Chapter 31
THIRTY-ONE
They flew to San Diego first thing in the morning, hoping they weren’t flying into a trap.
Kyle had responded to the email the day before:
Re: Suitability Review
Ms. Walsh has been made aware of the situation and has agreed to cooperate fully.
Given the circumstances, and her prior withholding of information about the child for some time, I will be sending one of my people to accompany her to ensure that she has completed the assignment—consider it a professional courtesy on my end.
Once this matter is resolved, Ms. Walsh will have no further association with this organization. I trust that is acceptable.
I’ll defer to your preferred arrangements for the exchange. Let me know how you’d like to proceed.
Now Voss believed that Kyle was giving up Maren to him.
Voss was using Lynn as his go-between, not realizing she’d contacted Gina already.
Lynn told Voss she would deliver the evidence to him, but that she would lie and tell whoever delivered Maren that she was going to the authorities instead.
Watchdog LA would take over from there and secure her until she could testify.
It was a good plan.
Maren had been telling herself that since they left the ranch and drove to DIA.
Since they went through security—with additional steps since Colin was bringing his weapon—and boarded the train for the terminal.
Since they boarded the plane and the flight attendants all smiled at her and she smiled back when all she wanted to do was scream.
She looked out the window at the Rockies below, impossibly small from this altitude. To the north was a little girl who had made a man promise to bring her mama home.
Her Mama. Maren.
Don’t cry on the plane, she told herself. You can cry later. Much later, when this is all over and you’re safe back home.
Home being Colorado now. With Sean’s family.
But especially with Colin. Colin was home.
Her brothers were going to have a field day with him when they came to meet him.
Poor guy.
Colin had made love with her the night before.
Thoughts of him between her legs, his tongue finding all her softest, most sensitive places crept in, making her shiver.
She loved the way he felt inside her, his heat and weight over her, watching her face to make sure she was right with him, that he was giving her pleasure, until they both came at the same time.
“This is only the beginning, baby,” he’d told her as he cradled her in his arms. “Please say you’ll stay here with me when this is all over.”
“Yes. I’ll stay. We’ll stay.”
“Promise.”
“I promise, Colin.”
He’d needed her reassurance and she understood why. She was happy to give it to him, as many times as he needed. He could ask her every day for the rest of her life and her answer would never change.
“I promise, Colin. You are my home.”
Colin’s hand covered hers on the armrest.
She turned her palm up and held on without looking at him. If she looked at him right now she would absolutely cry on the plane.
She thought about the attorney’s office instead.
A private practice in La Jolla, the kind of discreet address that asked no questions and kept its files locked and its clients anonymous for the right price.
Maren had thought about that on the drive to the airport in the pre-dawn dark, Colin driving, the mountains growing farther away as they drove east. Ray, disgraced and broke and quietly keeping a dead woman’s promise alive one payment at a time.
Thank you, Ray, she’d thought. I promise you didn’t die for nothing. I’m going to finish it and clear your name.
Elissa dug into the practice. The original attorney had retired about six months ago, leaving his practice in his son’s hands. That worked to their advantage, too—if the son had never met Mira. There was no telling.
Maren played the scenario through her mind.
She would walk in, tell him that she was Mira Walsh, the code word was hammock, and then he would give her whatever Mira had left there.
She wondered if Mira was confident that she would come back for it herself, or if she was certain she was a dead woman walking.
No way of knowing.
Maren closed her eyes.
She could do this. She had Mira’s face and Mira’s voice and a lifetime of knowing exactly how her sister carried herself—the slight lift of the chin, the way she smiled with her whole face before she got her guard up, the way she said thank you to strangers, warm and direct, like she meant it personally.
She did mean it personally. That was Mira.
I know you, Maren thought. I know you better than anyone. You built this for me even when you hoped you were building it for yourself. So I’m going to walk in there and I’m going to be you, and I’m going to bring home what you couldn’t.
The mountains gave way to rocky desert below—red and tan, and stretching as far as the eye could see.
They were getting closer.
Colin squeezed her hand once. She squeezed back.
Okay, she thought. Let’s go finish this, Mira.
