He pulled her into his side, and she curled up on the couch next to him. For the first time since he’d woken from his coma after getting shot while saving Irish, a sense of contentment consumed him. The restlessness that was a constant companion had stilled. And it was all because of the woman in his arms. He wished they weren’t sitting on his couch under these circumstances. Then again, maybe this was how they were meant to meet up again. However it happened, she was right next to him and that’s all that mattered.
“A lot of real life mirrors fiction, or fiction mirrors real life. I’ve got Cass looking into Alfredo Vargas and his connections. If there’s anything that ties him to what happened to you and the attempt to take you, then she’ll find it.”
“Has she been able to find out anything about that yet?”
This was the thing that Isaac couldn’t understand. It was as if the guys who’d attempted to kidnap her were unidentifiable ghosts, and he said as much to Marie. “Cass was able to pull footage from the highway cameras this morning. But because of the time of day and that the only light came from the streetlights, itwas hard to get a good visual on them. This isn’t a group of amateurs, we’re dealing with professionals.”
“They know where I live and where I work. They would’ve tracked us to the hospital. I can’t not go to my job, I’ve just started, and I love it.”
The distress in Marie’s voice cut him to the core, and he wished there was an easy way to make it better for her. “I know, and we’ll work something out. As I said, you’re not alone and there’s no way we’re going to let anything happen to you.”
“That’s a mighty big promise to make considering you have no idea who these guys are or what they look like.” Marie jumped up from the couch and began pacing around his living room. He wanted to reach out and pull her back to him, but he let her move knowing she needed to work through this, because the whole conversation wasn’t going to get any easier, especially with what he wanted to tell her.
“I know it’s a lot to ask, to trust me and the team I work with, but this isn’t anything new for us. I may not have been trained in the way the others have. Nor have I had to deal with the life-threatening situations they’ve found themselves in, but I worked for the DEA for a long time. I spent years under cover in a drug cartel. I know how things work.” The very thought of having to dip his toe back into that world didn’t sit well with him, but for Marie he would do it.
Of course, he couldn’t go back as Javier Cortez–that man was dead and if he miraculously came back to life and popped back up in Mexico he wouldn’t last the day because of the enemies he’d made. He could, however, create a new persona. Or he could be Samuel Rodrigo again, because if it came to light that Alfredo Vargas was behind all of this, he was well acquainted with Samuel. Their one and only interaction in San Carlion wouldn’t be one Alfredo would forget.
“This is just all too much!” Marie sat back down on the couch, her head in her hands. Her distress was plain to see, and he hated seeing her in such pain.
He closed the distance between them and pulled her into his embrace. “I know it’s a lot to take in. If you weren’t feeling scared or angry, I would think you were made of wood.” He framed her face so that she had no choice but to look at him. He wanted her total focus on him so that she could see that he wasn’t just saying words to make her feel better. That he wasn’t blowing smoke up her ass. “Whatever you believe, believe this—nothing, and I mean nothing, is going to stop me or the team from getting to the bottom of this. We will find out who is after you and why, and we will stop them.”
He kissed her, wrapping her tight in his embrace. Isaac wanted her to know that she was important to him. It may seem like it was fast, and it was, but she’dbeen a constant thought in his mind since their first encounter in San Carlion. He’d dreamed about her. Had wished that things were different and he could’ve ignored the way she’d pushed him away and stayed.
There was no denying that there was something growing between them. Something strong and not to be ignored.
Isaac poured all of that into the kiss and hoped she understood it. They broke apart and he tucked her close to him.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked after a few beats of silence. “We hardly know each other. Why are you going out of your way to protect me?”
“I’m doing this because I want to get to know you better. I’m attracted to you; have been since the first time we met. Prior to running into you, I was drifting through the motions of living.” Isaac shifted so that they were more comfortable on the couch. He was going to bare part of the insecurities that were a constant part of his life now. He didn’t believe Marie would judge him, but he couldn’t be too sure. “For the last year, my life has been one of hiding and keeping a low profile. The years prior, I was pretending to be someone I wasn’t, but because I’d been doing it for so long, I lost myself. I had to relearn to be Isaac Warner and not Javier Cortez. Or Samuel Rodrigo. Or David Redcliffe. All the personas I’ve had totake on during the last decade. With you I feel like I can be me, or the newer older version of me, before I’d become Javier Cortez.”
By telling her so much, he knew the questions would come and the chance that when he told her everything he’d done, she’d turn her back on him and want nothing to do with him.
It was a risk he was ready to take, because he wasn’t going to be anything but truthful with Marie. No matter how unpleasant it was going to be for him.
“There’s so much to unpack there.”
Isaac rubbed his hand up and down her arm. “I know. And there’s probably a lot you want to know as well.”
Marie leaned back. and as much as he wanted to keep her close, he didn’t fight the movement. “There is. Not only with all that you just said, but also with what I’m going to do now that it’s clear I’m the target and they know practically everything about me. Where I live. Where I work, but I won’t let them take everything from me.” Fire ignited her tone.
Everything about the situation was shitty. There was no other way to describe it, but it wasn’t entirely unsalvageable. “We’re not going to let them win.” He curled some hair behind her ear and touched the earring. “We’ve got this for a start. We will always know where you are. There is security at the hospital, but wecan’t rely on them to be able to watch every single person who comes in. Ideally, the best scenario would be to have someone working with you in the ER, but logistically that’s not something we can do easily.”
Marie snorted. “Are you telling me one of the guys on the team has medical training? The ER is a different beast. The pressure is intense. Life and death decisions need to be made in a split second. It’s not for the faint of heart.”
“I know, which is why I said it wouldn’t be easy. I can watch outside and the surroundings like I did today, but someone could still slip in while I’m not watching. The lengths people will go to get what they want is staggering. And surprising.”
“Wouldn’t it be great if they decided I wasn’t worth the trouble. I mean what have I done to warrant this type of attention?”
This was the thing that Isaac couldn’t understand. Why Marie? What was it about her that they decided she was their target? “I wish I knew, but we will find out why.”
“All I guess we can hope for, is that they don’t want to draw attention to themselves by going after me when I’m at work. I mean they could’ve come and done it today. They followed us because of the tracker. They would’ve known where we stopped. Trying to snatch me or harm me while I’m at work surroundedby dozens of people doesn’t seem like a smart thing to do.” She looked triumphant as if she’d solved the problem, and while it wasn’t solved, Isaac had to admit that her idea did have merit.
“It’s a possibility that they wouldn’t hit you at work. As you said, too many witnesses. Not to mention the security cameras the hospital has around the place.” He wouldn’t mention that camera feeds could be messed with, so the people watching think they’re looking at a live feed, when it’s an actual looped feed.
“Maybe work isn’t as big a hurdle as we think it is, which means them knowing my apartment location is the next thing we need to sort out.” Marie tapped her finger against her lips, drawing his attention to their plumpness, and the desire to sample them again almost had him trying to distract her. “I won’t live with Mom and Dad, that’s putting them in danger and that’s not on.”
This was his lead in. The moment where he could put forward the idea that was the only palatable one—at least to him, convincing Marie that it might be a good idea was another matter. “I think you should stay here, with me,” he clarified as if that was necessary.
