Chapter 18
K ara agreed to accompany Jace the following morning. She didn’t even care where they went. Still numb from the attack, she struggled to find direction.
Maybe Jace couldn’t keep all his promises, but he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. Surely, she was safer with him.
Jace insisted on her calling her father, who would worry if she wasn’t there at the jail to meet him when he brought Dylan’s attorney.
She tried to sound cheerful and reassuring as she talked with her father. Then she simply couldn’t put on the act anymore. Jace took the phone from her and said he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
“An FBI agent will want to sit and talk with you, go over a few things about Kara to see if we can determine why Lance targeted her. Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to her. She will check in from the motel when we arrive for the night.”
When he hung up, he helped her pack and loaded their backpacks into an agency-issued SUV.
As he drove northward, she thought about how she’d awakened in a panic during the night. Her pulse racing, feeling groggy and disoriented, all she could remember was Lance’s leering grin as he advanced.
Kara had wanted to bolt from the room, run away, and then she’d snapped on a bedside light and seen him.
Jace. Curled up near the door as if guarding it in case one of Lance’s buddies managed to slip inside. Seeing him there, his big body acting like a doorstop, gave her the peace of mind she needed to slip back into sleep.
Kara closed her eyes, not caring where he took her. Someplace safe, he’d promised, where they could spend the night and figure out a plan.
Stopping only for a couple of rest stops and to get lunch through a drive-through, Jace made good time on the road as she dozed off. He stuck to the interstate and finally they arrived at a motel right off of it.
He checked them into a ground-floor room at the end, far from the office. She texted her father to let him know where they were.
Kara didn’t say much during dinner at a local chain restaurant, but he filled the conversational gaps by talking about music and movies he’d enjoyed. They had a quick dinner and returned to the room. Small, with two queen beds, and faded carpeting and drapes, but clean at least.
Bone-weary, she longed for a shower and glanced at her toiletries, still in the suitcase. Unpacking seemed fruitless and she didn’t want to get comfortable.
Jace, sitting on one of the beds and checking his gun, glanced at her. “Go ahead and shower. I’ll be right here.”
“Thanks. I...keep hoping the anxiety will vanish.”
His deep blue gaze filled with understanding. “It will fade in time, babe. I’ve got things under control.”
After showering and dressing in bright pink sleep shorts and a tank top, hoping the colors would cheer her up, she sat on the other bed. “Where are we headed to next?”
“I can rent a place through Jarrett. He has safe houses for women and children they help through SOS.”
Kara shook her head. “I don’t want to take up residence in a place he might need for those he helps. I have a better idea. My uncle Phil, you know the one you found out about?”
He didn’t blink. Jace had a poker face. “Go on.”
“Phil has a cabin in a remote area of western North Carolina. Not easy to find and he’s family.”
“Family.” Jace’s expression clouded a minute. “Yeah, I can see how you’d trust your family.”
The bitterness in his remark startled her out of her mood. “You can’t? You never did talk about yours.”
“My family isn’t trustworthy or someone you’d turn to in an emergency. Call him. I’m hitting the shower.”
He grabbed clothing and toiletries and headed into the bathroom. Kara called her uncle, who was happy to loan her the cabin. When she hung up, she kept wondering what Jace meant by that remark.
Jace was up at dawn, but in the other bed, Kara still peacefully slumbered. He made coffee in the little pot the motel provided. Tasted like old dishwater, but coffee was coffee.
Less than an hour later, they went to the motel lobby for breakfast. Basic, but decent, and the coffee here was stronger and more flavorful. Jace ate quickly, glad she did the same, and they filled their cups to bring more coffee back to the room.
While Kara showered again, he sat outside. He knew what she was going through—saw it in other victims. Showering to wash away the stench of their attackers, scrubbing their bodies to rid themselves of scent and memory. His stomach roiled as he thought about what might have happened if Kara hadn’t struck Lance and gotten away.
Clouds thick with rain hung in the sky, promising an afternoon downpour. Humidity hovered in the air, thick as a wet blanket. Jace sipped coffee, watching sleepy people making their way to the lobby for the free breakfast. His mind whirled with thoughts, trying to make sense of what happened.
Slowly, it seemed the puzzle pieces were falling into place. Problem was, he couldn’t see the big picture—what it all meant.
