Page 4 of Wanted
“I had to,” he told himself for the millionth time. “She was sick.”
He’d followed procedure. He’d sent a female agent to accompany her, but apparently the woman also had a weak stomach. When Dani had gotten sick, the agent had gone into the next stall and puked right along with her. When the agent had recovered, their suspect had been gone.
That had been six months ago, and he was still trying to catch up with her.
Reno stalked around the room. Frustration had his nerves stretched tight. He was tired of this cat-and-mouse game. It had gone on for way too long. Something was bound to snap soon.
The way things were going, that something might be him.
He swiveled on the ball of his foot and glared at his phone on the bed. “Damn it, Dani. Come on!”
* * *
Back in her motel room, Dani stared at her phone as she damp-dried her hair with a towel. Shivering, she cinched the belt of her robe more tightly around her waist. The water in the shower had been tepid at best. She knew the robe was too thick and bulky to tote around with her, but she’d doggedly kept it nonetheless. It was her one comfort, her one indulgence.
She tossed the towel over the back of a wooden chair and sat down on its companion at the table by the window. She tucked the flaps of the robe around her legs until she began to feel warmer and, at last, felt like she could concentrate.
Was he still awake? She hoped so. She couldn’t relax without talking to him. If he was texting her, he couldn’t be driving. He wouldn’t break the rules like that, would he? That blue car still had her worried.
She began to move her thumbs over the buttons of her phone. It was a burner phone. She switched them out often, buying cheap no-contract phones at Walmart or wherever she could find them. On occasion when she had more to say, she emailed him. She was careful when she did that, always making sure she put in enough twists and turns to discourage a trace. The first time she’d done it, she must have used servers across three different countries.
She still wasn’t quite sure why she’d taken that risk. The shock of being accused of something so horrendous had surely had something to do with it. She’d just been so angry she’d had to yell at somebody. The Fed had been the obvious choice. Of course, he hadn’t believed her, but gradually, their chats had become more and more frequent.
In a weird, philosophical sort of way, their cyber-relationship made sense. Over the past six months, she’d lost contact with everybody she knew. She’d made acquaintances along her travels, but she could never tell anybody what was truly happening in her life. She never stayed in one place long, so she hadn’t been able to make friends. Who knew what she was going through better than her hunter?
He knew the struggles she fought. He knew how much she missed her life. So, even though she knew that he was her enemy, she relied on the connection they had. Their relationship kept her sane.
I’m innocent, she wrote. It was the way she always started.
A response came back not ten seconds later.
You’re late.
She lifted an eyebrow.You’re grouchy.
You’ve kept me up past my bedtime.
Hewasgrouchy.
Something about the response made her inner alarm start to sound. Was his mood due to the fact she was late or because he’d been driving a pesky blue car?
Were you chasing me tonight?she asked, choosing her words carefully. He might not be able to trace her computer or phone connections, but he was very good at tracking her down the old-fashioned way. He wasn’t always on the road with her; he went back to the office when he lost her scent. But once he caught it again, he could be right around the corner. If it had been him tonight and she said anything about cars or the interstate, he’d know he was on the right trail and be back on the road in ten seconds flat.
I’m not falling for that, he typed.You know I’m coming for you.
Dani shivered involuntarily. Her body, so relaxed after its recent shower, immediately tensed.
Was he close?
Cautiously, she peeked out the window. Blinking lights from the strip club across the street greeted her. Was he out there, hiding in the shadows?
An unexpected gust of wind shook the tree outside the window, and she let out a startled yip. The curtain dropped back into place, and she pulled her robe more tightly around herself.You don’t scare me, she typed stubbornly.
Liar.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. He did scare her—but in more ways than he could possibly know. She shifted uneasily in her seat. For the longest time she’d tried to deny her feelings, telling herself it was a Stockholm syndrome of sorts, but her attraction to him refused to go away. It only seemed to grow, and that was more frightening than anything.Is that a threat?she asked.
No, it’s a fact. One day soon, I’ll catch up with you, and you’ll have to deal with me.
