Accused

by Sharon C. Cooper

  Kenton didn’t say anything. He leaned forward and ran his hands down his face. Egypt was tired of talking, but he insisted that she finish.

  “WITSEC moved us immediately. With new identities, they relocated us to Seattle and my life was awful. My mother hated me, saying it was because of me their lives had be ruined. If I had been at home that night in Chicago, I wouldn’t have witnessed anything.”

  Kenton looked at her but didn’t speak.

  “I lived with that guilt for years and totally shut down. It wasn’t until I decided to leave WITSEC—”

  “Wait. You’re not under their protection?”

  Egypt shook her head. “They couldn’t protect me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gotten stabbed. As far as I was concerned, I was better off on my own, especially since my relationship with my family was strained. With some help—”

  “Nelson,” Kenton interrupted, piecing together what she’d told him, with what he already knew about her. “Was he your handler while you were with WITSEC?”

  “No, I wasn’t introduced to him until I was getting ready to leave the program. The U.S. Marshal who assisted my family told me about Nelson. He had recently left the agency and was living in California at the time. Long story short, Nelson helped me change my identity again. I lived in L.A. for several years, and a year or two after graduating from college, I moved to Atlanta. And you know the rest.”

  “No, actually, I don’t. From what I knew about you since being here, is that you were from LA, had a computer science background, no family, and you worked in corporate America for fifteen years. Right now, I don’t know what’s true and what isn’t. I have no idea what your real name is, your age, nothing,” he said bitterly before standing again. Egypt stood too, but kept her distance.

  “Kenton, Nelson is the only person who knows my story, and now you. When I entered WITSEC, I was told that my best chance of staying alive was to forget my past. They insisted I not tell anyone, not even if I ever decided to get married. I had to pretend that life I left behind never existed. It was for my safety. You know how secrets are. If you tell one person, it’s no longer a secret. Anyone could slip up and give away my identity and whereabouts to the wrong person.”

  Kenton leaned against the wall that held a landscape picture and stared down at his dress shoes. He was quiet for so long, Egypt wasn’t sure if he would say anything else.

  She understood. Her life and what she’d been through was a lot to take in. Besides, as long as Marco Pisano was out there, she would never be free to live the type of life she’d dreamed of having. And based on a conversation she and Kenton had years ago, Egypt knew he wanted marriage and kids one day.

  Kenton finally looked at her. The solemnness on his face let her know that whatever had been growing between them was over. “I know better than anyone the importance of keeping information like that quiet. It could be a matter of life or death. It’s just—”

  “It’s just that I didn’t tell you the truth about me long before now. Well, at least you know why.”

  Egypt maintained the distance between them while she looked him up and down, wanting to memorize every inch of him. He was a fantastic man, a real sweetheart, and she knew in her heart that they would’ve been great together.

  Now, she would never know since she needed to move on. At least talking to him made her feel better, stronger. She was a survivor. For so many years she had taken care of herself, kept herself alive and she would continue to.

  “Is your family still in Seattle?” Kenton asked, and Egypt was a little surprised by the question.

  “No. They’re dead.”

  His mouth fell open. “Shit…Egypt…I’m sorry.”

  She shrugged. Numbness spread through her body as she reminded herself why she would never trust her life to law enforcement. “I blame the FBI and the U.S. Marshals who were supposed to be protecting them.”

  The office door swung open. Egypt startled, heart slamming against her chest. Hamilton walked in. He glanced between her and Kenton before his gaze zoned in on her.

  “You okay?” he asked, moving further into the office and setting his Ipad on the desk.

  Egypt nodded, hoping he wouldn’t ask what happened to her in the meeting. She loved Hamilton like a big brother, but at the moment, she didn’t have it in her to share the details of her past with anyone else.

  “Kenton, I need you in the war room in five minutes,” Hamilton said without looking at him, his attention still on her. He’d given one of the meeting rooms that name a few months ago. No doubt they would discuss their new roles with the FBI.

  Egypt didn’t care. She had no intention of sticking around.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Kenton sat in the back of the small meeting room dazed and unable to concentrate as Hamilton briefed three additional security specialists, who hadn’t been at the meeting with the feds.

  Kenton rubbed his forehead, still reeling from what Egypt had told him. Memories of his past resurfaced, the parts that had been gnawing on his conscious for the last few days. As an FBI agent and friend, he had failed Santana the same way the agency and the Marshals had failed Egypt.

  How was that possible? Keeping people safe was their job. And they had all fucked it up.

  And what the hell was he going to do about Egypt? He could barely look at her after she’d shared her disturbing past, knowing that people she should’ve been able to count on had botched up her protection. Kenton also couldn’t help worrying that there were more dirty agents and Marshals in the system. Some who had probably been bought by the Pisano family.

  If he could, he would hunt down every rogue agent that existed, but that wouldn’t help Egypt. He wasn’t sure what to do about her. Right now, Hamilton had her waiting in his office to find out next steps.

  Kenton tuned back into the briefing.

