A quick check of the stalls showed the bathroom was empty. Removing his baseball cap, he ran a hand through his hair, feeling the still unfamiliar beard as he returned to stand in front of her. “It’s Scott Kramer. From Aggressor.” As if that would make her feel safer.
She covered her mouth with a shaky hand as she scrutinized him, recognition dawning in her eyes. “How’d you find me?” she asked, her voice tight and breathy.
“I never lost you. I’ve been following you since four days before you ran.”
Her jaw slackened and she looked away, clearly absorbing that revelation. Funny how even hackers bristled when their privacy was invaded. Too bad he didn’t feel like laughing right now.
“Look.” He stepped closer and she shrank further into herself. “I know you probably don’t trust me, but we need to get out of here.” He ignored her wary expression and pressed on. “You’re not safe anymore.”
Her eyebrows knit. “What do you mean?” She held his gaze, as if looking for something. He’d never noticed the streaks of gold and green in her eyes before.
Moron. He crossed his arms and took a deep breath to break the bad news.
“Suresh is dead.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Zachari, CA
Sunday, 6:10 p.m.
THE SCRUFFY VERSION OF SCOTT dressed in a Black Keys concert T-shirt, tan cargo shorts, and running shoes crouched in front of Valerie. She was still reeling from his sudden—and definitely unexpected—appearance, when his words registered.
Suresh is dead.
She shook her head. “But I just saw him… What happened?”
“Someone shot him in the parking lot.”
Oh, God.Her heart stopped, just hung for a full beat, a painful, useless lump of clay in her chest. Duncan wasn’t playing around. She took a shuddering breath and squeezed her eyes shut.
Poor, sweet, brilliant Jay. How could he be dead?
She met Scott’s gaze, the deep blue eyes she’d daydreamed about. He’d never looked at her with adoration, had never really noticed her before she got into this mess. Now he stared back, his gaze hard and flat with no reassurance.
He might not want her dead, but he didn’t like her. Scott had been following her, and now Jay was—
Anger burned through her like a wildfire on dry grass. “This is your fault, then.” She wanted to shove him away, beat at him, kick and scream. “You told Duncan where to find us.”
Frowning, he said, “Yes, but I never expected this. It was one of the feds…”
He didn’t even try to deny it. Her gut tightened. Was there a single man in her life other than her sweet dad who hadn’t betrayed her? Ever?
Scott held out a hand. His fingers were long and lean, his palm callused. “We can talk more later. I just called the police, so we need to get out of here before they arrive.”
Valerie didn’t move. Could she trust him? All she had was his word. For all she knew, he’d killed Jay. Or maybe Jay wasn’t dead at all. Hope made her heart leap, but Scott’s expression gave her little room for it.
“I didn’t do it.” His hand dropped and he gave her some space. “I’m not a fan of either of you, but I’m not…” He scoffed and shook his head. “Okay, technically, Iama killer. But I swear to God, Valerie, right now I’m trying to save your life.”
Iama killer.
She shivered. She’d known that. Duncan might have kept her out of the field, but she knew what men like Scott did when they were on a mission. She admired their discipline, their unshakeable confidence in their physical abilities, and their straightforward nature.
But having all those qualities focused in her direction was…unnerving.
Sirens punctured the noise of the bar outside the bathroom door. As a fugitive who’d left behind two dead FBI agents, what choice did she have? Better the devil she knew, right? If he’d wanted to kill her, he could have done the job right here in the bathroom with no witnesses.
She hitched her oversized purse up her shoulder and took Scott’s warm, rough hand, letting him pull her to stand on shaky legs. It didn’t matter if she trusted him or not. He’d caught her—had apparently been following her from the very beginning—and she had little chance of escaping now without getting hurt. Better to go with him and wait for an opportunity to run.
