Page 34 of Echoes of Danger
I nod, but my heart pounds. “You say that, but…” I swallow, dropping my voice to a whisper. “Just come back, okay? This place is intimidating.”
He chuckles softly, placing a lingering kiss on my forehead, and then presses his lips to mine in a way that leaves no room for doubt. “I promise. This is nothing my team can’t handle.”
He pulls back, squeezing my hand. “Blaze, Steel, keep them in one piece while I’m gone, all right?”
Blaze nods, grinning. “Oh, They’re in the best hands. Steel will scowl at any threat that comes close, and I’ll be the charming one who actually gets the job done.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a whole routine worked out,” I say, smiling despite myself.
Jacob flashes one last smile at me before getting back in the car and leaving us with Blaze and Steel as our makeshift protectors. As he drives away, a pang of unease settles in my chest. But before I can dwell on it, Blaze pulls me and the kids inside, chattering about all the comforts they’ve set up for us.
“Trust me,” Blaze says with a wink, “It’ll be the most bizarre hideout you’ll ever have. But also, the safest.”
As the door closes behind us, my heart clenches with a mix of hope and worry, and I say a silent prayer that the man I secretly love will be back with us soon.
Chapter Eleven
Reynolds
Two Weeks Later
“What the hell, Mark? Did you not think about that before you ran across the damn ocean to hide?”
“I didn’t know there would be a false file,” Mark Paston, the idiot we agreed to protect, says.
“There are ALWAYS at least two files,” King says softly. “Would someone care to explain to this fool as to why?”
“A real one to hide and a fake one that is much easier to access,” I say.
“The fake file,” Taylor continues, not bothering to hide his irritation, “is used to throw people off the trail. Anyone smart enough to cross the line you did knows this. You should’ve known that, Paston.”
Mark pales under Taylor’s hard stare, realizing just how much trouble he’s in. “Look, I’m underyourprotection,” he protests weakly, his voice wavering. “I hiredyouto keep me safe.”
Taylor crosses his arms, his expression stone-cold. “Witness protection isn’t a free pass to play fast and loose with the truth, Mark. Obsidian Security put its reputation and resources on the line for you. We don’t risk our necks and our families on faulty intel. And the fucking government hired us, not you.”
“Because I asked them to,” Mark says desperately.
King leans in, his voice barely a whisper, but every word is laced with warning. “You need to understand something. That false file? It puts everyone around you in danger. Including my family. I don’t care if you’re under witness protection or runningfrom God himself. You don’t get to gamble with my family’s lives.”
“The real file, Mark. Where is it?” I ask. Because there’s no way in hell he doesn’t have it hidden somewhere. “If anyone in your family gets to it before we do, that court date you’re counting on isn’t going to mean a thing.”
Mark stammers, looking at each of us with mounting desperation. “I… I swear I don’t know where the real file is. I thought the one I gave you was all they had!”
Taylor shakes his head, exasperated. “You have court in three weeks. Three weeks isn’t much time, and if you don’t give up that file soon, the only thing we’ll be protecting you from is yourself. What’s the point of us keeping you safe if you can’t deliver on your end?”
The officer who told us about the false file stands in the corner of the room, nodding his head.
“Your father keeps a list of wares, goods, buyers, and victims,” the officer says. “The list you gave us was nothing more than a certifiable grocery list.”
“How do you know?” Mark asks.
“Because Harvey James Paston is a power-hungry fool,” King answers. “It’s his trophy list.”
“Well, I don’t know where it’s at.”
I take a step forward, more than willing to beat this idiot to a pulp, but Taylor shakes his head.
“Just so we’re on the same page,” Taylor says, handing Mark a bottle of water. “I don’t believe a word that comes out of your mouth. I think you knew the list you gave the police was fake. I think you have your father’s trophy list hidden away as a bargaining tool to get back into his good graces. So, the question I have, Marky Mark, what did you do to piss off your old man?”