by Mary Eason
Evelyn understood. She’d call in a few hours, giving Jordan an excuse to leave. The thought of what lay in between those hours filled her with dread. She couldn’t risk letting him become more suspicious than he was already.
“How was your first day back?” The reminder of Jeremy threatened to shake her fledgling resolve.
“Okay. Busy. I’m exhausted.” She struggled to remember the woman she’d been before Jeremy’s death. The woman who’d loved this man to the point of obsession.
“Then you must let me take care of you tonight.” Her mind struggled to control the nausea she felt. Caesar was a skilled lover. He knew how to please her and up until a short time ago, she’d believed he returned her love. It hadn’t taken much digging on her part. Just a simple check on the computer at work of Caesar’s private email address that he didn’t realize she knew about and she’d discovered the many adoring women waiting to take her place.
“Caesar…”
He drew her against him once more. “I insist.” His warm dark eyes swept over her body. Somehow Jordan managed to hide her repulsion.
Once outside, some of the charm disappeared. “I’ve arranged for us to be married over the weekend.”
She jerked out of his clutches and turned on him. “You’ve what?”
“You heard me.” He pulled her against him once more. “It’s time. It’s actually past time. I’m tired of waiting for you, Jordan. I’m not a patient man under the best of circumstances. But you and you’re brother have pushed my patience to the limit. You will marry me. And you will keep you mouth shut.”
She tried to free herself once more, but his arms tightened painfully around her body. He laughed at her futile attempts at escaping. Just being close to him made her feel dirty.
Dear God, if he touched her again – she would kill him.
Her future had just been sealed in Caesar’s mind. She had two days to get out of here before someone ended up investigating her murder.
***
“Here she is detective.” The unwelcome surprise on Jordan’s face made her reaction to sudden appearance crystal-clear.
Even the young nurse who’d helped him ferret her out seemed to realize she’d made a terrible mistake. She threw Riley a quick scowl then closed the door before her boss could say a single word.
“What are you doing here?” Not exactly, the reaction he’d hoped for.
Riley held up both hands in surrender. “I only wanted to see how you were doing.”
She shook her head. “I’m busy.” She didn’t look it. She’d been staring into space, her desk empty of any work when he found her.
“Look, can we call a truce?” He waited for her to say something. “Jordan, I know Thomas probably filled your head with reasons not to trust me, but I’d never hurt you—“
“You’re right, I don’t trust you.” The words were out before she could stop them.
It took him a minute to realize her stony reaction had nothing to do with Thomas and his accusations.
“You think I’m working for Santiago?” he asked incredulously. “How can you still think that after—“
“After what? You think because you kissed me, showed me your cabin – flirted with me that I’m going to fall all over myself? Give me some credit, detective. You’re not exactly my type.”
Riley moved closer and saw her suddenly become nervous. He might not be her type, but he definitely bothered her. And it had nothing to do with her distrust or brother’s case. Or her fiancé. As much as he’d like to explore all the possibilities that came to mind, he decided not to push it for the moment.
“I promise you, I’m not working for him.” When she didn’t answer tried another approach. “I’d be willing to buy you some cafeteria coffee if it will help ease your mind.” He smiled at the first sign of a blush creeping into her cheeks.
Oh yeah, he definitely bothered her.
For a moment, she looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. Then she did something that knocked the breath out of him. She laughed. He thought it had to be the first time he’d seen her laugh. He liked the sound of it and the way it appeared as if the weight of the world she’d been carrying around lifted from her shoulders for a moment.
“Does that mean you agree?” He watched her brush a straying wisp of bangs from her eyes.
“Okay. Yes, I agree, but you may want to rethink the whole offer of coffee.”
“Oh yeah?” He waited while she got to her feet and came to him. “Why is that?”
“Because the cafeteria coffee is horrible,” she told him, a smile spreading across her face. She seemed almost carefree.
“Are you still on duty?” He remembered there was a quiet little pub around the corner from the hospital.
Her green eyes grew cautious. She shook her head. “No. I’ve been off for about an hour now,” she added as she glanced at her watch. Riley wondered why she was still sitting here. But then, maybe she preferred work to facing her life right now.
“There’s a little place close by that makes a mean Manhattan – or so I’ve been told. Personally, I’m more of a beer guy myself.”
They stepped out into the hallway. “Alcohol is the last thing I need right now, but I will take you up on some coffee.”
When they reached the hospital’s lobby, Jordan headed away from the sliding glass entrance.
It didn’t take much to realize what she was doing. “He’s not following you.” She seemed surprised that he’d guessed what she was doing. “I made sure of it. He’s not watching you. At least for the moment.”
She ducked her head, but not before he caught it. That little flush was back. This time it had nothing to do with him. She was up to something.
As much as he wanted to ask her what she was planning, he knew she’d never tell him. Unfortunately, he was afraid he knew what she was going to do.
They found a seat in a quiet section of the pub. She glanced around the small room as if expecting Santiago to appear at any moment. While she wasn’t aware of it, he studied her. She looked tired.
“When was t he last time you slept?” His question brought her attention back to him.
