Hiding the Past

by Sofia Grey

  Tanner drove slowly around the network of local roads, and Aiden watched the flashing light on its map, checking each access road one by one. Still the tracker beeped and flashed. They crept closer.

  One road looked promising—steep and narrow, potholed and barely wide enough for a car. There were recent tyre tracks in the dust. Juli’s rental car struggled with the uneven surface, and Tanner was afraid of wrecking the suspension and leaving them stranded. They had to stop.

  They prepared to continue on foot.

  Thanks to the friendly tech, Jem, they all had the same tracking app on their phones that Maria had been using. It worked off GPS coordinates, Without cell-phone network coverage, the software would still work.

  The best-case scenario would be finding Maria in control, still armed and safe, with Yanni restrained and docile.

  The worst-case scenario had Yanni armed and holding Maria hostage.

  As far as armed and dangerous went, Jack’s group was woefully lacking in weaponry. Tanner had a neat little ceramic knife that he carried everywhere, and Jack had the balisong, but that was it. Yanni could be holding Aiden’s sidearm along with Maria’s stun gun and whatever he’d picked up along the way.

  Aiden’s knee was in bad shape, so he stayed with Juli in the car. Jack and Tanner worked their way up the mountain, pausing every few minutes to check the phone app and confirm they were heading in the right direction. The path narrowed, a sheer drop opening on one side, and still they climbed until they eventually reached a parking area.

  An empty parking area.

  It was a punch to the gut. Yanni and Maria should be here.

  “Fuck.” Tanner’s anxiety was visible in the lines cutting across his face. “I don’t get it. The fucking tracker’s still bleeping. What did we do wrong?”

  Squinting against the morning sun, Jack scanned the area. He noted the recent tyre tracks in the gravel, and then saw glowing embers a few yards away. A campfire? He went to investigate.

  He bent over the remains of the fire. Was that a pile of denim in the ashes? It could have been what was left of a pair of jeans.

  Yanni’s clothes?

  He grabbed a nearby stick and raked through the ash, lifting the scraps of charred fabric. A dull metal pin lay there. The tracker. Still sending its pulse. Still working, but no longer with Maria and Yanni.

  Where the fuck were they?

  *

  Nathan slept badly, the weight of a ton of extra responsibilities lying on his shoulders. Irina. The need to do all the work in the yard by himself. The offer from Anita that he still hadn’t accepted.

  He would do. Today.

  He abandoned any pretence of sleep, did the mucking out earlier than usual, and then turned the ponies into the field. There were no lessons planned for today. Another time, he’d have been stressing about that, but today he was too tired.

  He made his plans. Phone Anita and get the ball rolling on the partnership deal. Make an assessment of how much work needed doing around the yard. And take advantage of the quiet to work Samson over the jumps.

  But first, coffee.

  Or he could wait a little longer and see if Daisy was coming over.

  It was like a rerun of the day before. Samson ignored Nathan, but looked alert when Daisy walked up from the track.

  Her cheeks were pink and her hair mussed. She couldn’t be sexier if she tried, and he had to rein back those thoughts. Right now. The best they could be was friends.

  His smile of greeting was genuine. Daisy made him smile—it was that simple. “Morning,” he said.

  “Hi.” She jammed her hands into her pockets and smiled back. “How’s Irina this morning?”

  “Still in bed. She slept in the house last night, which was an improvement.”

  Daisy climbed onto the fence and perched a few feet away from him. She clicked her fingers, and Samson approached. “I like the quiet of the early morning,” she said. “It feels as though the rest of the world is asleep.”

  “Yeah. Me too.”

  He wanted to ask more about her life. Her planned move to London. How much longer he could be selfish and enjoy her company.

  He did none of these. Instead, he decided to seize the moment. He didn’t do enough of that.

  He dropped easily into the field, tugged the halter from his pocket, and then slipped it around the horse’s neck, soothing and patting him. Turning to Daisy, he cocked his head to one side. “I never asked you. Do you ride?”

  Her cheeks went bright red, and she covered them with her hands. She giggled, and it was a beautiful thing. “Not horses.”

