So, she’d begun by lying to him. And she planned on one more lie. However, this one would be a lie by omission. If she told him everything...
No, that wasn’t an option.
She was surprised he hadn’t asked the moment he realized who she was. But there hadn’t been time. Not yet. He was probably still in shock. Maybe if she dressed and told him most of the story in a hurry, she could hold off on the inevitable.
Listening to him run water in the sink, she quickly ducked under the shower, soaped up and rinsed off. Ten minutes later she got out to dry off and he’d already left the bathroom.
With no choice but to go into the next room dressed only in one large, fluffy towel around her middle, she grabbed a hand towel for her hair, lifted her chin and prayed for a miracle reprieve. When she opened the bedroom door, she found him fully dressed and looking out the window with his back to her.
“Are you willing to listen?” she asked, hoping he had calmed down.
“I’ll listen. But how will I know what you’re saying isn’t another lie?”
She couldn’t do this while naked, so she scavenged around inside her duffel for underwear, heavy jeans and a sweater. “You’ll know because as much as you don’t know who I am, you do know me. The me inside. Let your heart decide what’s the truth.”
He turned and folded his arms across his chest. “Go on.”
After dressing and pulling the sweater over her head, she found her knees were shaking too badly to keep standing. With the hand towel still wrapped around her hair, she made her way to the table and sat in one of the chairs. Gage remained standing, looming above her.
“I’ll begin by saying that my heritage is American Rom—gypsy.” She waited for his look of disgust, but it didn’t come. “But for some reason I was always the smart child. So smart that when my teachers begged my father to let me continue schooling past the time most young Roma girls quit, he gave in and let me go on. Little girls in our community are usually destined to be housewives—the heads of the household. But my father loves me very much and somehow knew I needed to be different.”
“Your father... Does he know where you are?” Gage took a step toward her.
“No. At least, I don’t think he does. But these men—they may be part of the same Russian mob.” Folding her arms around her waist to keep herself steady, she went on. “As my high school graduation approached, the talk turned to college. But no one in my family ever went to college before. Still, my father could see it would be best for me. Unfortunately, the family couldn’t afford school. And we’re not the kind who would borrow money.”
“Not even for...”
“Never. That’s just the way it is with us.” She sighed and looked away, not able to watch Gage’s stern, unbelieving expression. “Something happened around that time. A Russian Rom family immigrated to our town. One of their sons was about my age. My mother and his mother decided to arrange our marriage like all Roma elders do for their children.”
“So that part wasn’t a lie?” Gage took the seat across from her.
“All true, I’m afraid.” She felt her body caving in on itself as she came to the ugly part of the story. “But what I didn’t mention was that this Russian family was heavily into criminal activities and had become wealthy. It seems they’d been involved with the Russian mob back in their homeland. And yet, they still expected a dowry from our family.”
She let the sad smile spread across her face but went on. “We had nothing. Less than nothing. I didn’t want the marriage, anyway. But my father went to the boy’s father and struck a deal. Our family would work for their family, doing whatever they wanted us to do, until we could pay off the dowry.”
“Becoming criminals? Your father sold his soul so you could be married to a guy you hardly knew?”
“He also promised to pay for a couple of years of college for me, but yeah, that’s the way it was. Nice story, right? It’s one of the reasons I seldom think about my past. And I’ve never talked about it to anyone before.”
“But your friend Brendan, the one from the store and the one who has your child, he knows?”
“He knows. He’s a distant relative on my mother’s side and isn’t involved in any criminal activity. I went to him for help because I knew he had connections and wouldn’t tell my parents.”
“So who is it that’s after you?”
Without answering him directly, she whimpered, “This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have wanted an education so badly. My mother thought marrying into wealth would ensure my happiness. Instead, I’ve ruined our whole family.”
“Who has been shooting at us?” His eyes narrowed on her.
He was right. He deserved an answer before they parted ways. “I would imagine it’s the Russian Roma mob—in addition to my ex-fiancé, or my own father and his brothers.”
“Let me get this straight. You claim your old fiancé...” The way he drew out that word pained her, the same as if he’d stabbed her with a knife. “...and your father are after you. Why? Why after all this time would your father want to kill you?”
Drying her hair with the towel, she knew it was nearing time for her to leave. “It probably isn’t my father’s doing. He would never want to see me hurt. But his mob boss may be making him go along. You have to understand...”
Dragging in air, she raced ahead. “In the gypsy culture, especially with the Russians, you can never go back on a deal. Anyone who does has to be taught a lesson.”
“You sure it isn’t anything else?” His voice had grown even darker, if that was possible.
Standing, she finished her hair with the towel as best she could and slipped into her shoes. “What do you mean?”
“You didn’t steal anything from them, did you?”
Oh, man, where was he going with this? “No, of course not. I may be related to criminals, but I’m not into petty theft.”
