Chapter Fifteen
THAT EVENING, NATALIE sat in front of her computer, waiting for word from Dallas. His mysterious hacker contact had managed to get a name on the private investigator who’d showed up looking for her at the hospital in Lucerne. Dave Hatch, based out of Provo, Utah.
Apparently, this brilliant hacker woman, of whom Dallas spoke with awe, worked for Jason Chin’s security company. Oh, and also, Emma and Jason were now together. Like, together together.
Natalie had only recently found out her teammate once dated the former college wide receiver and underwear model, who’d later become an Air Force pararescueman.
Jason had probably saved Nat’s life in that Swiss condo, and she’d been so overwhelmed by meeting the man in the flesh that she hadn’t been sure he was real.
Also, she might’ve called him Hot Stuff and alluded to dreaming about him…
That would be awkward if they ever met again.
But to be fair, she’d been bleeding out from a bullet wound and most likely suffering from shock.
And he had been on billboards all over the country in his underwear, his ridiculous abs on full display.
She couldn’t be the first woman to have made a fool of herself in his presence.
Her gaze strayed to Ford, who sat on the sofa with Blitz at his feet, tapping his phone’s screen.
Jason had been her teenaged fantasy, but Ford was the very real man she’d been dreaming about since she first met him five years ago.
And now, he was here with her, protecting her, caring for her…
loving her. Or, at least making love to her.
He’d been disappointingly clear about their long-term prospects, but she’d deal with that when the time came.
A soft chime on her computer signaled a new message from Dallas, thankfully pulling her out of her brooding. Life was too short for that kind of shit.
Dahlia: H&A are tracking him down.
H&A meant Hailey and Ashley, two other Night Herons who often worked undercover as private investigators themselves. Natalie itched to be out there working the mystery herself, but she trusted her teammates to find the PI and figure out who he worked for.
Narcissus: [thumbs up] F is passing his name along. Maybe we’ll find a connection on our end.
It felt good to finally have a lead. She operated at her best with something to do. Being a sedentary recluse fit her about as well an American plug in a French socket.
While she waited on the results of Ford’s inquiries, she gave Dallas what she knew about Patrick Deschamps and asked him to look for a way into the man’s organization. She wanted to pay back Ford and Henri in the best way she knew how.
“I’ve got something.” Ford stood and walked over.
“Apparently Harrison Wallace didn’t like B&A’s style.
Or, more like our integrity. Either way, he terminated our services about a week ago.
But…” He set one hand on the table to lean closer and show her his phone screen.
“These are his movements from the last week of June through the end of July.”
“Now we’re talking.” Natalie ignored whatever creatures had started doing jumping jacks in her belly the minute Ford got within a foot of her. “Anything to flag?”
He scrolled with his thumb. “This one.” He pointed to an entry from the end of July showing that Wallace had taken a flight from Des Moines to Albuquerque, where he’d refused to let his security team accompany him on a private jet.
“That’s not sus or anything.”
Ford nodded. “Right? He didn’t tell them where he was going, only that he’d be back in four days.
But our guys are thorough, and losing sight of the principal makes them nervous.
” He scrolled a little further. “The lead protection specialist waited around until Wallace boarded the plane and took down the tail number.”
“Nice.” Natalie smiled. “Can we look up the flight plan?”
She glanced up to find Ford grinning back at her in a way that made her a little lightheaded. “Way ahead of you. The pilot had originally filed a plan to go to Los Angeles, but changed the destination mid-flight.”
“To?” Natalie barely managed not to tap her foot. Finally, they were getting somewhere.
“A general aviation airport in Nampa, Idaho, a suburb of Boise.” He pronounced the city name with an “S” sound, like the locals she knew, rather than the “Z” sound used by everyone else.
Something clicked in the back of her mind, and her heart rate sped up. “Hang on.” She located her spreadsheet of potential enemies, where she’d listed everything she could find—or remember—about each of them. And bingo.
“Holy shit. I thought I remembered seeing Idaho. Archer Lonagan has a ranch there somewhere…” She plugged the address into Google Maps. “It’s about forty miles northeast of Nampa. The ranch is one of the few properties he didn’t lose because it’s in a trust for his kids.”
