Chapter 27
NADIA
PRESENT DAY
Nadia stirred from sleep, her eyelids flickering open to early morning sunlight peeking through the eyelet curtains.
She looked at the shadows on the ceiling, briefly disoriented before yesterday’s memories flooded in—horseback riding across Cammy’s property, the fading sunlight on Thomas’s back, the Sierra Nevada ridge turning pink and violet behind them.
Cammy sharing stories with her and Thomas at the dinner table from her days working with the U.S.
Marshals Service, watching the news, news, and more news, then, finally bed.
Thomas sliding in beside her. Their frenzied lovemaking that gave her a glimpse of what it could be like between them without the fears and worry that had been clouding any sort of planning for a normal future spent together.
Without her holding her breath that he’d leave her, or she’d do something to sabotage anything romantic between them before a relationship even had the chance to bloom.
Warmth pooled low in her belly that had nothing to do with desire and everything to do with the fact she’d let someone in.
She’d let Thomas in. And the world hadn’t ended.
Above her, she heard Cammy moving about, getting ready for the day. They should get up too to see what news had developed while they slept. She rolled onto her side to face Thomas only to find she was alone in bed. Apparently, he’d started the day without her.
Throwing the sheets aside, she padded barefoot to the bathroom.
It wasn’t until she noticed the door into the den wasn’t just opened but that his clothes and black duffel bag were missing that she realized something wasn’t right.
Had he moved his stuff into her room? She glanced back to where they’d slept to find only her clothes draped over the corner chair. Only her shoes scattered on the floor.
When she turned back to the den, her eyes fixed on the keys to the Ford, deliberately placed where she wouldn’t miss them. The only thing of his that technically belonged to her, at least on paper, left behind.
Panic surged through her. Nadia threw open the bedroom door and hurried down the hallway.
The kitchen was empty, as was the living room.
She yanked open the front door and frantically scanned the property.
The Ford was still parked in front, as was Cammy’s silver Tahoe.
But her gut told her Thomas was gone. The house simply felt empty.
She heard Cammy approach behind her, the older woman’s footsteps halting at the sight of Nadia’s distress.
“He left,” Nadia told her, a flat, hollow quality marking her words.
Cammy’s gaze darted to look out the front door Nadia had left wide open. Without a word, she moved into the kitchen and rifled through a drawer. She slammed the drawer closed.
“The truck keys are missing,” she said.
“What truck?”
“My husband’s old truck. The one that should be parked over there beside the stable.” She pointed out the kitchen window. The truck was indeed missing.
“Why would he have left?” Nadia asked. “Do you know where he went?”
“No. He didn’t tell me anything,” Cammy said, her brow furrowed. “But something must have come up. Did he leave a note?”
They both looked at the kitchen table and only saw the lazy Susan with the salt and pepper shakers and napkin holder.
Nadia ran back to the bedroom. The nightstands were bare except for a digital clock on one and lamps on both.
She tossed aside the bedding and pillows.
Nothing in the bathroom or den either. No note. No explanation.
She didn’t have to tell herself that he didn’t leave her.
This wasn’t anything like her dad bailing on the family.
Thomas’s leaving had nothing to do with what had been developing between them.
He wasn’t running scared and she hadn’t pushed him away like she’d done with previous men she’d been romantically involved with.
No, this was worse.
With shaking hands, she called his burner phone and reached a recorded message that the phone was no longer in service.
“No.” She tried again, desperately hoping for a different result only to hear the same recording.
A jagged sound like something breaking inside her chest tore through her mouth in a low, keening whine.
He had multiple burner phones and would have already ditched the only one she had a number to.
He didn’t want to be found or followed.
“Damn you, Tom.” Him and his martyr complex.
She shouldn’t have been surprised he’d abandon her after promising they were in this together.
He’d always been prone to making unilateral decisions without consulting anyone.
But his tendency to do things alone and intentionally exclude her hurt more than she’d expected, especially coming so soon after losing Aimee. She felt more isolated than ever.
Nadia hurried back to the living room where Cammy had turned on the news.
Word that the Hidalgos were methodically killing off people connected to Operation Eclipse had finally been picked up by the media.
A former CEO of an import/export company in Arizona had been shot in his home.
A retired DEA agent had been driven off the road in New Mexico sometime after midnight and was hospitalized in critical condition.
Several names on some undisclosed list belonged to people who’d been reported missing in recent days, the news anchor emphasizing that inside sources had confirmed the Hidalgo Cartel, specifically Fernando Ruiz, was waging war against those who’d tried to take him down.
