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Nina sighed and straightened her legs on the sidewalk in front of her. Wasn’t she glad help was coming?
“Ames!”
Wyatt turned back to his partner.
Parker motioned over his shoulder with his thumb. “I’m going to check our friend here into his permanent staycation and I’ll be back out.”
Wyatt nodded and turned back to Nina, still in his crouch. “That was crazy. I can’t believe that car jumped the curb and came right at you. Seriously. It was nuts.”
Nina’s lips curled up, though he could see the pain on her face. “You’re babbling.”
“Your life just flashed before my eyes.”
Nina laughed. He wanted to pull her into his arms and hug her until his heart rate settled down, and she was laughing? “This isn’t funny, Nina.”
She shook her head. “No, it really isn’t. You’re right. But to be honest, it’s just been one of those days. This is pretty much the perfect end.”
“It’s not even lunchtime.”
“I’m still ready to go home and crawl back into bed. Maybe tomorrow will go better, because today does not seem to be my day.”
The ambulance pulled up, a police car parking right behind it. He knew the sergeant who climbed out. Sergeant Zane sauntered over, apparently relaxed, having decided the emergency had passed and Wyatt had whatever this was covered.
The law enforcement community in their town was pretty tight-knit. Zane probably knew Nina through her connection to Sienna and Parker. Being retired CIA agents in this town was enough to make them famous.
Wyatt got up and stepped back as the EMTs started to work on Nina. Zane might think the former CIA agent could handle herself, even in a situation like this, but he hadn’t seen the raw fear on her face like Wyatt had. There was a lot of wincing now as the EMT doused her road rash, but she kept it together. All that raw skin had to hurt something fierce, but she held her own. As usual. Did the woman ever break?
Sergeant Zane stopped in front of him. “Parker called in an attempted vehicular homicide. I’ve got units on the lookout for the car he described, but it seems like it worked out.”
Vehicular homicide? Wyatt glanced back at Nina. His head hadn’t caught up with his reflexes yet so it took a minute. The car. Nina on the sidewalk. “Why would someone try to kill you?”
It couldn’t be easy to have a past full of covert missions—especially when a recent leak made her past career public knowledge. Had someone she’d angered as a CIA agent just tried to retaliate?
Nina looked up, one eyebrow raised. “You’re seriously asking me that question?”
Sergeant Zane snorted. When Wyatt glanced at the man, his eyes were on the blue sky. He looked back at Nina. He’d been more concerned about the fact that she was hurt. He hadn’t even wondered who was driving the car and why they had done this.
“Who wants you dead?”
Nina cocked her head to the side. “I would write you a list, but...” She lifted her right arm, now being wrapped in a bandage.
Sergeant Zane erupted in chuckles. Wyatt shot him a look that shut him up. Wyatt had been a cop before transferring to the Marshals Service, but couldn’t ever remember acting the way Zane did. Now that he was on a fugitive apprehension task force, Wyatt didn’t have to suffer the sleepless nights of being a homicide detective. He didn’t have to see the tear-filled eyes of loved ones as they faced the gruesome details of death. The long-drawn-out investigations. Awful hours that had taken a toll on every relationship he’d had.
As a homicide detective, he’d had only questions and then had to go out and find the answers. As a marshal he knew the answers—the case was closed—and he only needed to track down the fugitive and dispense justice. When the cell doors shut, his job was done.
The one gray cloud in his life right now was Nina. Or, more specifically, his unwanted feelings for her. Wyatt might have been attracted to her since they met, but Nina wasn’t like any other woman. Not exactly a bad thing, but her best friend had just married his partner. She’d have the bug, and if they started dating she’d be thinking about him and “long term.”
Not exactly Wyatt’s thing, at least when he considered the fact that his track record at relationships wasn’t good. It was why he kept everything light. First he had to figure out why he’d never been able to hold on to a relationship. Then he’d open himself up to dating again.
He glanced back at the courthouse, where Parker made his way down the steps toward them. Wyatt looked back at Nina. “What were you doing here?”
Nina opened her mouth to answer, but Parker spoke first. “She was trying to find out who killed her mother.”
She shot him a dirty look. “Sienna was not supposed to have shared that with you. That was private.”
Parker’s brows lifted. “You want my wife to keep secrets from me?”
Wyatt glanced between them. They seemed to have this rapport as friends that he didn’t have with Nina. And why did that bother him? He moved so the EMT could get by him and head back toward his bus. He heard a low “She’s good.”
Wyatt nodded to the EMT, then looked back at Nina. “Your mother was killed?” He could see the sadness in her eyes. He’d never seen that undercurrent of grief in her before. Apparently she was as good as he was at keeping things light. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Nina glanced at Parker for a second. “It was a very long time ago. I came here trying to find out what happened. To say I’m getting the runaround is an understatement.”
