Long Road Home(19)

“Are you okay?” Manny asked beside her, concern reflected in his voice.

She wanted to weep. Despite his anger, he was still worried about her. Goddamn, Jules. Quit with the crying already. She slammed her door in disgust and followed Manny into the small diner.

They slid into a booth by a window. Both looked cautiously around as they surveyed the menu. Oh yeah, he was some kind of law enforcement. He had the instincts. And, she admitted to herself, he was damn good. Whatever he was.

A waitress shuffled over to take their order and stood smacking on her gum while she waited for Manny to speak. It was obvious that she was checking him out. Her gaze wandered up and down his body appreciatively, and she stood a little closer than was necessary.

Jules frowned and followed the waitress’s avid stare. It had been a long time since she’d looked at a man with anything other than self-preservation in mind. And she had to admit, Manny looked even better now than he had three years ago. Thickly muscled arms and a broad chest. Perfect for melting into and feeling safe.

She coughed to cover the hysterical laughter that threatened to bubble out. When was the last time she felt safe?

Manny’s green eyes burned into her. “Is something wrong, Jules?”

She coughed again. “Uh no, just a bit of pain.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Her chest and lungs felt like shit.

He rattled off his order to the waitress then looked questioningly at Jules. “Want anything else besides juice?”

She shook her head. Her stomach was in enough turmoil without loading it down with food.

When the waitress had left, he leaned over and stared straight at her. “Now, I want to know what happened three years ago. Why didn’t you come home? All I got was a phone call from you saying you couldn’t ever come home, and you sounded scared to death. Damn it, Jules. Do you have any idea what that was like? There was nothing. Nothing else until a few days ago.”

She bowed her head, unable to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m beginning to think I don’t know you at all.”

“It’s not what you think.” She raised her head back up. “It’s not like I arbitrarily decided not to come home. I would never have done that to Mom and Pop. Or you.”

“Then what happened? Did someone hurt you?” The dangerous glint was back in his eyes.

She rubbed her hands back and forth over her arms. “I can’t tell you everything—”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Okay, won’t,” she said, her chin snapping up further. “I had no choice but to stay away from you all. I was told that if I didn’t do exactly as instructed, they would kill Mom and Pop. You. And in the end, it didn’t even matter. Mom and Pop died anyway.”

Manuel stared wordlessly at her, trying to process the information she had given him. “Who is they, Jules?” A sudden thought came to him. “Oh God. It was the NFR, wasn’t it? They recruited you.”

Her silence gave him his answer. “Jesus Christ. You mean to tell me you’ve been a member of the NFR for the last three years? Is that why you defended them?”

“I wasn’t defending them. I merely suggested there were worse groups.”

“You didn’t answer the question,” he growled. “Quit jerking me around and talk to me.”

“Yes, Manny. Happy now? I was a card-carrying member of the NFR. I ate, drank and slept all things NFR. All because the one thing that mattered to me was in danger. I became someone I despised, because at least it meant my family was alive.”

Grief, rage, sadness. They all swam crazily in her eyes. He felt the same things deep in his soul. Was she telling the truth? She had to be. After all, mere days ago, Mom and Pop had died because they had gone to see her.

His cell phone vibrated, and he yanked it up in irritation. “What?” he barked out, never letting his gaze fall from Jules.

“Bad time?” Tony asked.

“You could say that.”

“I wanted to make sure you two were okay. Everyone make it out all right?”

“The information you had for me earlier,” Manuel bit out, ignoring Tony’s question. “Give it to me now.”

A long pause. “Uh, okay. Give me a second to get the file.”

Manuel waited, his eyes boring into Jules’s tormented ones.

Tony’s voice came back over the line. “You ready?”

“Yeah.”

“It would appear your girl is a highly trained assassin. A damn good one, if my information is correct. Not your average run-of-the-mill terrorist. She’s been pretty selective in her hits. If I’m right, she’s a member of a splinter cell of the NFR. Not their front line, but a small select group used to focus on individuals detrimental to their cause.”

Nausea boiled in Manuel’s stomach. He clenched the phone in his hand, wanting desperately to send it through the window. He wanted to break something, anything. He wanted to put his first through the wall.

“You okay?” Tony asked. “I know how much she meant to you.”

“Means, Tony. She still means everything to me.” He hung up the phone, letting it fall onto the table.

“Your buddy confirm my story?” she asked bitterly.

He shook his head. “I don’t understand. I don’t even know what to say right now.”