Ford looked pensive, his lips flattening as he gazed at the floor in thought. “It’s a tenuous thread, but it gives us a starting point. Maybe my guy can use that to see if anyone else on the list has been to Idaho recently.”
Natalie didn’t want to get her hopes up— Oh, who was she kidding? She absolutely fucking did. Otherwise, what else were hopes good for?
After dinner and Natalie’s eight o’clock check in with her computer expert—some guy named Dallas—Ford looked across the table at her.
She had dark circles under her eyes, and her hair had curved where she shoved it behind her ears every two minutes.
She’d complained that the strands were now too short to pull back into a bun or ponytail, and though he’d never had hair long enough to fall in his eyes or tickle his cheeks, he could only imagine it must be irritating as hell.
But also, it all spoke to a larger issue. She’d been keyed up all damn day, unwilling to step away from the computer except to use the bathroom.
Dallas and his hacker contact were working to infiltrate both Wallace and Lonagan’s cell phones. Ford understood how it could be done, but he’d decided he didn’t need to know the specifics. In fact, better if he knew nothing at all.
On his end, his sister’s team continued to report on Wallace and look for additional ties to Lonagan.
Thirst drove Ford to the kitchen to grab one of the wide-bottomed bottles of Orangina from the fridge.
Nothing else could be done tonight, and—given how tired she looked—Natalie clearly needed a break.
From what he could tell looking over her shoulder, she’d been keeping herself distracted by scrolling through social media posts from her family and friends back home. Who all thought she was dead.
That couldn’t be healthy.
She’d been uncharacteristically subdued, listless even. It made him twitchy. Moving in behind her, he set his fizzy fruit juice on the table. Careful not to jostle her injured shoulder, he gently placed a hand at the base of her neck and began to massage.
She moaned and dropped her unrestrained hand from the keyboard, letting it rest on her lap.
Ignoring his body’s response to her sounds of pleasure, he said, “Seems like you could use a diversion.”
Her head dropped back and she looked up at him, her blue eyes sparkling, a seductive smile on her face. “What’d you have in mind?”
There she is. But, damn this woman. Now that he’d had a taste of her, he couldn’t get enough.
He itched to slide his hand lower, into the neck of her T-shirt, into the cup of her bra…
Later. “Blitz could use a walk.” He cleared his suddenly rough throat.
“Why don’t you come too? I think a little fresh air would be good for all of us. ”
She made a playful pout and gave her laptop a longing glance, but then straightened up and nodded. “I think you’re right.”
Fifteen minutes later they emerged from the maze of orange- and pink-stained buildings and headed toward the Quai des états-Unis. After crossing the main road along the coast, they turned west into the setting sun onto the world-famous Promenade des Anglais.
The wide concrete boardwalk overlooked pebble beaches curving along the southern end of the city. Even at this time of day, the narrow stretch of land between the water and the high wall was a patchwork of colorful towels and umbrellas and people in swimsuits.
“Any idea why they named these prominent locations after the English and the Americans?” Natalie already looked better with a little pink in her cheeks, her skin warmed by the late evening light.
“No idea, but there’s a small replica of the Statue of Liberty around here somewhere.” He’d seen mention of it in a guidebook on the bookshelf in their rental. Entertainment had been slim today.
“Huh.” She took a deep breath and turned in a full circle, taking in the tropical-blue water, the pink clouds, and the constant stream of tourists, walkers, and runners clogging the palm-lined path.
The warm breeze blew her hair into her eyes and she laughed, tucking it behind her ears.
“God, it’s gorgeous here. Especially this time of day.
” Meeting his gaze, she said, “Thanks for dragging me outside. I needed this.”
“We both did.” He forced himself to look away from her and scan the people around them as they strolled. So far no one stood out from the crowd.
Next to him, Natalie did the same. In many ways, she was the same woman he remembered, but she’d also become more vigilant, more focused, more cynical. Still direct, yet he got the sense she had a few secrets.
She made a small gesture to encompass their surroundings.
“Now I get all the fuss. My parents came here on their honeymoon, and my mom still talks about how beautiful and romantic it was. It’s weird being here and not being able to share my experience with them.
” Something in Nat’s voice made him glance down to find her biting her lip.
