by Kay Marie
“I wish it didn’t have to be this way. I wish—” He paused and his gaze slid to something over her shoulder.
Addy wanted to turn, but she didn’t, because she knew the moment she did it would be over. Whatever this was, just like that, it would end. Instead, she reached up and covered his hand with hers, holding his palm against her cheek. Thad’s eyes found hers again, expression torn.
“I’m sorry I got you involved in all of this, Addison,” he whispered and stroked her skin with his thumb. “But I’m not sorry we met. I don’t think I ever will be.”
Thad tightened his hold and pulled her face across the distance, kissing her with a brief yet potent hunger, one that lit a fire in her veins. The spark went out too soon. He broke away and in one deft move, rolled right out of the car, too quick to change his mind. She stared at the empty space for a moment, feeling as though he were a Band-Aid that had been yanked off without warning, leaving her raw and burning. Addy hadn’t been prepared for goodbye. Not yet. Not so abruptly.
A knock on the window startled her.
Addy jumped in her seat and spun, lifting a hand to her heart as though to keep her spirit from flying right out of her chest when her eyes landed on a strange woman instead of on Thad. He watched from a few feet away, gripping the back of his neck with a grimace on his face. Addy blinked a few times and waited for her mind to catch up.
Emma?
But that didn’t make sense. This woman was waving and smiling, shifting her weight from one foot to the other in an excited sort of bounce, as though she knew who Addy was, as though she couldn’t wait to meet her.
And then it clicked.
“Jo?” Addy gasped. The woman nodded enthusiastically, a wide grin across her lips. They’d been internet friends for years, but Jo always cropped her face out of pictures—probably because she was a wanted criminal, but that was a thought for another time. Right now, all Addy felt was a relief. A warm, rushing flood of gratitude that she had friendly arms to fall into. “Jo!”
Addy pushed the door open, or maybe Jo pulled, but a second later they were wrapped in a tight hug.
“Addy!”
“Oh, Jo!” She closed her mouth before a sob could escape. Her body was overwhelmed, moving from one extreme to the next.
“It’s okay. You’re okay,” Jo whispered soothingly. “I promise.”
“We should get inside,” Thad’s deep voice cut in. “Before anyone sees.”
Jo nodded, but kept her arm around Addy’s shoulder, guiding her down the front walk of the small house and through the open front door. Thad closed it softly behind them. They stood in the foyer for a second, unsure what to do next. Addy didn’t know if she was allowed to look at Thad or speak to him. Jo was one of her best friends, but was also in so many ways a stranger. And, well, Thad and Jo clearly had their own issues going on between them. With the three of them standing in such close quarters, all that unspoken tension built, almost static in the air.
Jo broke the silence. “You know, you both kind of stink.”
Addy cracked like an egg down the center and laughter came spilling out. When she tried to breathe, it just came harder. Because Jo was right—they did stink. She hadn’t showered in days. Neither had Thad. They were completely disgusting. Yet somehow, up until that moment, she hadn’t realized. Not even a little bit.
Thad laughed too.
Then Jo.
In a split second, all the awkwardness oozed away.
“Jo? Is someone here?” a voice called down the hall.
Jo froze, eyes going wide. The laughter died on Thad’s lips and he sighed. Addy covered her mouth with her hands because she had enough sense to know when to be quiet, but lacked all bodily control at the moment—her synapses were on overdrive. The tension flooded back.
A man turned the corner and stopped dead.
Addy blinked. She had about one second to take in the fact that he was shirtless, with a towel wrapped around his waist and an impressive set of six-pack abs, before he bellowed, “Oh, what the hell?”
He lunged across the room and disappeared from sight, then returned with a handgun outstretched and aimed directly at Thad. “Hands where I can see them, Ryder.”
“Nate,” Jo said gently, stepping forward. A lightbulb went off in the back of Addy’s head. Nate. Agent Nate Parker. He shot a pointed look in Jo’s direction and kept the gun on Thad. Jo cringed. “He’s here to turn himself in.”
