Chapter 5
Why did she look so damned familiar? Nate couldn’t quite figure out where, but he had seen her before.
He felt like he should know this woman, but his mind was drawing a blank.
He also knew he hadn’t seen her in the back rooms of the Sims Center.
There had never been female workers there.
However he knew her, it had to have been from before his capture.
It was bothering the shit out of him.
Her name was Alex, short for Alexandria, but he was drawing a blank. The fucking drugs were fogging up his head, and he’d have to taper the benzos, per Stratton’s instructions.
Nate slumped to the floor, feeling bone-crushing tiredness. He needed to get to a place where he could crash for a while, and this cabin wasn’t it—not with Alex here.
He tried to give her a timeline of when they’d leave the cabin, but with the way he felt right now, he didn’t know. Then, he found himself spilling his guts about Sims. Fuck. This had to stop. She was damned easy to talk to and so beautiful that it hurt.
“Now, we need to discuss what we’re going to do with you,” he said, sounding harsher than he intended.
Nate watched as she shrank back on the bed. Shit. He had witnessed her panic attack earlier and didn’t want to be the cause of another one.
“Please don’t…” she trailed off, fear flashing in her eyes. “You said—”
“Shit,” he grumbled, getting up from his position. She made herself even smaller. “No, damn it…I meant I need to get my shit packed up, and I need to make sure you stay safe. If you try to make a run for it…”
“I won’t do anything,” Alex said quickly. Too quickly.
“If you try to make a run for it in these woods at night, you’re going to end up getting seriously hurt or killed,” he continued, attempting to make her understand how dangerous an escape would be for her. “I promise I’ll get you home.”
Nate held his breath, wondering what she would do.
She looked vulnerable on that bed, and he desperately wished they were in another place and another time.
He would have loved to date her, but that was never meant to be.
Besides, she was absolute perfection, and he was a former junkie who betrayed his country. He didn’t have much going for himself.
“Okay,” she said quietly. “I’ll listen.”
“Good. Now…” He looked around at all the shit he needed to pack up. “I need you to stay in that bed for the foreseeable future. Got it?”
She nodded.
“I need to hear you say it.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t try to get the jump on me. I may be weak, but I can still take you down.”
“I—I wasn’t going to…” she stammered.
“Sure,” Nate said wryly.
Nate started grabbing supplies, starting with the guns and ammo. Those did not need to sit around with her unattended.
The night air outside the cabin was crisp but not cold. He wasn’t sure what month it was. He did at least know he was in the mountains of Virginia, and he had come from a suburb not far away from where Logan worked at Gray Tower.
Gray Tower…
He popped the trunk of the car and slammed the supplies down, breathing hard. His muscles had atrophied significantly.
Gray Tower…
Alex looked familiar because…why?
Nate closed his eyes, a memory coming back through the haze of detox.
It was of his brother’s wedding to Keira Amherst. He had snuck in, not wanting to be seen but also wanting to see his brother get married.
He remembered a woman in a soft pink bridesmaid’s dress standing up at the altar, waiting for Keira to appear.
Her hair was long, blonde, and wavy. Then, she turned toward where Nate was standing, and…
...and it was Alex.
There was no way he had mistaken it either. She was too beautiful to forget. Alex had been a bridesmaid at his brother’s wedding. Shit.
Horror filled Nate as he realized he had kidnapped a friend of his sister-in-law. If she were hanging around Keira (the COO of Gray Tower), then Alex may work there as well. Double shit.
Nate made his way to the front of the car and started looking around the front seats.
Her wallet had been thrown into the center console.
The driver’s license said Alex’s name was “Alexandria Jones,” and her address was in Christiansburg, Virginia.
There was one credit card and one bank card in it, plus some cash. The rest of it was empty.
That’s odd, he thought. She either lives simply, or this is a cover.
He began searching around the car. Perhaps there was something hidden that would give him more information?
If not, he didn’t know what he would do.
Leave it alone? Talk with Alex? He couldn’t blow his cover.
John had warned him against that. However, he had to know why one of Keira Slade’s friends was working at the Sims Center.
Was she a Gray Tower operative? She didn’t act like one. She acted like a frightened doe.
After a few moments, Nate hit the jackpot.
