Page 10 of Black Bay Protector
That yes, paired with his hard, forceful movements as he shoved things into the duffle before sliding the van door closed was a clear sign that he didn’t want to talk about it, but Paige was too curious to heed the warning. “Does it go to a website?”
When he headed back to the building, she hustled to keep up with his aggressive strides. At the door, he stopped, and let out what could only be called an animalistic growl. The sound sent chills up her spine. The narrow-eyed glare he shot her, only added to the sudden spike of fear.
She cringed back slightly and seeing it, his posture softened, as did his expression. “I’m sorry. That mark is from the lab where I was raised. It’s how the white coats identified us since we didn’t have names.”
Sympathy filled Paige as some of those words stood out in her mind and painted a bleak picture of what Jace must have endured. He’d been raised in a lab. He hadn’t even had a name. And he wasn’t the only one.
“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry.” Without giving it much thought, Paige stepped into him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. There was a moment of stiffness like he wasn’t quite sure how to respond, but after the initial hesitation, he leaned into the embrace and returned it.
“How did you get out? Did you escape?”
She had visions of him and the others he’d mentioned rising up after years of oppression and fighting their captors for their freedom.
“The military got wind of what was going on there and raided the facility. Shut it down.”
Stepping back, Jace broke the embrace and raised his fingers to gently grip her chin. “You see why I can’t let her keep doing this? Do you understand why I have to stop her?”
Paige nodded. She did. And if he weren’t trying to protect her, he’d probably still be there, waging a full-on war…
“Let’s eat,” Jace said, pulling open the door. “We’ve got to get moving again soon.”
Paige had been so hungry before, but now, she barely tasted the food she put in her mouth, her mind too busy figuring out her next steps. Jace was on a mission. A mission he’d prematurely aborted because of her. He felt responsible for her. But she wasn’t completely out of options. The image of a man filled her head. She’d never forget him because she could never forget that day. Grady’s funeral. Her brother’s friend, Paul had been there. He’d served with Grady and probably would have died with Grady too except he’d been injured and medically discharged a few months prior. When the service concluded, he had grimly pressed a business card into her hand and gave one to her parents as well. “You need anything, ever, you call me. I’ll come.”
No one, no matter how advanced their technology would have any reason to link her with the former Navy SEAL. She’d call her father, warn him of what was going on, and get Paul’s number. He’d come to get her. She was sure of it.
Excited by the plan, she leaned across the table. “Look, we’re miles away and you said no one was following us. You can leave me here or at a McDonald’s or a 7-Eleven and I can call for a ride. I have someone they won’t know about no matter how hard they dig.”
“No.”
The abrupt refusal took her by surprise. She’d thought he’d ask her to explain, elaborate, not shoot her down without even hearing her plan.
Clearing her throat, she tried again. “Look, this guy was a friend of my brother. A former Navy SEAL. He’ll be able to keep me safe, maybe even be able to reach out to some of his contacts to help me figure out what to do next.”
Jace eyed her as he crumpled up the wrapper from his breakfast burrito. “I told you what we’re doing next.”
Aggravated, Paige let out a little grunt of annoyance and tried a different tact. “Look. Wouldn’t you rather not have to babysit me? Wouldn’t you rather be back in Ithaca, busting down doors, guns blazing to take them down?”
“Yes,” he told her with an amused little smirk. “But I can’t yet.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know what’s in those files. If they’ve got children, babies in there, there won’t be any guns blazing. A rescue needs to be staged.”
Babies?They were experimenting on babies? Paige’s stomach rolled with horror and it took effort to keep what she’d just eaten down. He’d said he’d been raised in a lab, but her mind hadn’t fully connected the dots. A geneticist would have started at the beginning…
“And I won’t leave you behind,” he continued as if he hadn’t just dropped such a nightmare vision in her head. “I got you into this. I have to make sure you’re safe. That means you’re staying with me.”
“I’m not your responsibility.” She’d meant to sound stern. She was a grown woman who could take care of herself, and find her own way. But her voice betrayed her, sounding weak and shaky even to her own ears.
“Come on.” Jace stood. “We’ve got a lot of hours in front of us yet.”
She stared up at him and a few moments passed before he added in a voice rife with entreaty, “Please don’t make me worry about you, Paige. Let me have the peace of mind of knowing you’re safe.”
Like she could say no to that… With a sigh of resignation, Paige stood. It looked like she’d be going to Virginia after all.
Jace had gotten off the interstate when the sky had begun to lighten in the east. The trip would take longer on these back rural roads, but he didn’t want to risk being seen. For all he knew, his and Paige’s faces might be splashed all over the news with all sorts of eyes looking for them. Doctor Dietrich had connections high up. That was how she’d managed to stay out of prison, and Jace knew she wouldn’t hesitate to put those connections to use to find them.
Paige was currently sleeping in the passenger seat beside him. She hadn’t taken him up on his suggestion that she crawl in back and get some shut-eye, had said she was going to keep him company but she hadn’t lasted long before she’d zonked out. Poor thing was exhausted. Not surprising after all she’d been put through because of him.
