Deadly Secrets

1. Chapter One

Chapter one

Derek

“Don’t worry, Adair. I’ll be back before you know it.”

She stuck her tongue out at me. “You’d better. Maybe I’ll take an extra-long hot shower and empty the water heater tank if you don’t.”

A chuckle came out. “It's worth it to keep that smile on your face.”

Adair rolled her eyes and let out a deep sigh, but there was a playfulness to it. “You always put a smile on my face.” She stepped forward as her amusement melted into mild anxiety. “Please be careful while you’re out.”

I kissed her gently and then pulled her into a hug. “I’m always careful. Always vigilant.”

She looked me in the eye for a long moment before nodding. “I know, but things happen. I love you, Derek. Come back to me.”

“I love you, too.”

After giving her one last kiss, I headed downstairs, grabbed the empty totes, and left through the back door.

Most people didn’t have a bomb shelter worthy basement, complete with a blast-proof door that walked out to an abandoned mine shaft, but then most people also didn’t live in a safe house hidden next to an abandoned mine in the middle of Colorado.

A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth as I hopped in the golf cart parked right outside the door.

After a few conversations with Lynette and Edith about the logistics of hauling in groceries down the long tunnel, our little red wagon had been upgraded.

I didn’t know how they snuck it to our undisclosed location, but I didn’t question the extremely kind gesture.

Lynette would do anything to help Adair.

I drove to the other end of the tunnel where there was another metal blast door with two sets of locks.

One biometric and one mechanical. I parked the golf cart, unlocked and opened the door, and headed out, making sure to secure everything behind me.

After walking around the old mine entrance three times, making sure nothing had been tampered with, I headed to where our small four-by-four SUV was hidden.

Colorado roads could be a pain to navigate, especially during and after inclement weather. The entrance to the mine was an old dirt path that nature had mostly reclaimed, and that didn’t make the winding two-mile path to the nearest road any easier. Especially when that road was barely maintained.

Today’s weather was the picture of a perfect fall day, though. The kind you saw on postcards. The leaves were turning, the sun was shining, and there were white, puffy clouds floating in the sky. It hadn’t rained in a while, so the ground was dry, ensuring my drive would be easier.

Rolling my shoulders, I couldn’t shake a nagging feeling between my shoulder blades.

I couldn’t pinpoint the cause, but it reminded me of the same foreboding I felt right before I had to flee to Adair’s last safe house, barely surviving the gunfight I’d found myself in.

Swallowing hard, I forced down the sour memory.

Today was going to be fine. I was going on a resupply run, like I had every month for the last three years Adair and I had been in hiding.

Maybe I’m just nervous about picking up and giving Adair her surprise.

I grinned widely, now thinking of the custom locket I had Lynette send over. It was currently secured in the warehouse unit we’d been using as the drop-off and pickup point for supplies.

As I drove through town, everything was as quiet and peaceful as usual. There was no one around as I pulled into the gated area that surrounded the warehouse building and parked near one of the side entrances.

After taking the two plastic totes out of the back seat, I used the key to unlock the door before walking the short distance to the unit.

I glanced up and down the well-lit hallway to ensure no one was around and opened the metal roll-down door.

Everything looked as it should as I walked in and rolled the door closed behind me.

The refrigerator and locked storage units along the wall were closed, and the table was empty, except for the thermal insulated bag.

Not able to wait another second, I coded into the metal storage container and reached for the long, skinny wooden wrapped present. It was still in the original iridescent wrapping paper.

She never opened it.

My smile widened as I silently thanked Lynette for holding onto this for me. Yet again, there was no way I would ever be able to repay her for everything she’d done for me and Adair.

Once the supplies were in the car, I sent out one last message to my girl.

Providence:

I can’t wait to see the look on her face when I give this to her.

Driving off of the property, I rolled my neck again, still tight with tension. I looked around, seeing nothing, but the feeling still sat there, looming ominously.

It wasn’t the first time I’d gotten a weird feeling while being out and about collecting supplies. It came with the territory when you lived in a safe house and had to avoid contact with most of the outside world.

