“Wait,” she exclaimed, and scrambled out of the seat. He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her to her apartment. Wolf already entered the apartment next door with Jordan, and Arianna realized that he had her keys. “I don’t…”
Before she could finish Argento sighed and pulled a small case out of the inside of his jacket. In less than twenty seconds he had her front door open. He lingered in her living room as she hurried toward her bedroom. She hadn’t unpacked from her last trip, and she placed those suitcases by the door. She grabbed another bag out of her closet, and threw her stash of cash inside, along with several guns she had in her drawer, her knives, and some ammunition. The last thing she wanted to be was unarmed. She just wished she had time to put on her forearm holsters, and then she’d like to see Argento take her knives from her.
After a few minutes she wondered if he’d left, and she looked out her door to find him gazing at the flowers she’d placed on her counter. She thought it was odd, until he quickly glanced toward the door and caught her staring.
“What are you planning to do with me,” Arianna wondered. He walked toward her; even his stride was masculine.
“For now we’re going to take you and Jordan someplace safe.” Argento tried to sound comforting, but his voice didn’t have quite the same tone as Jordan’s. Argento’s was rough, raspy. She could imagine being seduced by his voice, not comforted. She exhaled loudly. He took a few steps toward the bag that lay on her bed. “You know I can’t let you bring any weapons with you.”
“I’m sorry I don’t trust you to keep me and Jordan safe,” she barked, and then grabbed the bag out of his hand.
“I’m sure you’re tough with child molesters and rapists, but don’t try to play tough with me. I will eat you alive.” His voice was barely above a whisper. But he didn’t need to be any louder; he was standing right in front of her. She felt his strength emanate from him, and she shivered. She never showed any weakness or mercy to the men she killed, and she never showed fear. She must have been much like Argento right now.
He tilted his head to the right side slightly, and stared at a point just past her shoulder. She knew Wolf must be speaking to him somehow. “Understood,” he said to his cuff again, and put her bag over his shoulder. “We need to go now.”
He grabbed one of her suitcases on the way out of her bedroom, and she grabbed the other. “Do you have a cell phone?” He asked as she picked up her rarely carried purse. She shook her head slightly, but then dug around inside it. There was one of the old phones the Secretary gave her inside. She threw it down on the couch as she walked out the door. She wouldn’t miss the place.
Apparently Jordan didn’t have the same thoughts. The back of the SUV was full of books, notebooks, and computer equipment. There were several suitcases too. She was glad she packed light. Argento groaned when he saw the stuff in the back, shook his head, and placed Arianna’s three bags with it before closing the door and heading toward the driver’s side. He helped Arianna inside, and she heard something fly past her head.
“Get inside,” he yelled as he shoved her. He slammed the door, and spun around toward the woods to the left of the building. “Gunfire,” he announced to Wolf, and then the window next to his head shattered. He bent down behind the door, and more bullets were fired toward the SUV.
Arianna moved quickly to grab Jordan and pull him down onto the seat. She ducked into the floor, and covered her head. The window she had been seated beside exploded into shards of glass that fell onto her back.
“We have to get out of here,” Wolf screamed.
Arianna knew Argento was trapped behind the door. If he tried to move his head would be exposed. She could only think of one thing to do. She crawled over Jordan, grabbed her bag out of the back, and pulled out two of her semi-automatic guns. She knew they were loaded, she kept them that way at all times.
“Are you ready?” She screamed it at Argento.
“For what,” he replied.
“Now!” She yelled. She leaned toward the door and put the guns up over the window sill. And then she started shooting. The opposing gunfire stopped long enough for Argento to climb into the driver’s seat and duck behind the door as he started the car. He squealed the tires as he tore out of the parking lot. The back window of the car shattered, and Jordan pulled her down against his body on the seat.
“Is everybody okay?” Wolf turned toward the back seat to find Arianna shielded by Jordan’s body. “They’re okay,” he said as he turned toward Argento. “Are you okay?”
“Yea,” he nodded, but Wolf could see blood on the other agent’s cheek. He pointed, and Argento wiped his hand over his cheek then looked down at it. “Probably from the glass. Make sure we’re not being followed.”
