“I tell you he murdered his father and you start making out with him?” Alan said to her back, his voice angry and hurt and incredulous.
A shadow crossed Scott’s face, but he showed no reaction to Alan’s taunts other than the tightening of his jaw.
“Let me go,” she whispered.
Without taking his gaze off Alan, he loosened his hold.
She reluctantly left the warm, protective circle of Scott’s arms and turned to her old friend, her chest tight. “He’s not a murderer.”
Alan put his hands on his hips and shook his head. “The law says otherwise.”
“Youwant to talk about the law?” She almost laughed.
Alan’s expression was like a thundercloud during a summer monsoon, dark and scary and wild. He glanced at Scott and then returned his gaze to her. “He’s a trained killer, Valerie. For all we know you’re his next target.”
Shaking her head, she said, “That doesn’t make sense. He’s done nothing but protect me, even as this whole mess has upended his life.” She could sense Scott behind her, motionless and radiating frustration and anger, letting her handle this on her own, but there if she needed him.
She loved him for that.
Her thoughts tripped. No, no, no. She loved thatabouthim. She couldn’t—
“What about what I’ve done?” Alan asked. “I’ve been protecting you for years. I still am.”
“I know.” She forced herself to lower her voice. The last thing they needed was to draw attention. “I’ve never doubted your intentions. I’m just asking you to trust Scott’s.”
“I can’t do that,” he said quietly. “Especially now that I know the truth about him.” He closed the gap between them and gripped her shoulders. “I think you should stay with me.”
Behind her Scott shifted, but didn’t interfere.
“I need to get to D.C.,” she said. “The sooner the better.”
“You don’t even know who’ll be on the plane. It could be Duncan’s men, or…worse. Come with me instead. We’ll figure out way to get you there. Hell, I’ll blow off my client and drive you myself.”
“Please don’t.” She stepped aside, dislodging his hands. “Don’t make me choose between you.”
He scowled and crossed his arms. “I think you just did.”
“Alan.”
“Forget it.” He turned and strode toward his car. “Let’s go.”
Scott ate his tacos in the car in silence. Alan and Valerie did the same, the tension between the three of them as thick as the guacamole on his flimsy plate.
After their latest kiss, Scott could hardly take his eyes off Valerie. He enjoyed watching her eat, especially when she licked hot sauce from her fingers…
Turning his attention away from temptation, he scanned the strip mall located down the street from the taco joint where they had parked for more privacy.
“We have an hour to kill until you have to be there,” Alan said, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. “What do you want to do until then?”
“Recon,” Scott said, even though Alan had addressed the question to Valerie. With this situation, they were on Scott’s turf. Finally, an opportunity for him to contribute. “We need time to look around and ensure that we don’t get ambushed.”
“How would anyone know to look for us here?” Valerie asked.
He shrugged. “You’re the expert on that. It’s unlikely, but we have the time to take precautions. Let’s do it right.”
Alan’s jaw tightened, but he nodded and started the engine. As he drove the dark road on the outskirts of Fort Worth, Scott squinted into the night at the streetlights stationed like sentries along the curving road of the small neighborhood. The airstrip was lined on one side by massive two-story homes, each sporting a hangar in the backyard on the edge of the runway. Being small and private, the airfield didn’t require its own air traffic control tower and didn’t have a TSA security presence.
It was the pilot’s equivalent of an avid boater living on a lake. A pretty sweet setup. The residents were likely to notice a plane essentially doing a touch-and-go, but hopefully no one would look too closely.