Big Mike had seemed very interested in Kara when he caught Jace in bed with her. Lance seemed interested in her. Why?
All his instincts went on overdrive. What if they’d targeted her store for a different reason?
What if Kara herself was the target? But why? Her store, yeah, she had inventory worth stealing. Lance attacking her made no sense.
Did Marcus want Kara, and if so, for what purpose?
He texted Rafe his thoughts, then asked Darkling to dig into his ex’s history, her parents, anything that might be seen as a red flag and raise Lance’s interest.
Rafe called him. “Jace, where are you?”
“Hotel in Georgia. All you need to know. We’re headed soon to the mountains and cell service is dicey.”
“I need a location.”
“I’ll let you know when we get there.” He glanced at the parking lot and the travelers packing their minivans and cars to get on the road, hustling children and dogs into the vehicles. “Let me know soon as Darkling has anything on Kara. I’ll question her from this end. There has be to a nexus in all this and Kara is it, but why is she the center of it?”
A thunderous roar of motorcycles punctured the air. Jace glanced at the road and froze.
“Gotta go.”
Not taking chances. Too many bikes sent his instincts on full alert. He hung up and sprinted inside. Kara was combing out her hair, but thankfully, had dressed.
“Let’s go.”
Kara blinked. “What’s wrong? I was going to grab us another cup of coffee from the lobby.”
“We’ll get coffee on the road.”
He didn’t want to alarm her, cause another panic. Jace grabbed their cases and tossed them into the back of the SUV. He herded her into the vehicle as the bikes rolled into the parking lot. Heart pounding, he watched them park near the motel entrance and dismount, then swagger into the lobby.
Another five minutes and Kara would have been inside, getting that second java for them.
They were DP. He recognized Big Mike’s Harley with the ape handlebars, as well as the leather jackets the men wore. Ten of them at least.
They might be headed north to bail out Lance, or visit.
Could be a coincidence they were here.
Jace didn’t believe in coincidences. He started the vehicle and went left instead of right out of the motel parking lot. Back road by the motel should suffice.
Kara’s eyes were huge. She’d seen them. Her breath came in little gasps.
“Easy,” he soothed. “We’re leaving them far behind.”
He hoped.
An hour later, they had left the motel far enough behind for him to feel confident the bikers couldn’t follow them. He asked Kara to plug in the instructions to her uncle’s cabin in North Carolina.
Glad she was finally relaxing and losing the tension gripping her, Jace smirked as she argued the GPS was wrong.
Jace switched on the radio. Kara gave him a pointed look. “Bluegrass?”
“We’re in the country. I’m blending in.”
“We’re in an SUV, Jace. No need to blend in.”
“You don’t like banjo music?”
“You know I adore banjo music. But not in the woods.”
“We’re on the interstate. Hardly the woods.”
“Those trees on the side of the road don’t count?”
Jace chuckled and shook his head. “Okay, let’s use your playlist.”
She used the Bluetooth on her phone and the sounds of “Closer to Fine” blasted out of the speakers.
Side-eye time. Jace groaned. “Indigo Girls? Chick music?”
“It’s a great song about the meaning of life. And we’re driving.” She flashed him a winsome smile.
“See if I invite you into my mojo dojo casa house.”
Kara laughed. “You saw the movie Barbie ?”
“Yeah. The girl I was dating at the time insisted. Was a pretty good flick.”
“What happened to her? Your girlfriend.”
Jace’s stomach tightened. “The job got in the way. She got tired of waiting for me to clear my schedule. Or make a commitment.”
“Sounds as if she wasn’t right for you. She should have understood you are committed, but to the job.”
He considered. Kara was right again. But it was a heavy subject for the road and he wanted to steer them to light stuff, considering what happened back at the motel.
“Mind if I switch my playlist? No banjo music. Spanish.”
At her nod, he thumbed on his playlist and “Despacito” played. Kara nodded to the beat. He grinned.
“Like it?”
“Catchy. I didn’t know you enjoyed Latin music. It’s great dance music.”
“I grew up listening to salsa, merengue. Used to hang out with Rafe and his friends a lot in Miami.” Jace tapped his fingers on the wheel to the energetic beat. “Saved my life in a way.”
Another heavy topic. But Kara didn’t pursue it. Instead, she began seat dancing.