“I don’t know.” She seemed as surprised by her answer as he was.
The waitress came to take their drink orders. “Do you serve food?” He asked once they’d ordered coffee.
The waitress nodded. “Sandwiches and such. Can I get you something?”
Riley ordered two roast beef sandwiches.
“So how are you really?” He wanted to cut through the act they were both playing. Tell her he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Tell her how worried he was for her. Beg her to trust him. To come away with him now, before it was too late.
She ducked her head again, in what was quickly becoming a familiar gesture. “I’m okay. I’m hanging in there.” She tried to smile. It didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Once their food and coffee arrived, he took his time before saying anything. He wanted to get it just right.
“Jordan, whatever you’re thinking about doing, I need you to reconsider.” She almost choked on the bite of sandwich she’d just taken.
She brushed a crumb from the corner of her mouth, choosing her words carefully. “I don’t know what you mean. What could I possibly be planning?”
Riley ignored that. “We’ll get him. We’re close. I promise we will—“
Her bitter laugh interrupted the rest of what he’d been about to say. “If that were true, he’d be in jail by now.” She waited for him to deny it. He couldn’t.
“You don’t have enough to hold him, do you?”
“Not yet,” he told her carefully. “But we will. Give me a little more time.” She dropped the sandwich on her plate, wiped her hands on her napkin, then got to her feet.
He reached for her hand. “Jordan, don’t do it.”
She shook her. “Let me go, Riley, I have to go.”
“Whatever your thinking about doing, I asking you not to.”
&n
bsp; She didn’t answer. She simply turned on her heel and left him sitting alone, staring after her and wondering if he’d ever see her again. And if he did, praying it wouldn’t be in the morgue.
***
“Where are your bags?” Mariah slipped into the bathroom stall next to Jordan’s at LaGuardia.
“I don’t have any. I couldn’t risk raising suspicions.” She hadn’t returned to Caesar’s place since the night he’d told her about his plans for their wedding. She’d used the excuse of one of the Peds doctors being on vacation to pull double shifts and avoid being alone with him.
Each second that passed while she waited to escape felt like a lifetime. Her nerves were shot. She no longer trusted anyone or anything around her including her own judgment.
Mariah slipped a large yellow envelope under the stall. “This should be everything you need. I’ve reserved a car for you under the name Jayne Sinclair.”
She opened the envelope. Credit cards, passport, social security card, and a new driver’s license spilled into her hand. Mariah’s contacts had come through big.
“Thank you.” Jordan slipped Mariah her purse containing all the information from her former life. “You’ll need these to pass through customs.”
“Of course,” Mariah confirmed. From this moment forward, Jordan Scott didn’t exist for her.
“You should go first. I’ll stay here for a while until I know it’s safe. Please be careful.” The risks were huge for Mariah as well, but her friend hadn’t even hesitated before agreeing. “You know the plan?”
“Yes. I have a first class ticket booked to Moscow under your name. With this wig and a little makeup, I hope we look enough alike for me to pass for you in customs. My flight lands around ten tonight. My friend will meet me and get me safely to France. From there I’ll travel to London and in a few days. I’ll return to New York using my own passport.”
“You’ll make sure no one is following you, won’t you?”
“Of course. And you’ll do the same?”
“Yes. You’ll call the second Blake has any news?” For the first time since Jeremy’s funeral, Jordan felt close to tears.
“You know I will. Can I at least give you a hug?”
She couldn’t leave her friend for what might be the final time without holding her.
“Just for a second and then you should go.” Jordan stepped from the stall and waited for Mariah. “I can’t say goodbye to you.” She reached for Mariah and held her close.
“Good, because this isn’t goodbye,” Mariah managed through tears of her own.
Jordan was the one who finally pulled away. “You brought the other things?”
“Oh, yes.” Mariah unzipped her carry-on and removed a beige velour tracksuit, white tee and white running shoes. “The pants may be a little long for you, but they’re about as plain as I could find.”
Jordan changed quickly and stuffed the disguise she’d worn from the hospital into the garbage. She removed the baseball cap and twisted her newly dyed, golden- blond hair up into a clip.
“Nice hair color. It looks good on you. How’d you manage it?”
“I stopped in at a salon not far from the airport. I always wanted to be a blond.” Jordan slipped on a pair of black rimmed glasses, which accentuated the smudges beneath each eye that hinted at the long sleepless nights she’d spent. She looked ten years older than thirty. She could easily pass for the thirty-eight-year-old woman on her new driver’s license.
She slipped the phone and papers into her purse then glanced at herself in the mirror. She looked about as inconspicuous as it got. No one looking for Jordan Scott would ever give her a second glance.
“I brought you one more thing.” Mariah reached inside her shoulder bag and withdrew a weapon.
“No – I couldn’t.” Jordan pushed the gun back to Mariah. She despised the things. “Besides, I wouldn’t have any idea how to use it.”
“It’s easy. Just make sure the clip is in, keep your arm steady and whatever you do, don’t draw it unless you plan on using it.”
