In the Shadow of Vengeance

by Nancy C. Weeks

  Noah placed his hands on her shoulders and eased her over to the bar stools on one side of the kitchen island. “You’re my guest. No cooking.”

  “I love to cook.”

  “While we are here, it’s your turn to sit back and relax.” He opened the large freezer door. “Besides,” he said, moving out of the way, “we are really just heating something up.” Several freezer containers packed with food took up the top three shelves. “You have a choice of cuisine. Mexican, Italian, or good old American casserole.”

  “Who does all the cooking and freezing?”

  “Jennie, and she’s good at it. She also keeps my freezer stocked. My favorite is her chicken and green chili sauce enchiladas.”

  “Sounds great.” She paused and added, “You haven’t mentioned your twin, Jared. I would have thought you would go to him for help.”

  Without being aware of what she said, Elizabeth had given him the perfect lead-in to mention Mendoza’s possible connection.

  “Sorry, Noah. It’s none of my business.”

  He placed the container in the microwave oven and set the timer. “No, feel free to ask me anything. It’s not family news yet, but Jennie is pregnant. I’m trying to keep Jared out of this because I don’t want Jennie in it.”

  A smile brightened her face. “Jennie is going to be a wonderful mother.”

  “How well do you know Jennie?”

  “She was the best teacher my kids ever had.” A sadness edged into her eyes. “We were friends. She may not know this, but Jennie was the closest thing to a girlfriend I’ve had since I left home to go to college. I met Spencer a couple of weeks after I began the nursing program, and it was a fast, head-over-heels type of romance, at least for me.”

  “Spencer is your …”

  “Husband. Erin’s and Danny’s father.”

  “You’re married?”

  “He’s presumed dead. They never found his body.” She shot up from the stool and began to pace. “If we start down this road, I won’t be able to stomach that great-smelling dish in the microwave.”

  Noah reached for her hand and drew her against him. “Then it’ll wait.” His hand massaged the tight muscle at the base of her neck. The microwave dinged and he reached for the dish. After setting it on the warming plate, he removed two glasses from the rack and selected a bottle of wine from the small refrigerator in the island. “Merlot for a Merlot,” he said with a smile.

  A soft laugh escaped her lips. “And I haven’t heard that before.” She sat back at the island. “You were asking about Jennie.”

  He paused from working the cork out of the bottle and stared at her, not sure how to proceed.

  “Noah, it’s only my history that freaks me out. Go ahead and finish what you started.”

  “What makes you think there is more?”

  “It’s in your eyes.”

  He took a breath and dove into the deep end. “Did she ever tell you about her parents?”

  “No, we mostly talked about the kids.”

  He leaned in so close, he could feel the warmth of her breath on his neck and her vanilla scent surrounded him. “Did you know her father was a cop?”

  “Like I said, we never talked about family. Maybe she took her cues from me.”

  “Mendoza murdered her parents when Jennie was only ten years old.”

  “Dear God, that’s horrible. I never knew how that monster came into her life.”

  Noah raked a hand over the muscles of his own neck. He took a moment forming the words in his head in a way that didn’t make him cringe.

  “Jennie’s father’s name was Evan Nash. He had been dead for six years when Jennie and Jared met. For the next eight years, Jared was haunted by dreams of a man warning him he had to save Jennie before it was too late. Jared risked his life on more than one occasion trying to do just that.”

  Elizabeth’s breath hitched.

  “Those dreams stopped when we put Mendoza away.”

  “Noah, why are you telling me this?”

  The room grew silent. Just tell her. He expected her to be honest with him. He needed to practice what he preached.

  “The man in Danny’s room, the man you think is a dream, is Jennie’s father, Evan Nash.”

  “No, that can’t be. It’s crazy.”

  Noah reached for the photo he’d kept in his coat pocket for the last two weeks and set it on the counter. “The night Danny was attacked, I asked him if this was one of the men. I didn’t want to lead him into a false recognition.”

  “No!” She shook her head back and forth.

  “Danny told me point blank, Elizabeth, that this was the man who appeared in his room.”

  “Do you know how crazy you sound?”

  “Hell, yes, which is why I waited to tell you.”

  “You believe a man who has been dead for sixteen years—”

  “More like nineteen now.” He tried to pass off a hint of a smile but failed. “But yes, I think Evan Nash is visiting Danny.”

  “Why?”

  Noah let his shoulders drop. “I think Mendoza is back. For some fucking reason I don’t understand, he is after you and your kids.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Damn it, no!”

  She pulled away from Noah. “What could I possibly have that Mendoza wants? Besides, you and Derek both promised me the only way he would ever get out was in a body bag. How could he be after me from inside a top-security prison?”

  “That’s what we need to figure out.”

  A cold chill settled into her bones. Wrapping her arms around her middle, she paced across the spacious kitchen. Elizabeth needed to work through the fear so she could think. She had taught herself coping skills over the years to keep from jumping at shadows. But that name, Mendoza, lived in her nightly dreams. It didn’t matter that she’d taken every precaution—he still came out of nowhere and hurt Danny. Now Noah thought he was back.

  “You have to be wrong this time, Noah.”

