“Don’t worry, it’s the ones you don’t see who are the problem.”
“We saw the ones in the Mariner’s parking lot.” She pressed her hands against the seat belt tightened across her waist. “Seemed like a problem to me.”
“Not really. They were probably just a couple of thugs out to make a quick cash withdrawal from us. I said no.” At least that’s what he hoped. And until he knew differentfor sure, he was sticking to that story. Besides, once they’d crossed the bridge, there’d been no sign of the car he could have sworn had followed them from the Mariner’s parking lot.
“Finish your story,” she said, as if asking a classroom professor to repeat an assignment.
“In exchange, your dad and mom were put into the Witness Protection Program. You may have heard it called Witpro. Your family was relocated to Utah. Had some good years. There were no signs of being found, so they just lived their life. Had a baby girl they named Elizabeth. You’d have been eight—”
“My family was not in Witness Protection,” she snarled. “They’d have told me.”
“As I said, you’d have been about eight or ten the first time CT showed up at your home. And after your mother died of cancer when you were in middle school—”
“Stop it. Stop it…please.” She pumped her hands on the dashboard as she stared out the windshield. Tears made crooked paths down her cheeks. Her forehead scrunched in lines as she tightly squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t want to hear any more.”
He hated parts of this job. Hated it almost as much as taking a bullet in the side. Both hurt like hell. Both left a mark on his soul.
Without thinking through his actions, he slowed the car, reached over, and laid his hand on her arm. Waited for her to regain some semblance of the woman he’d met at the Mariner’s. When she had herself under control, he sped back up.
“Look, I hate that I’m the one Drake put in charge of telling you your life story, but it’s my job,” Mitch said. “Understand?”
Nodding, she folded her lips in on themselves. “Go on. Get it over with.”
Moving his hand back to the steering wheel, he checked his rearview mirror again. “After your mother died, your dad contacted Drake. Evidently, he refused to tell you about Witpro—”
“Why?” She blotted her eyes with her fingers. Brushed her cheeks dry with the palms of her hands.
The same question kept running through his mind. “I have no idea. All I know is that he and Drake agreed to spend some vacation time together. Maybe your dad was afraid you’d be alone if something happened to him, so he brought someone he trusted into your life.”
Mitch rolled Drake’s earlier words around in his mind again. Remembered the pause when he’d asked if there was anything else. That pause had spoken millions, and he didn’t much like the conclusion he kept reaching. Drake had at least texted a few specifics on background so Mitch would be able to give Liz a few specifics. His boss might have had good reasoning behind his actions, but he’d screwed up by staying in contact with a Witpro person, especially since they’d been friends.
If any of that came out, he couldn’t begin to list the repercussions waiting to fall like bricks on his boss’s head. “So, tell me how you met Drake.”
She smiled slightly. Batted her eyes as she sucked in a breath. “After my mother died, my dad started taking the two of us on actual vacations. Once a year. Sometimes twice. We’d go to unusual places. Do unusual things. Spend time with Drake, who my dad referred to as his ‘friend from St. Louis.’ Said he was ex law enforcement turned security-firm owner.
“Anyhow, we’d all have fun. Was nice to have a little fun in my life for a change.” She paused. “One time, I asked Drake what type of security his firm handled, and he all-out ignored my question. Wouldn’t even look at me. Just grabbed his keys and took us to get ice cream instead.”
Mitch could see that happening. Last year’s OPAQUE annual get-together had had tubs and tubs of different flavors of ice cream. “Drake does like his ice cream. Especially on a hot summer day.”
“Tell me about it.” Nodding, she finally seemed at ease for the first time since they’d met. “Funny thing was, I had a scoop of chocolate chip with fudge sauce, and my dad ordered a small waffle cone with two scoops of vanilla. But Drake? He ate every last bite of an oversized banana split with four different ice cream flavors, five different syrups, whipped cream, lots”—she laughed—”with tons of maraschino cherries and extra nuts.”
Drake had done everything to help his friend during the past years. And now, everything to keep Liz safe at all costs. That spoke of his boss’s personal ethics when it came to risking his own well-being. Mitch could relate to that. Somehow, together, they’d all make this right in the end. It was the getting there that might be the problem.
She gulped a couple breaths, choked on a smile, as a tear ran down her cheek. “You know what he said?”
“What?”
“Enjoy life while you can. What if tomorrow never comes?’That always seemed to be the way he lived, too.” Mumbling, she swiped her fingers at the runaway tear then braced her elbow on the center console. “Too bad I never remembered to live his advice.”
Reactively, he covered her hand with his own. He knew how she felt. “Hey, in hindsight, everybody has advice they wish they’d followed.”
“Even you?”
“More than you’ll ever know.” He stared at the road ahead, forced the past from his thoughts. “It’s how you live your future that matters.”
She flipped her hand over and intertwined her fingers with his. Squeezed for a couple seconds then released. “Thanks. I needed that.”
“Any time.” The warmth of her touch melded with his body’s heat. Not something he felt very often. Not something he needed in his thoughts. He moved his hand back to the steering wheel.
