Hidden (Nicole Jones #1)(64)

‘That’s mine.’ He indicates the cash inside the floor.

‘No, it’s not.’

‘Yes, I think it’s mine. You lied to me. You had it all along.’ He is glaring at me.

‘I never lied. I get paid in cash. This is money I’ve earned. I told you that.’

The concept seems to surprise him, but he recovers quickly. ‘No matter. It’s still mine.’

I want to argue. I want to scream that I need this money, that without it I cannot get my new identity, I cannot pay for the documents Tracker has arranged. But if I say any of that, Ian will know what I’m doing and I might not be able to get away. I am crazy to even have that thought, though. Will I even be able to get out of my house alive now that he is standing there, greedily looking at my stash? He is wearing a jacket, and I can see the outline of his gun underneath.

‘Where are your friends?’ I ask, expecting the two men to come out from behind him. After realizing I am not in the gallery, they could easily come up here to check out my house.

‘What friends?’ Ian has never been very good at lying. His eyes shift around behind me.

‘The friends you sent to meet me at the Painted Rock.’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Again, he cannot meet my eyes.

I glance out the bedroom window. Anyone passing the house could see us standing here.

‘The shades aren’t pulled down; people can see us,’ I say. ‘They’re looking for both of us, Ian.’

‘No, Tina. They’re looking for you.’ His hand is on my cheek, his fingers tickling my ear.

I am wound so tight, every muscle ready to leap, and yet I stay where I am. ‘Tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll take care of it. Give me till tomorrow morning.’

‘I’m not letting you out of my sight again.’ His other hand now grips my waist. ‘Let’s put this money in your bag and go see what you can do with that computer of yours. Where is it, anyway?’

‘I’ve got it in a safe place,’ I say. ‘So what happens after? Will you kill me?’

He kisses me then, and for the first time I am not aroused. I am ashamed that it took this long, that even Zeke didn’t make my passion for him fade. Zeke was a good man, an honest man, who loved me despite who I was, despite everything he believed in. I am sorry that I couldn’t love him back the way he wanted me to. And now it’s too late.

I let Ian kiss me until he lets go of me. ‘So that’s the way you’re playing it.’

‘I’m not playing anything, Ian. I just want my life back.’ I am aware that my voice sounds tired, that I am tired.

‘Then do what I say, and I’ll be out of your way.’

‘And your friends?’

‘They’re not my friends, and this is none of their business. This is between you and me.’

I wonder if I can run, if I can duck past him and out the door and down the hill. I could lose him using my shortcuts; he would never find me at Hydrangea House. But he is one step ahead of me. He reaches into his jacket, and I feel the hard steel against my chest.

‘If you try anything, I will not hesitate.’ I have never heard this tone from him before. He has never threatened me like this, and I can only trust that he is telling the truth. ‘Now fill up that bag.’

I turn and stoop down, unzipping the bag and lifting up the floorboard. I shove the rest of the cash inside and think about the backpack under my bed at Hydrangea House. He doesn’t know I have it, but the laptop is next to it. Will I be able to slide it out without him noticing the backpack? I have no choice but to try.

Of course, we may not even make it there, between the FBI agents and Frank Cooper.

I hand him the bag, and he waves the gun around. ‘Let’s go get that computer.’

He follows me so closely out of the bedroom and into the living room that I can almost hear his heart beating. I take a look around. This is not the way I wanted to say goodbye.

But I am not sure that this is going to be goodbye. At least not yet. I had hoped to come here under the veil of darkness, but since my plans were thwarted, it is still bright outside. The ball cap isn’t really going to disguise me, and Ian can’t possibly keep the gun on me as we walk. The quickest and most direct route to Hydrangea House is through Old Harbor, but we can’t go that way because of the FBI agents. If we take the roundabout way, we will be going past the Bluffs, and while it’s been a few hours since Carmine’s body was found, the police are probably still there or at least spreading out in the general vicinity, looking for clues.

‘What’s going on?’ Ian demands.

I tell him my thoughts. ‘We can’t get there from here. At least not easily,’ I finish. ‘It would be better at night. The island is pretty dark – there aren’t a lot of street lights.’

Ian frowns as he glances out the window. ‘But it’s still a couple of hours at least until dark.’

I nod.

‘So you’re proposing holding off until then?’

I cannot think of any other way, and I say so. ‘Unless you don’t care.’

But I see in his expression that he does care. That he is no more willing to get caught than I am, yet he is eager for me to do the job for him and he will sacrifice a couple of hours for it.