Free Fall (13 page)

“Shut up, Rainie, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Who’s been feeding you these lies—your brother or Doren?” Roc’s grip on my wrist loosened. With his free hand, he trailed a finger across my face and then down to touch my body.

“Don’t touch me. And how do you know about Doren? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t try denying it. I know he’s been in contact with you,” he whispered in that husky voice that sent shivers throughout my body. It was hard to concentrate on what Roc was saying with his restless hands roaming over me. I remembered all the things I didn’t want to feel for Roc right now. I was angry, hurt. I wanted to cling to those things. He’d betrayed me in the worst possible way and yet I couldn’t stop my body from responding to his touch any more than I could stop my next breath.

“What’s the matter, Rainie, you couldn’t even wait a month before replacing me? Did you let him touch you like this?”

“You’re sick!” I tried to push him away but Roc didn’t let me go. “You know what, Roc—do whatever you want! Go. I don’t care if you ever come back!”

But Roc wasn’t moved by my anger or my tears. He lowered his head and kissed my lips, whispering against them. “You’ll do exactly as I tell you, Rainie, because right now, I’m the only thing keeping you alive and out of prison for treason. We’re leaving here tonight before it’s too late.”

“Before it’s too late for what? What are you talking about? What are you running from? Doren? My brother?”

When he didn’t answer, I took a shot in the dark and asked, “Is it The Agency? Is The Agency looking for you or for me? Tell me, Roc!”

But the moment Roc’s lips lingered against my throat I stopped asking questions. He began removing my clothes without so much as a moment’s hesitation. And then we were both in a rush to undress each other.

Roc took possession of my body in the way that only he could. He took his time, exploring every inch of me while I lay powerless in his arms, hating myself, and knowing that no matter how far I ran, I’d never outrun my need for Roc.

My body shook with each touch, each stroke of his fingers. He smiled at my willing responses.

I wasn’t aware of it but I was crying, not that it would have stopped me from giving myself over to him completely. I shut the door on my conscience and the little voice in my head that assured me I was going to live to regret this night very soon. I gave up my final hope of coming out of this moment untouched when I heard my name coming from Roc’s lips at the moment of climax.

Reality came to me, bringing the world around us back into focus once more. Roc rolled away, his arms wrapping around me so that he took me with him. I couldn’t move away from him even if I wanted to. I lay exhausted against him, listening to the sound of his heart racing against my ear.

Roc shifted my weight away from him so that he could look fully into my uncertain eyes, but I was spared the need to face the question I saw there just yet. Outside my bedroom window, a faint noise made us both become aware of the urgency of the situation. I tried to get out of bed but Roc kept me still, holding me in place.

“Stay here, Rainie,” he told me when I tried to pull away. “Stay here and let me handle this.” He left the room but returned a short time later, reaching for his clothes.

“Get your things. You can’t stay here any longer—it’s too dangerous. I need to get you out of here. You’re being watched.”

I sat up, clutching the sheet against my body. “I’m not going anywhere with you, Roc. I don’t trust you.”

“You are. If I have to carry you out that door, trust me you are, Rainie. Hurry. There’s not much time. We shouldn’t have…” He didn’t finish but I could read Roc easily enough in the angry way he dressed. We were enemies and yet I didn’t really know why. “Now, Rainie!” Suddenly, Roc stopped and listened to the silence around us. “Please stop arguing with me. You’re just going to have to trust me on this one. This is what you need to do.” Roc wasn’t going to give me the answers I needed, but the firmness in his voice forced me into action. I got out of bed and reached for my robe, wrapping it around my body. Then I found my suitcase in the closet and threw some clothes into it before grabbing my laptop, while Roc stood next to the window watching.

“I need to get dressed.” I didn’t look at him. When he left the room, I shoved my weapon into my handbag.

It was still very early in the morning when we left the apartment and got into a black Range Rover loaded with supplies and a full tank of gas.

Roc continuously watched the rear view mirror for any would-be tails, but each time I asked who he was expecting, he simply ignored my questions.

When we crossed over the Virginia state line, I guessed where he was taking me even though he wouldn’t confirm it.