“Remember the times we went clubbing? That was fun. You’re a good dancer. Great rhythm.”
He grinned. “Yeah, you can’t grow up listening to this kind of music and not be a good dancer, though Rafe, man, he’s got amazing moves.”
“So do you. On the floor and off...” Her voice drifted off and color suffused her cheeks.
Oh, yeah, he did have great moves in bed. With Kara, anyway. Always wanted to go the extra mile to please her and it seemed to come naturally, as if they fit together.
Like salsa and chips.
He swallowed hard, not wanting to go there, either. So many memories between them.
When the song ended, he gestured to her phone. “Let’s try your playlist.”
“How about good ol’ rock and roll?”
Jace finally allowed himself to relax. How he remembered this—good times with Kara, going on road trips and singing to the radio as they headed for a quiet beach for a swim, or a hike on a swampy trail. Or put their bikes on his SUV and did a long bicycle ride on previously unexplored pathways.
Or those amazing times on the dance floor, followed by even more amazing times in bed...
Lost in thought, he went quiet, only noticing after a few minutes she had turned the volume way down. Jace passed a slow-moving truck, glanced at her. “What’s wrong?”
“Do you ever have regrets? Real ones, about life...about us?”
Time for the truth. He hated lying. Ironic. His undercover assignment depended on a lie. But with her, with this, he needed honesty.
“Yes. I have regrets about us. I thought we would get married, have a good life together.”
“What happened, Jace? It wasn’t my career. In fact, you always supported me in the business, told me to reach for my dreams.” She drew in a breath. “It’s one of the things I loved about you.”
She said it so easily, without reservation, that it startled him. “And one of the things I loved about you. You were determined to make your business successful and not let anything get in your way.”
“I wish my business helped people. Like you do.”
He glanced at her. “Seriously? You help people, babe. People who have family who die, who feel helpless when faced with all the stuff left behind. Where do you start cleaning up? How much is everything worth? How can I sell it without worrying about someone ripping me off?”
Jace felt he needed to drive this point home. “People know they can trust you and you’ll give them a fair deal. Remember that one family whose grandmother was killed in a car crash and they couldn’t even function?”
“The family you referred to me.”
“I worked with the dad. Funny thing, he was the type who could handle everything at the job, but when faced with his mom’s death, he was helpless. You went through the whole house, had everything appraised, opened every single cabinet, organized, sorted between stuff they wanted to keep that was sentimental and stuff they didn’t want. You spent days working with them, babe.”
He smiled, thinking about that memory. “In the end, you didn’t even take a commission because they needed the money to pay for her funeral.”
Kara shook her head. “Not exactly true, Jace. They paid me later, when the house was sold.”
“And you donated every dime to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.”
She shrugged. “It wasn’t anything special. I make a lot of money in my business, Jace. I’m no saint.”
Her voice dropped. “Sometimes I wish I had chosen a more noble profession. Like you did. I should have known you’d never be a real criminal biker. I always believed in you, Jace. I wish you had believed in me.”
Coffee. She’d wanted coffee. Seeing a fast-food restaurant off the highway, he drove there.
He parked and turned to regard her, knowing this was important. Not that he truly believed they had a chance to recapture what they’d both lost. This wasn’t about him. It was solely about Kara.
“I did believe in you, Kara. Still do. I was too proud to tell you. You give people closure, sad closure with some clients, but necessary. Closure to move forward, say goodbye without clinging to stuff that clutters their lives. The volunteer work you did with hoarders proves it. I saw that one show where you had everything cleaned up, sorted, organized. You were so sweet with that woman who’d been hoarding for years. Got in there, got your hands dirty with a situation that would make strong people nauseated. You marched in there without judgment and got to work.”
Kara blinked. “You knew about that?”
“I kept track.” Tough to admit it—hell, he didn’t want to sound like he’d stalked his ex-fiancée. “I was damn proud of you.”
Licking her lips, she stared at him. “Thank you, Jace. Thanks for telling me. It means a lot, coming from you. I always valued your opinion, more than anyone else’s, even my family’s. It meant a lot to me to have your respect, because I admired you so much for your strength of character.”
The revelation startled him. He considered. “Guess we have our own mutual admiration society.”