  “Yes, we are tightening up our security measures in every aspect of what we do here at Supreme,” Hamilton explained. He had mentioned earlier that some of the new procedures that were being implemented were things they should’ve been doing from the beginning.

  The meeting lasted a few more minutes before Hamilton dismissed everyone. “Kenton, I need you, Laz, Angelo, and Myles to stick around,” he said as everyone else exited the room. They all gathered at the front. “Since you guys are the closest to Egypt, I’m going to need you to keep an eye on her.”

  “Why? What’s going on?” Laz asked.

  “I can’t give much detail, but she’s had a run in with Marco Pisano in the past.”

  “Shit, no wonder she freaked when his name was mentioned in the meeting,” Angelo said.

  “Myles, I’m making you lead over Mrs. Hoakley’s protection. Identify three other guys, and set up a schedule. When you’re not working her detail, I’d like you to assist with guarding Egypt if necessary,” Hamilton instructed, and Myles nodded.

  Early in his career at Supreme, Myles tried to make everyone believe he’d been a case officer with the CIA, someone who managed agents. Kenton didn’t believe that at all. Myles processed information, acted, and responded to situations more like an operative than someone who sat at a desk. Kenton wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the guy had spent most of his career undercover. His investigative and reaction skills, as well as his ability to blend into an environment, was second to none, except for maybe Laz. Both men were relentless in getting answers, and wouldn’t hesitate to remove anyone who got in their way.

  Hamilton gave a few more instructions before letting the guys leave. All except Kenton.

  “You okay?” Hamilton asked, looking at Kenton critically.

  “Yeah. Just worried about Egypt.”

  “I’m not talking about Egypt. I’m talking about you. I know it couldn’t have been easy to hear about a crooked FBI agent or the possibility of there being others helping this family.”

  “So you knew about Egypt’s past?” Kenton shouldn’t have been surprised since Hamilton seemed to know everything. He h
ad only spent a couple of minutes with Egypt after Kenton left his office. So there was no way she could’ve told him much of anything at the time.

  “Yeah, Mason and I know. When Nelson came to us on her behalf regarding a job, he filled us in. She doesn’t know, but at some point, soon, one of us will tell her.”

  Kenton nodded, wondering how Hamilton would determine a good time to let her know. No doubt she’d figure it out when she found out her boss was assigning part of the team to shadow her.

  “Until we know what we’re dealing with, I want someone on Egypt at all times. She might not be in any danger, but I’m not willing to take that chance.”

  “She’s not going to go for that.”

  “Maybe not, but I’m sure you can make her see reason. This is no time for her to be Miss Independent. We’re not giving her a choice. One of us will be on her whether she likes it or not. I’m hoping you’ll be willing to take lead. We’ll move people around on some of the assignments to make sure your schedule is flexible.”

  Kenton stared at his boss. Though he had tried being discrete in his pursuit of Egypt, most of them knew how he felt about her. But no one, except for Laz and Angelo had actually called him out on it. Laz took every opportunity to rag him about his crush, as his friend liked to call it.

  “I’ll take care of getting her to see reason, but I can’t be a part of the team to guard her,” Kenton finally said.

  Hamilton leaned against the edge of a long table and folded his arms and crossed his legs at the ankle. Minutes ticked by before he spoke. “No one will protect her the way you will.”

  Kenton ran his hand over his low haircut. “I beg to differ. Our guys are the best. I would trust her life in any of their hands.” He said the words, though he knew it wouldn’t be easy to see someone else spending twenty-four/seven with her.

  “Why not you?”

  Kenton stopped moving and slowly turned to his boss. “This…all of this is bringing up too many memories. If anything happened to Egypt on my watch, it would kill me. Too many people have failed her and I…” he shook his head. “I can’t risk failing her too. Besides, she’d be too much of a distraction.”

  Hamilton chuckled and pushed away from the table. “Remember my distraction last year? No one is more distracting than my woman.”

  “Okay, good point.” He would never forget the first time he’d met Dakota. Hamilton had assigned himself to protect her from an unknown enemy. And during their stay at a safe house, Dakota made it clear that she was interested in more than just a bodyguard. Dakota was like a tornado, gathering up everything in her path. For Kenton, she had become an important part of his life too, like having another sister. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her.

  “So, I know all about distractions,” Hamilton continued. “And normally I wouldn’t recommend guarding someone you’re attracted to. It’s not the best practice, but I trust that you’ll take care of Egypt.”

  “This is different, Ham. I can’t shake the fear of—”

  “You’re one of the best security specialists we have. Don’t start doubting your abilities now. You won’t fail her. I know that, and deep down I think you know it too.”

  Kenton didn’t usually lack self-confidence, but this was Egypt they were talking about. If anything happened to her under his care, it would destroy him.

  I can’t fail her.

  *

  Egypt quickly changed into an Atlanta Falcons sweatshirt, skinny black jeans, and running shoes before pulling the rolling suitcase, that she kept packed, from under the bed. She hated leaving Supreme without saying goodbye, especially since Hamilton had mentioned them talking after his meeting. Egypt already knew that he’d want to know what happened earlier, and she was done sharing. It had wiped her out emotionally after talking with Kenton, and she’d had to leave before she lost her nerve.