Roc pulled into the vacant parking lot of a small diner, the only thing open at that time of night.

“We’re stopping for coffee,” he said by way of explanation before getting out.

As we stepped inside, the jingling bell above the door startled me. I found myself involuntarily reaching for the weapon I still carried.

The place was practically empty but the sign on the door said it was an all-night diner. I ordered a sandwich and Roc ordered coffee from a thin woman who looked like she could have stepped out of a sitcom.

Her jet-black hair was piled high on her head. She wore heavy makeup that I suspected was a deliberate attempt to cover her age, which my trained eye pegged to be somewhere mid-sixties at the very least.

“You two aren’t from around here, are you?” she asked and I found myself suspicious of her motives right away.

“No,” Roc answered after a moment’s pause. One glance his way told me he shared my fears. “Why?” When she simply laughed at this, I realized our years in the trenches had made us slightly jaded.

“Well, now, no reason in particular. I’m just making conversation. It gets kind of lonely round these parts this time of night. You have to make the time pass any way you can. We’re not exactly on the usual tourist path, you know. You and your wife aren’t lost, are you?”

“No. No, we’re not lost.” Roc’s eyes met mine for a moment. Something close to tenderness came and went before I could acknowledge it. “We just decided to take the scenic route this time. You know, see some of the countryside,” Roc said with a smile.

“Kind of hard to do in the middle of the night, isn’t it? Where you two heading, anyway?”

Even though we didn’t have anything to fear from this woman, Roc’s sharp instincts wouldn’t let him leave any evidence behind.

“Oh, just on our way to Texas. How long you lived here…” A quick glance at her nametag identified her as Gladys. “How long have you lived round here, Gladys?”

“Too long, honey. All my life. Never moved away. Well, not for any length of time, anyway. I left home once when I was a young kid but came back after only a week. I was so sure this place here couldn’t exist without me and that my life wouldn’t amount to anything anywhere else. But you know what? That was the biggest mistake of my life. Because I was wrong.”

I smiled as Roc invited Gladys to sit with us for a while. Roc had a soft spot for a good romance.

“What happened?” I found myself asking.

“I left here years ago with my boyfriend. We moved out west to California. He wanted to marry me, but I was so homesick for my little town, my family, and my job here that I couldn’t go through with it. I came back home, settled in to my life again, and never left. And you know what? There’s not been a day that went by that I didn’t think about him. He was the love of my life. You only get one chance at that kind of happiness. And I blew it.” Gladys stopped speaking for a moment as her eyes focused on us. She could have been talking about Roc and my relationship.

“You two look like such a happy couple. I’m sure you would never put anything above each other, but don’t you do what I did. Don’t ever let go of each other, you hear?”

My fingers were trembling as I reached for my coffee cup too fast, sending the hot liquid spilling over my hand and the table. Gladys’ attention immediately diverted from my expression to the bright red burn forming on my hand.

“Oh, honey, let me put some cold water on it.” While Gladys rushed off, I forced myself to breathe. After all, the woman had been merely talking about her own life. She had no way of knowing about our failed relationship. I tried to make out Roc’s expression. He wasn’t looking at me. Had he seen the similarities? Did he even care anymore?

“Here you go.” Gladys brought a bowl full of water and I immersed my hand in it. “How’s that feeling?”

“Great,” I said and tried to smile. “Thank you. It’s very kind of you, Gladys. I’m such a klutz at times.” I glanced at Roc, who watched me with that same dark, unreadable expression he used whenever he didn’t want to share his thoughts.

“I hate to say this, but we need to get back on the road. We’ve got a lot of miles to cover still.” Had I only imagined that small amount of regret in his voice?

“You young people are always rushing off somewhere. Well, you take care of each other and be careful with that burn. And with yourself for that matter. Remember what I told you.” I turned from the doorway to look at her. “You don’t let anything come between you two.”

We left the restaurant still without saying a word to each other. I wondered if Gladys’ advice would prove too late for us. Had we let the most important thing in our lives slip through our fingers?

* * * *

The cabin in Jackson Bluff was just as I remembered it from our honeymoon, but our circumstances had changed dramatically. It was hard to believe it had been less than three years since Roc and I slipped away to this cabin to have a few precious days together. We’d never ventured far from our bedroom.