  She was so fucking adorable. And there was a mental image he had to push to the back of his brain. He grinned, loving her embarrassment and her dirty sense of humour. “What I should have said was, would you like to ride Samson?”

  She gaped. “Ride? Samson? Are you kidding?”

  “How d’you feel about going bareback?” He kept his voice innocent.

  Daisy snorted with laughter and pointed at him. Her eyes danced with humour. “Now you’re being plain rude. That’s a bit of a personal question.”

  This was the best fun he’d had in forever. “I was talking about riding horses bareback. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I think I know what you thought, and I thought you meant—”

  “Whoa.” He laughed with her. “I can’t keep up with you.” He climbed back onto the gate, holding Samson’s halter, and then dropped neatly onto the horse’s wide back. Samson never moved. He stood there, blowing noisily.

  Nathan held out a hand to Daisy. “You want to join me?”

  She looked stunned.

  Did she think he was joking? “I won’t let you fall. I promise.” He’d keep her safe. While Samson was a bastard most of the time, he was normally docile when ridden without tack.

  Daisy wavered. He saw the indecision in her eyes.

  “Okay.” She didn’t sound convinced, but his heart leapt anyway. Stupid heart.

  “Climb onto the gate, like I did. I’ll bring him nearer.”

  She did as he said, and when Samson was as close as he could get, Nathan held out one arm to Daisy.

  “Lean into me. Gotcha.”

  She sat in front of him and immediately clutched at a handful of mane. She curled her fingers into the coarse hair, her breathing sounding panicky.

  “Shh. It’s okay,” said Nathan. “Just relax. We’re going for a little walk.”

  He looped one arm around her waist and tugged her to sit flush against him. Fuck. That was a giant mistake. She fit perfectly with his body. She was so fucking perfect, and he couldn’t have her.

  He could have this, though.

  He nudged Samson with his legs and clicked his tongue, and the horse plodded away.

  “Ohhh.” Daisy leaned forward and gripped the mane tighter. It gave him a deeply possessive thrill, to hold her like this. For her to trust him, even though she was scared.

  Her soft hair smelled of coconut.

  Nathan urged Samson to walk slowly around the edge of the field. He was in no hurry to stop. This was as close to heaven as he could imagine, and yet, at the same time, he was burning in hell.

  “What do you think?” He spoke into her ear.

  “It’s scary,” she whispered back. “But fun.”

  He was glad she enjoyed it. “Yeah, it’s fun. Do you want to go a bit further? We could trot if you’d like, although that’s a bit bumpy without a saddle.” He nudged Samson onto a flat section of the field. “Do you trust me, Daisy?”

  Her shoulders slumped. She let out a sigh. “We should go back. I didn’t mean to stay out long.”

  It was the right thing to do. “Sure.” He nudged Samson to turn back, and they headed for the gate again. “Another time?”

  “Maybe.” She sounded uncertain.

  The gate was only yards away. Nathan wanted to wring every last second of this time with her. “When do you move to London? And surely, you’ll still c
ome back to visit? To see Alex, I mean.”

  Her breath hitched. “It’s not just London. We’re also going to New York for a year. Charlie has a record deal.” She sighed. “I guess we won’t be back much at all.”

  Yeah. The sooner Nathan stopped feeling warm and fuzzy about Daisy, the better.

  “Wow. You’re living in the fast lane.” He sought for a light tone to his voice, but wasn’t sure he hit it. “That’s a pretty big move. Good luck.”

  “Thanks. I only found out yesterday. It’s all happened really quickly. We’ll be moving down to London next week, and then out there a few weeks later. It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”

  “Uh huh.” They reached the gate. Like the grains of sand in an egg timer, his time with Daisy was dwindling away. Counting down. It would soon be gone.

  He held Samson, helped her to scramble up onto the bars, and then dropped to the floor to stand beside her. “We could go for a ride before you leave? Take a couple of horses and head out to the bay? Have a think about it.”

  He was clutching at straws. She’d say no.

  Her gaze skittered away. “I’m not sure what I’m doing for the next few days. We’re pretty busy, you know.”

  Something moved in Nathan’s peripheral vision. He lifted his gaze from Daisy’s face and saw Charlie, watching them together. The guy looked furious.