Nadia watched in stunned silence, the phone shaking in her trembling hand. Thomas was walking into that.
“Jesus,” Cammy muttered when the broadcast cut to a commercial.
“I can’t reach him.” Worry hung heavily on Nadia’s shoulders.
“Neither can I. My guy isn’t answering my calls either.”
“Is that bad?”
“Expected.” Cammy sighed. “Given what’s going on, the feds will be extra cautious about what information is getting out.”
“He really didn’t tell you anything?” she pressed, convinced Thomas must have shared something with Cammy when Nadia hadn’t been in the room. “Any calls or texts that came in while I took a shower last night?”
“Nothing, Nadia. I’m as in the dark as you are.
” Cammy’s frustration was evident in the rough handling of her eyeglasses when she took them off and hooked them on her blouse.
“Goddammit, I want to give him a good shake. I warned him not to do exactly this, run off and play the hero. I stressed for once he needed to sit and wait. Trust the process. It’s way too dangerous out there. ”
“It’s not your fault.” Nadia didn’t blame her. But Cammy’s words only heightened her own fears.
Through the opened front door, they heard an approaching vehicle. For one impulsive moment, Nadia allowed herself to hope it was Thomas. He’d changed his mind, or he was returning from an errand. But even as the thought formed, she knew it wasn’t true.
Cammy reached into the drawer of the small table near the door and pulled out a handgun.
Nadia’s eyes bugged. “Shouldn’t that be locked up?”
“Not out here and not when it’s just me.” She checked the magazine and tucked the gun in her waistband.
They both stepped onto the porch and watched a blue sedan steadily make its way up the long drive, a cloud of dust in its wake. The car came to a stop beside the Ford and cut the engine.
“I take it we’re not expecting anyone,” Nadia said.
“No,” Cammy replied, her posture taut.
A woman in her early thirties wearing a charcoal gray pantsuit and white blouse emerged from the vehicle, her blond hair pulled back in a neat bun. She scanned the property behind blacked-out aviator sunglasses before making her way over to them.
“Camilla Navarro?” the woman called as she approached.
“Who’s asking?” Cammy spoke with a guarded tone.
“Deputy Kira Ross,” she said as she reached the bottom of the porch steps. “I’m with the U.S. Marshals Service.” She flashed a badge, the gold catching the morning light. “I’m here for Thomas Donato and Nadia Jacobs.” Her gaze shifted to Nadia. “I was told they’d be under your protection.”
“That’s right,” Cammy confirmed.
“Are you Nadia Jacobs?” Kira Ross asked directly.
Nadia grasped the porch rail to steady herself. “I am.”
“Got the papers I asked for?” Cammy interjected.
Kira produced a slim leather portfolio. “Ms. Jacobs, I have your documentation. Where is Mr. Donato?”
“He’s gone,” she said. “Left sometime during the night.”
Cammy placed a warning hand over Nadia’s, making her wonder if she’d revealed too much.
“When exactly did he leave?” Kira asked, studying Nadia carefully. “Did he say where he was going?”
“He’ll be back,” Cammy stated firmly.
Nadia’s head whipped toward the older woman. Did Cammy know something after all?
Kira glanced between them, assessing the situation. “I’m afraid I can’t leave this without him present to sign for it.” She tapped the portfolio against her palm.
“What about Nadia’s papers?” Cammy asked.
“I can process Ms. Jacobs, but…” Kira looked at Nadia with something between compassion and empathy. “Their new identities are designed as a package, their backstories interconnected. It’s not as simple as just giving you your half.”
“Shit,” Cammy muttered under her breath, then to Nadia, “We’ll have to order you new papers.” Which would take another few days. Who knew where Thomas would be by then. Who knew if he’d even be alive.
The thought of disappearing with him had been almost impossible to process. But to do so alone? To just walk away from her life into the unknown, starting from scratch on her own? No friends, no family. Knowing Thomas was most likely dead. A belt pulled taut around her lungs.
“Nadia?” Cammy prodded.
She couldn’t respond, her stare fixed on the Ford Fusion. He’d left the keys for a reason, hadn’t he?
A hand snatched her wrist, startling her. Nadia met the other woman’s knowing gaze.
“I hope you aren’t thinking about going after him,” Cammy cautioned. “That would be suicide.”
She wasn’t, not yet anyway. But like Thomas, she wasn’t inclined to let fate dictate her next move. When it came to her destiny, she sat behind the wheel, even when the universe seemed determined to steer her off course.