Parker took a step closer to them. “Sienna and I said we’d help.”
“Sienna said she’d help. I wasn’t even aware you knew.” Nina sighed. “And I might have to take you up on your offer since I’m not getting anywhere. I wanted to do it myself, but I might have to face the fact that I’m in over my head with this.”
Nina glanced around, still sitting on the sidewalk. Wyatt moved to help her up, but Parker beat him to it. Held out his hand and hauled Nina to her feet while Wyatt just stood there looking inconsiderate.
She gifted Parker a small smile. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” His eyes were dark, but he had that undercurrent of a happily married man that had for a long time been absent in his partner. “Wyatt is going to take you home, okay? Watch your six.”
Finally Parker said something right. Wyatt nodded to his partner, since Nina couldn’t see him. She snapped a salute with her good hand. “Yes, sir.”
Wyatt shook his head. “Where’s your car?”
She turned from Parker as he walked away and said, “I walked here.”
“You did?”
She shrugged. “I only live around the corner.”
Parker, already ten feet away, spun back. “I’m headed to the office. When you see her home, make sure she eats some lunch.”
Nina rolled her eyes.
“My car is this way.”
He held out his hand, but she didn’t take it. She walked gingerly, and he wished he’d parked closer. She’d hit the sidewalk pretty hard, and she was leaning toward the opposite side. Wyatt put his hand on the small of her back like he was leading her, when the reality was he needed to give her support and comfort even if it was in that small measure.
He’d done the same a million times with witnesses, or women he’d dated, but he’d never felt like this. It was as though a spark of electricity had arced from her to his hand. She probably wasn’t even aware of the action, whereas all of his senses had lit up. The lingering rush of adrenaline at watching her almost die wasn’t helping. She’d nearly been flattened on the concrete by that car.
She needed support and protection, but from what? The police could track the car, but it was likely stolen. Maybe they would never find out who had been driving. Nina would live the rest of her life under a cloud of impending danger.
Nina’s cell phone chimed from inside her purse. She pulled it out and looked at the screen, but he couldn’t read the tiny text. What he could read was her reaction.
The flinch.
The quick intake of breath that meant the danger was far from over.
Maybe it was just beginning.
TWO (#ulink_87912211-3685-551e-996f-5f19de7bf7d8)
“Everything okay?”
Nina looked up from her phone. “Yes.” She cleared her throat. The text had come from a contact saved in her phone as Baltimore Public Library. How was that even possible? Had someone hacked her phone just to send a message?
Next time I won’t miss.
She had to talk to Sienna. She’d know what to do. This man whom Nina knew as a friend only, despite the unwanted feelings she had for him, didn’t want all of her baggage. No one actually wanted to know what another person’s damage was. Every time she’d tried to tell a man she was attracted to about her past, he’d run away in response. She didn’t need that all over again. But Sienna was different, best girlfriends were always different.
So Nina kept the text message to herself. Meanwhile Wyatt didn’t look like he believed her that it was nothing, but thankfully didn’t say anything.
The drive to her building took two minutes, but it was full of awkward silence nonetheless. Nina waved to the doorman and Wyatt did the leading thing again, with his hand on her back. It probably meant nothing. He probably did it with suspects and witnesses all the time. He probably didn’t feel the same awareness she did.
They took the elevator to the twenty-second floor. He’d never been to her condo. And why would he have? They’d only hung out at Parker and Sienna’s house. What was he going to think? Nina sighed, trying to dispel her ridiculous thoughts. Why did she even care what Wyatt thought? It wasn’t like she was looking for a relationship. He was only here because Parker had told him to bring her home.
Nina unlocked her front door. The steady beep of her security system chimed, and she entered the code to silence the alarm. Wyatt was still by her door, eyes wide as he stared at the expanse of her foyer.
“Come in.” There were a few boxes she still hadn’t unpacked. But the place wasn’t unlivable.
Wyatt shook off whatever had stalled him and shut the front door. “Nice place.”
“Doesn’t have a lot of character, but it’ll do for now.”
“You’re not staying?” He stuck his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, which pulled his shirt taut over his arm muscles.
Nina looked away. “I thought about buying a house, but who wants to mow a yard? If I want to have a country experience I’ll go to Sienna and Parker’s house in the sticks.”
Wyatt eyed her. “Some people like that kind of thing.” He glanced around. “So this is home?”
Home. There was a concept Nina didn’t know all that much about, unless he was talking about her friendship with Sienna. They’d been each other’s family for years. Instead of answering, Nina went to the kitchen and pressed the button on the side of her coffeepot, where it heated water. After the morning she’d had, she needed hot chocolate, stat. Maybe even marshmallows.
“Do you want coffee?”
