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)
It was all happening much too fast.
Then, I was in my last costume, finishing the final movement in Santiago’s arms. He'd been a great partner, and I would miss him terribly. Had I ever told him how excited I’d been when I found out we had been paired together? Was there still time for it?
During final bows, I spotted Shawn through the glare of the lights, sitting three rows back from the front, a pleased smile on his face. I’d be seeing him again soon, wouldn’t I?
Two women waited for us beside the door to my dressing room. There was a frown fixed on Caroline’s face, but I couldn’t tell if the cause was our situation, or Beth Garrity’s presence. Jason didn’t seem too happy about it either.
“So much for that idea.” Caroline couldn’t have sounded more disappointed if she’d tried. “Fucker didn’t show.” Her gaze drilled into him. “What’s the plan now?”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said.
When both women scowled, he ignored them. He stuck his head in my dressing room, was satisfied it was empty, and ushered me inside. But he didn’t lead me in or follow, because he couldn’t. Bill’s death seemed to have put Caroline in charge, and he wouldn’t want anyone to become suspicious of his feelings about the woman he’d been tasked with protecting.
“You’re safe,” he said to me through the open doorway. “Get changed, and then we’ve got to go.”
36
JASON
Although it was the last thing I wanted to do, I put a closed door between me and Laurel. I should probably start getting used to her not being around. By this time tomorrow, the Atlantic would be between us.
I turned my focus to Beth. “What are you doing here?”
“She’s the price you had to pay to make tonight happen,” Caroline interjected. “And since drawing him out didn’t work, that means WITSEC is our next step.”
“No,” I said.
Indignation filled Beth’s voice. “You don’t get to decide that.”
“I’m just telling you, you’re wasting everyone’s time. She won’t do it and her mind’s made.”
“You understand I need to hear that from her, right?” she snapped.
I stifled back a sigh. At least this would give me a chance to speak to Caroline alone. I gestured to Laurel’s dressing room door. “Okay. Have at it.”
She lifted a hand, rapped her knuckles on the wood, and disappeared inside as soon as Laurel told her to come in.
The door had barely shut before Caroline leaned in, impatient. “You want to fill me in?”
“No.”
She did not like that. “What the hell, Dunn?”
I wasn’t sure if I could trust her, but my gut said so. In the moments before the show began, she’d spouted off a rage-filled tirade, reminding us that the man we were searching for was responsible for the death of two federal judges and at least two marshals, probably three.
She was a lot like me when it came to the job. She lived for the chase, enjoyed the authority, and, I suspected, didn’t mind the gun at her side. And she was fiercely loyal. If the situation had been different, there was a chance we would have eventually become friends.
“Do you know what really happened to Bill?” I kept my voice low. “I suspect he got too close to uncovering whoever in the Marshals Service is working for Frey or his syndicate, and that got him killed.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “It’s not safe for Laurel to be on the books, and you know it.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Not really a lot of options here.”
I drew in a deep breath. “I have the means to send her away, somewhere safe until the mole’s been found and Frey’s caught.”
“What?” She stared at me like I’d lost my mind. “You know I can’t let you do that. Take a witness that important out of our protection? Never going to fly in a million years.”
That was easy enough to solve. “She’s going to refuse any further protection once we’re done here.”
Caroline took a half step back, as if my statement had knocked her sideways. She peered at me, perhaps trying to gauge if I were bluffing, and then her expression soured when she realized I wasn’t.
“I can’t believe I’m even considering this,” she said, mostly to herself. “Fine. Let’s say we do it your way. What kind of assurance do I have that she’ll testify? Because you know it’ll be nearly impossible to pin this all on him without her.” She gave me a hard look. “And then he fucking walks.”
My blood heated with anger at the idea. “That’s not going to happen. You have my word.”
Her eyebrow rose. “Maybe I just pull you. Last time I spoke to her, she wanted you removed.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “You’re welcome to try, but trust me, she won’t like that.” It hadn’t worked so well when Bill had tried it, and, holy shit, things were different now.