Another smile crossed my face as I thought about the woman I loved.

She had endured so damn much, and it still wasn’t over, which was why we had been in hiding.

My girl was more than worth it. I would have lived anywhere with her if it meant she stayed safe and alive.

Lynette had promised it wouldn’t be forever, and that she had a plan. I just had to trust the process.

As I drove back to our secret home, I couldn’t help but relive some of my memories with Adair.

How she protected me from her dad’s anger when we were caught coming back from a date.

How she told me she thought someone was trying to kill her.

How I searched for years to find her after she disappeared under the cover of darkness.

My grin widened as I drove, but a quick glance in the rear-view mirror had it immediately disappearing.

A navy blue car with deeply tinted windows was behind me and had been for the last ten minutes.

I kept making random turns and doubling back, trying to lose them, but the car stayed on my ass.

The farther from town I was, the closer they followed.

A pit of dread formed in my stomach as I realized there was nothing good about this situation.

What the fuck? Who the hell are you?

When I reached the road, I would normally have turned on to go home, I passed it, planning to take an even more roundabout path.

Above everything else, I had to keep people who didn’t have her best interests at heart away from her.

We’d worked too hard for too long to keep her safe and alive. I wasn’t going to fuck it up now.

Letting out a tense breath, I pulled out my phone and dialed one of the three numbers programmed into it. I was relieved when it went to voicemail. The last thing I wanted to do was have an entire conversation about this.

She’s probably in the shower.

“Hey, Hummingbird, I ran into an old friend and am going to be late. Don’t wait up for me. You know how carried away we can get sometimes. Keep tight. I love you.”

Please hear between the lines.

It was the best warning I could give her without being obvious about the danger.

I drove more evasively, and it felt like a losing attempt to shake the car following me.

Not losing him after the third switchback and second off-road detour, I knew I had to take drastic measures.

As much as I didn’t want to acknowledge it, I’d been in this situation enough times to realize there was a chance I wasn’t making it out of this unharmed… or alive.

Whoever was on my tail was as good as I was, nearly anticipating my turns.

Why are they being so damn persistent? What do they know?

Growing increasingly frustrated, I headed in the opposite direction of my hummingbird. There was a lookout point not too far from here. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was an option. A last-case scenario. One she hated. One I promised I’d never use unless absolutely necessary.

I have to keep her safe at all costs.

Less than two minutes later, I pulled over and put the SUV in park. I pulled out my phone and accessed the secure app, praying it wasn’t going to be the last time.

Providence:

Not waiting for an answer, I shoved my phone back into my pocket as the blue car pulled just past me, and then blocked me in.

I felt better knowing I had a gun on me as I opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle.

A man stepped out of the other car, nearly expressionless as he looked at me, though there was a hint of frustration in his eyes.

Same.

We stood there, silently sizing up each other. There was no way I was going to break the stalemate. He’d been following me, and I would have bet all my worldly possessions that this had something to do with my girl.

After a moment, he let out a deep sigh. “Aren’t you going to ask why I followed you and what I’m doing here?”

I shrugged. “Would you even tell me the truth if I did?”

He snickered. “I might tell you some. Is anyone else in there with you?”

“Does it look like it? Would it matter if there was?” I stared at him, waiting for any kind of confirmation of me being right.

“We know you know where Victoria is.”

There it is. I arched an eyebrow. “Who?”

The man sneered and walked closer to me, stopping an arm’s length away. “You know who the fuck I’m talking about, Collins. I’m here to collect Victoria Vaux.”

I almost reacted to him calling me out by my last name… and Adair by her dead name, but kept my cool. “You always assume people’s names and who they know?”

Pain exploded as his fist slammed into my jaw. “Quit fucking around. You know where she is. Take me to her. She’s in danger.”

After spitting and seeing some blood hit the ground, I rubbed my jaw. “With people like you throwing punches at strangers, yeah, I’d say this lady’s in danger.”

He practically growled at me. “Quit acting like a fucking idiot. I know you worked with Brockman. He showed me a picture of the two of you.”