He was looking at her like she was a puzzle he hadn’t realized was five thousand pieces and not six simple ones easily slotted together. “Sure. Parker said something about lunch.” He sauntered to her fridge and pulled it open. “How about eggs?”
“Sure.”
She made the drinks while he pulled ingredients from the fridge. “Where’s the sausage?” His eyes narrowed. “The fancy cheese I get, but you eat meat, right?”
Nina smiled. “Bottom drawer.”
Wyatt muttered “thank you” and stuck his head back in the fridge. Nina chuckled as she circled the center island, where the burners were. Her side was a counter on which he set a chopping board, an onion and a handful of mushrooms, then slid over a knife.
“You’re on chopping duty.”
Nina smiled. “I’ll make you proud.”
She got to work cutting veggies as best she could with her right hand while Wyatt’s strong hands cracked each egg with ease—though who would eat all of this food was anyone’s guess. But even with the easiness of their friendship, the weight of the day washed back like the incoming tide. It always did, and Nina wasn’t sure she’d know what to do if one day she no longer had to worry about it.
“Tell me what all this is about.”
The knife slipped across her finger, and Nina cried out.
Wyatt rushed around the island and pulled her to the sink. He ran the cold water gently over her right hand and held her finger there. The liquid washed away the drops of blood and helped numb the pain. Too bad something so simple didn’t work on everything.
He ran his thumb over the tiny cut. “It doesn’t look too bad, but you should put a bandage on it.”
Nina got one from the end cupboard and sat so he’d know she didn’t need his help. She finished the rest of the chopping without speaking, and then pushed the cutting board to his side of the island. He looked up from stirring, evidently content to wait for her to be ready to answer his request.
“My mother was killed, you know that. Parker said it. Her name was Congresswoman Clarissa Holmes.” Nina sucked in a breath. “When I was five years old my parents separated for a while. My mother began having an affair with another man.”
Nina clenched her fingers together in her lap, but it hurt so she let go. “I would see him when the nanny brought me home from the park. His name was Mr. Thomas, and he was very handsome. He would have tea with my mother and me every day, and he would tell me stories about pirates, and fair maidens, about spies and bad guys. I think he was one of them. A spy, I mean.
“Maybe he’s part of the reason I said yes when the CIA wanted to recruit Sienna and me. I looked for him in their databases as much as I could, but never found a single trace of anyone with the first or last name of Thomas who looked like him. Maybe I was wrong about him being a real spy, but that’s what I thought for a long time. Anyway, one day—I was six and a half, I think—we came home from the park and the front door was open.”
Wyatt slid the eggs into two bowls and came over. He sat on the stool beside her, but didn’t say anything.
“She was in the bedroom. There was blood everywhere. The nanny started screaming, so I ran to the study and called 911 from the phone. She fled out the front door and left me there. The police found me, on the stairs. Alone in the house with my dead mother.”
“And the police thought your father did it?”
“It was his letter opener. He’d left it when he moved out, but he hadn’t been there in months. I was sent to live with my grandparents, and they shipped me off to boarding school. I don’t think they were too interested in another child, especially one who had gone through a trauma.
“I went to see my father after I turned eighteen. He said it wasn’t him, and he wasn’t lying. It never seemed right to me that he had just shown up that day and killed her. But the police never believed me about Mr. Thomas.” Nina blew out a breath. “I’ve been thinking it through ever since.”
Wyatt nodded.
“When I told the police about Mr. Thomas they thought I had invented him to cover for my father. They never found the nanny—she just disappeared. No one else knew anything about the man who’d been spending all that time with my mother. They thought he didn’t exist because she hadn’t told anyone—not her friends, or employees—about him. They even tried to get this counselor to say I was making the whole thing up, like I was hysterical or delusional or something. Like I’d made up the idea of another suspect just so they wouldn’t send my father to jail.”
Nina squeezed her eyes shut. “I was the kid in school whose father killed her mother and who made up a story. The crazy child no one wanted their kid to hang around with because my delusion might get them killed, too.”
“Except Sienna.”
“She was as alone as I was, and she didn’t care what anyone else thought.”
Nina had worked for years with her best friend, Sienna. Playing bad guys off against each other, rehashing missions that had gone bad. They had been friends since that first day of third grade at boarding school, and they’d been inseparable ever since.
Except that Sienna had married Parker a couple of months back. Nina didn’t begrudge the happiness Sienna had found with the marshal. Sienna certainly deserved it after she was attacked on a mission and got amnesia. Nina had tried to help her remember where she’d hidden the sensitive information, which had presented a significant breach of national security. Sienna and her husband had cleared all that up, though, and fallen in love in the process.
But Nina couldn’t help feeling like maybe she’d been left behind.
Wyatt returned her smile. “And...now you’re trying to find this Mr. Thomas guy? To prove that your father is innocent and get him out of prison?”
“My father is dead.”