“Sure, I’ll believe that when I see it.” Nate snorted and nudged the gun. “I said, hands where I can see them.”
Thad crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Just like that, all his guards were refortified. “Is this how the Feds always treat their star witnesses?”
“It’s how we treat fugitives on the run from the law.”
Thad shrugged. “Am I running?”
Nate blew out an empty puff of air and Jo rolled her eyes.
“You’re not helping,” she said through gritted teeth and then turned back to Nate, stepping closer. “Why don’t we all sit down and talk this out? Okay?”
Love softened Nate’s hard gaze when he looked at Jo. The sight made Addy melt. He dropped the gun an inch, then two, his rigid stature slowly caving in the closer Jo moved. It was working. The tension was ebbing.
Or it was, until Thad chose that moment to open his big mouth and comment, “Hey, Parker? Your, uh, government assets are showing.”
Addy looked.
She couldn’t help it. Of course she looked.
And, well… Way to go, Jo.
Nate growled as he clenched his towel shut—and that might have been it, if Thad hadn’t snickered in a totally unnecessary way. Before Jo or Addy could do anything, Nate stormed down the hall, grabbed Thad by the shoulder, and slammed him into the wall. The towel came off for real that time. Addy gasped and spun at the first sign of a white butt cheek, turning to find Jo frozen, jaw dropped, though the edges of her lips curved up in a smile as she stared with disbelief. There was a sound that could’ve been a muffled laugh, or maybe a pained groan. Then the chink of metal.
“Apologies, ladies,” came Nate’s deep voice.
He pushed against Thad’s back and marched them both down the hall, towel back on this time. Addy noticed handcuffs circling Thad’s wrists before they disappeared around the bend. She raced to follow. So did Jo. By the time they got into the next room, Nate had already pushed Thad into a chair and was pacing. Thad wriggled his shoulders.
“Do you have any idea how uncomfortable these things are, Parker?”
Nate didn’t pause. “Do you have any idea how few fucks I give, Ryder?”
Jo leaned over to Addy, whispering, “One day, they’ll be best friends, and we’ll all look back on this and laugh.” Before Addy could toss a stupefied look in her direction, Jo stepped forward and clapped her hands loudly to grab everyone’s attention. “Thad, stop being an ass. Nate, please go put some clothes on. And then we’ll talk.”
The men stopped and stared at her. Jo crossed her arms. Addy was waiting for her to start tapping her foot like a disciplining mother. Nate stormed past without a glance back, and everyone jolted at the sound of a door slamming shut. The edge of Thad’s lips twitched, but Jo saw it immediately and punched him in the shoulder before taking the seat by his side.
“Don’t even think about it.”
“Or what?” Thad pulled his hands out from behind his back, then rubbed the pinkish skin on one of his wrists as he easily slipped the handcuffs off and stuffed them into his pocket. “You know, it’s almost cute he actually thought those would do anything.”
Jo rolled her eyes and shoved an elbow into his stomach. “Be nice.”
“But he makes being a jerk so easy.”
Jo glared at him. “If you want a reduced sentence and a good plea deal, I’d suggest you cut the crap.”
He sighed. “I know, Jo Jo. I know.” And then he put his hands behind his head and leaned back, a positively wicked grin widening his lips.
“But, you know, this is half your fault. You knew I was coming. You knew when. You could’ve told him to get dressed. I mean, you practically teed it up for me.”
A sheepish look passed over her face, and she pulled her lower lip in. “Well, I needed to pass the time. And I needed some stress relief. And I didn’t want to lie, so I just thought, what can we do that doesn’t involve much talking? So…”
Thad faked a puking noise.
“Oh, you’re one to talk,” she scoffed.
They bickered like brother and sister, the underlayer of affection evident in their tone as they tossed jibes back and forth. He glanced her way, brief and quick and burning, then closed his eyes to laugh at something Jo said. It hurt for some reason, a sharp prick, as though an invisible hand had pinched her skin. Addy stood there and watched, the outsider, acutely aware that she was in way over her head.
