Past Sins (13 page)

T
he first thing Olivia noticed about the man blocking her escape was that he hadn’t drawn his weapon.

The second thing was that he hadn’t expected Jeffrey.

The precious seconds it cost him to analyze the other man’s threat level was the opportunity Olivia needed.

Her right knee rushed toward his family jewels, but he wasn’t that distracted. He twisted. Grabbed her by the shoulders in an attempt to pin her to the door.

She jerked free, landed an uppercut to his chin. He grabbed a handful of hair and shoved her back into the storeroom.

Before she regained her balance, he was filling the doorway and reaching for his weapon.

An arm came down hard on the guy’s head. Olivia had to look twice to make sure she’d seen what she thought she saw. Jeffrey had ripped an arm from a mannequin and slammed the guy with it.

Though rattled, the guy still lunged for Jeffrey. Olivia’s left elbow collided with his temple as the two went down.

Jeffrey shoved the motionless body off him and scrambled to his feet. Olivia grabbed his arm and ran like hell.

The Land Rover skidded to a stop at the curb two seconds before she reached it.

Landry shoved the passenger-side door open. “Get in!”

Like she needed an invitation. She flung herself into the front seat. Jeffrey dived into the back. Landry was barreling across the parking lot before their doors were fully closed.

Olivia didn’t have to look back to know they were being followed. Landry’s risky maneuvers around pedestrians and parked vehicles screamed trouble on his heels.

“Try not to get us or anyone else killed, Landry,” Jeffrey shouted above the alternating sounds of squealing tires and screeching brakes. The click of his seat belt punctuated his anxious statement.

“We need to get to the street.” Olivia watched for a break in the lines of traffic bottlenecked at both the exits within visual range. The thoroughfares around the mall didn’t give them the freedom they needed to get off mall property. But maneuvering around the throng of waiting vehicles would be no easy feat.

“Keep an eye out for cops.” Landry’s determined expression told her he had a plan.

She craned her neck right then left, didn’t see any official cruisers. Landry didn’t wait for her assessment. He bumped over the curb where the thoroughfare circling the mall met the landscape. If there were any cops around they would soon know.

Olivia braced herself.

Landry veered around the Springfield Mall sign and cut into the street right in front of merging traffic.

Horns blared. Tires squealed as brakes were slammed.

A black SUV carrying at least one member of her original tail followed, bouncing onto the pavement and cutting off more outraged drivers.

Landry swooped between cars and roared along turning lanes, leaving furious drivers and the occasional fender bender in his wake, in an effort to put some distance between them and the vehicle determined to keep theirs in sight.

He didn’t slow. Not for a second. Not for anything.

Olivia found herself holding her breath more than once. Each time the crash didn’t come she sucked in a thankful breath. It had been a while since she’d taken a ride anything like this, even on L.A.’s infamous freeways. Distracting the driver with unnecessary questions or comments wouldn’t help.

Landry did what he had to do.

The exit for I-95 didn’t come soon enough for Olivia. She exhaled a fraction of her tension as he zoomed up the ramp. The tail was still hanging on, but it would be a hell of a lot easier to lose him once they could pick up some real speed.

Weaving and darting between and around vehicles, Landry managed to get in the right position to whip off onto an exit before his tail could react to the abrupt move. He missed the turn, would have no choice but to go to the next exit and double back.

Landry slowed marginally but didn’t let up on his evasive maneuvers. By the time he stopped taking unexpected turns, even Olivia was lost. She’d spent her share of time in the D.C. area and popular surrounding locales, but she was pretty sure she’d never been here before.

“Where to now?” she asked when it was safe to distract Landry. She had more questions and conclusions. The sooner they were off the road the sooner they could assess what just went down.

“Anywhere,” Jeffrey pleaded. “I just want to get out of this vehicle.”

Olivia couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She’d put him in this position. He wanted to go home. He wanted his life back.

She hated herself right now.

Her gaze shifted to the man behind the wheel.

Maybe she still hated him, too. But not nearly enough to protect herself.

More than an hour and a half later Landry stopped at a hotel off the Capital Beltway. As distance went, they hadn’t actually gone that far from their rendezvous point with Director Woods, but they’d been driving hard the entire time.

Olivia understood the tactic. Ensure the enemy couldn’t pick up your trail. The dude who’d been hoping to catch them would need a crystal ball to do so now.

