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Duncan’s gaze—a dark brown—darted toward him. “Agent...Anthony, was it? I have no idea why he chose my boat. Perhaps it was just convenient for him. The right escape boat, at the right place.”
Thomas wasn’t buying that. “Before he died, the killer implied he knew you. That you’d hired him to do work for you in the past.”
The senator’s jaw hardened. “I have dozens of people working for me at any given time. You can check with Paula to see if this—this man was part of our extended staff, but I’ve certainly had no personal experience with him.”
“I’m not talking about hiring him to work as part of your campaign team.” Thomas knew his voice had roughened. He also knew Noelle was carefully studying the senator’s reaction to their questions. “I’m asking if you hired him to kill for you.”
The senator shot to his feet. “This is outrageous!” He pointed toward the door. “Leave. Now. I will not stand for this sort of harassment!”
“It’s not harassment,” Noelle said quietly. “It’s just questioning. And we thought it would be better for you if we did that questioning here, away from prying eyes, instead of back in the limelight of D.C.”
Anger burned in Duncan’s stare. “Now I see why I warranted a personal visit from the FBI. It’s certainly not every day that I’m tracked to my home like this....” His breath heaved out in what was probably supposed to look like an affronted rush. “I don’t like the accusations flying from you two.”
“We’ve made no accusations,” Noelle replied. Thomas had to admire her. She was good at keeping her emotions in check. “We’re simply asking you questions.”
“You’re done with your questions.” The senator stomped toward the door. “You want to see me again, you talk to my lawyer.” He yanked open the door and gave them a hard glare. “Hope you enjoy your trip back to D.C. By the time you get there, I’ll have already talked to your supervisor. You’ll both be lucky to have jobs waiting on you.”
Oh, Thomas was sure the jobs would be waiting. He was also sure they wouldn’t be leaving Alaska anytime soon.
The mission isn’t over. It’s just started.
“Thanks for your time, Senator,” Noelle said. “It’s certainly been enlightening.”
Duncan frowned at that, but Noelle just headed right past the guy.
Thomas took his time following her. He’d been around men like the senator before. Men born with silver spoons shoved deep in their mouths. He often wished those guys would choke on them.
“You and your partner should be careful,” the senator muttered. “This is a dangerous part of the country.”
Thomas froze. Had that jerk just threatened them? He turned his head and met the senator’s dark stare.
“No one comes into my home and tries to destroy me,” the senator spat at him. “No one. You’ve just made a very powerful enemy.”
Thomas fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Right. In case you can’t tell, I’m terrified right now.”
The senator frowned.
It was Thomas’s turn to smile. “Something you should know, too. I’m a bit of a hunter, like you.” He motioned to the trophies on the wall. “Only I don’t hunt animals. I take out the humans who are too dangerous to be walking the streets.”
“I—” The senator’s face reddened.
Thomas leaned in closer to him. “We know what you did. We know what you are. Soon, the whole world will know, too.”
The senator’s shoulders hunched.
Thomas nodded. “We’ll be seeing you again, soon.” Because they hadn’t come all the way to Alaska for some quick turnaround trip. They’d come to Alaska to get the proof they needed. Proof of the senator’s guilt. They weren’t leaving until they’d accomplished their mission.
Satisfied he’d made his point, Thomas exited behind Noelle. Paula watched them with wide, wary eyes. Thomas knew she’d overheard plenty of their conversation. If you’re smart, lady, you’ll get away from the senator, as fast as you can.
But Paula appeared to have frozen in place.
Thomas and Noelle didn’t speak again until they’d left the senator’s mansion. Once they were back inside their rented SUV, Thomas glanced at Noelle.
She was staring up at the senator’s home.
“Don’t keep me in suspense,” he drawled as he cranked the vehicle. A light dusting of snow had started to fall. “What did you think?”
She didn’t glance his way. “It’s too early to tell.”
He didn’t buy it. Noelle made her living by reading people. By looking past the bright, shiny surface they presented to the rest of the world. He pulled out of the winding drive and headed back toward the cabin in town that the EOD had rented for them.
They hadn’t bothered with getting a room in the local lodge—they’d needed more permanency.
They were planning to stay in Alaska for the long haul.
Until we can bury the senator.
“But I do know he was lying to us,” Noelle added.
Thomas wasn’t a profiler, and he knew that. The guy had barely been able to hold eye contact with him, and the senator had reacted far too strongly to their questions.
“So he’s our guy.” Thomas kept his hold steady on the steering wheel. He’d driven on snow-covered roads plenty of times. But those roads were sure different from the dirt roads of his youth.
“I think he could be. The man is controlling, dominating, and he’s—” Noelle hesitated. “I think there may be quite a few layers to the senator.”
“Yeah, well, your job is to peel away those layers, isn’t it? To find out what hides underneath.” That knowledge made him nervous. He didn’t want Noelle to ever see beneath the surface he presented. Thomas had told her before she shouldn’t profile him, but he’d caught her staring at him a few times, her eyes curious.
What does Noelle see when she looks at me? He knew what he saw when he looked into her eyes.
The thing I want most.
But when she stared at him, Thomas wondered if she just saw a killer.
Unfortunately, that was exactly what he was.
* * *
“THEY NEED TO VANISH,” Lawrence Duncan said as his fingers tightened around the phone he had pressed to his ear. “Hell, yes, I know the risks, and that’s why I’m telling you...they can’t make it out of this area.”
His heart was racing in his chest. It had been pounding too fast from the moment his study door had opened and FBI agent Noelle Evers had walked inside. He’d recognized her instantly, even after all those long years. “She’s a threat,” he said flatly. “One that should have been eliminated by now.”
