he resisted. “It’s okay. He’ll be fine, you’ll see. It’ll just take time.”

“Time. Yes. Time is something we both will have now.”

He lifted a hand and ran it over her new haircut. He saw her swallow, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she kept her eyes on his and a warmth settled itself around his heart. She was willing to trust him. “You look good. Different, but good.”

“I feel very self-conscious. It’s definitely not a style I would have chosen.”

He smiled. “All the better.”

She returned the smile, hers shaky and tremulous. She clasped her hands together, then released them. A nervous gesture that endeared her to him. He took her right hand in his left and gave a reassuring squeeze.

She drew in a deep breath. “So . . . when do Simon and I get pushed from the nest?”

“When I’m sure you’re safe.”

Dani sat on the bed and stared at the far wall. Adam had called this place a safe house. A place where she didn’t have to look over her shoulder or wonder who was watching her. She looked at the new cell phone Adam had given her with her new number.

Adam. A very attractive man with a gentleness to him that made her long to curl up in his arms and just be. She had a sense that, with his arms around her, she’d always feel safe.

She hardened her heart. No. While it would be a relief to shrug off the burden of going it alone, she wasn’t ready to team up with a man again. She’d been afraid for so long. Mentally, she knew why Adam was so attractive to her. He could be a safe place. He could be her comfort zone. But she needed to spread her wings a little, become comfortable with herself before she would be ready for another relationship. Maybe one day. But not yet. No, not just yet.

She flipped her wallet open and her new driver’s license stared back at her. Sofia Lansing. She now sported short black hair and red secretary glasses with clear glass lenses.

Simon’s shaggy blond hair was now a crisp auburn, cut military style. He thought it was cool. She thought he looked too grown up.

But that was the whole point, wasn’t it? To look like anybody but themselves.

Be anyone but themselves. Sofia and Ricky Lansing.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Then looked down at her fingers. The bandless ring finger of her left hand glared up at her.

Her husband was dead. Had been dead for six months. Still, it seemed like she should feel something more than just relief.

Before they’d left the house tonight, she’d grabbed the bag from the safe. Now she stared at it, wondering if she should have gone through it a lot more carefully long ago. Stuart had been coming over to get something from the safe for Kurt. Then Kurt had been killed and she’d basically shoved the bag aside and forgotten about it. She’d kept out a stack of twenties to have some cash on hand, but hadn’t needed much of anything else, thanks to Kurt’s FBI widow’s benefits. Dani knew that an agent’s widow would only get benefits if he had agreed to a portion of his pension being designated for survivor benefits. She’d been blown away when she’d learned Kurt had done this. But the more she thought about it, the more she knew it was for bragging rights. Kurt never expected to die before her. He never thought she’d actually get the money. But he’d died and she got it. She wouldn’t dwell on the fact her husband had put that in there only to make himself look good.

Gerald Peabody, Kurt’s lawyer, had expertly executed the will and now Dani wondered about the rest of the contents of the bag. She reached for it and paused when the door opened and Simon signed, “Can I come in?”

“May I,” she automatically corrected.

Simon rolled his eyes. “No one says that.”

“Then ‘no one’ needs to study the rules of grammar,” she signed back.

“Exactly.” Simon walked in and sat on the bed beside her. He fidgeted with the bedspread.

“What is it, Son?”

“Do you miss Dad?” he blurted.

She flinched at the question and debated how to answer. His gaze drilled her and she knew she had to be honest. He was too sharp and would see straight through a pat answer. Or a lie.

Dani sighed and signed, “I miss what could have been, Simon. I miss the man I thought he was. I miss a lot of things, but no, I don’t miss who your father turned into.” She didn’t drop her eyes. “Do you understand what I mean?”

Simon’s lip quivered and he gave a slow nod. “I think that’s what I’m feeling too. I was trying to figure out why I was feeling bad that he was dead and—” his thin shoulder lifted in a shrug—“glad at the same time.”

Regret and self-hate filled her. She curled her hand into a fist and put it against her heart. Then she moved it in a slow circle. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. He started to say something and she stopped him. “I’m sorry he wasn’t the kind of dad you deserved. The kind you needed. I’m sorry I didn’t take you and try to leave again a long time ago.” She placed her hands over his ears and closed her eyes. She whispered, “I’m sorry I wasn’t the kind of mother I should have been and protected you.” Her voice broke on the last word. That last sentence wasn’t for him, but for her.

Simon hurled himself into her arms and she held him close. His thin frame shook with sobs and Dani bit her lip to keep hers from erupting. Not over Kurt. Never again over Kurt. Her heart
broke only for the fact that he was a lost soul, never to know redemption.

As much as she’d wanted to escape him, as much as she hated him, she still wished he would have changed, that she could have reached him and pulled him from whatever dark pit he’d allowed himself to sink into.

Simon finally drew in a deep breath and let it out on a long sigh. She kissed the top of his head and lifted his chin so he could see her lips. “We’re going to have to figure out how to forgive him, you know.”

His brow furrowed and anger blazed, chasing his sorrow away. “No way.”

“Yes. We are. Otherwise the anger and bitterness are going to destroy us. I don’t want to give him that satisfaction.”

“I don’t want to give him my forgiveness. He doesn’t deserve it.” He pulled away from her and scrubbed his eyes with his palms.

“Forgiveness isn’t given because it’s deserved. Do you understand what I mean?” He didn’t answer. When he met her gaze again, she said, “We’ve had a long couple of days. Why don’t you try to get some sleep?” She couldn’t push the forgiveness issue when she was struggling with it so much herself.