“I do, but—“
“No buts. DC,” she said. “Assuming TSA will let me fly without ID.” Unfortunately, the bag that she’d been forced to leave behind when escaping the compound had never been located, so she didn’t have her own phone, wallet, or anything.
“Let’s find out.”
Thirty minutes later, he had their tickets for flights from Bozeman to Dulles at seven o’clock, and the scoop on TSA. “Getting through security is going to be a hassle, but you can do it. We’ll give ourselves extra time.”
He texted their flight info to Wendy, his mom, and Kurt, assuring the latter that he didn’t need a ride. Todd preferred to get a rideshare over having his friend fight weekday traffic.
Lindsey let her parents know she’d be going to DC before coming home.
“How’d they take it?” he asked.
“They’re disappointed, but also relieved, since Megan’s in California.”
“Assuming she staged that threat herself. She’s already used a surrogate once.”
“True.” Lindsey sighed, her entire body drooping. “Actually, we need to talk about Megan.”
“What about her?” His scalp prickled in warning.
She rolled her lips inward. “You’re not going to like it.”
“Okay.” He tried to keep his voice even, but he wasn’t going to like any plan involving that woman. “Shoot.”
“I want to lure her out.”
Of course she did.Fuck. “Linds—”
“Nope.” She lifted her free hand, palm up. “I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder for God-knows-how long, knowing the moment I let down my guard, she’s likely to strike. I can’t live like that. And neither should you.”
His entire being recoiled from the idea. “You want to willingly make yourself an easy target.”
She frowned. “Not too easy.”
“A trap.” The words left a bad taste in his mouth. The last thing he wanted was to bring Megan’s wrath down on Lindsey’s head willingly. Or his own head for that matter. But he understood her need to get it over with. Hyper-vigilance was exhausting.
Resigned, he asked, “What’d you have in mind?”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
BY SIX-THIRTY that evening, Todd and Lindsey were sitting on the couch at Marti’s rental house with a Bureau car out front for protection, and empty takeout containers on the coffee table.
He wanted to close the distance between them and take her into his arms, but she’d curled up in the opposite corner with her hands locked around her knees.
They hadn’t yet come up with a plan to trap Megan. Some sleep would help. As would talking it through with some of his teammates.
“You mentioned wearing glasses when you’re tired,” Lindsey said. “Are you a reader?”
He glanced up, startled by the question, nerves jumping. Was there a wrong answer? One that would shut down any chance he had at winning her back?
Yeah, shit-for-brains, any answer that isn’t true.
Right. He took a deep breath and tried to relax. “I mostly like fantasy. You know, those thousand-page door-stoppers that take months to get through. At least for me.”
“I would’ve pegged you for a thriller man.”
He shook his head. “Some of those fall a little too close to home. Plus, I cringe at all of the inaccuracies.”