- 23 -
Thad
“Those are my terms,” Thad stated for a second time. Parker sat across from him, hands folded on the tabletop, jaw clenched, lips pulled into a thin line. Thad sat back and crossed his arms, then shrugged. “Take them or leave them.”
The Fed’s nostrils flared wide.
It brought a smile to Thad’s lips.
“Nate, it’s not that unreasonable,” Jo said softly. “And it makes sense. He can’t be in jail during the trial. You know that. The system, it’s a mess. You put him in there, he’ll be dead before he gets to testify.”
Addison sucked in a sharp breath from the side. Thad reached beneath the table and squeezed her knee, tossing a quick wink in her direction, trying to lighten her mood. He didn’t blame her for the confused, worried look she returned. This wasn’t her world. This was the world he’d dragged her into.
“Witness protection, it makes perfect sense,” Jo continued. “And the other thing, well—”
“The other thing is what I’m hung up on,” Parker cut in with a frown. “Of course he’ll go into WITSEC. There’s no other way. And the rest of that deal, well, it’ll be for a judge, lawyers, and agents far more important than me to decide. But bringing civilians into this? Now? I don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to,” Thad cut in. “If you want my cooperation, you’ll do it.”
Jo sighed just as Parker turned a hard look back on him. “And if you don’t want to rot in a jail cell for the rest of your life, you might consider being a little more grateful that I’m even having this conversation right now.”
“I think you think the federal prison system is a lot more secure than it is,” Thad murmured, pursing his lips. “Go ahead, put me in jail, see how long it lasts. Don’t forget that if I didn’t show up on your doorstep this morning, the Feds would still be running around like chickens with their heads cut off, no clue how to find me.”
The Fed closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Just like that, Thad knew he’d won. Parker stood up and grabbed his phone from the table. “Let me see what I can do.”
He hobbled down the hall, limping.
“What’s with his leg?” Thad asked, nudging his chin toward the Fed as he turned to Jo.
The fire in her green eyes made it clear she was pissed. Her tone didn’t hold back either. “He got shot. Saving my life. When the Russians you were working with blew up our home!”
Thad swallowed. “Oh.”
“Oh. Yes, oh!” she snapped and then forced her lips closed, blowing a long, tension filled breath through her nostrils. She clenched and unclenched her hands on the tabletop, until finally, her shoulders slumped. “He’s not even supposed to be working right now. He’s supposed to be on leave, but he didn’t want me to come alone. Nate’s trying to help us, Thad. Please, just try to remember he’s not the bad guy.”
“I know,” Thad murmured. I am.
Jo sighed as though she could read the rest of that sentence in his eyes. “You’re not the bad guy either, Thad. Not really. They are. Which is why you’re here. And why the Feds will work with you, if you stop being a jerk. So we can put the actual evil people away.”
His heart shrank back in a wince, but Thad didn’t move. He knew what she was saying was true, but in this situation, he didn’t know how to begin to lower his guard. The defenses were so strong even he wasn’t sure how to get around them. Instead, he just asked, “How long will he be, do you think?”
Jo blew her hair out of her face. “Ten minutes, two hours? With his boss, you never know.”
“We should get cleaned up,” he said. “You go first, Addison. I’ll get our things from the car.”
She nodded mutely. The vacant expression made his chest tight, as if a hand had grabbed all his insides in a fist and twisted. But there was nothing he could do. It was better this way. Better if he didn’t try to console her. Better for her last memories of him to be full of pain and confusion—it would keep her safer. And that was all that mattered.
By the time he got back from the car, Addison was in the shower. He dropped a set of her clean clothes inside the bathroom door and shut it softly. When he turned around, Jo was watching, a question in her gaze. He froze, holding her stare. The space between them filled with invisible words, all the things they should say, all the things they wanted to say—explanations and apologies, demands and answers. Thad saw them all, hovering there, blocking his path, not sure where to begin. Jo blinked and patted the spot next to her on the couch. Just like that, all the words disappeared. They didn’t need them. Love was like that sometimes.
