Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
More relief surged through my system. I cupped her face in my hands so I could gaze into her haunting eyes that I’d missed so much. She peered back like she wanted to relearn each detail of my face.
I wanted to go back to kissing her, but there was an urgent matter we needed to address. “Is he still alive?”
Her shoulders lifted on a deep breath. “He was when I left him with Plavko. He’s an American?”
“He didn’t say it, but I assume he’s CIA.”
“How . . .?” She couldn’t make the pieces fit.
“They’d been looking for a way in. Three weeks ago, Frey needed a bodyguard, so Plavko was invented. At least, that’s the story I got.”
“From who?”
“The cameraman.”
The one in the square who Plavko had chased after. Only, I explained, he hadn’t smashed the camera, he’d gotten a message through to me. Give him a week to finish his undercover work before I came riding in to the rescue. He’d promised to keep her safe until then.
I only made it four days.
How could he have known I wasn’t any good at following orders?
My only regret was that I had waited at all. For the first time in what felt like forever, I was back on solid ground. It felt like the earth hadn’t collapsed with Shawn’s phone call she’d vanished from detainment.
“Where are they?” I asked.
“In his room.”
“Show me.” I took her hand and started for the door.
She guided me through the house but moved slowly, and realization dawned in me. “Fuck, I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “You don’t have to see him ever again.”
“It’s not that.” She marched toward the end of the hall. “Plavko said you need to leave him alone until he’s finished. That you owe him.”
A male scream of pain rang out from behind a door.
Laurel stared at the floor, like she both wanted and didn’t want to hear it, and the scream died as quickly as it had begun. Whatever torture Plavko was inflicting on Frey had ceased.
We stood in the hall, our hands linked together and our bodies tense as we listened for more screams, but none came. It meant Frey was either dead, unconscious, or talking.
I wasn’t sure which one I wanted more.
She spoke in a hush. “How did you find me?”
“Caroline,” I said. “She was able to trace the leak.”
Whatever the Markovic family had on Beth Garrity from the OEO, it was bad enough for her to sell her soul and give Frey everything he wanted. She’d rot in prison for the rest of her life—which would likely be short.
The Serbians didn’t tolerate loose ends.
There was no recognition in Laurel’s eyes. “Who’s Caroline?”
My hands encircled her waist, even smaller than I remembered. “She’s a friend.”
It tore me up seeing her like this. Her face was too thin from the drugs Frey had been using on her. And whether it was the car accident or his drugs and manipulation that had caused her memory loss, it didn’t matter. It was all his doing, and I was going to make him pay for it.
A different thought seemed to cross through Laurel’s blue eyes then, changing her face. “Frey thought you were dead. He was sure of it.”
“You arrived in Munich on Shawn’s plane without me,” I said. “It seemed better if everyone thought I was dead.” Especially the mole within the Marshals Service.
“Are you all right?” Her soft voice was coated with concern.
“I’m much better now.” I brushed her hair off her shoulder so I could kiss the point where her neck began, working my way up. She shuddered under my lips, but I knew it was a good shudder.
“I don’t remember this,” she said, her fingertips gliding down the side of my beard.
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t about to waste time doing something as unnecessary as shaving.” Because I’d used every moment I had to search for her. “What do you remember about us?”
She gave me a shy smile. “Waiting to go on stage, when you said you loved me.”
I took a deep breath. I was certain I wasn’t going to be able to let her go again.
“I remember coming in from the rain with you to a big, cold house.” Her voice went quiet. “And the airport when we said goodbye. That’s all.”
My jaw set, my mind returned to dark thoughts about the man on the other side of the door.
“Don’t think about that,” she said, her voice desperate. “I need you to remind me.”
47
LAUREL
When it came time to face the man I’d left tied to the bed, my head was a sea of emotions, and I struggled not to drown.
Jason told me his only plan had been to get to me, and that he’d figure out the rest once that had been done. He hadn’t expected Frey to be captured. Duty meant he was going to take this monster into custody, haul him back to the States, and ensure he stood trial.