Page 63 of The Agent
He lowered his eyes and shrugged. “I know. I’m sorry. I should have trusted you.”
“Yes,” she agreed in a petulant voice.
“Well, I trust you now.” He gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “And I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life making this up to you.”
He stuck the gun in the waistband of his jeans, every last iota of rage and resentment draining from his face, replaced with pure, delusional joy. Oh, God, he was insane. He seriously believed she was telling the truth. That she’d gotten close to Caleb to find out what the cops were doing.
So she could protect Patrick.
Choking back her disbelief, she said, “Can I really go with you?”
He gave her a warm smile, reminding her of the day she’d met him in the hospital, how charming he’d been. “I want you by my side, sweet pea, and I always will.” He wavered for a moment. “What about your dad? And Sam? Can you leave them? I know how much your family means to you.”
Then why are you holding them hostage?she wanted to scream.
Her nerves began to unravel like an old sweater, and she had to force herself to stay in character. “You mean more,” she said simply.
His entire face lit up, and all of a sudden he was the man she’d been going to marry. Preppy, handsome, easygoing smile.
“We should go then,” he said, urgency lining his tone. “How did you get away from the cops?”
She fed him the story she and Caleb had concocted. “I insisted I wanted to go into work. An agent followed me to the hospital, and then I switched clothes with Gwen and snuck out.”
Patrick sounded surprised. “Gwen helped you?”
“Of course.” Marley smiled. “She knows how much I still love you.”
“God, sweet pea, I missed you so much,” Patrick burst out, taking a step toward her.
His gaze dropped to her mouth and something in his expression shifted. To her dismay, she saw a spark of lust there. Horror gripped her insides as he dipped his head. He was going to kiss her.
There was no way she would be able to kiss him back. The very thought of placing her lips on his repulsed her.
Faking a smile, she pressed her index finger to his mouth and laughed. “Hold that thought. We need to go, remember?” She put on a concerned look. “But first I want to make sure Dad and Sam are okay, and say goodbye to them. Is that okay?”
The reverent expression on his face told he would give her the moon if she asked.
“Okay, you can say your goodbyes,” he conceded. “Let’s get this show on the road before I go crazy with impatience. I want to start our life together, Marley.”
She looked him square in the eye and said, “Me, too.”
CHAPTER 15
CALEB CROUCHED BEHINDthe tall hedges of the house three doors down from the Kincaid bungalow. Fear continued to slither up and down his spine like a hungry snake, cold and relentless. He’d been in this state since the moment he’d agreed to let Marley go and meet Patrick.
For the last ten minutes, he’d been listening to their conversation on his earpiece while AJ and Hernandez coordinated with the other agents and police officers on the scene. Four teams had been set up—all out of Patrick’s line of sight—and they were all raring to go. Waiting for Marley to say the word.
“She’s good,” Hernandez admitted with great reluctance as he came up beside Caleb.
Marley had just convinced Grier she was willing to leave her family for him. To anyone else, her tone must sound strong and confident. Ringing with conviction.
But Caleb had spent enough time with her to recognize the nuances of her voice. He knew when she was fighting back laughter, when she was aroused, when she felt vulnerable.
And when she was scared out of her wits, the way she was right now.
“She’s terrified,” he corrected.
Hernandez’s shoulders drooped. “I know.” He sounded ashamed as he added, “And I know you despise me for the way I treated her.”