Jordan took the gun and shoved it inside her bag. “You should go first. Someday soon this will all be over. Until then take care of yourself.”
Their eyes locked for a moment. A thousand things went unspoken. Mariah nodded then kissed her cheek and turned and left the room.
Jordan slipped back into the stall, waited another fifteen minutes before leaving the restroom. She headed for the Budget Car Rental pavilion located at the far end of the terminal.
“May I help you?” The young woman behind the counter didn’t bother looking at Jordan.
“Yes, I have a car reserved.”
“What name, please?”
She hesitated only a second. “Sinclair. My name is Jayne Sinclair.”
***
After their last conversation, Riley’d been expecting this move and yet part of him still hoped she’d prove him wrong. That was the part that had nothing to do with his cop’s instinct, which now told him Jordan Scott was clearly on the run.
The amount of detailed thought she’d put into her escape surprised the hell out of him. She’d been planning her escape for a while.
To anyone else, the woman dressed in baggy jeans and faded jacket, a large canvas tote strapped to her arm and a New York Yankees baseball cap covering half of her face probably wouldn’t have drawn even the slightest bit of attention.
But Riley knew what was coming next. It was only a matter of time. Call it gut instinct or cop’s intuition. He’d known all that time spent tailing her would eventually pay off.
And it wasn’t as if he didn’t have plenty of time on his hands.
Agent Thomas had followed through with his threat. By the time Riley’d gotten back to the precinct that day he was on desk duty. Instead of waiting out his two-week suspension, filing paperwork and making coffee, he opted for vacation. The LT had been only too happy to approve.
Rather than going south as he’d told Frank he would be doing, he’d gone undercover. Tailing Jordan.
Protocol demanded that he call his superior officer and alert him to the possible flight risk of a federal witness. But after the way Thomas had reacted and Riley’s own growing suspensions, he couldn’t help but believe that the rat on the force might be a Fed. Either way, whether NYPD of Bureau, he wasn’t willing to take that chance.
So, he’d waited outside Santiago’s place and followed Jordan to work, careful to keep a respectful amount of distance between Santiago’s vehicle and his truck.
He’d just found a decent parking spot that allowed him a generous view of the hospital’s staff entrance and parking when she emerged. Santiago barely had time to round the corner out of sight.
Dressed as she was, it wouldn’t have mattered. She certainly wouldn’t have made a blip on Santiago’s radar. She must’ve hidden the disguise in the ladies room and changed in record time.
She got into a cab that had obviously been waiting for her and switched taxis three times before ending up at LaGuardia. Her last stop before the airport – an out-of-the-way beauty parlor. Not only was she running, she was making sure no one could identify her.
Instead of heading for the United Airlines counter to retrieve the ticket he’d traced to her Visa, she threw him another curve ball and ducked into the ladies room.
She’d been inside the restroom for almost half an hour when another woman appeared. He recognized her right away even though she’d done her best to disguise her appearance. It was the woman from the restaurant a few days earlier.
It had taken a great deal of digging on his part, but he’d managed to uncover the woman’s identity as well as her connection to Jordan.
Mariah Jennings. PI extraordinaire. She and Jordan grew up in the same Brooklyn neighborhood.
Instead of leaving the terminal, Mariah the PI headed in the direction of the United Airlines counter. He made a mental note to check with his contact and find out where the woman was heading. But for now, his main concer
n was for Jordan.
Riley purchased a copy of The Times and waited a respectable distance from the restroom entrance to keep from calling undo attention to himself.
Another fifteen minutes passed before Jordan emerged. Riley barely recognized her. Along with the new hair color, she’d changed yet again. She wasn’t taking any chances.
Riley held the paper up over his face in case she glanced his way. Once she was a safe distance, he fell into step behind her, keeping the paper handy just in case.
She headed away from the airline booths at the opposite end of the airport, toward the rental car section. He had a decision to make. If he didn’t call this in soon, he could be in big trouble.
He debated just long enough for her to pay for the car before making that decision. God help him if it turned out to be the wrong one.
The rented white Ford Focus was southward bound. She clicked through the miles and cities without showing any sign of slowing down.
She’d been at it for almost five hours without stopping for even a bathroom break.
Riley’s pickup had been sitting on empty for the last two miles. Whether or not she needed to stop, the truck wasn’t going much farther and neither was he. He was just getting ready to exit when the Focus’s blinker turned on. Riley breathed a sigh of relief. He needed to stretch his legs, refill on coffee, and consider how far he was willing to take this thing.
Jordan pulled into one of the convenient stores, which served food-food inside. Hoping not to be spotted, Riley picked the station across the street from Jordan so he could keep an eye on her.
She didn’t seem to be in any real hurry now that she was away from the city. Maybe she’d put enough miles between herself and Santiago to finally feel safe.
He hit the cash button on the pump and watched her do the same. She seemed unaware of her surroundings. Big mistake for someone on the run.
Riley filled the tank then pretended to clean the windshield, waiting for her next move. She hurried inside the store, paid for the gas then went to the fast food stand and ordered something before taking a seat close to the window.