Thad sat down beside her. Jo curled her knees into her chest and leaned against him, putting her head on his shoulder. Thad wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close as he rested his head on top of hers. They sat like that for a few minutes, the same way they used to when they were kids—when she ached for her mom or he tried not to miss his, when they were so full of emotion they couldn’t speak, but they didn’t have to, because they knew what the other was thinking regardless.
“I missed you, Thaddy Bear,” Jo whispered. “I was worried.”
“I know, Jo Jo,” he murmured back. “I only had to go about twenty-four hours without knowing what happened to you, and I almost went out of my mind.”
“Try two whole weeks, asshole.”
He sighed. He didn’t want to cause her more pain, but he had to know, for the closure. “Wh—”
“I cremated him last weekend,” she cut in softly. Of course she already knew what he was going to ask. “It was small, just me and Nate, and not even a ceremony really, though Daddy never cared much for those anyway. The Feds gave me the remains they recovered at the scene, and I took them to the river and spread his ashes. I thought it would be nice, you know? That way he and my mom could somehow be together.”
“They are.” Thad forced the words through his tight throat and closed his eyes, dropping his head against the top of the couch. He remembered the day they’d spread her mother’s ashes in the ocean. Jo and her father had only moved to the island compound a few weeks before. The house hadn’t been built yet—they were living on their boat at the time. Saying goodbye to her mother was sort of their twisted christening of the new home, a way to keep her with them in a new place. It had been a gorgeous day, clear blue skies, gently rolling waves, a slice of paradise. There were no priests or anything, just family, just the four of them. It’s what Robert wanted. “I should’ve been there.”
“I kept a little vial for you, just in case. I knew you had to be alive, somewhere. I just knew it.” Jo sat up a little straighter, hearing the shower turn off, and took a deep breath. She turned toward him, looking older and more mature than ever before. “I thought you might want to share a part of him with your father.”
Thad grimaced and closed his eyes.
“Thaddy—”
A door opened, cutting Jo off. He didn’t look up until Addison softly murmured, “Your turn.”
He shot to his feet and gave her a grateful look. But even without Jo’s watchful gaze, Thad couldn’t shake her words.
My fathe
r?
He scoffed as the water blasted his face, wishing soap could somehow clean ugly thoughts away too. His father had been an arrogant man, with an inflated idea of self-worth. When Thad had been born, he’d built a family mausoleum on their old estate grounds. But he never wanted a family—he wanted a dynasty. So, when his father died, Thad buried his body in the family vault, the way he’d always wanted. In all those grandiose plans, Thad didn’t think his father ever expected to spend eternity there alone.
But he would.
Thad hadn’t visited the grave since the day the Russians had shown up to his dorm and placed a gun to his skull, a brutal awakening to the man his father truly was. He hadn’t been to the house either. It could’ve burned down for all he knew. It didn’t matter, anyway. The Feds had already frozen all his accounts, seized all his assets. That land was owned by the government now, and it sort of felt like a fitting end to a man who always thought he’d been above it all. So, no. Thad wouldn’t be bringing any of Robert’s remains to those cursed grounds. But he was happy Jo had saved a little bit for him so he could say goodbye.
Maybe I’ll take him to the Louvre, Thad thought as he dried off. Robert would like that. To live eternally among the masters.
When he stepped out of the bathroom, refreshed in more ways than one, Parker was leaning against the wall, suit on, comm in his ear, looking more like a Fed than ever. Well, except for the crutches. Everything else was very official looking.
Thad sighed. “My terms?”
“I got the okay. The rest of the team is already in position. They’ve been watching the house for a week.”
A sudden jolt raked up his spine, as though someone had tried to scrape a match along his bones, leaving his insides burning. Thad kept his mask on, hiding the anticipation and the fear and nerves raging through him. “Okay. Let’s go.”