  *

  Juli was worried by the bleak look on Tanner’s face when they returned to the car. Jack was tense, his face pale, and lips compressed to a tight line. There was no sign of Maria or Yanni.

  Juli’s palms were damp. She rubbed them across her jeans, before gripping Jack’s hand and meshing their fingers together.

  “They’re gone. We missed them.” His voice was strained. Opening his other hand, he showed her the tracking pin, sooty and scorched and slightly misshapen. “We pulled this from the ashes of a campfire. We have to consider the possibility that Maria doesn’t know it was left behind.”

  He slipped the pin into his jeans pocket and slumped back in his seat. “God. I need a coffee.” He sounded exhausted.

  Tanner was silent, staring into the distance. He seemed to be locked into his own world.

  “Okay,” said Aiden. He glanced at his watch. “We need to make plans, and we might do that better with food. Let’s go find a café and take stock. We’re all tired and edgy. We need to get our focus back.”

  Fifteen minutes later, they sat in a small café, waiting for breakfast to be served and reviewing their dwindling options.

  Aiden led the discussion. “Our first option is to call in the police. Maria is wanted for questioning. It would only take a call, and they’d descend on the area. It could spook Yanni though and make him behave in an unpredictable manner.”

  “Maria’s safety has to be our first priority,” Tanner growled, glaring round the table. “I don’t give a flying fuck about Yanni, but putting her at risk is not open to discussion.”

  “Agreed. Our second option is to go back to Gloria’s and try to pick up more from the girls. Assuming they know anything more.”

  Jack pulled a face. “It’s unlikely that they do, but we could, as a last resort. Aiden, what about calling in your people?”

  They all paused as breakfast was served.

  Aiden gulped down painkillers with his coffee. He looked pale and unwell today. “That would be awkward.” He spoke carefully. “I’m not here in an official capacity; I’m supposed to be on leave. When they find out I’ve been engaged in a little—shall we say—private business, there will be a lot of questions to answer. If I was handing over Yanni, it’d soften the blow. But you’re right. I don’t see we have much choice.”

  “Shit,” said Jack. “Is your career on the line here? Why the hell didn’t you say something?”

  Aiden looked unruffled. “It’s my call. I wanted to help, and I’ll face up to the consequences. Bottom line, I may get my knuckles rapped.” He shrugged and offered a half-smile. “If my knee doesn’t heal, my career is fucked anyway. Unless I want to sit behind a desk, of course.”

  Silence descended on the table. “So,” he continued, professional as usual, “any other suggestions? We still have Yanni’s ID—the Alain Auberge ID, that is—but no passport, so he must have at least one passport stashed somewhere. He’s probably using another ID at the moment. I’ve got a tracer set up on Maria’s phone, and as soon as it switches back on, we’ll be able to triangulate the location.” He paused. “If it switches back on.”

  There didn’t seem to be anything else they could do. Or was there? “What about the guy in the basement? The one Maria ran over?” Juli tapped the table as she thought through the idea. “Can’t you lean on him, Aiden? See what his connection is?”

  Aiden nodded. “Yep. Good idea.” He looked at each of them in turn. “Going back to London is frustrating though. We should split up. Juli and I stay here in Wales and wait for the trail to pick up, while you two head back to Gloria’s. I’ll call my people from here.”

  Jack flashed a guarded look at Juli, his hand sliding over the table to cover hers. “We’d need to sort out a second car, but you’re right. If we head back to London today, we could drive back here straight from Gloria’s.” He squeezed Juli’s fingers. “Don’t take any chances. If you find them, keep your distance until we arrive.” He looked at her with a stern expression on his tired face. “I know you don’t think he’s dangerous, but please promise me you won’t approach him. It’s bad enough he’s got Maria. We can’t let him take you as well.”

  Yet again, her husband was walking into danger, and she was being relegated to the sidelines and told to do nothing. Spending the night in a cramped, cold car had done little for her mood. “Yanni came to me, looking for help. He trusts me.”

  “Yeah, but that was before…” Jack ground to a halt, glanced at Tanner, then continued smoothly. “Before we got involved.”

