Chapter 2 #2
Devon Marsh stood for a moment with his hands in his pockets, staring at the window, allowing the breeze to blow in.
This wasn’t just a man who worked for the State Department, a diplomat who’d traveled the world.
This was a father who’d almost lost his only daughter twice in as many weeks.
She was the only family he had left. “I’ve read your file,” he finally said.
“At least what I could get my hands on.”
“And?” Draco had fully expected the man to learn everything about the man he was trusting to care for his daughter.
Marsh still faced the window as he spoke. “You’re good at what you do.”
Draco nodded. “I try.”
Cate’s father turned to Draco, his face set in stone, his gray eyes cold. “You left her.”
A heavy weight dropped to the pit of Draco’s belly.
He didn’t break eye contact, and he didn’t try to explain away his actions by reminding him that his job had required him to relocate, that neither he nor Cate had made any promises to each other, or that she’d never asked him to stay.
Though all of it was true...it was bullshit.
“Yes, sir,” Draco said. “I did.”
For a long moment, Marsh stared at him as if he hadn’t expected Draco’s response. As if he’d hoped for an argument, something he could use to justify being angry with the man who’d walked out on his daughter.
Draco braced for the anger.
It didn’t come. He could have handled the anger. What Marsh said hurt more.
“She didn’t tell me that you’d gone,” Marsh said.
“When we spoke on the phone, she didn’t say where you’d been to eat, the game you’d taken her to see, the weekend you two spent at the beach.
She stopped mentioning your name.” He shoved a hand through his hair.
“She came to my house because I promised to cook dinner for her. She barely spoke and didn’t eat a single bite in the two hours she was there.
When I asked her what was wrong, she said nothing. ”
Marsh’s words were like a knife wedged between Draco’s ribs.
“You might not know this, because I’m sure Cate has never told anyone, but that girl has been left.
By her mother when she was only thirteen.
Not that Helen had a choice against pancreatic cancer.
By me, too many times to count, every time my job with the government required me to board a plane to other parts of the world. Now by you.”
The man didn’t have to raise his voice to get his message across. Draco heard him loud and clear. If anything, the man’s voice grew softer, the words no less penetrating.
“Cate’s spent her life alone, refusing to rely on any one person.” Marsh drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “It’s a lonely life, and it breaks my heart to watch.”
It was breaking Draco’s heart knowing what he’d done to solidify Cate’s desire to remain autonomous.
“I thought all that had changed when she’d met you.” Marsh shook his head. “I was wrong.”
Draco opened his mouth to tell Cate’s father that he’d been wrong to leave.
Before he could, Marsh moved closer, his eyes narrowing. “If you’re going to be her shadow for however long it takes to find this Calloway fellow, you’d better be ready.”
Draco frowned. “Ready for what?”
“When this mission is over, you’d better be ready to stay at her side.
” Marsh swallowed as if dislodging something stuck in his throat.
“Cate’s one of the strongest women I know.
She survived a kidnapping. She’ll survive being hunted, and I’m sure she’d even survive torture.
” His voice grew quieter, breaking. “I don’t think she’d survive being left by you again.
At the very least, let it be her decision if she chooses to let you stay. ”
Silence filled the corridor. A silence so loud it screamed in Draco’s mind.
Draco lifted his chin and met Devon Marsh’s stare without blinking. “Sir, I’ve spent the last six months regretting the decision I made in less than a week. I’m not making that mistake again.”
Marsh searched his face for a long moment, his back stiff, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. Then his shoulders relaxed a little, and he flexed his fingers. “See that you do,” he said. “Then bring her home.”
Cate’s father left Draco in the hallway and joined the others in the private room.
Draco stood for a long time, letting the cool breeze from the open window wash over him until his hands were steady.
Hammer led the others out of the room, his gaze shooting to Draco. “You good?” he asked as he passed.
Draco nodded. “I’m good.” He waited until Cate emerged with Marta at her side.
Cate’s gaze met his briefly as if wondering why he was standing in the hall by himself. She didn’t say anything as she passed him on her way out of the restaurant.
Draco fell in behind her, determined to stick to her like flypaper, twenty-four-seven. She might not like the forced proximity, but after she’d been whisked away in a car he’d been standing beside, he refused to let her out of reach again for even a second.
Outside the restaurant, the air had turned cooler, and the clouds had moved on, leaving the sky clear and the cobblestones wet from the rain. Streetlights cast warm yellow light across the stone pavers.