  Right now, her only regret was not seeing Kenton before she left town. The withdrawn expression on his face when he walked out of the office broke her heart. She wanted so badly for him to understand why she hadn’t told him about her past. He claimed to understand, but the coldness she felt from him said otherwise.

  Egypt grabbed a duffel bag from off the top shelf in the closet and a few more clothes. There’d been a time when she didn’t have much to fill up a suitcase, preferring to live with as little as possible. Now that she’d been in Atlanta for so many years, she had accumulated not only clothes, but material items as well.

  She went to the far corner of her bedroom and moved the upholstered chair aside. Lifting the corner of the carpet, she removed a loose floorboard where she stashed cash. Supreme paid very well, and she had saved the majority of her paychecks. Living in a bubble for so many years, afraid Marco would make good on his promise, had scared her that way.

  Her pulse amped up just thinking about the man. She hurried, grabbing the envelope with cash, and shoving it into the side pocket of the duffel bag. Lastly, she went back to the closet for her gun case. That was another thing about getting too comfortable. She had stopped carrying her Smith & Wesson 9mm. Opening the case, she loaded the chamber and put the weapon in her oversized handbag.

  Egypt’s heart broke with each stepped she took carrying the bags to the front of the house. Within twenty-four hours, the life she had built had fallen apart.

  Keep it together, girl.

  Instead of ordering a car the way she normally would, Egypt searched for the number of a taxi company to keep from leaving a paper trail. She knew Kenton, Hamilton or one of the other guys would search for her once they realized she was gone, but she planned to cover her tracks.

  “Okay, I think…”

  Her hand flew to her chest when a loud banging on the front door scared her. Instead of grabbing what she could carry and heading for the back door, Egypt grabbed her gun. Now that she knew Pisano was in Atlanta, she was taking every precaution, like she used to do.

  Tiptoeing to the front door, her pistol at her side, Egypt looked through the peephole.

  Agent Franklin? Why is he here?

  Egypt stepped back debating on whether to open the door. He had no business at her home. Had he followed her? She shook the thought free. It wasn’t like he couldn’t find out where she lived.

  “Just be cool,” she told herself, and pulled opened the wood door, but left the screen door latched. Instead of saying anything, she just looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

  “You’re probably surprised to see me.”

  “You could say that.”

  “Can we talk?”

  “Go ahead,” she said with more bravado than she felt, and held the gun behind her back.

  “I mean inside. May I come in?”

  “Agent Franklin, as far as I’m concerned, we have nothing to discuss.”

  “I could insist you let me in.”

  “Not without a warrant.” Kenton’s deep voice startled her as he climbed the stairs that were off to the left. Where had he come from? His truck was nowhere in sight.

  “What are you doing here, Franklin?” Kenton asked, his steely gaze lethal.

  “Not that it’s any of your business, but I wanted to make sure Ms. Durand didn’t have any more information on Hoakley. I understand they were an item a few years back. I wouldn’t be doing my due diligence if I didn’t at least follow up.”

  Kenton glared at him but spoke to her. “Egypt, do you have anything to add to whatever you’ve already told the FBI?”

  “No, I told them everything.”

  “In that case, have a good evening, Agent Franklin. If you need to question Egypt further, you’ll need to do so through her lawyer. The contact information was given to the agent who interviewed her.”

  She didn’t have a lawyer, but Hamilton had insisted that if she or Kenton needed one, they should use Supreme’s attorney.

  They watched as Franklin marched back to his dark sedan and pulled away.

  “Okay, unlock the door,” Kenton said, his hand on the handle.r />
  Butterflies fluttered inside Egypt’s stomach as she studied him through the screen door. It was a chilly October afternoon, but all he wore was his dress shirt and pants, without a jacket or the tie he’d been fumbling with earlier. He was one sexy man. Just looking at him had heat filtering to areas of her body that hadn’t been touched in years.

  Egypt shook herself. Only moments ago, she was wishing that she’d had a chance to see him one last time. But Kenton was one of the reasons she hadn’t stuck around at the office. It would’ve been too hard to say goodbye.

  “What do you want, Kenton?”

  “I want you, but you already know that.”

  I want you, too. Egypt wanted to say, but it seemed like too much to hope for that they could ever pursue a relationship. She had too much baggage. Knowing it would be futile to tell him to go away, she let him in.

  “What’s with the gun? Do you even know how to use it?”

  Egypt glanced at the firearm before slipping it into her handbag. “Yes, I do.”

  Instead of commenting more on the gun, like she expected, he stood next to the bags. “Going somewhere?”

  “We already talked about this. You know why I have to leave.”

  “Where are you going?” His voice went low and deep, lacking the humor that she was accustomed to with him. He folded his arms across his chest, bringing attention to his thick arms, arms she wanted to be wrapped up in.

  Egypt walked over to the African painting hanging over the fireplace, unsure if she could take it with her. The abstract piece was one of the first splurges when she moved into the rental. “It’s probably best you not know,” she finally said to Kenton before turning to face him again.