“I know,” Ren repeated. He could feel his heart ripping in two. “And we were going to follow you, talk to you, see what happened and how you might possibly help us catch him. Then we discovered that Damien had obtained biological weapons. We were out of time. We needed to use any and all means necessary to find him.”
“Including this elaborate plan involving me.”
“Especially you. He’s always been obsessed with you. His attacks on Omega Sector, killing agents and their loved ones, were in direct retaliation for what he thought Omega SWAT did to you at that bank six years ago. They were the ones who came in to fight against the robbers.”
Her fingers covered her eyes. “That SWAT team saved my life by nicking me in the head. I have no doubt I’d be dead right now at Damien’s hand if not for what happened.”
It was time to tell her everything.
“Andrea and Brandon came to see you, to ascertain if you knew anything, or if you’d be willing to help. They still weren’t sure if you had ties to your ex when they left. But mostly we put them in play to get you to run. To shake you up.”
She laughed, the sound hollow. “You certainly did that.”
“We set up the crash to see if you would call Freihof when there was an emergency. When you were sure there wasn’t anybody following.”
“Except you.”
He nodded. “Except me. I was hoping I’d come across as a nice enough guy that you wouldn’t worry that I was law enforcement.”
“That I would accept that you were just a Montana sheep farmer.” She laughed again, hysteria lacing the sound. “God, I’m the biggest idiot on the planet.”
Ren crouched down at her feet again. “No. My parents do have a sheep farm in Montana. I don’t work there, but—”
“Is your name even Ren?”
“Ren McClement. Just Ren, not Warren. Although many people assume it’s a shortened name. Thompson is my mother’s maiden name.” He touched her ankles again, then let them go when she flinched. “It didn’t take me long to figure out that you had nothing to do with Freihof or his actions.”
“And once you did that? Then what was your grand plan?”
He strung his fingers through his hair. “First, I wanted to make sure you didn’t know anything—details—subconsciously. So I just tried to talk to you.”
“While I was painting.”
“Yes. Then—I swear, Natalie—I was taking you out to show you that river so you could see something beautiful, a place I would always remember and wanted you to remember, too. Wanted you to paint, before I told you what we needed you to do back here with the press. But then that damned mountain lion and the fever...”
“You should’ve told me, Ren,” she whispered. “Once you woke up. You should’ve told me.”
“I know. I wanted to. But we were out of time. I had been unconscious much longer than I’d thought. Homeland Security was sending agents out to detain you as a hostile subject. They would’ve thrown you in a cell.”
“But I have nothing to do with Damien!”
“It wouldn’t have mattered, not to them—they would’ve detained you indefinitely. There were three agents already at the cabin when we left. They should be getting rescued from the woodshed where I tied them up right about now. I couldn’t let them take you. And then I had to get you here in front of the cameras so they couldn’t arrest you, because now the plan is already in play.”
She just shook her head and looked over to the side. Ren stayed where he was, crouched down in front of her, unable to bear to put distance between them, afraid they’d never be close again.
Not that he could blame her.
“I would’ve told you, Natalie. I promise. I just ran out of time. We needed your help. Freihof has to be stopped before he can use those biological weapons.”
“And the lovemaking? Where did that fall in your great scheme? Since it seems like you planned everything down to the letter.”
The time for lies was over. “It was always a possibility if that would help me get closer to you, to get you to contact Freihof. He’s going to kill thousands of people if we don’t stop him. I was willing to do just about anything, including faking intimacy with the woman I thought might be in league with him.”
He moved slightly closer to her, not expecting her to respond. “But it didn’t take me long to figure out you weren’t working with him. The opposite—you were running from him. It didn’t take me long to see the brave, kind, smart woman you were. I made love to you purely for selfish reasons. Because I couldn’t stay away from you. I had to know how you felt, how you tasted.”
He touched her ankles—hell, he would stay here perched at her feet forever if it meant she would listen to him, forgive him, give them another chance—his heart swelling when she didn’t flinch away again.
“I did everything wrong with this case, Peaches. Everything I told you, all the stories, facts about my life, almost every single part of it was true. I wanted to get to know you, and I wanted you to know the real me.”