  Her instincts flared, while her heart sank. “Before what, Jack? Try again, with the truth this time.” He tilted this chair against the wall, the image of a relaxed man. The muscle flicking wildly in his cheek told otherwise. She waited.

  “Shiiiit.” His expression was forbidding at best. His eyebrows knitted together over a taut forehead, with a savage gleam in his eyes and a level of tension that was almost visible. His gaze flicked left and right, his fingers tapping a staccato rhythm on the table top. “Okay. Before he knew you were married to me. I have history with him.”

  She sighed and rubbed her hands over her face. She was sleep deprived and bad tempered, sweaty and grubby, and in desperate need of a shower. She didn’t want to have a public argument with Jack. “I know you’ve got history with him. I was there, remember? He knows you infiltrated his compound.”

  “Yeah, well… That’s not all.” Jack bit the words out.

  Yanni’s words rang in her memory. “Is this something to do with what happened in Madrid? With Caroline?”

  *

  Jack gazed at his beautiful wife. Could he get away with not telling her? Their eyes met over the table, and he sighed. Fuck knew how much Yanni had already said. This was truth time.

  She looked at Tanner, then Aiden. “I’m assuming they know what you’re going to tell me?”

  Tanner stared down at the remains of his breakfast, while Aiden fidgeted with a sachet of sugar. It was Jack’s story to tell, and it was time to set the record straight.

  He sat forward, dropped all four chair legs to the floor, and pushed it back to the wall. The creaking of the wood on lino sounded unnaturally loud to his ears. He held out one hand to her. “Let’s go somewhere a bit quieter.”

  She may have been sleep deprived and dishevelled, but everything about Juli was beautiful. Her wild hair, almost with a life of its own, her loving smile, and the heat in her eyes. Telling her about the events in Madrid would help her understand why he couldn’t trust Yanni. He should have told her already, but it was old news.

  It felt cool outside, as they walked hand in hand bac
k to the car, then leaned against the doors.

  Jack turned to face her and trapped her with his arms resting on the roof either side of her head. “You know how much I love you. How much you mean to me.”

  Green eyes gazed back. “I can feel a but coming.”

  “No.”

  “So, tell me. It’s time for the truth, Jack.”

  Injustice flared for a second. Juli had been less than honest with him, but now wasn’t the time for that. “Caroline was part of Yanni’s group in Madrid. We had a fling, and I made the mistake of falling in love with her.”

  Juli’s gaze never wavered. She hooked her fingers over the waistband of his jeans. “Is that it? Why didn’t you tell me?” She hesitated. “There’s more.”

  “Yeah, there’s more.” A lock of her hair fluttered in the breeze, and he couldn’t help touching it. He teased the curl, to make it spring back into place, then tucked it neatly behind her ear. His mind flashed back to Madrid, a few years ago. To the Caroline he fell in love with, the petite and fragile waif, with the face of an angel. And the heart of a stone-cold bitch.

  Juli stared trustingly at him. She couldn’t be more different. “Yanni said you killed her.” It came out as a whisper. “Tell me he’s lying.”

  “For once, he’s telling the truth.”

  A tiny frown appeared on her smooth forehead, and a look of puzzlement in her eyes. She gripped his jeans more tightly. Time seemed to stretch out, elastic and never ending. She licked her lips after an eternity and whispered again. “I don’t understand.”

  “There was a leak at the US Embassy in Madrid, and our firm was hired to investigate. They thought the leak came from the press office. I played the role of a disgruntled Marine and targeted Caroline, who was the local liaison. She introduced me to Yanni. She was responsible for the leak, only we didn’t know that at the time.”

  He shoved the difficult memories back in his mind and tried to focus on his wife. “I fell hard for her. In hindsight, if it all seemed too perfect, that was because it was. It tore me apart that I’d been lying to her. That everything about me was fake. And one night I told her how I really felt.” The humiliation swept over him again. His stupidity at trusting her. “She laughed at me. Said that Yanni told her to sleep with me, to get me onside. Even then, I didn’t believe her, but she said that now I was a part of his group, she didn’t have to pretend any longer.”