There was a false bottom in the glove compartment that revealed a leather wallet and some registration paperwork, showing the car was owned by GT Industries.
Nate would bet his left nut that it was a shell company for Gray Tower.
He checked the wallet and found another driver’s license for “Alexandria Thorn.” This address was in Blacksburg, and the wallet contained credit cards, loyalty cards, a few gift cards, and an insurance card.
So, she was undercover. Interesting.
Alex didn’t seem like an agent. His short interaction with her confirmed she didn’t have much training—if any. So why was she working undercover at the Sims Center? As what? And why?
He sighed. He didn’t have time for this. A few precious minutes had passed, and he needed to get back to check on Alex. Before he went to put her wallet back, he noticed an interesting credit card tucked in the last slot. He pulled it out and smiled.
Bingo.
It was a Black Card, and the name on it was for Miles Bryant. Now, why did someone like Alex have the owner of Gray Tower’s personal, unlimited credit card in her wallet? Unless she stole it, the only other person he could think of would be a personal assistant or secretary.
He blinked, some of the drug fog clearing from his head.
Alex Thorn. Alex Thorn. Alex Thorn…he repeated in his head as if saying her name multiple times would clear the cobwebs. …is Miles Bryant’s Administrative Assistant.
Shit. He remembered now. Nate had made it a point to know the details of Gray Tower’s employees, so he didn’t accidentally kill one when he had been a Conglomerate soldier.
That knowledge had saved Jack Hunter’s life on that damned island, and it had changed the course of his life.
Nate was kicking himself that he had forgotten about Bryant’s beautiful assistant, though to his credit, he was real fucked up in the head.
He also couldn’t figure out why the hell she was at the Sims Center, but he couldn’t dwell on that.
Getting Alex back home safe was now priority number one. Nate couldn’t have Gray Tower agents sniffing around him. He knew they were searching for him, and he had been so out of it he wasn’t sure how stealthily he had left Christiansburg.
He quickly returned everything to Alex’s car and went into the cabin. Alex had indeed moved, though she hadn’t left the bed. She was on the edge, peeking her head around and straining to see what was through the bathroom door, which was not quite visible from the bed.
“Need to use the bathroom?” Nate asked.
Alex startled so badly that she shrieked and tumbled off the bed.
Nate sprang into action, but he had only gotten halfway across the room when she righted herself on the floor and screamed, “Stay away from me!”
He immediately complied, halting his progress and then taking a few steps back. She scrambled back on the bed and resumed her position at the back, the look of fear returning to her eyes.
Shit. Well, there went any progress he had made with her.
“It’s okay,” he reassured her. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”
All she did was blink owlishly at him, and he huffed out a sigh.
He was getting nowhere with her, and he was running out of time.
He had to get her back, so Gray Tower would stop looking for him.
Whatever Alex had been doing at the Sims Center would have to remain a mystery.
As much as he’d love to have her stay, he knew it was for purely selfish reasons.
He had been lonely for so long. Having a beautiful woman to talk to, even if it was a disjointed conversation, felt wonderful. But it needed to stop. Now.
Remembering the other syringe of diazepam, Nate realized that might be the only way to get packed and get her out of the cabin without any issues. He hated to do it, but she was too jumpy. He was worried she’d hurt herself.
The diazepam was now tucked away with the other medication John had given him. Nate strolled purposefully over to the box it was stashed in, easily pocketed the syringe, and stood up to face Alex. She eyed him warily.
“I’m sorry all of this happened,” he told her as he began stepping slowly toward her. “You didn’t deserve to get caught up in my shit, but I promise you when you wake up, it’ll be all over.”
Alex’s eyes widened, but before she could react, Nate struck—fast. He was on the bed and had the medication injected into her upper arm. She slumped, and he hovered over her, making sure she didn’t fall off the damned thing until she was unconscious.
She began to thrash slightly, telling him softly, “Please, don’t. No…”
Nate had no idea why he did it, but his hand cupped the side of her face. He looked directly into her eyes and told her firmly, “Alex, I promise you will not be harmed. It will be over soon.”
For some reason, she nodded, her body relaxing. Then, her eyes shut, and she was out.
Nate sighed, thankful she was finally asleep. Now, he could pack up his shit and get the hell out of here. She could be home and safe soon. That’s all he had wanted.