Chasing Silver (11 page)

Her ID card was an interesting twist, though, he had to give her that. Remy had argued more about giving the card up than she had the prints, which lent some weight to Nathan’s insistence it was important. Isaac scoffed at its bogus dates, but questioning her had led to more walls when she refused to answer them. He’d been left watching their retreating backs while they went and did…something Nathan refused to elucidate. Find answers, he’d said cryptically.

Remembering the conversation as he snatched open the door of his Toyota deepened Isaac’s scowl. If he found out they spent the day fucking back at Nathan’s apartment, there was going to be hell to pay. He’d lock Remy up, whether Nathan wanted him to or not.

To add to the confusion of the girl’s real identity were the blood samples Nathan had given him. There wasn’t much you could tell from the quicker tests. DNA testing would take at least a few days and, without any cause to make it a priority, a number of weeks. The techs had been half-assed with what tests they had done, claiming she had antibodies for infectious mononucleosis that indicated a vaccination at some point in her life. But according to them, that was impossible since there were no available vaccinations for the disease. Isaac was writing it off as a contaminated sample. What did he care what kind of shots Remy Capra had gotten as a kid anyway?

Beyond Remy was the issue of Kirsten Henryk. That, more than anything, was why he wanted to speak to Nathan. After palming the ID off on one of the few tech guys he trusted to stay discreet, Isaac had spent as much time trying to figure out her story as he had Remy’s. She was convincing. That was the problem. Plus, she had money. The contact information she had left for him had her holed up in one of the swankiest Beverly Hills hotels.

The only thing was, she was as much of a ghost as Remy. No records with any government office he could find, no credit reports, nothing to suggest she was in any way affiliated with any type of security back in D.C. He’d even contacted a friend at the FBI to see if maybe she was working something covert that wouldn’t leave a trail, but that had come back cold as well.

It didn’t make sense. His gut screamed at him that she was a cop of some sort, and he didn’t like ignoring his instincts. He didn’t want to ignore them now. But Isaac wasn’t sure what other alternative he had left.

Waiting at a red light, his fingers drummed along the steering wheel while he weighed his options. Part of him was tempted to drive by Nathan’s and interrupt, just for the perverse pleasure of witnessing his friend’s lips disappear from how tightly he’d purse them at seeing Isaac. That would be fun. There was also the fact that, dangerous or not, Remy was hot as hell. One more look at her shapely legs could be worth it.

A better idea came as the light turned green.

It took half an hour to get through traffic to the posh hotel Kirsten Henryk claimed to be staying at. Flashing his badge at the valet, Isaac waited on the curb long enough to make sure they treated his car as they would any of the more expensive models that rolled through the drive, then pushed his way inside, heading straight for the front desk.

The wonders of being a cop got him into the night manager’s office within two minutes. Within five, he had everything Kirsten Henryk had supplied them in order to secure a room. Within ten, he stood outside her door, waiting for the manager to let him in.

The room was empty.

She had slept there, but beyond some fresh toiletries and a single bag from the hotel’s laundry hanging on the closet door, she hadn’t done much else. No luggage. No litter. Another dead end.

He took the few strands of blond hair entangled in her brush before he left. He would have taken the brush itself, but with so few belongings marking her territory, anything else would be missed.

“Is this woman dangerous?” the manager asked as they waited at the elevator to go back downstairs. “Should I alert the staff?”

“No, don’t talk to anyone about this,” Isaac warned. “Right now, she’s not considered a threat, and I don’t want her to find out she’s under suspicion. She could be a flight risk.”

“So do you want me to call you if she checks out?”

“Definitely.” He handed over his card as the doors slid open. “And remember, mum’s the word.”

He saw her as he stepped off the elevator, her chin high, back ramrod straight as she came out of the small sundry store near the front desk. For a moment, Isaac debated ducking out of sight, but then her eye caught his and he knew it would be pointless. They both froze. No emotion flickered across her porcelain features, but somehow he knew she realized what he had been doing.

Kirsten was the first to move. Long strides took her to the closest exit, and she was already melting into the darkness by the time his feet took flight. Isaac reached the door a few seconds later. Jerking his head in both directions, he saw a flash of blond hair disappear around the far corner of the hotel, and took off at a dead run. Fuck protocol. He would arrest the bitch and figure out what the deal was later.

