Long Road Home(22)

She sat on the edge of the bed and stared ahead for a long while before finally glancing over to where he sat.

“I need to make flight reservations,” he said, breaking the silence. “I’m assuming you have multiple forms of identification.”

She nodded. Bending over, she pulled several passports from her bag and spread them out on the bed. “We’re flying to D.C., right?”

He nodded.

“And are we supposed to have a relationship or are we flying separately?”

He arched an eyebrow. “Together.”

“Stupid question,” she muttered.

“Yeah, it was. You aren’t getting out of my sight.”

She flipped him a Maryland driver’s license. “Then I suppose I’ll be her.”

He picked it up, studying the picture and the name. Christina Maxwell. He glanced back up at her, wondering just how close she had been to him during the last three years.

As if reading his thoughts, she shook her head. “I’ve never set foot in Maryland.”

He picked up his phone and dialed Tony. After relaying the information to him, he hung up. “Our flight is at eight tomorrow morning.”

Relief spread across her tired face. The shadows had grown longer under her eyes, and fatigue was etched deeply into her every movement.

“Why don’t you crawl into bed while I take a shower,” he said gently.

She said nothing. He sensed she was too exhausted to speak. He got up and walked into the bathroom but left the door open so he could see the room door clearly.

Jules pulled herself to her feet as soon as she heard the shower go on. Retrieving her bag from the floor, she poured the contents out on the bed. Currency from five countries was bound in stacks of bills. Six passports, all sporting different identities, spilled out. The Glock and HK 94 gleamed in the soft lamplight, and she experienced a moment of panic. They would have to be left behind.

Ammunition and countless maps littered the spread. Her small GPS unit lay to the side, but her focus was on the cell phone lying in the middle of the pile. Her hand reached out to touch it tentatively. She knew he’d tried to call. Would continue to call until she turned it on. He wasn’t someone who gave up.

Her stomach curling with nausea, she pressed the power button. Silence loomed, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She let it fall back to the bed and began gathering the items she would take with her the next day.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the phone’s screen light up. Then it pulsed and vibrated, moving slightly. Bile rose in her throat. She stared at it then glanced toward the bathroom. The water still ran, steam pouring from the stall.

As if it were a venomous snake, she reached for the phone with a cautious hand, her dread increasing as her fingers closed around it.

Taking a deep breath, she snatched it up and punched a button. “What do you want?”

Northstar’s sarcastic sneer filtered through the line. “Ahh, so you did escape the NFR’s clumsy attempt to take you out.”

She closed her eyes. “You don’t need me anymore. Why won’t you just let me go?”

“Oh, but I do need you, Magalie. One last time.”

“There will never be a last time,” she retorted. “I’m not stupid.”

“I have a proposition for you. One that is beneficial to us both, but even more so for you.”

“Just get to the point.” She glanced toward the bathroom. “I don’t have much time.”

“I have an assignment for you. Should be nothing for a woman of your talents. If you complete it, you’re free to go. What you do with the rest of your life is of no consequence to me.”

“And if I refuse?”

His voice changed from the baiting tone he’d been using to one of complete ruthlessness. “If you refuse, you can kiss your little boyfriend goodbye. Don’t f**k with me. You know what I’m capable of. Removing lover boy from the picture would be nothing more than swatting an insect with a flyswatter.”

Jules’s heart leaped into her throat. Yes, she knew he was serious. Killing people was what he did. He would kill his own mother for effect. He had killed her parents in a demonstration of his power. She had to protect Manny. At all costs. “How do I know you won’t keep dangling him in front of me when this mission is over? What guarantee do I have that you’re telling the truth?”

“You have none, and I’m not offering any. I have no further use for you. Assassins like you are a dime a dozen. I have no wish to continue babysitting you through your tantrums. Do this assignment, and you’ll have what you most want. Your freedom. Refuse and I’ll make your life a living hell. Maybe you remember what happened the first time you hesitated.”

Suffocating fear swept through her with alarming speed. Memories she tried hard to keep locked away in her mind fought to escape. Sweat broke out on her forehead. Damn him for what he’d done to her.

“Or maybe you liked it?” he taunted. “Did you enjoy it, Magalie?”

“I’ll do it,” she said quietly. Anything to get him to shut up. Make the horrible memories go away. She had to keep Manny safe and her tenuous grip on sanity in check.

“I thought you would see it my way,” he said. “When you get to D.C., check your e-mail. I’ll have detailed instructions for you.”