Page 15 of Fatal Mistake
She crossed her arms and stared at him. He felt bad for sneaking up on her, but he wouldn’t apologize. She’d given him no choice. She’d bailed on him once, so when he’d arrived and she’d taken off from the tower, the element of surprise had been his only option.
Besides, she might be frightened now, but he’d found her before Keeler caught up to her, and she would get over her fear. Death at Keeler’s hands…not so much. She was alive, and he could keep her that way. If she listened to him, which he had no confidence that she could do, considering she’d gone into hiding for months.
It made his head hurt just to think of the challenge facing him.
She sat up straighter. “What are you doing here, Agent Riggins?”
And let the sparring begin. “I still need your help to bring in Keeler and want you to come back to D.C. with me.”
She tightened her arms. “I’m sure you have other ways of finding him.”
Interesting response. “Is that why you ran from the hospital? Because you thought we could find him without you?”
She watched him with wary eyes, but he chose to wait for her answer. He certainly wouldn’t say something foolish and spook her into running again when he needed her help.
She sighed out a long breath and dropped her arms to her side, looking defeated. Surprisingly, he preferred the lifted chin and challenging look, but the crushed expression was more likely to get him what he needed.
“I left because I’d told you everything I knew about Oren, and I couldn’t give you any other help,” she said. “But mostly, I ran because your agent failed.”
“What agent? When?” he asked, honestly confused.
“The man you put in charge of protecting me at the hospital.”
“Agent Fields? How?”
“He left his station outside my door, and Oren came to the window. He glared at me and mouthed, ‘You’re dead.’ It wasn’t hard to figure out if he could get to me with an agent in charge, he could get to me anywhere.”
“Impossible.” Cal clenched his hands. “Maybe you dreamt seeing Keeler.”
She shook her head hard, sending her hair swinging over bare shoulders, and she planted her hands on curvy hips. “This is why I didn’t tell you about it at the hospital. I knew you’d stick up for your agent, and you wouldn’t believe me. But trust me, the incident is real. I can recount it for you in vivid detail if you’d like, but all you need to know is that it did happen. Ask your agent. If he’s truthful, he’ll tell you he left me alone.”
He trusted Agent Fields, who hadn’t reported stepping away from Tara’s door, but her story was convincing. “Even if it did happen that’s no reason to run.”
“Isn’t it?” She arched an eyebrow, and her gaze lingered on him for a moment. “Oren proved he could get to me. I couldn’t rely on any of you and had to disappear.”
“And how’s that working out for you?” he snapped, but instantly regretted it when her shoulders drooped a fraction before rising again into a hard line. He should have kept his anger in check, but he hated that she couldn’t rely on him. Hated that it was another in a long list of failures of late. But that wasn’t her fault, and he shouldn’t take it out on her.
“I’m sorry,” he said sincerely. “That was uncalled for. If Agent Fields was negligent, I’ll make sure he’s taken to task. And going forward, I won’t trust your care to anyone else. I’ll personally see to your safety.”
She didn’t move, didn’t change expressions, but shifted to stare over his shoulder. He could almost hear the thoughts racing through her head. Could she trust him? Was it better to be with an agent than on her own? Should she even listen to him?
“Look,” he said before she voiced additional opposition. “Why don’t we go up to the tower to talk about this?”
Her gaze returned to him and locked on like a heat-seeking missile. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
He counteracted her intensity with a smile. “Humor me, okay? Give me five more minutes of your time.”
“Fine. Five minutes, and then you hit the road.” She grabbed her rifle and brushed past him to march across the clearing to the stairs.
Her pack on one shoulder, the rifle strap over the other, she stormed up the metal treads. He followed, his eyes locked on her toned legs, and his thoughts took a very unprofessional path.
He dragged his gaze away and ran it over the area. For some reason, his frog sense that warned him on SEAL missions to take extra care crawled up his back and left him uneasy. Why, he didn’t know, but he’d keep his eyes open.
At the top landing, she stepped through the open door and flipped on a light switch.
He gestured at her rifle. “Do you know how to use that, or do I have to worry about stray bullets?”
“I learned to hunt as a kid, and I’ll bet I’ve spent more hours at a firing range in the last few months than you have.” Her chin shot up again.