Scrunching up his mouth in a frown, he tilted his head. “So all this time, even while we were a couple, you knew they would be coming after you eventually.” Not a question.
She answered him, anyway. “Yes, I suppose that’s right. But I thought we were safe at your ranch. I thought...”
“And you didn’t bother to tell me?” He interrupted her with a snarl. “Didn’t think I was important enough to know about the danger?”
Oh, Gage. “I didn’t want you to worry. I thought I’d lost them while we were living at the Chance ranch. But then that day in Austin—they spotted me. Finally figured out where I was. I knew I would have to run again.”
“Still without telling me. Was I in danger?”
She shook her head with as much force as humanly possible. “No. Never. But I knew you soon would be if we stayed together. They’re too strong. You can’t beat them. All you can do is run, and I knew you would never accept that.”
Picking up her discarded clothes from last night, she stuffed them in her bag and reached for her coat. She had to get out of this room now.
Just as she reached for the door handle he came toward her. “You’re leaving without finishing our conversation? Without saying goodbye? I should’ve known.”
With the door already open, she turned back but had to fight off the tears. “I’m sorry, Gage. It has to be this way. I’ve been trying to tell you. We can’t stay together. I need to leave.”
“And you don’t want me to come? To help?”
“You can’t. You’ll die if you try. There’s too many of them. You need to leave town this morning. Quickly. Quietly. Or you might as well let them kill me now because if they hurt you, it will kill me, anyway. I do love you. I never lied about that.”
He heaved a heavy sigh and stepped back. “So, you’ve done all this—faked your death, gone into hiding and lied about everything just to keep me safe?”
“I haven�
��t lied about everything.” Now her voice was cracking and her heart felt like someone hit it with a sledgehammer. “I did lie about some things. But it was to keep you safe. And I do love you.”
He took another step in her direction and she panicked. “But I don’t want you around.” Her voice rose as she fought to find a way to keep him alive. “I can handle this alone, don’t you understand? Forget about me. Go home. But be careful about leaving. And when you get back to Texas, go on with your life. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
She dashed through the door in such pain it left her running doubled-over. How was she ever supposed to survive this?
Only two things kept her moving. Kept her flying down the stairs. Gage would be safe—and alive. And she would stay alive, too—for their daughter.
* * *
No, dang it. Gage grabbed his gear and went out the door after her. She was not leaving him behind before she answered all his questions. And they hadn’t even touched on the most important one.
Since he’d seen her last, she’d had a child. And she’d given birth to that child within twelve months after her faked death.
He was fairly sure the little girl could not be his daughter. Even as much as she’d lied, that was one thing Alicia would’ve told him. Or he would’ve just known that she’d been pregnant when they were together. He knew who she was inside. She’d been right about that. So that meant there had to be some other man in her life within weeks of her leaving. Someone she’d run to when she ran away from him.
That knowledge hurt. Hurt badly, because the two of them had talked about having kids someday. He’d been all for it but she’d wanted to wait.
Since the moment this morning when he’d first been sure of her identity, he’d wanted to ask the question. He’d hesitated then because he was afraid of the answer. And later because he’d been so shaken, and because he’d had his hands full—of her.
But she couldn’t just announce that she still loved him and not give him a chance to get all his questions answered. She couldn’t just tell him that she’d left him behind to protect him. That was bull. Apparently she excelled at lying. But he had already made up his mind that one fact, at least, would be answered truthfully before this was over.
He saw her darting away from the bottom of the open stairwell and chased down the stairs to catch up. Despite what she’d said, what she thought, he could do a better job at protection than she would do on her own. They’d beat the threat together.
And then she would give him the truth about the child’s father before it was his turn to walk away from her—for good.
After entering the lobby at the bottom of the stairs, he couldn’t find her. He gave the large open space a thorough looking-over and finally spotted her, inching along the wall toward the front desk and a bank of phones. She must be trying to make a call without being seen.
Well, not if he reached her first.
Time had gotten away from him somehow this morning. Almost 8:00 a.m. Already? People were sitting in the lobby, drinking coffee from a bar and waiting for the restaurant to open. Most of the boutique shops were beginning to open their doors, too, hoping the tourists would want to do some last-minute Christmas shopping before heading to the slopes.
Too many people and too much commotion. He couldn’t tell where the threat would be coming from.
Acting casual, Gage wound through the lounge area. About midway to the front desk, he came across a man reading a newspaper who seemed out of place. With his hair in a ponytail, a diamond stud winking from one ear and a wireless phone receiver attached to the other, the guy could’ve easily passed as one of the other holiday skiers. But this one wasn’t dressed in ski attire. Or in after-ski attire, for that matter. The heavy-set man wore a dark suit, white shirt and tie.
No question. He did not belong in this picture.
Gage picked up his pace. By the time he reached the front desk, Elana was on the phone and Ponytail Guy was getting to his feet and speaking a mile a minute into his earpiece. Uh-oh.