  “I’m not. The only reason Evan would connect with Danny is because Mendoza is coming after you and maybe all of us.”

  Elizabeth charged back around the island and held her hand out in front of him. “You tossed my cell phone. Give me yours.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m calling Derek. I should have called him from the bus, but you—”

  “I what?”

  “Screwed with my head.”

  She would never admit that Noah’s touch sent her body into overdrive and forced her mind into an area that needed to stay closed. She pressed past the sensual emotions that erupted inside her and stepped closer. “Give up your phone, now.”

  His eyes grew hard. “What happened to you agreeing to give me a chance to figure this out before you called in your marshal friend?”

  “That was before you started to shoot bat-crazy theories at me.”

  Noah seized her hand and charged into the family room. He chose a framed photo of Jennie with Jared. “Hold this,” he demanded and stormed to the other side of the room.

  “Stop. What are you doing?”

  “You want bat-crazy, I’ll show you bat-crazy,” he whispered as he scanned a collection of photos arranged on the wall, selecting two women Elizabeth didn’t recognize.

  “This is Hanna and Sarah Tu. As I mentioned earlier, Sarah is married to my youngest brother, Jason. Her sister, Hanna, was attacked by a serial rapist. She lived for several months in a coma, but that didn’t prevent her from talking to Jason just like you and I are talking right now.”

  “That’s—”

  “Hold that thought.”

  He pointed to the photo of Jared and Jennie. “The wedding rings my brother and Jennie are wearing were given to Jared by Evan Nash the day he married Jennie.”

  “But you said Jennie’s father died when she was ten.”

  “And he was buried wearing his wedding ring, this ring,” Noah said, jabbing the point of his nail at the photo. “Jared was waiting for Jennie in the front pew o
f St. Luke’s. One moment Evan was sitting next to him, handing Jared the rings, saying a few words, then poof. He was gone.”

  Her blood began to drum between her ears. She dropped onto the loveseat and focused on her hands, refusing to move her gaze elsewhere. The day Danny bought the gun, he had tried to tell her about the man in his room. She had convinced herself it was a dream because she couldn’t wrap her mind around the truth. Noah ripped her illusions apart. And to think the dream scared her. The idea of what Evan Nash represented frightened her to her toes.

  Noah sat next to her. A little of the color in his faced had drained away. In a quiet, eerie voice, he said, “Bat-ass freakin’ crazy is becoming a common thing around here. I’ll spare you the weird crap Adam’s daughter is doing.”

  “No, spill it all.”

  “Anna talks to her deceased grandmother. Adam’s mother gave him up for adoption when he was an infant to protect him from her family.”

  “Her own family? Dear God.”

  “CliffsNotes version: Her father controlled the most brutal crime syndicate in Eastern Europe, and Annija didn’t want Adam anywhere near him. A whole lot of crap happened, Annija and the grandfather died,” Noah spread his hands out, “and Adam inherited all the old man’s legitimate businesses, making him richer than Midas. In the midst of all that chaos—more supernatural shit—Annija started keeping Anna company and …”

  “And what?”

  A slight grin crossed his lips. “Anna told me the other day that I can trust you because Annija thinks you are very nice.”

  Elizabeth swallowed twice before she whispered, “Annija is the grandmother?”

  “I told you all of this because we need to piece together what’s really going on here. I know nothing about you and what drove you into witness protection”—he set the photo he held down on the coffee table—“but I don’t think your cover has been blown. Elías Mendoza is behind this.”

  As if he couldn’t stay still another moment, Noah shot up and returned to the kitchen. She let him go. They both needed space.

  Tucking her feet under her, she hugged a sofa pillow to her chest. She had no idea what to do with the information Noah had unloaded on her. She believed him, believed all of it.

  She had kept Danny’s visits with Noah at a minimum to protect their cover. She couldn’t afford deep ties, deep friendships with adults, especially someone as astute as a trained detective. They led to too many questions she couldn’t answer.

  She placed her hands over her face and hugged her knees to her chest. Elizabeth had her own reasons to keep Noah at arm’s length. He was the first man in years who made her want what she could never have. Now that she had a little taste of what being with him would feel like, it would be a long time before she forgot him, if that was even possible. And his willingness to share something so personal with her only brought their connection closer.

  The cushion next to her moved and the aroma of chicken, cheese, and chilies wafted over her. Her stomach grumbled.

  “Maybe this will help take the edge off,” Noah said, handing her a loaded plate of casserole and a glass of wine.

  “I’m going to need more than one glass to do that.”

  He let out a short laugh, then set his plate on the coffee table. “I know I freaked you out. I would have kept that crazy shit to myself if I had thought of any other way to make you understand.”

  Tears welled in her eyes and she shut them tightly. “I didn’t believe Danny. I have always been my kids’ champion until the day Danny needed me the most.”

  “Elizabeth, you can’t beat yourself up about that. I’ve been living with the supernatural crap for three years, and each time, it throws me on my ass. I’m a simple man. I place one foot in front of the other, and I move. A tree is a tree,” he said, and lifted his glass of wine, taking a taste. “And this is damn fine wine, every bottle, every sip. I live a predictable life, I keep things real, honest, and that grounds me. The stuff I told you spins everything I know about my world into some vortex I know nothing about. It’s unsettling, fucked up, and I hate it.”