Once they landed and exited the plane, any sign of affection between Colin and Maren ended.
For all they knew, Voss had someone watching them, trailing them all the way to the rental car.
Colin turned stone-faced and would not look at Maren.
Maren didn’t have to put on much of an act—she let her fear shine through her eyes, let it turn down the corners of her mouth.
The woman at the car rental actually touched her arm as she went around to the passenger side after Colin had rudely gotten in on the driver’s side.
“Everything all right?” she asked, tilting her head ever so slightly toward Colin. “Do you need…assistance?”
Boy, do I, but nothing you can give me.
She smiled. “No, we’re all right. He’s just upset his team lost last night. But thank you so much for asking.”
The attendant nodded, looking relieved. “My boyfriend’s like that, too. Take care.”
Maren got into the SUV.
“Wait until we’re out of the lot before you say anything,” Colin said, his lips barely moving. Maren buckled herself in and looked down at her hands in her lap. Once they left the car rental they headed north for La Jolla, about twenty-five minutes away.
“First, are you all right, baby?” Colin reached across the console and grabbed her hand.
“Yes,” she said, proud of how steady her voice sounded. “I just want to get this over. The attendant back there thought I might need help, that you were abusing me.”
“Good, that’s what we want it to look like, that I’m resentful and you’re scared.” He squeezed her hand. “And not that I’m so in love with you my chest feels like it could burst at any time.”
Maren grinned. “I feel the same.”
“You gonna move in with me?”
Her eyes widened. “I just realized I’ve never even seen your…house? Apartment?”
“House,” he said with a smile. “Kyle pays well.”
“Just so you know, I’m not going to be a freeloader,” she told him. “I’m going to keep my job. I can code from anywhere. And if not, I’ll find coding work at one of the hospitals around Boulder or Denver.”
“You could freeload if you wanted, I don’t care.”
Maren actually laughed. “You’d care when I got bored and started rearranging all the furniture.”
“Really? You never did that at the safehouse.”
“Because it wasn’t my house, so no way would I change the furniture.”
“But living with me, you’d move the furniture around because it would be your house, is that what you’re saying?”
Maren stopped. “Oh. Oh goodness. That’s what it sounds like, huh?”
Colin squeezed her hand. “Yeah, babe. It does.”
Colin’s phone rang through the car speakers. Elissa’s name came up.
“Ironman.” He used her call sign.
“Welcome to Cali, Hailstorm. I’ve got you on the Five headed north. Any tails?”
“None that I’ve seen,” Colin told her.
“Excellent. I’ll be tracking any vehicles around you anyhow.
Watchtower is already in place. He’s been waiting down the block for three hours now.
As soon as you get the package, Lilac, Carr will give Spooky the address for the meetup.
He will tail you there. I’m the eye in the sky, he’s on the ground.
If Dekker or anyone else is following, we’ll know. ”
“Thanks, Ironman,” Maren said.
“Almost home, Lilac. Safe travels.” Elissa disconnected.
A few minutes later, they exited the Five and drove west down a palm-lined street full of art galleries, expensive condos made of white stucco, and trendy restaurants. The blue Pacific peeked at them between buildings.
“It’s beautiful here,” Colin said. “You sure you wanna live in Colorado?”
“It is beautiful. And I do want to move. We can always come back and visit. But I don’t want to live here anymore.”
Colin got lucky and found a parking space right in front of the building.
The law office was in the same building as a bank, which explained why Voss hadn’t sent Dekker in to toss it like he had Maren’s house.
Cameras were everywhere, and those were the ones Maren could see.
She imagined every business on the block, from the jeweler to the designer clothing store across the street, had cameras that would capture everyone going into and out of the building.
When Colin turned to her, he looked like he was ready to punch her. As he spoke, he pointed at her like he was scolding her.
“Game faces, babe. Look scared. I’m going to come around to your side and let you out, then I’ll walk you to the office and wait in the hall outside. I want you to look like I’m dragging you to your death, understand?”
“Got it.”
“And understand that I love you. And I’m not gonna let a damn thing happen to you.” He stuck his finger in her face and she jolted backward.