“Hey.” He held out his free hand, not caring to examine how ridiculously relieved he felt when she took it.
“You’ll get to see them soon.” Whether that meant days, weeks, or months, he didn’t know yet, but they would identify her would-be killer and get her life back.
He’d do whatever it took to make that happen.
Her feet slowed until they nearly stopped, so he tugged her to the side of the concrete walkway and let Blitz sniff the base of a tree.
“Ford,” she said, her voice low and rough. “I can’t go on hiding indefinitely.”
“You’re not. Things are in motion.”
She scoffed. “I know. But I’ve hurt my family so much.
It’s been…” Her gaze strayed up while she did the math in her head.
“Jesus, Ford, it’s been three weeks since I was—” she pitched her voice even lower “—attacked. They had a memorial service, for God’s sake.
My cousin posted pictures of it on Facebook.
“Do you know how surreal it is to actually know who would come to your funeral? Or having friends from high school and college that you haven’t spoken to in years leaving condolences, sharing stories on social media that you don’t even remember, and pretending you were still close.
And my mom’s responding to every post, every comment.
My brother wrote this big, long eulogy on his Instagram and shared a bunch of pictures of us together.
“And here I am.” Shaking free of Ford’s hold, she swept her hand toward the bruised horizon.
“My family is grieving right now. They’re trying to figure out how to process my death and go through probate, and I’m here taking a stroll on the fucking Promenade at sunset.
We’re holding hands like a happy couple, and they’re trying to hold each other together.
” A tear slipped down her cheek and she dashed it away, turning to face the water.
“I can only imagine how that feels, knowing it’s unwarranted pain for them.
” He put a hand on her shoulder, and miracle of miracles, she didn’t shrug it off.
“I know this is hard, that it’s taking a toll on everyone affected, but this is how we keep you alive.
If we’re careful, there’s a happy ending for all of you. ”
Something his family hadn’t gotten with his brother. Also, irrelevant to this situation. He couldn’t fault Natalie for her emotions. He probably wouldn’t feel any differently in her shoes, but her words scared him. Would she do something risky while gripped with impatience?
Speaking of risk... Ford consciously widened his awareness, but no one among the throngs of tourists paid them any attention or loitered close enough to overhear their conversation. The pink and orange clouds streaking across the darkening sky had stolen everyone’s attention.
As dusk settled over the town, streetlights flickered on down the length of the Promenade, not yet able to compete with the sun’s lingering glow.
Crouching in front of Blitz and giving the dog’s ears a soft scratch, Natalie said, “I know Dallas and your sister are doing everything they can to figure out who’s involved, but it’s taking too long.
I’m healed enough. I can’t sit here in paradise twiddling my thumbs while my family and friends deal with the fallout. ”
“Yes. You can.” He really, really needed her to agree.
It was the only way to keep her safe. “Don’t blow this now.
A few days won’t change things for your family, but it’ll give you a better chance of seeing them again.
” He changed tack. “Didn’t we agree that keeping you under wraps protects them too? ”
Her jaw tightened and her pretty lips pinched together unhappily. For a full minute, she did nothing but run her fingers through Blitz’s fur.
Then, with a sigh, she gave him a tight nod, still looking at his dog.
“But if these guys believe I’m alive, they’re probably watching my family for signs of deception.
How long before they get antsy and decide to question them directly?
If it were me, I’d send a cute guy or a pretty girl to flirt with my brother, see what they could find out.
But some people are just as happy to use force. ”
Shit. She wasn’t wrong. No matter what she did, it put someone at risk. If she revealed herself, that didn’t automatically mean her family and friends were safe either.
“Two days. Then I’m done.” She met his gaze. “Starting right now.”
Goddammit. He rubbed his forehead, his skin suddenly tight and prickly.
He needed more time. Just to keep her safe, to come up with a plan. And, okay, yes, to be with her. Just a little longer. “And if that’s not enough?”
She stood, dusting her hand on her jeans, and gave him a shrug. “It has to be.” Then she turned toward their apartment and looked at him over her shoulder as she started walking, her features uncharacteristically solemn.
Stuffing down the unease that buzzed across his skin, he tugged Blitz’s leash and followed.