“I don’t see any lights behind us,” he said as he turned again. “Nothing.”
“Good, we’ll head to the safe house,” he nodded. He glanced up to the rear view mirror to try to catch a glimpse of Arianna. She was still curled up in Jordan’s arms. He shook his head and returned his attention to the road.
Chapter Eight
They drove for a little more than an hour, and finally stopped for gas. Argento offered to get drinks for everyone, but Arianna and Jordan both refused.
Arianna did, however, make her way to the restroom. Jordan followed along, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Wolf pounced on Argento, putting his finger in the other man’s chest. “You were supposed to watch her until we got the search warrant,” he said with a scowl. “Now we have a suspect and an FBI employee under our protection. However this plays out it won’t be good for your career.”
“Fuck the career,” Argento spat out. “I’m not going to let that girl die.”
“She’s not a girl, Vince. She’s a twenty-six year old woman who has killed countless men all across the country. She’s a serial killer.” Argento turned away, but his partner grabbed his shoulder. “She’s a psychopath…”
Argento pushed his partner’s hand away, and moved toward the gas pump. “You don’t know what that poor girl has been through.” He tried several times to put the nozzle back into its holder, and then when he was still unsuccessful he kicked the pump. Finally Wolf took it, and Argento slapped his hand against the back of the car.
He surveyed the damage. One of them would have to stay with their charges while the other got a new vehicle. And then that agent would have to explain exactly where their partner was, and why. Argento would send Wolf, he was the more diplomatic of the two.
They both climbed back into the car, and only had to wait a few moments for Arianna and Jordan to join them.
“So, where are we going?” Arianna wondered when they were back on the Interstate again.
“Hagerstown,” Argento answered. “Maryland.” Jordan frowned, and Argento shook his head and chuckled. “We contacted your supervisors and let them know your life was being threatened. You won’t be in any trouble.”
“How long are you going to keep us in Hagerstown,” Jordan asked.
“Until she’s not still trying to kill you.” He said it bluntly.
“Who is she?” Arianna groaned. She knew that Jordan wouldn’t stop asking until he got the answers he wanted. And she really didn’t want to say it out loud.
“Secretary Margo Tremblay.” Argento wasn’t afraid to say it, but Arianna shivered when he did.
“The former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security?” Jordan’s voice was full of dread, and he became silent. She wondered what was going on in his super-smart brain. But even for Arianna it wasn’t hard to put together. She could have a small army of agents and officers from any number of law enforcement agencies still loyal to her. “So basically we don’t know who we’re fighting,” Jordan said out loud what everyone else was thinking.
“Yes,” Argento answered. They were all silent for the rest of the trip. They all processed the information. Argento finally pulled up in front of a non-descript house set at the end of a cul-de-sac.
Arianna was glad. She was tired of the tension in the car. She wanted to stretch, and think. Not that she didn’t enjoy sitting with her head on Jordan’s shoulder, and his hand in hers. But being surrounded by men was a little unnerving. She’d never been in such a small area with so many of them. And besides that she was freezing. The windows were shot out; and although Argento turned the heat up, she was still cold.
She carried her bag over her shoulder and wheeled her suitcases toward the front porch. It took all three men to carry Jordan’s stuff, and they still needed to do a second trip.
Arianna explored the house alone while the men were occupied. She found a kitchen stocked with non-perishables, three bedrooms each with their own bathroom, and a nice back yard with a privacy fence. She wondered how many people who were in trouble had stayed here before her. She wondered how many of them actually made it out of their situation okay.
She chose her bedroom, and placed her suitcases by the door. Clean sheets lay folded on both of the twin size beds, and she picked the one farthest from the door and began to make it.
She heard a quiet knock, and she turned toward the door expecting to see Jordan. But instead she found Agent Argento lingering there. “Just wanted to make sure you were settling in okay.”
“I’m okay,” she said with a nod. He stayed by the door and watched her with the sheets.