He had his gun ready in his hand as he rounded the building, but the night swallowed any stray light from the streets. Slowing to a walk, he pressed further, eyes darting around as he tried to figure out where she was hiding.

He never heard the shot. He only knew he’d been hit by the sudden searing pain across his shoulder.

Slumping against the wall, Isaac fired on instinct. Her gasped cry was the only indication he’d hit her at all, but no more shots went whizzing by. All he heard were running footsteps, growing fainter as she fled the scene.

He banged his head against the wall, his eyes squeezing shut. Damn it. The bitch got away and he got shot. The perfect ending to his oh-so-perfect day.

Nathan fumbled through the darkness for his phone, his stomach growling and his head full of cotton. Remy had expressed a desire for pizza before falling into a light doze. He had forgotten about ordering food as he watched her sleep, captivated by the soft rhythm of her breath, the gentle rise and fall of her bare breasts, and the slight parting of her full lips. The spell was only broken when she smiled sleepily and asked where her dinner was.

He sorted through the stack of junk mail and flyers resting on the floor near the door until he found one promising delivery until two in the morning. Nathan began to dial the number, only to have a minor heart attack as his phone lit up and began to howl. Cursing under his breath, he brought the phone up to his ear.

“What do you want?” Nathan snapped, his voice low.

“Well, gee, a fine hello to you, too.” Sarcasm laced Isaac’s greeting. In the distance, traffic rumbled through the line. “Let me guess. I’m interrupting.”

Nathan regretted his harsh tone, especially with his heart rate returning to normal. “No, not interrupting anything except my ongoing quest for food. But, well, what do you want?”

“World peace, the perfect steak, and, oh yeah, to stop bleeding from this fucking gunshot wound.”

As soon as Nathan heard “bleeding,” his body reacted, striding to the bedroom, gathering up the clothes he had discarded earlier and dressing quickly. A dozen questions came to mind, but he focused on the important one. “Where are you?”

Isaac gave him the name of an exclusive hotel in Beverly Hills. “Not inside, though. In the southside alley. I go back in and there’s going to be a scene, and I don’t need that right now.”

“How serious is the wound?” Obviously, it couldn’t be too bad if Isaac was hanging out in an alley and indulging in sarcasm, but Isaac also had the tendency to downplay his injuries.

“Through and through. Left shoulder. Hurts like a bitch, though.” He chuckled, a dry, wracking sound. “Only thing that makes it better is knowing I hit her, too.”

Nathan paused, his shoe hanging off his foot. “Her? Her who?”

“Who do you think? Kirsten Henryk.”

“Kirsten?”

A tight, icy fist clenched his heart as the danger they were in crystallized. Dull rage replaced the initial shock. He’d be damned before that bitch got a second shot at Isaac, or within a hundred feet of Remy. Kirsten Henryk had been a vague concern before, but now she was at the top of his list. With a bullet.

“Don’t move. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

The bed squeaked as he pulled on his pants. He looked up in time to see Remy turn a sleepy smile to him. “What’s going on?”

“I need to go get Isaac.” Nathan buttoned his pants. “He’s been injured. Well, shot.”

She sat up, pushing the blankets away. Swinging her legs around, she grabbed the underwear hanging from the nightstand. “Is he okay? Why isn’t he going to the hospital?”

“He’s survived worse. And he doesn’t like hospitals. But I’ll drag him into Emergency if I think he needs to see a doctor.” He put a hand on Remy’s arm as she started to stand. “You’re not coming with me.”

“What?” Her eyes flashed. “Why not?”

“Because the bullet came courtesy of one Kirsten Henryk, and I don’t know if she’s still in the area.” Nathan released her arm and stood, walking over to his gun safe. “I want you to be here where it’s safe.”

The bed squeaked, but a brief glance back showed Remy hadn’t risen. She stared someplace at the wall behind him, her features clouded. “If she can get to Isaac, she can get to anyone,” she murmured. “There is no safe anymore.”

“Well, she hasn’t gotten to us yet. Look, I’m leaving this out for you.” He held up a small handgun before placing it on top of the shelf. “If I don’t have to take him back to the hospital, I’ll be back within the hour.” He walked over to the side of the bed, bending to brush his lips against her forehead. “Just stay right here in bed, yeah? I want to find you where I left you.”

