luggage. I noticed a strange car in the driveway across the street.”
Crystal was trying hard to keep up. He didn’t live in her neighborhood, so how could he tell when some car was out of place? “How did you know it was a strange car?”
“I sat in front of your place for two hours waiting for you to come home and it wasn’t parked there then,” he said, turning another corner.
She noticed they were driving in an area she wasn’t familiar with and wondered where in the heck they were going. “That’s it? You figured it was out of place because it hadn’t been there earlier?”
“That was enough. I’m trained to take stock of my surroundings.”
Evidently
, she thought. “And this Flipper guy went to my house after we left?”
“He got there just as we were leaving. Flip and his brothers will be keeping an eye on the place while you’re gone.”
She arched a brow. “Brothers?”
Bane looked over at her when he brought the car to a stop at a traffic light. “Yes, he has four. All SEALs. Your place is in good hands for now.”
She was glad to hear that, but she couldn’t help wishing the only hands her house was in were hers. Granted, she leased it rather than owned it, but it was the only house she’d lived in since moving to Dallas. When she noticed him glancing in the rearview mirror and grinning she asked, “What’s so funny?”
“Ambush. I deliberately had the driver of the blue car follow us here and Flip’s brothers were waiting.”
“How did they know?”
“When Flip’s brothers noticed I was being followed, they followed the blue car. Then one of Flip’s brothers passed the blue car and got in the front of us to lead me off the interstate. The others went ahead and were ready to stop the guy at that intersection back there.”
Nervousness danced around in her stomach. “So now we can continue to the airport?”
“No,” he said, pulling the car into what appeared to be the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse. After parking the car and turning off the lights, he grabbed the mobile phone he’d placed on the dashboard. He glanced down at it for a minute before looking back at her. “There might be others looking for us there.”
“Why would you think that?”
He pushed back in the seat to stretch out his legs. “Remember those two men who approached you about coming to work for Homeland Security?”
“Yes, what about them?”
“It seems
they
are the bad guys.”
* * *
Bane wished he could kiss the shocked look right off Crystal’s face, beginning at her eyes and moving slowly downward to her lips.
“That’s not possible,” she said. “I saw their credentials.”
“Whatever credentials they had were faked. The department they claimed to work for under Homeland Security doesn’t even exist.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. I texted a copy of that business card to a friend at Homeland Security and a few minutes ago he verified what I’d suspected.”
He watched her nibble her bottom lip and wished seeing her do so didn’t have such an arousing effect on him. He had to stay focused. “The mystery of that note bothers me.”
“How so?”
“Did the person who wrote it have your best interest at heart, or did he or she advise you to disappear for a reason, hoping when you did it would make it easier for those guys to find you?”
She lifted a brow. “You think someone at Seton Industries, the person who put that note in my desk, is in cahoots with those two guys?”
“You have to admit that’s a strong possibility. You said someone broke into your locker. Who would have access to that area other than another employee?”
Bane didn’t like this. He and Crystal should be at her place talking about their future and how they would get beyond the five years they’d spent apart.
He started to say something else when his mobile phone rang with Flipper’s ringtone. He grabbed it off his dashboard. “What you got, Flip?”
“A bunch of crazies,
Crystal was trying hard to keep up. He didn’t live in her neighborhood, so how could he tell when some car was out of place? “How did you know it was a strange car?”
“I sat in front of your place for two hours waiting for you to come home and it wasn’t parked there then,” he said, turning another corner.
She noticed they were driving in an area she wasn’t familiar with and wondered where in the heck they were going. “That’s it? You figured it was out of place because it hadn’t been there earlier?”
“That was enough. I’m trained to take stock of my surroundings.”
Evidently
, she thought. “And this Flipper guy went to my house after we left?”
“He got there just as we were leaving. Flip and his brothers will be keeping an eye on the place while you’re gone.”
She arched a brow. “Brothers?”
Bane looked over at her when he brought the car to a stop at a traffic light. “Yes, he has four. All SEALs. Your place is in good hands for now.”
She was glad to hear that, but she couldn’t help wishing the only hands her house was in were hers. Granted, she leased it rather than owned it, but it was the only house she’d lived in since moving to Dallas. When she noticed him glancing in the rearview mirror and grinning she asked, “What’s so funny?”
“Ambush. I deliberately had the driver of the blue car follow us here and Flip’s brothers were waiting.”
“How did they know?”
“When Flip’s brothers noticed I was being followed, they followed the blue car. Then one of Flip’s brothers passed the blue car and got in the front of us to lead me off the interstate. The others went ahead and were ready to stop the guy at that intersection back there.”
Nervousness danced around in her stomach. “So now we can continue to the airport?”
“No,” he said, pulling the car into what appeared to be the parking lot of an abandoned warehouse. After parking the car and turning off the lights, he grabbed the mobile phone he’d placed on the dashboard. He glanced down at it for a minute before looking back at her. “There might be others looking for us there.”
“Why would you think that?”
He pushed back in the seat to stretch out his legs. “Remember those two men who approached you about coming to work for Homeland Security?”
“Yes, what about them?”
“It seems
they
are the bad guys.”
* * *
Bane wished he could kiss the shocked look right off Crystal’s face, beginning at her eyes and moving slowly downward to her lips.
“That’s not possible,” she said. “I saw their credentials.”
“Whatever credentials they had were faked. The department they claimed to work for under Homeland Security doesn’t even exist.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. I texted a copy of that business card to a friend at Homeland Security and a few minutes ago he verified what I’d suspected.”
He watched her nibble her bottom lip and wished seeing her do so didn’t have such an arousing effect on him. He had to stay focused. “The mystery of that note bothers me.”
“How so?”
“Did the person who wrote it have your best interest at heart, or did he or she advise you to disappear for a reason, hoping when you did it would make it easier for those guys to find you?”
She lifted a brow. “You think someone at Seton Industries, the person who put that note in my desk, is in cahoots with those two guys?”
“You have to admit that’s a strong possibility. You said someone broke into your locker. Who would have access to that area other than another employee?”
Bane didn’t like this. He and Crystal should be at her place talking about their future and how they would get beyond the five years they’d spent apart.
He started to say something else when his mobile phone rang with Flipper’s ringtone. He grabbed it off his dashboard. “What you got, Flip?”
“A bunch of crazies,
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