An SUV idled against the curb, Dmytro having settled in the driver’s seat. A couple of taxis lined up behind it.
While Crusher and Phantom checked the IDs of the taxi drivers, Hammer held the door of his SUV open for Cate. “Let us drop you at your hotel,” he said.
Cate stared at the open door, her jaw tightening. She hefted the gym bag Hammer had given her, filled with clothing his wife had given her until she could get new clothes of her own. She pressed her empty hand to her chest, then pulled the edges of her coat together.
Draco leaned close to her ear. “Six blocks,” she whispered.
She turned, her eyes widening at how close he was. “What?”
He smiled gently and nodded toward old town and the quaint and varied heights of rooflines lining the Niederdorf. “It’s six blocks to the hotel, give or take. Since it’s stopped raining, it’s turned out to be a nice night. I feel like a walk. Care to join me?”
Cate stared up at him, her eyes narrow as if trying to discern whether he was lying or really wanted to walk. “You really would rather walk?”
He nodded. “I’ve been sitting for three hours. I could use a good stretch of the legs to get the kinks out.”
Her gaze swept over him. “Kinks, huh?”
Draco grinned. “I’m getting old. The knees have seen hard times.”
Her lips twitched at the corners and then twisted into a wry smile. “Old, my sweet patootie,” she murmured, turning a real smile toward Hammer. “Thanks, Ace. But I’ll walk and keep the old man company.”
Hammer chuckled. “Suit yourself.” His gaze met Draco’s over Cate’s head.
Draco gave the man a slight nod. He’d be on his toes, maintaining strict situational awareness the entire time.
He turned, slung her gym bag over the same shoulder as his backpack, then held out his other elbow. When Cate hesitated, he said, “The cobblestones are wet. I was hoping we could keep each other balanced.”
If he wasn’t mistaken, she gave a sound like a muffled harrumph and slid her hand into the crook of his arm.
They set out walking along the fresh, rain-washed streets, climbing uphill into Zurich’s old town. Medieval buildings lined the narrow streets. Shop windows were dark. Music, laughter and the hum of voices spilled out of the occasional bar they passed along the way.
Draco walked on the street side of the narrow sidewalk, his trained gaze sweeping the shadows ahead.
He glanced back often, noting a man dressed in a gray overcoat walked with his head down forty feet behind them on the opposite side of the street.
He turned at the next corner, disappearing down a side street.
Probably nothing, but he didn’t let down his guard, just in case.
Cate’s hand tightened on his arm. “You’re doing it.”
“Doing what?”
“That thing you do.” She waved her free hand.
“It’s like your head is on a swivel, and you’re looking everywhere all at once.
” Cate pulled her hand free of his arm and both into her coat pockets.
“You were doing it at the restaurant. Every time the door opened, you were halfway out of your seat, ready to attack.”
“Defend,” he corrected. “It’s a habit, an occupational hazard from years as a Navy SEAL and then with the SOS.”
“Draco,” she said as if speaking to a child hiding a stolen cookie behind his back.
He shot a glance in a three-sixty before looking down at Cate, his heart pinching hard in his chest at the bruise-like shadows beneath her eyes. “I think we picked up a shadow from the restaurant.”
Her head whipped around, her eyes wide. When her gaze returned to his, she frowned. “I don’t see anyone.”
“He dropped off at the last corner. I’d rather be walking where I can see who’s following than in a metal deathtrap someone else is steering.”
She slowed. “That’s why we’re walking?”
“It’s one reason.”
Cate glanced up at him. “What’s the other reason?”
His lips curved upward briefly and then straightened.
“You would’ve climbed into Hammer’s vehicle and acted normal, maybe even laughed and joked.
The whole time, you would’ve held onto the doorhandle, tempted to test whether or not it would open.
I could’ve been wrong, but I thought you’d prefer a nice walk in the fresh air instead of a tense ride in a careening vehicle you had no control over. ”
They walked another block before Cate slipped her hand back into the crook of his arm. “You’re making this hard.”
Draco shot a glance down at her. “Making what hard?”
“Not liking you,” she whispered.
A laugh escaped Draco, easing some of the tension that had been a constant since he’d reentered Cate’s life. “That’s my goal, sweetheart. If you keep me around long enough, I’ll say something stupid, and we’ll be back even.”
“You’ve already done something stupid,” she commented.
“I’ve made a lifetime of saying stupid things,” he said.