She rested her hand on his arm, sending his pulse racing. “You could say that. But it was always more. Much more, much deeper. With you I felt I could truly be myself. You made me come alive again, Jace.”
He’d always been a guy guided by instinct. Instinct kept him alive in the Army. He’d honed instinct on the whetstone of adrenaline and danger until it became a razor-sharp weapon that saved his sorry ass more than once.
Ironic how he used instinct to survive on the job, but in relationships, he never did. Maybe if he’d learned to listen to his gut, they’d have survived as well. Maybe if he’d told her back then how he’d felt, his pride in her, instead of yammering about all the charity work as a way of lashing out because she’d lectured him about motorcycles, they could have worked things out instead of parting in anger and grief.
Instinct urged him to act now. Jace unbuckled his seat belt and leaned forward, cupping her face in his hands.
Kara tilted her head up and closed her eyes. Oh, yeah.
The kiss was slow, a test, a sampling of feelings and wants. Her mouth, heaven. Her lips soft, warm and promising. Memories flooded back, the long kisses they’d shared, taking their time, never worrying about hurrying into bed to get to the final act. Never had he enjoyed kissing a woman as much as Kara because they connected on a deeper level.
Taking their time...
Jace broke off the kiss. “Much as I enjoy this, Kara, we have to get going if we’re going to make it to your uncle’s house by dark.”
She touched his face and his blood surged, his heart skipping a happy beat. Damn, she still did it to him.
“Long as we’re here, can I use the restroom and maybe you can grab us that coffee you promised?”
He grinned. “Cream, two artificial sweeteners.”
Kara dropped a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks. For this, for everything.”
Jace escorted her inside and went to the counter, ordering two coffees. When she emerged, he handed her one cup.
“Want anything else? Maybe some more breakfast?” He winked at her.
“Are you trying to fatten me up with junk food?”
“Maybe I’m thinking of those Sunday mornings when we’d lie in bed, and I’d serve you breakfast. Although not as greasy.”
She laughed.
They drank their coffee while Jace drove northward, fast enough to make good time, but not get pulled over.
For the next few hours, they talked. Caught up. Kara stuck to work discussions and movies and lighter topics.
Jace told her about a few cases with the FBI he had helped solve, cases that filled him with pride. Felt like he was getting to know her all over again, telling her about his current life.
“Why the FBI, Jace? It’s a noble move, considering you were on the fast track to making money.” Kara sighed and set her cup in the holder. “Not that making money is all that great. There’s more to life.”
“You have a successful business.”
“Yet it feels stifling at times. Superficial. But I didn’t know what else I could do, and couldn’t disappoint my parents, so I took over the business.”
“What do you want? Only you can discover your heart’s desire.”
“Do you know, no guy has ever asked me that?”
Kara stared out the window. “The social work I’ve done, the charities, it isn’t the committee work and being recognized, Jace. I like helping people and I enjoy working with kids who are adrift in life and need guidance. Direction. Giving Dylan a job, I saw him blossom. His stepfather stripped away from him every iota of self, and with the job Dylan felt more confident and empowered. I felt like I accomplished more with him than I ever did in selling estate items.”
He nodded. “So what do you want to do with your life, babe?”
“I’m good at what I do. I’m good at selling and buying and analyzing the value of items. I’d like to channel that into opportunities for others, especially teenagers with low self-esteem who need to be reminded of their own value. At-risk kids like Dylan.”
Admiration filled him. Then he pointed to a fast-food sign.
“Need a break?”
Making a face, she nodded. “Not that I’m fond of grease, but it’s faster.”
The restaurant was crowded when they went inside. Jace used his mobile app and grabbed their order. Kara stared longingly at an empty booth.
“Do we have time? For just a few minutes? I’d love a change of scenery from the car.”
“Sure.”
They ate lunch, Jace checking the window once in a while, while discussing the merits of mobile apps and ordering ahead versus chancing it in person.
“One time when I was in the Army on leave at a restaurant, the service was so slow by the time the waitress arrived to take my order, my leave was up.”
“Oh, that’s terrible. See? Always order ahead.”
They laughed as Jace helped her clean up the table and pitch their trash into a bin. But the laughter died as she stared out the window. Her hand trembled as she pointed.
“Jace...”
He turned, swore and grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”