  This time she couldn’t bring herself to call him on his colorful word choice because she couldn’t think of a better way to describe her life. He handed her the wine glass and she took a sip, tasting nothing.

  Noah cleared his throat and stared out into the night. “One thing I do know. If I had not caught that guy this afternoon, I would have turned over every stone until I found you. But if you allow your buddy Derek to relocate you, I will not come looking for you. I’m a cop, and while I may have the means to find you, I respect the U.S. Marshals Service too much to cross that line.”

  A deep sadness edged into his features, and the tone of his voice had a new husky hoarseness she had never heard before. It touched her heart, making her want to chase the hurt away.

  But she understood what he was saying. If she was given a new identity, he would be out of her life forever. The thought cut deep.

  “Why would that man come after me and my kids? Derek told me he chose Danny at random, and my son had nothing to do with his capture. What would be his motive?”

  “That’s the million-dollar question. Before we tackle it, please eat something before it gets cold.”

  Elizabeth took a couple of bites, then set the plate down on the coffee table. Bat-ass freakin’ crazy shit made her lose her healthy appetite. Fear made a perfect diet pill.

  “I have tried everything I know to keep my family safe. Danny’s kidnapping destroyed any illusion I had that I could do it on my own. With Derek’s help, we went into family counseling and one-on-one with a child psychologist. When that didn’t give me my Danny back, Derek suggested martial arts. Nothing has worked. As much as I don’t want to leave the only home my kids remember, I need to get rid of the daily reminders.”

  Noah circled her waist and drew her back against his chest. She should pull away. Everything in her cried out to reinforce her walls. Easing them for even a short time would cost her more than she could handle later. But this man was becoming her opposite pole, her positive. And each time she let him in, their connection intensified.

  “Elizabeth, just tell me all of it from the beginning.”

  “I can’t. I have never told anyone.”

  “I’m not anyone. Trust me.”

  Were there two more devastating words on the planet than trust me? She could survive the attacks and live with the threats. Time had stitched her back together after the last man she’d trusted ripped her life apart. But she wasn’t strong enough to resist the allure of those two words. She bit the inside of her cheek once and took the plunge.

  His arms cradled her gently, but as she progressed through the story, the muscles in his stomach and shoulders grew hard. By the time she got to the tornado, his breathing changed and she could feel each heartbeat against her back.

  The dead silence that followed the end of the story began to grate on Elizabeth’s nerves. She shifted so she could face him. His expression shocked her to the core.

  Noah’s bright, cobalt blue eyes turned almost black. His jaw was so tight, the nerve at his neck appeared as if it could burst through the skin.

  She cupped his cheek and traced her thumb over the vein. “It was a long time ago, Noah. I’m not that foolish, naïve kid anymore.”

  His expression hardened another notch. “Don’t you dare blame yourself for that fucking bastard’s sins. It will piss me off.”

  She couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped her throat. “I think you’re already there.”

  He took in a breath, then another. “What happened once you spoke to the FBI?”

  “They sent a team to the outpatient clinic and found the body. The surgical team was arrested. Spencer’s car was located in a cornfield about a half mile away with the body of the man eventually identified as Victor De Rousse.”

  “And your husband’s body was never found.”

  “There were no traces of his blood in the sports car. The FBI assu
med he was picked up by the tornado. His body could have been torn to pieces and dropped anywhere. He was about four yards behind me when I crawled into the storm drain.”

  “If this guy is dead, then who placed a hit on you?”

  Elizabeth lowered her eyes. “Have you ever heard the name De Rousse?”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  “The De Rousse family is like Mendoza. They travel in the best circles while performing unthinkable acts in the darkest corners of their empire. They want revenge against me because they blame me for their son’s death. He was the prince, and I took him from them.”

  She never understood the De Rousses’ warped reasoning and almost laughed herself silly when she was told why the price was set so high.

  “Every bastard around the world with a gun in his hand is after me because I lived through a tornado and their son didn’t. After Danny was taken, the marshals went through Mendoza’s file with a fine-toothed comb, but they never found any connection that would tie De Rousse with Mendoza. Hence, why they didn’t relocate us three years ago.”

  “I have the damn file memorized and that name was never mentioned by any of the associates we have picked up since Mendoza’s arrest.”

  “So maybe it’s not Mendoza at all. The De Rousse family finally found me.”

  “How do you explain Evan Nash?”

  She gave Noah her best glare. “I hope you don’t expect me to answer that question. He’s your family ghost. Ask him.”

  “Hell no!”

  She couldn’t help laughing at the look of pure shock in his eyes. Then his features softened and their gazes held. In the movies, the couple that glared at one another one moment was naked on the sofa the next.

  She broke their connection, pulled away from him, and rose. Picking up the dinner plates, she moved into the kitchen. She needed distance before she did something she would regret for a long time.

  She scraped the food into the trash and ran a tub of soapy water. Just as she dipped the plates into the suds, Noah’s sexy-as-hell herbal scent wafted over her. He stood directly behind her with his hands resting on her hips.