CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Unanswered questions plagued Camden.
How the hell had anyone spotted her?
He had forty-five minutes until Winters would find them.
Until then, Camden had to keep moving.
He would let Parker sort out how Amelia had been pinpointed.
They couldn’t hide in a driveway all night long.
He wouldn’t find a cab in this neighborhood and didn’t trust an Uber.
Somehow, some way, Amelia’s face had been caught on camera.
It didn’t make sense.
He checked the empty street and took her hand.
“Let’s roll.”
They hurried down toward the businesses and restaurants again.
More people meant more places to duck and hide and fewer Ring cameras that could catch them and livestream their locations.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Hey, you’re kind of dragging me, Cam.”
If he could’ve thrown her over his shoulder, he would’ve.
He apologized but didn’t entirely mean it.
They hit the main drag again.
Enough people milled about that they could blend in.
They could move with groups.
A city bus approached.
Its route number and Ride for Free flashed on the digital billboard above the windshield.
“There’s our ride.”
They arrived at the bus stop a moment before it would’ve rolled by.
The doors cracked. Heat enveloped them as they boarded.
“Where are we headed?” he asked.
“King Street in Old Town,” the bus driver said.
That didn’t mean anything to him, but they sat down toward the back of the bus.
“I know lots of places to eat on King Street,” she said.
Good. He liked busy areas and pulled out his phone to update Winters on their changing location.
The ride didn’t take long.
They stepped off the bus in front of City Hall.
Despite the cold, tourists walked through the large open area with ice cream cones.
The streets were bustling compared to where they’d just been.
It was exactly where they needed to be.
A crowd covered the main blocks.
Even the side streets had thick foot traffic.
“This way.” Amelia led them downhill with signage directing them toward the waterfront.
Gaggles of people waited in front of restaurants for seating as heat lamps warmed outdoor patios.
The streets were cordoned off ahead of the river.
People milled. Street musicians played.
Vehicles could only pass through the intersecting streets that bisected the large space.
He almost felt comfortable enough to ask if Amelia wanted to pop in somewhere to restart their dinner.
Then another sedan with tinted windows crawled down a side street.
A uniformed officer was directing traffic to move.
His stomach dropped.
That couldn’t be the same people searching for Amelia, could it?
It wasn’t possible, yet his gut said to duck and cover.
They could see Washington, DC, from the bottom of King Street.
There had to be any number of politicians and diplomats within a block, not to mention anyone else who required security details rolling by.
Hell, even the city might have roving security.
“What’s wrong?” Amelia grabbed his arm and searched around.
“I don’t know.” His pulse pounded.
What had he missed? “You don’t have your phone on you.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Check your pockets.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know. Check them.”
She shoved her hands into her coat.
He rushed his hands over her pockets.
They could have put a tracker in her jackets and coats, hoping she would wear one when she was released from prison.
He came up empty, and anxiety needled him.
Her shoes, maybe? Jeans?
What the hell was he missing?
Camden ran his hands over her pants.
She wasn’t wearing jewelry.
She wasn’t carrying a tracker.
Time rushed by. He ran a hand into his hair and looked over her shoulder.
Uncertainty hammered in his chest. Two men were working their way down from the top of the cordoned-off area.
Methodically, they worked side to side, gaining ground.
“Shit.”
Amelia spun.
“What?”
“We’re missing something. They tracked us all the way here. How?”
Her eyes widened.
“I don’t know.”
Camden checked the crowd around them and didn’t see anyone else working through the group.
They could run toward the river.
A large waterfront pavilion on their left had a crowd, or they could go right, where the lighting got significantly darker.
Neither would help if they were being tracked.
The buses weren’t running on the intersecting street closest to the river.
“We’re missing something.” He was armed and wouldn’t let anyone take Amelia, but he didn’t want to cause a scene in the middle of downtown Alexandria.
Boss Man would have a huge problem with him if that happened.
“They started tracking us at dinner. How? Why?”
“I thought I felt someone looking at me when we first walked on to the main drag.”
His mind replayed the day: breakfast, CIA meeting, kissing Amelia, heading to dinner—“You made a phone call before dinner.”
She nodded.
“I called Veronica.” Her eyes went wide as she raised her hands.
“I didn’t tell her where I was.”
“You didn’t have to.” He pulled out his phone.
No one should have been able to track him.
Camden dropped the phone onto the ground and lifted his foot—but he stopped himself from crushing the device.
“What are you doing?” Amelia demanded.
He grabbed the phone and her hand and ran to the corner where an officer directed traffic to cross through an intersection.
He spotted an oversized pickup truck and, before they crossed the street, dropped the cell phone over the edge of its tailgate.
“Camden?”
“They traced you back to my phone.” For the first time, he wondered if protecting Amelia was the reason the CIA had detained her.
It would have answered any questions from the public and kept Amelia where they could safeguard her.
That would be a conversation for Beth.
“You’re sure?”
Not one hundred percent.
“We’re going to find out.” He wanted eyes on the men combing through the crowd but needed to keep her out of view.
Camden posted against the corner of a building and tucked her under him as though he were making a move.
His body pressed against her.
He raised an arm over her head and caged her against the wall.
“Put an arm over my shoulder.” To anyone else, Amelia looked to have his full attention.
“Good.” He feathered a kiss over her cheek.
“I don’t want to be the guy that tells a girl to smile, babe, but if you look scared, someone might check on you.”
She smiled and tried to relax.
“Good.” He scanned the crowd and found the two men.
Instead of working through the crowd, they stood together.
One man had a phone pressed to his ear.
The other scanned their immediate surroundings.
“Do you see them?” she asked.
“Yup.”
Amelia’s posture tightened.
He was certain the smile was gone.
“Just another minute. Relax. We’re having a good time.”
“The best time,” she managed.
“I am,” he admitted.
Her tension relaxed against his chest, and he struggled to focus on the problem at hand.
Camden narrowed his gaze on the man on the phone.
He wasn’t a lip reader but was certain the man had just snapped, “Fuck.” The other man shook his head, then they both turned and retraced their way up the hill.
He inched back. “We’re good for now.”
Relief blossomed over her face.
Amelia wrapped her other arm around his neck and hugged him.
Camden let his eyes sink shut.
He breathed her in and let warmth roll through him at the way she fit against him.
He was becoming too entangled with this woman.
Keeping her safe should feel more like a job responsibility than a requirement.
And what the hell had he been thinking, taking her out on a date?
What kind of complication was that?
That wasn’t taking things slowly.
But since she was wrapped around him, he realized he couldn’t keep a reasonable space between them.
He couldn’t stay away and should have realized that from the moment they first spoke.
That was why he hadn’t let himself even look up her picture.
Since he’d gone that far, since he had her in his arms again, he knew they would be in bed sooner rather than later.
This sweet hug was to blame.
“What now?” she asked.
Camden moved her to his side and stayed to the edge of the crowd.
“We need to find a convenience store and purchase a burner phone. Winters would be nearby soon.”
“Then what?”
“New place.”
She tipped her face toward him.
“And dinner?”
“Dinner and whatever else you want.”
Slowly was overrated.
They could work off the night’s stress in any way she chose.