Page 11 of Defenseless
Clearing her throat, she rose from the table. Knowing that neither Ethan nor Chad would let her walk home alone if she said she was leaving, she fudged the truth a little. “I need to head to the restroom,” she said. Then grabbing her purse, she made her way to the hallway at the back of the bar.
Keeping to her word, she stopped at the restroom first. But when she walked out, rather than returning to the bar, she headed out the exit and into the parking lot. It would take Chad a few minutes to realize she’d been absent from the table for an abnormal amount of time. By then, she’d be close enough to home that coming after her wouldn’t make sense.
Sneaking off was more cowardly than she was comfortable with. But as she kept reminding herself, life wasn’t always about being comfortable.
CHAPTERSIX
“Sabina’s been gonea long time, hasn’t she?” Chad asked his cousin as he set his empty pint glass on the table.
Ethan shrugged as if to say, “who knows,” but then leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “She doesn’t answer any questions about her past.”
Chad let out a long breath. “Everyone loves her and treats her like their best friend. I was beginning to wonder if it was just me who picked up on that.”
Ethan shook his head. “No, I definitely noticed. If you hadn’t suggested I pay attention, I don’t know that I would have. Once I did, though, it was hardnotto notice.” He paused and tapped a fingertip on the table before he asked, “Why do you think that is?”
Chad lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. My first thought was Witness Protection. But her behavior doesn’t align with how the marshals run the program.”
Ethan nodded. “If she were in Witness Protection, she’d have a full backstory and wouldn’t need to dodge questions about her past.”
“Ex-CIA?” Chad posited.
“Same as Witness Protection. If she’d been an agent that the agency felt they needed to protect, they would have given her a full backstory.” Ethan studied him, and Chad recognized his cousin’s hesitation.
“What?” Chad pressed.
Ethan’s lips thinned. “I know her past matters, but does itreallymatter? Is it possible that you’re using this mystery to keep your distance from her?”
The answer to the second question was a swift “yes,” but he couldn’t bring himself to give voice to that response. Ethan would understand why, but Chad wasn’t ready to open that wound again. The first question, though, well, that was a big one for an entirely different reason. One that Chad had given a lot of thought to. Especially after Sabina’s sudden decision to move west.
“I don’t care how many siblings she does or doesn’t have. Or what her relationship is like with her parents, if she even has them. Or where she grew up or went to school. What I do care about, though, is thereasonwhy she feels the need to keep it all a secret. What happened to her that she believes she can’t talk about her past?”
“What if she can’t?” Ethan countered. “I think we agree she’s probably not in Witness Protection or ex-CIA. There could be another reason that prevents her from talking about it, though.”
“It’s possible.”
“But…?”
Chad took a deep breath. If HICC hired Ethan, then Chad wouldn’t hesitate to bounce ideas off him. But as he wasn’t yet on board, and they didn’t know if he’d be hired, Chad hesitated.
“I understand if you don’t want to talk about a colleague, C. I get it. But we both know she’s more than a colleague to you. Talk to me about the woman you care about. Not the woman with whom you work.”
Chad looked into the steady green eyes of his cousin. Ethan may be seven years younger, but he’d lived a life that left him far older than his years. And he cared about his family. He cared about Chad and, by extension, the woman Chad could very well be in love with.
“I think something spooked her,” Chad said. The din of the bar did a good job of covering their conversation, but even so, he kept his voice low.
“When?”
“Right before we left. She wasn’t supposed to be here,” he responded. Then he went on to tell Ethan about the sudden change of plans that had Sabina moving rather than Jun. “I don’t know what happened, but I feel in my gut that something drove her to make the rash decision.” He hesitated. “And that has me worried.”
“You think she’s in danger?”
He didn’t want to admit it, and he might be being dramatic, but he gave a small nod. “It’s possible.”
Ethan didn’t immediately respond. Instead, he sat back and looked to be considering what Chad had told him. After a long moment, he nodded, too. “I can see it. We don’t know enough to know if that’s true, but it’s a valid explanation for her behavior. She’s running scared.”
A pit opened up in Chad’s stomach at the thought of Sabina in danger. He’d half hoped—hell, more than half hoped—that Ethan would tell him he was overreacting.
“It would explain the cash, too,” Ethan said. Great, a piece of the puzzle Chad hadn’t considered. And Ethan was right. If she was running from something, she’d want to stay off the grid. She was a cyber genius. Covering her tracks would be child’s play. Including knowing she needed to use cash, rather than credit cards.
