Atone (Recovered Innocence #2)(50)

I edge toward the desk, the bagel I had earlier threatening to come up. All eyes are on me. I can feel them staring, judging. They don’t know. They don’t understand. Beau is at my back. He puts a hand on my shoulder in silent support. Wrapping my arms around me, I force myself to look. The shot is blurry. Taken at night, it has a grainy quality to it, but I can clearly make them out. Javier has his arm across Marie’s shoulders. She’s smiling up at him, so honest in her devotion. I can see myself in her and in the way she sees only him.

He’s a little older, grayer. I don’t know what I saw in him. The man I’m looking at now feels like a stranger, yet I know everything about him. How he likes his steak. His favorite color. The way he takes his coffee. His love for crossword puzzles. The kind of cologne he wears.

The look on his face when he kills.

Beau squeezes my shoulder. “Is that him?”

I nod. I can’t get any words to cross the back of my throat.

“Fucker,” Beau spits out.

“It was pretty slick the way he gave me the slip,” Nolan says. “I thought I might catch up to him, so I cut over a block, then back, but he was gone. Just vanished. I did manage to get his license plate, though. We can run it.”

“We need to be careful,” Cora tells him. “This guy hasn’t operated the way he has for as long as he has without some help high up. We can’t risk running the usual checks on him. He’s sure to have his records flagged to let anyone know they’re being accessed. Thank you for your help, Nolan. I’ll let you know if we need anything else.”

“Sure,” Nolan nods toward me. “It was nice meeting you.”

“Thanks, Nolan,” Beau says.

No one speaks until the door closes behind Nolan.

“Mr. Nash is meeting with Emmaline Markham at ten,” Cora says. “Chad Perez is out of the office today, so I made an appointment with him for tomorrow. The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced talking to him might be a waste of time. He’s probably just a worker bee and doesn’t have a clue what went on in that house. And if he does, he’s not likely to tell us the truth about it. But I’ll give it my best shot.”

“What angle are you taking with him?”

Their conversation goes on without me. I can’t stop staring at the slideshow of photos. It’s like a movie playing my worst nightmare over and over. Marie and Javier coming out of Starbucks. Javier putting his arm around her. Her looking up at him. Him leaning into the car to kiss her.

Wait.

Why is he out with her? Why isn’t he isolating her?

I drag the chair under me, open up the Internet browser, and pull up Marie’s Tumblr account. She posted again after getting the tattoo. Something about a fun night out with Daddy. Last night.

“What is it?” Beau asks.

I get my phone out of my pocket and bring up her Instagram account. She posted a pic of the tattoo. Same with her Twitter. All of a sudden her social media is flooded with the image. He wants me to know. He’s got her and he wants me to know it. He wants me to come get her. He knew I’d look for Marie. He’s taunting me, trying to draw me out.

“How close did Nolan get to them?” I ask Cora.

“Close enough to get his license plate.”

“And close enough for him to get Nolan’s plate. He’s going to know Nolan works here. It won’t be hard for him to find out.” I stand so abruptly the chair flies back and hits Beau. “I can’t be here.” My hand automatically goes to the gun strapped to my thigh in reassurance.

“Oh, shit,” Beau says under his breath.

“You think he’s going to come after you?” Cora asks.

“I know he is.”

“Why?” She looks at Beau. “What am I missing here?”

He shakes his head.

“No. Not this time,” she tells him, propping her hands on her hips. “Somebody needs to tell me what the hell is going on.” She turns to me. “Why would he come after you? It’s not just because you escaped, is it?”

“No. And that’s all I can tell you. I have to go.” I pull what’s left of my ready cash from the pocket in my bra. It’s close to two grand. I peel off two hundreds and stuff them back in my pocket, dropping the rest of the bills on the desk. “Please keep searching for Marie. He’s not going to sell her the way he did me, but that doesn’t mean she’s not still in danger. If this isn’t enough money, I’ll send you more when I get to a place that’s safe.” I sling my bag over my shoulder and head for the door.

“Wait,” Cora yells.

But I don’t wait. I open the door and look down the hall. There’s a back door at the other end. I head for it. I can’t get my car from the front of the building. I’m going to have to find another mode of transportation. I’m already thinking ahead about changing my look, my name, my motel room, my everything. I reach for the handle, but a big hand slaps flat on the door above my head.

Beau’s arm slips around my waist and drags me hard against him. He puts his mouth to my ear. “Oh, no, you don’t. You’re not leaving without me.”





Chapter 25


Beau


Is she motherf*cking kidding me? If she thinks I’m just going to let her walk out and into who-the-f*ck-knows-what, then she doesn’t know me at all.