Her hand shot out to grab his wrist, keeping him from walking away after he straightened again. When Nathan met her eyes, he hesitated at the choked panic lurking in their depths.

“Kirsten’s merciless.” It was surprising how even her voice was, in spite of the look on her face. “And nobody knows her better than I do. I want to go.”

“And what if she’s waiting for you? All it takes is one bullet, Remy.” He gently pulled his wrist from her. “I don’t know why she shot Isaac, and he doesn’t know where she is now. I’m just picking him up. We’re not looking for her or going after her.”

“You’re making a mistake.” But at least she wasn’t moving. She only watched him with those fathomless eyes. He had to turn away and grab his shirt to escape the pin of her gaze. “She won’t give up, you know. And you’re as vulnerable to a bullet as I am. More even, because you’re not taking her seriously.”

Nathan took a deep breath. He knew Remy could be headstrong, but he hadn’t expected to be detained by this debate. “If I weren’t taking her seriously, I wouldn’t have an issue with you tagging along. Most likely, Kirsten doesn’t know Isaac has a connection to you. Which means, she doesn’t know who I am. She’s not after us. She’s after you. Do you want to give her more clues about where to find you?” He didn’t wait for an answer, tucking in his shirttails. “Now, Isaac is bleeding in some alley, and I don’t have the time to stand here and have this argument.”

She didn’t stop him as he stepped into his shoes. She didn’t do anything until he was heading for the door.

“Kirsten doesn’t do anything without a reason. And she’s not stupid. But you’re right. I’m the one she’s after. You’re just the one in the middle of the line she’s going to draw from Isaac to me.” Lying back down, Remy rolled over to face the wall. “Go help your friend. Try not to get killed.”

Nathan hesitated for a moment, looking at her back and feeling oddly helpless. He had trusted her to keep her head in a situation far more dangerous than this. She had already saved his life once, and he knew she’d be quick to do it again. But that concern wasn’t at the core of the issue. He didn’t know all the facts. He didn’t know what happened or why. He didn’t know if Isaac had hit Kirsten. He didn’t even know if Isaac’s injury was as minor as he claimed. But Nathan had been trained to go into dangerous situations without all the facts.

Remy was not. He couldn’t let her join him. Not in good conscience.

“We’ll be back soon. Then we’ll sort out what happened and decide what our next move should be.”

He waited for some kind of a response, but when none came, Nathan grabbed his cell and keys and walked out of the room. Part of him expected Remy to follow to continue the debate. Another part was relieved when she didn’t.

The apartment was silent as he locked the door behind him.

*   *   *

She didn’t move for long seconds after she heard the lock snick into place. Every inch of her screamed in fury at Nathan’s inflexibility, but she had been able to tell from the firm set of his jaw he wouldn’t budge. Arguing was futile. A waste of energy she could direct elsewhere.

Like finding Kirsten.

Pushing back the blanket, Remy dressed swiftly, ignoring most of her new purchases to slip on jeans and a T-shirt. She would have much preferred leaving in the clothes in which she’d arrived, but those had been torn up by Kirsten’s knife. Why Kirsten would go to Isaac for help just to turn on him twenty-four hours later, Remy didn’t know, but whatever the reason, it couldn’t be good. Nathan was blinding himself to the very real danger she presented if he refused to see that. Odds were good Kirsten had found the connection back to Remy, so it was only a matter of time before she showed up on Nathan’s doorstep. And what if she found Nathan on his own somewhere? Kirsten would eliminate any obstacle in her path.

How many times did Remy have to tell him that?

It didn’t matter. She wasn’t sticking around long enough to put Nathan in any more danger. As much as she didn’t want to go, she didn’t want to see him hurt even more. One bullet. That’s all it would take. He’d said so himself.

She took only the essentials. Half of the clothes she had purchased in Santa Monica would be useless if she was on the run, so those got left behind. One of Nathan’s shirts found its way into the pack as well as a bar of his soap, but Remy rationalized that as practicality rather than the hungry need to have a piece of him. She took the gun as well. It wasn’t her first choice as a weapon, but killing Kirsten would be easier if she could do it from a distance.