Silence stretched on the phone line.
“Do it,” Lawrence snarled. “Or I will.” Even though he hated to get his hands dirty. But too much was at stake in this situation. They were already too exposed. And when Noelle put the pieces together—
I’ll lose everything.
He heard the rough rasp of breathing on the other end of the line. Lawrence waited, hoping to hear—
“They’ll die tonight.”
He smiled. “The snowfall is just going to get heavier. They’re on their way to their cabin now. That means they are heading your way.” He’d taken the liberty of acquiring all of his information earlier. His assistant, Paula, had a knack for discovering information. Even before the agents had entered his home, Lawrence had known where they’d be staying in town. “With weather like this, it will be easy enough for them to have an accident.”
A fatal one.
The senator hesitated. “Just...don’t leave obvious wounds on their bodies.”
“Don’t worry, there won’t be any bodies to find.”
The words should have chilled Lawrence, but he’d lost his conscience long ago. The first time he’d seen a kill, his life had changed.
And the blood had stained his hands ever since.
* * *
THEY’D BEEN DRIVING for about twenty minutes when the bright flash of headlights illuminated their rental vehicle. Thomas narrowed his eyes as he glanced in the rearview mirror. He could hear the growl of a fast-approaching vehicle behind him.
Even as the snow continued to fall in heavier waves.
“Where’d he come from?” Noelle asked as she turned in her seat to glance back.
Thomas’s hands tightened around the wheel. Adrenaline spiked in his blood as the other vehicle’s engine growled again and seemed to come even closer.
“What is he doing?” Alarm sharpened Noelle’s voice. “Maybe we should slow down, in case he wants to pass.”
The road was narrow and surrounded by trees. Up ahead, an old bridge crossed over what looked like an ice-filled lake.
“We’re not slowing down,” Thomas said because his instincts were screaming at him. A dark road. A driver who was—
The other vehicle slammed into the back of Thomas’s SUV. The impact was jarring, and he had to fight to keep the SUV from swerving off the road. “Hold on,” he growled to Noelle. “Just hold—”
The other driver came at them again, hitting even harder this time. The SUV’s wheels slipped on the icy road as the bridge loomed before them.
“It’s a truck,” Noelle gasped out. “I can see its outline. It’s big and—”
It hit them again. Noelle’s words ended in a scream because the SUV flew across the slick road. They were heading for the bridge. The SUV started to spin as the tires slid right over the ice.
“Thomas!”
The SUV slammed into the side of the bridge. The impact was on Noelle’s side, and Thomas’s gaze immediately jerked toward her as fear clawed through him.
Her hair had fallen over her face, and the echo of her scream seemed to shudder through his whole body. “Noelle?”
Thomas could hear the other vehicle’s motor growling again. The SOB was going to come at him again. And if the truck hit them, they could easily plunge into the frigid water.
They had to get out of there, fast. “Come on, baby,” he said, the endearment sliding from his mouth without thought because it was her. “We have to move.”
The bright headlights were on them again. Coming fast, too fast.
Noelle’s head lifted. She blinked at him. “Thomas?”
He yanked her free from the seat belt. He was already out of his, too. He shoved open his door.
The vehicle slammed right into Thomas’s open door. Metal crunched, groaned—and the door ripped away as the truck drove their SUV harder into the side of the bridge and its old railing.
“Climb out the back!” Thomas yelled. “Hurry!” He pushed her into the rear seat. He had his weapon in his hands, and he turned back, aiming toward the other driver.
Who are you? What in the hell is happening?
His bullets blasted through the other vehicle’s windshield. The truck stopped its advance. Noelle had made it into the backseat. She forced open the rear door, and Thomas followed her, barely fitting in the small escape space because the vehicle was wedged so closely to the railing.
He’d just cleared the vehicle when—
The truck hit them again. Only this time, the railing broke. Glass shattered. Metal crunched. And the wooden barrier splintered.
Thomas grabbed tightly to Noelle, and he lunged forward with her, hurtling them toward the woods near the edge of the bridge. They hit the snow and rolled down the ravine, tumbling again and again as they flew toward the bottom.
The SUV crashed into the frozen lake, sending chunks of ice into the air.
Thomas and Noelle finally stopped. They were about two feet away from that lake. Noelle was on top of him, and he quickly reversed their positions, holding her tightly. He could hear the growl of the other vehicle’s engine, and then...
“He’s leaving,” Noelle whispered.
Yes, he was. Because he thought he’d gotten his prey?
The engine’s snarl grew softer as the truck drove away.
The snow kept falling.
Noelle pushed against his shoulders. Thomas rose slowly, and he pulled Noelle to her feet. Their SUV was partially submerged and sinking fast. Damn it.
“Are you all right?” Thomas asked her as his eyes swept over her. He didn’t see any injuries, but he wanted to be sure she was all right.
“He just tried to kill us!” She sounded incredulous.
She was also shaking.
Because it was cold out there. He shouldered out of his coat and pushed it toward her. When she tried to refuse, Thomas just wrapped it around her shoulders. “Senior agent,” he snapped at her, still remembering the flash of fear he’d felt in the SUV. “That means you do what I say. Right now, I’m saying...take my coat.”
She pulled the coat closer. Thomas yanked out his phone. They’d rolled a good twenty feet from the road. A heavy darkness was already sweeping over the area. He lifted the phone—and realized it had been smashed to hell and back during the tumble.
“Tell me your phone’s working,” he said.
“I...I think it’s in the SUV.”
Hell.
The temperature was too low. It was getting too dark. No one was going to see them down there, and if anyone did happen to come along that lonely stretch of road again, it could very well be the same jerk who’d just tried to kill them.
