Chapter 5: Mystery Man
Booth met the man in a park that closed after dark. He figured it was risky, but the man had insisted.
“Her old partner’s contacted her,” he said.
“So? I doubt she’s going to be pulled back into her old life.”
“You’ve gotten to know her that well?”
“Yes. I have. Just like my job stated.”
“I think you’re too close, but the boss is happy.”
“So stay out of it. Why’d you bring me here?
“If she goes back there will be a bigger price on her head.”
“How much?”
“Three million. That should be enough to bring you out for one more kill.”
“Maybe.”
“You damn well better not be too close to her to pull the trigger. We’ve gone to a lot of trouble to get you where you are.”
Booth put up his hands. “I’m a professional.”
“Good because if I have to do it you’ll be in my line of fire, too.”
“Don’t worry. I know my job.”
The man walked away, left Booth in the park. He waited until he no longer heard the car. Besides, no cop would bother him in his position.
Hours later, Mallory lay in bed, wide awake. Her head thrummed with thoughts. Her body spent from adrenaline she couldn’t get comfortable.
First, the idea of finding her parents or at least a record of them swirled around her brain. She wanted to know who she was. Who she really was. The baby made her think this, but she formed an idea to find them.
Next, the Organization wanted her back. Could she go back? Could she give up what she built?
Trey had warned her he’d contact her again. Undercover. He was one of the ride workers. Now she would get to see him every day for the next four.
Lucky girl.
Convinced she wouldn’t get any sleep, she rose but didn’t turn on any lights. Years of being on guard kept her in the dark. Once her eyes adjusted she could see what she needed.
A light flashed above her bedroom door. Someone was on the porch. They’d set off a sensor she’d put there when she moved into her home.
She licked her lips and contemplated what her next move would be. If she came down the steps, the person might see her. She didn’t have a back stairway so out the window was the choice.
Not satisfied with being chased from her home, she located her gun in the nightstand. She took a deep breath to lower her heart rate and checked the weapon for ammunition.
She paused and listened at the top of the steps. Thankful she’d already had clothes on when the warning light turned on, Mallory descended the stairs. One at a time. She stopped at each one to see if she could hear anything.
A breeze blew the leaves around but hadn’t done anything dissipate the humidity of the day. Her room air conditioner kicked on the moment she thought she heard another noise.
Her heart thumped in her chest. Sweat pooled down her back. Her room was cool and she’d left that behind.
An eternity later she reached the bottom of the steps. Her motion sensor light had been tripped and now illuminated her porch and part of her front yard.
The customary deer that feasted on her shrubs were nowhere to be found. Someone had scared them away from here.
With her back flat against the front door, she peered out first one sidelight window then the other. At her second look, she could see a shadow just outside where the beam of light fell.
She didn’t see a weapon. She’d also have surprise on her side as the person didn’t know she knew he was there. “What the hell.”
Crouched down as she made her way to the back door. No one lurked back there as far as she could see. She eased open the door and slid her body out of the house.
Her breath came in short bursts as her body was flooded with adrenaline. She felt this during fires. And had felt it all the time when she worked for the government.
With silent steps, she crept around the house, stopped just before the front porch light. The person had moved, but still stayed in the shadows. What could anyone want with her?
Fear turned to anger as she realized she didn’t want her home invaded.
“Freeze.”
“Jesus, don’t shoot, Mal.”
Her heart beat double time in her chest. This man was a threat, but not in the way she had first thought.
“What the hell are you doing back?”
Freshly showered since her trek around the house had made her sweaty, Mallory grasped a cold bottle of beer and glared at her ex-lover. Him again. He kept returning like stomach flu you just couldn’t shake.
She braced for the reason he came back. She shielded her heart from his charm.
“I knew you wouldn’t be sleeping,” Trey said.
She longed to wipe off that cocky grin. He’d want her to so she’d touch him. He had that lecherous look on his face as if he knew what he was going to do tonight.
To her.
Little did he know that he was not getting back in her bed. No way. Her heart was hers from this point forward. Or had been for the last half of a decade. “I should have just shot you and asked questions later.”
Her voice creaked out. She cleared her throat.
He didn’t grin, but a guffaw spilled out of him. “Fiery. Always were. That’s what I liked about you.”
“Did you come here to take a trip down memory lane?”
He rubbed a hand down his face, used the third finger of his left hand to rub his eyes. They looked bloodshot to her. “Sort of.”
“Then what?”
He settled at the garage sale table his gaze an arrow through her head. She’d forgotten how intense he could be.
On Sundays, they would go for hours without speaking. No was angry, they just had no need to speak. Some of that time was spent in bed and she remembered with a shiver down her spine that they’d always been in sync there.
She shrugged off the unwanted memories. “Spill it.”
“Another carnival has been hit.”
Her mouth dropped open. “No.”
“No one was hurt, but we’ve received a letter that this was a warning.”
“From whom?” she asked.
Why was she gathering the details? She didn’t want in on this case. The facts didn’t matter.
She listened anyway.
“A group called Islam Power.”
“Never heard of them.”
“They’re backed by our favorite millionaire.”
She set down her beer. “Don’t tell me anything else. This must all be classified.”
He shrugged. “You still have security clearance.”
She put a hand in the air. Could she stop this speeding information train? She shook her head. “I don’t want it. I don’t want the knowledge or the responsibility.”
Her head spun. Her brain was being sucked into a vortex she couldn’t stop. Dammit, she’d left his life behind. She’d made a wonderful one for herself. She had to worry about fires and fundraising.
Not bombs and bad guys.
“What are you going to tell the bomb guys tomorrow? You raised some questions about your abilities,” he said.
“I haven’t decided.”
She would cross that narrow when the time came. Good on her feet, she would think of a plausible story when they asked the questions. Until then she wouldn’t lose sleep.
Just over the bigger situation.
And this man.