Snagging her elbow with one hand, Gage ripped the phone away from her with the other and then slammed the receiver back in its cradle. “Time to go. Your past has caught up to you.”
Elana jerked back and glared up at him. “What do you...?” The words died in her mouth when he nodded his head toward the man in a dark suit who by now was headed their way.
Fighting her own agitation, Elana sized up the situation in an instant and quickly realized the parking area and front door lay on the other side of the Russian coming toward them.
Now there was no choice but to help Gage find a way out of here. It was too late to split up again. Like it or not, they were in this together.
She remembered Gage’s trick from yesterday of leaving through the restaurant’s back entrance. But this restaurant’s doors weren’t open yet. That way would be a dead end.
Just then the glass doors to the high-end jewelry and gift shop opened and she saw their route to salvation. “Come on,” she whispered as she grabbed his arm. “This way.”
Hanging on to him with a death grip, she barged into a crowd and dodged her way past a dozen people lining up for breakfast. “Sorry,” she mumbled as she plowed right into the back of a woman and knocked her off balance.
Gage said nothing but managed to keep up with her antics. “Where the devil are we headed?” he finally growled as they cleared the bulk of the crowd.
“Here.” She raced into the tight space of the gift store and sought out the man heading behind a counter. “Earl, can you help us out?”
“Well, morning, Elana. What can I do for you?”
Gasping for a breath, she answered on a wispy thread. “I can’t explain right now, but we need a way out of here without being seen. Is there an employee entrance?”
“Someone after you?” Earl’s million-dollar smile reminded her of what a jokester he was.
“Sort of. But we didn’t do anything wrong.” She gritted her teeth and tried to remain calm. “Please, Earl. I’ll tell you all about it later. I promise.”
Something in the tone of her voice must’ve convinced him that this was an emergency because he moved to the front door, shut it and locked it with the keys still in his hand. “I’ll show you. This way.”
Three minutes later he unlocked the back door to the hotel and let them outside into a delivery zone. “You owe me answers, Elana.” Earl muttered his goodbyes as they stepped out into one of the worst snowstorms she could remember.
“Join the crowd, buddy,” Gage grumbled, shaking his hand.
The next thing she knew, Gage had her arm again and they were sliding at breakneck speed over icy asphalt toward the guest parking. Her brain was racing, too, trying to figure out a way for them to escape. Where to go?
It looked like wherever they went, they were going together. Not the smartest move, but it seemed their only choice from this point.
Gage dug into his jeans pocket and pulled out the rental keys. “Glad we didn’t valet last night. Get in.”
Climbing into the passenger seat and throwing her duffel into the back, she’d barely closed the door when he roared off. “Do you know where you’re going?”
“Down the mountain,” he ground out. “Away from this storm and those goons. We’ll head back toward L.A. and the airport.”
It hit her then. “We can’t. There’s only one road down. It’s a four-lane highway, but they can easily stake it out and lie in wait for us.”
“We can’t stay in Piñon Lake. There’s no place left to hide.” They’d reached the edge of the resort property and he had to make a left or a right.
“Go left. The road narrows about a mile up there, but it winds through the mountains and eventually goes back to civilization the long way around.”
“You’re out of your mind.” He gestured
toward the windshield. “Look out the window. It’s snowing. A flipping blizzard. We’ll be stuck before we get five miles out of town.”
“Maybe someone will be plowing.” She was grasping for an answer but figured anything was better than staying here much longer. “Brendan and his brothers own a cabin up there, just in case we need it. I’ve been there before.”
Gage glanced into his rearview mirror. “I think we’re about to have company.” Turning left, he eased on the gas and struggled to keep the tires on the road.
He straightened out the car and turned on the windshield wipers for all the good they would do. “I sure hope you know how to pray. ’Cause, smart or not, here we go. Hang on.”
Chapter 8
The headlights following behind them grew dimmer in the blinding snow. But after fifteen minutes of carefully negotiating the two-lane road, Gage knew the “good” part of their journey was almost over.
“I’m positive the highway patrol will be closing this road soon,” he said without turning his eyes toward Elana. “We haven’t seen many vehicles coming down past us since we left the hotel. In fact the only other cars on the road seem to be state troopers going up the mountain, probably to close the roads. Got any other ideas?”
“Just a few more miles and we’ll turn off toward the cabin.” Elana sat as still as a mouse.
“And what will that road look like?”
She shook her head. “I’ve only been there once before. I can’t really remember, but I’m guessing it must be pretty decent ’cause the cabin’s rented out during the winter sometimes. I do know it’s only one lane, though.”
“Terrific.” He stopped talking to concentrate on his
driving.
Then the tires slipped and the nose of the SUV headed toward the edge of what he figured would be a deep canyon. Fighting his impulse to swing the wheel the other way, he turned into the skid until the tires caught again.
Christmas Confidential: Holiday Protector Page 17
