“The eyes,” she told him softly. “I recognized the bastard’s eyes.”
“His…eyes.”
It wasn’t a question, but more like a disbelieving statement. Which was exactly what she’d expected.
“Just forget it.”
A deep roar sounded from below the belly of the jet as its landing gear began falling into place.
“Tell me,” Slade prodded before adding a muttered, “Please.”
One corner of her lips rose with a smirk she didn’t bother trying to hide. “Please?” She brought her gaze back to his. “Wow. Layin’ it on pretty thick, aren’t ya, big guy?”
“I’m serious.” There was no humor to be found in his sexy, dark gaze. “I’m not saying I don’t believe you, so you can put that thought right out of your head. All I’m trying to do is understand…how. Not saying you’re wrong.” He lifted one of his strong hands as a show of defense. “Just that you were really fucking young when all that went down. And you and I both know how unreliable eyewitness accounts can be on a good day, let alone relying on a memory that’s almost thirty years old.”
“Look, I get it, okay?” Shadow shifted her entire body in her seat so she could fully face him. “I was a kid; it was dark, and the shooter was wearing a mask. And no, at the time, I didn’t realize it was him. So I couldn’t possibly make a positive I.D., right? I may have only seen his eyes, Slade, but I’m telling you…Stanton’s the guy.”
Speaking of eyes, his were locked on hers as if she were a puzzle he was trying to solve. Which was fair, given she knew pretty much everything there was to know about him, and he knew diddly squat about her.
“Why now?”
Aaand…this was the part of her story where she’d lose him. But since the man was like a dog with a bone…
“A few weeks ago, I was sitting at home and flipping through the channels trying to find something to watch before bed. And there he was, dressed in his fancy suit and tie with his perfect smile. He was being interviewed at some big campaign fundraising event.”
Digger paused before letting his brown brows dip together in the center. “Again, not questioning your story’s validity, but the guy’s been in the news off and on for the past few years. First as a senator and more recently during his bid for his party’s presidential nomination. But this was the first time you’ve seen him since?—”
“I never said it was the first time,” she corrected him. “You asked why now, and I’m trying to answer your question.”
There was no bite there, nor had she spoken with a snarky or smartassed tone. Banter may be her usual love language, but even Shadow knew there was a time and place to let her natural smartassed self shine.
This wasn’t one of those times.
“By all means…” He motioned for her to continue.
“Thank you.” She flashed a quick smile. “As I was saying, I saw him on the news and started to change the channel again, but something stopped me.”
“Let me guess. It was his eyes.”
“I knew there was a reason my father hired you to be Tac-Ops’ team leader.”
Okay, so there may have been a teeny tiny bit of sarcastic quip in her tone just then. But what was it they said about leopards changing their spots? Oh, that’s right…
They don’t.
The jet jostled a bit as its wheels touched back to earth, and Shadow realized she needed to hurry up with the rest of her story.
“Anyway,” she continued, “I watched his entire interview with this strange gnawing in my gut. I couldn’t figure out why I was so enthralled by the guy, but there was something so familiar about him. I spent the next three hours falling down the rabbit hole of Senator Stanton’s life. When I began losing the fight to stay awake and learn more, I closed my computer and went to sleep.” She drew in a deep breath before releasing it slowly, steeling herself for his reaction to this next part. “That night was the first time in almost twenty years that I’d dreamed about my mother. Only it wasn’t a dream, Dig. It was a memory.”
“It all started coming back to you.”
Shadow nodded, relieved that he was starting to understand. “And just as surely as if I’d traveled through time, my mind put me right back there. I was a little girl, again, awakened by something in the dead of night. I still have no idea what, but something drew me to my parents’ bedroom. And before you say it, yes, I was young, and yes, I was tired. But I saw what that masked man did. And when the shooter turned around, he looked me dead in the eyes.” Her vision blurred behind a well of unshed tears. “The bastard just stood there, staring down at me like he was trying to decide something important.” She swiped angrily at a fallen tear. “Then…and I remember this part so clearly…he casually strolled past me on his way out of the room, as if he hadn’t just put a bullet into the back of my mother’s skull.”
A low curse fell from Digger’s tempting lips, and he both looked and sounded pissed off on her behalf. That alone gave her a sense of comfort she hadn’t realized she desperately needed.
He believes me.
“So you had this dream and then what?”