When she saw the money on the nightstand, she hesitated. Cash was necessary; there was no getting around that. But she had promised it to Nathan for helping her and the thought of reneging on her word left Remy uneasy. She could always steal more later, whereas he was bound more stringently by the law. In the end, she only took a few bills, enough for a cheap hotel room and food for the next couple days. Nathan would understand. She hoped.

She was almost out the door when it occurred to her to leave a note. With Kirsten in the forefront of Nathan’s thoughts, it was likely he would fear the worst when he got back and found Remy gone. She didn’t want that. This would be hard enough as it was.

But what to say?

It would kill me to see you get hurt.

The past two days have been amazing, but…

I’m going to miss you. I’m sorry.

Nothing was good enough. It either said too much or not enough. In the end, Remy scrawled the briefest of truths about her plans and prayed Nathan would see the emotion behind the words.

As she hurried down the stairs, her pack slung over her shoulder, she refused to yield to the temptation to turn around and go back. It was better this way. Safer.

She would come back once Kirsten was dead. She only hoped it wouldn’t be too late for her and Nathan to pick up where they had left off.

*   *   *

The same silence he’d left behind greeted Nathan when he and Isaac returned. Isaac had insisted Nathan drop him off at home, but Nathan had ignored him. Not only did he not want to take any extra time in returning to Remy, he wanted to be sure Isaac was fine. Plus, they needed to have the discussion he had promised Remy they would have.

“I’ll get a clean shirt,” Nathan said, as Isaac headed straight for the bathroom.

“As long as it’s not that awful green one that looks like you shop at the outlet mall.” Isaac flicked on the light, stepping inside as the fluorescent flooded into the hall. “I look bad enough as it is.”

Nathan rolled his eyes. “You know I keep only the finest designer threads for you, Isaac. Would you like the hand-stitched silk…” His words faded as he entered the empty bedroom. He looked over his shoulder, as if he expected to see Remy standing in the hall behind him, but she wasn’t there.

Turning on the light, he stepped inside to investigate. His first thought was Kirsten had found her, but there were no signs of a struggle, no blood, nothing to indicate Remy had been removed against her will. He ran his fingers across her pillow. It was still warm. He glanced at the shelves. The gun he had left her was missing. A quick perusal of the closet confirmed some of her clothing was missing as well.

“I think you have a problem.”

Nathan’s head snapped around to see his friend standing in the doorway, his bloodied shirt half-undone. Between his fingers was a torn sheet of paper, a piece of tape stuck to one edge. “She left you a note.”

He was across the room in a flash, snatching it away from Isaac and scanning over its brief contents. Her handwriting was childish, large and bold. It reminded him of somebody else’s handwriting, but even in the haste he knew she had written it, the words were all too clear.

I’m sorry, Nate. I can’t let her shoot you, too. Like you said, all it takes is one bullet, and then you’re dead and it’s all my fault. I’ll fix it. I promise.

She didn’t sign her name. There was only a scrawled
R
and a scribble he couldn’t decipher.

Something inside him snapped. “Well, that’s just brilliant, isn’t it? She doesn’t know Los Angeles at all. She doesn’t know anybody in Los Angeles. She wouldn’t have the first clue where to find Kirsten. And, oh yeah, Tian got a good look at her face last night. He has half his gang out trolling the city for her right now. Or all of them, if Cesar died.”

The angry rise of Nathan’s voice had Isaac holding his hands up in mock surrender. “Don’t shoot the messenger, okay? Maybe she’s not as helpless as you think. We don’t know anything about this girl, remember?”

“I don’t think she’s helpless. I think she’s a bit clueless. Look at this.” He gestured toward the money on the nightstand. “She took some, but not enough to take care of herself. Where is she going to stay tonight? Where does she even think she’s going?” He looked at Isaac. “She’s not far. Will you help me find her?”

“Of course,” came the automatic response. “Whatever you want.” But he didn’t move out of the doorway. “Except…maybe her taking off isn’t a bad thing. That Kirsten is batshit crazy. This is your chance to get out while you still can.”

“I know. I know I can just let her run, and she can keep running until Kirsten, or Tian, or somebody else catches up with her.” Nathan crumpled the note in his fist. “But I won’t.”

Dark eyes solemn, Isaac nodded as if he hadn’t expected anything less. “Let’s patch up this hole in my shoulder and I’ll pop some painkillers. We’ll find her. She doesn’t stand a chance with both of us on her tail.”