I turned to Roc in the darkness of the SUV’s interior. “So what now?”

I could almost feel him smile. “Now, we get out, go inside, and wait.” After another minute he added, “What did you think I was going to do? Leave you here? Take you out?”

Roc didn’t wait for my answer. He got out of the Rover and grabbed my bag.

I couldn’t sleep in the same bed where Roc and I spent our nights making love. I took my bag from him and started for the stairs.

“I’ll use the spare room upstairs, you can have the master suite.”

Roc didn’t answer but stood watching me again with those unreadable eyes.

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked at last.

“Yes, I’m fine. I’m just tired. It’s been a long drive.”

“Okay. Do you want to eat something or…?” Roc was at a loss for once.

“No, I’m just going to bed.” I turned and headed up the stairs, needing answers, knowing Roc wasn’t prepared to give me any.

“Good luck, Rainie. I hope you find what you’re looking for,” he said. I didn’t bother turning back, because Roc would still be watching me with the same unreadable expression.

I showered and put on comfortable jeans and a T-shirt, then opened my laptop and logged onto my secure Agency e-mail, hoping to find a response from Mark. What I found was a single e-mail from an address I didn’t recognize. When I opened the note, the ancient Aramaic language spilled out before me. It had to be from Justin.

The note was brief. Justin needed to talk to me right away. There was a number listed. I connected the phone access capability of the laptop and dialed the number.

I recognized Justin’s voice right away. Although he spoke in Aramaic, the urgency in his tone was easy to understand.

“Where are you? Are you with him? Rainie, it’s not safe. You need to get out of there.”

“What are you talking about? Who’s not safe?”

“Rainie, I know he’s still alive. You can’t trust him. He’s not who you think.”

“How do you know he’s still alive?” I asked, stunned by Justin’s revelation.

He was silent for a long time and then he said, “How do you think?”

I shook my head, more frustrated by his answer than before. “I don’t know. Stop double talking and tell me.”

“I can’t. This is not a secure line. Tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.”

“No, I can’t. I’m fine.” The first inkling of doubt crept into my thoughts. Why was Justin so anxious to find me?

“Rainie, just tell me, damn it.”

I disconnected the call without answering. Had I just committed the worst mistake of all? Was it possible that Justin wasn’t looking for me at all, but was trying to find Roc? And if so, why?

My head throbbed from its injury. I found a couple of aspirins in my suitcase that had probably been there since the last time Roc and I were here. I swallowed them, turned out all the lights, and then logged onto the Free America website once more.

The number of posts to the site since the last time I’d logged on had decreased incredibly. There were only a couple of regulars posting and they were harmless enough. The very silence on this site and the others I logged onto was enough to tell me something major was close. These guys had gone to what was the equivalent of radio silence.

I sat in the darkness, absently rubbing my injured arm and trying to think clearly. None of what I’d learned so far made any sense.

I crept to the door and listened for any sound beyond, but there was only silence. I couldn’t tell if Roc was sleeping or not.

I went back to the computer and tried everything I could think of that Roc might use as a password into his secure e-mail. I found it quite unexpectedly by typing the date Roc and I had first met.

Once I cracked the password, I found dozens of encrypted e-mails between Roc and Ed as recently as a few days before his supposed death, which seemed to indicate Roc knew what was coming.

As I scanned the e-mails, I realized what the danger was right away. Ed believed he had proof that a mole existed among The Agency’s elite membership. A couple of notes hinted at my involvement, but Roc dismissed me right away. I could tell that Ed wasn’t convinced completely.

Before Roc left D.C., there were various e-mails exchanged between Ed, Roc, and someone who went by the name The Contact. I had no idea who this person might be. I dug a little further through the files and I found my answer. There were pages and pages of information on the FLA. Detailed files that mentioned key players within the organization. This information could only have come from an operative embedded deep within the FLA. There was a recent reference to the incident in the abandoned apartment complex near Anacostia. References to the “clean-up of the problem on Anacostia” meant the FLA member I’d killed; a mention of a “lone crusader” was a direct reference to me. I believed Doren was The Contact.