And then he took a few steps toward her and grabbed one edge. “I was a Marine for 8 years,” he said as he tucked the corner in with precision. “Thanks for the back-up at your apartment.” He’d removed his jacket and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His forearms were darker than his face, and sprinkled with dark hairs.
“Aren’t you glad you put the bag with the guns in the car?” She gave him a slight smirk.
“Yes, very.” He sounded serious, and when she glanced up his dark eyes stared back at her. What she saw there made her tense up, and she turned her attention back to the bed. “You might have saved all our lives out there.”
“I did it for Jordan. He doesn’t deserve to be mixed up in all of this.” They worked well as a team, and she smoothed a plain tan blanket into place.
“I don’t want Jordan to get hurt either. But he’s not the only one I’m protecting.” He grabbed her wrist, and she stopped fidgeting with the bed and pursed her lips. “I’m not going to let the Secretary get to you.”
“Do you want me to be a witness against her? Will you make a deal with me to get me to testify?” She twisted her wrist and wrenched it away from him. “I’d never be safe in witness protection.”
“It would be better than trying to go it alone.” He walked around the bed and faced her, but she still refused to look at him again. “You don’t think you can hide from her on your own, do you?” He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. She heard footsteps outside the door, and spun away from him to see the shock on Jordan’s face. “Think about it. You don’t have to make any decisions right now.”
She nodded, and he made his way toward the door. “Is all of your gear inside? Are you settled in?” Argento sounded thoughtful, but Jordan frowned and shrugged, and looked toward his feet. “If you need anything, let me know. Okay?” And then he glanced back at Arianna. “Both of you.”
“Okay,” Arianna nodded. Argento walked around Jordan, who crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you alright?” She asked as she walked toward him. He nodded, but when she reached out to touch his hand he jerked away.
“I owe you so much more than an apology,” she began. She didn’t want to have the conversation standing in the doorway, but he refused to budge so Arianna walked toward the bed and sat down. “My sister was older than me. Our mom worked, our dad wasn’t in our lives. She took care of me.”
She folded her hands in her lap. “When she went off to college I threw a huge fit. I made everyone miserable, including Jasmine. But she sat me down one day and told me that she needed to go out on her own and find her own identity, to be more than just the one who took care of me and everything else.
“I begged her not to go, but she wouldn’t listen. She left me alone in Canton and headed off to Pennsylvania.” She cleared her throat and fought the tears. She refused to cry again. “I was such a brat. I was so angry I refused to talk to her for a year; even when she came back for summer break before her sophomore year. Four months later a man who should have been in prison raped and murdered her.”
He sat down across from her on the unmade bed, and reached out to take her hand. “You couldn’t have known.”
“I was selfish.” Some of the anger she’d felt came out. She’d been angry at Conner Samples, and the justice system, but mainly she was angry at herself. “I would give anything to be able to talk to her again.”
“You killed him,” Jordan’s voice was gentle, making his words and her actions sound somewhat less heinous.
“I lit a match and set him on fire.” She’d never said it out loud. And at that point she didn’t even care if the FBI had the house bugged. She needed to tell Jordan the truth.
“So every time you were out of town you were…” He started.
“I was hunting and killing sexual predators.” She bit her bottom lip and stared at their hands locked together. If she’d known Jordan when her sister died, maybe she wouldn’t have been so furious. Maybe she would have been sad and mourned like a normal person. “I can’t explain to you why I decided to do what I did.”
“You were young, and angry. You were impressionable. And the Secretary was your way to get your revenge.” She nodded, and finally looked over at him. His eyes were sympathetic; not at all what she expected. “Did revenge make you feel any better?”
“No,” she scoffed. She glanced around the room. A TV was mounted on the wall, a desk sat under it, and a chest of drawers sat by either bed.
“Arianna?” He wondered. The way he said it calmed her. She feared more than anything that he would reject her as soon as he found out what she did. But how he said her name, the name her mother gave her, told her that he still cared.
“Call me Ari,” she blushed. “My sister called me Ari.” She laughed out loud at a memory. “But she would call me Ari-head, like airhead.” The smile slowly faded, replaced by all the sadness she’d felt over the last nine years. “God, I miss her.”