Landry had doubled back so many times he’d driven twenty miles for every five he wanted to cover. There had been no sign of the black SUV since they’d left I-95.

That was definitely a good thing.

Landry parked the Land Rover near the entrance to the hotel lobby. He looked exhausted. Somehow she didn’t feel sorry for him though. After all, he’d started this.

“How about getting us a couple of rooms with a connecting door.” He handed her a credit card.

He looked away before she could read his eyes, but she’d noticed something there…that distant look of remorse or something along those lines. Couldn’t be. That would indicate he had a heart and she knew from experience he didn’t. Not one any human could hope to reach anyway.

She had to stop trying to read between the lines. What he thought or how he felt was of no consequence to her any longer. Not on that level. They were partners in an op, that was all.

Not bothering to answer him, she got out of the SUV and went to do his bidding. Her legs felt a little wobbly. She’d lived the calm, safe life too long to go through a high-speed chase without feeling it.

Inside, the desk clerk greeted her and in less than three minutes had taken care of her request. Two rooms, connecting door, third floor. Nothing on the ground floor was available. She used the credit card he’d given her. Samuel Borders, one of his many aliases.

“Three seventy and seventy-one,” she informed Landry as she climbed back into the Land Rover.

He drove around to the end of the hotel and parked out of sight of the main entrance. He didn’t bother to back into the slot as she’d done in Memphis.

Landry claimed his bag from the cargo area. Olivia and Jeffrey did the same. She was beginning to worry about him. He hadn’t said a word since they left I-95.

That communication strike ended the instant she and Jeffrey were alone in their own room.

“Olivia, we have to contact the police. This is way, way out of control.” He dropped his bag onto the bed and rubbed a hand over his face. He looked haggard. Clearly he had reached the end of his rope emotionally.

She couldn’t keep lugging him around with her. He could have been killed today.

They both could have.

The reality that she hadn’t drawn her weapon when coming face-to-face with the enemy scared her more than any other aspect of the day’s adventure.

Why hadn’t her survival instincts kicked in?

She should have had her weapon in her hand before she opened that door. Her enemy’s failure to draw his own weapon was the only thing that had saved her ass.

As well as Jeffrey’s.

And it didn’t make a damn lick of sense.

Jeffrey sat down on the edge of the bed. His somber face warned Olivia that she might not be talking him out of his decision this time.

“If you choose to leave this hotel with Landry then you’ll be doing so alone,” he said flatly. “I can’t go along with this any longer.”

She sat down next to him. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this, Jeffrey.” Clasping her hands in her lap, she let her shoulders sag with her own fatigue. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. The only thing I’m certain of at this point is that I can’t walk away.”

“It’s his fault.” He glared toward the connecting door she had yet to unlock. “He started this mess.”

She couldn’t argue either of those statements, not really. What she could do was ask some more questions. The reactions of Woods and his men had given her pause.

“I need to speak with him.” She searched Jeffrey’s face for signs of disapproval. “Will you be okay over here for a few minutes? You won’t make any calls until I get back and we’ve talked?”

“No calls until you come back. But I don’t trust him,” he said firmly. “Be careful what you agree to. I’m certain he has some hidden agenda that will only create more trouble for you.”

She stood. “I’ll be back soon.”

Jeffrey massaged the back of his neck. “I think I’ll order room service or takeout if that’s okay.”

“Sure.” She hesitated at the door. “Don’t forget the Pepsi.” Somehow she managed to dredge up a smile. “Be right back.”

She opened the doors leading to Landry’s room without knocking. He would be expecting her. He’d left his side unlocked. There would be no question in his mind what she was thinking. He’d heard the conversation between her and the director.

Landry had stripped down to his jeans. She reminded herself not to visually examine his well-defined chest. She’d seen it before. No need to linger there. She knew every amazing contour.

“I still feel like you’re keeping something from me, Landry.” Why beat around the bush? He had to be expecting this. She closed the door behind her. Some aspects of this conversation were off-limits to Jeffrey…could actually endanger him even further.

“I told you everything I can.”

Landry kicked back on the bed, the pillows behind him for support as he reviewed his map.

The desire to whip out her Beretta and make him talk was palpable. The only problem with that scenario was that she could shoot out his kneecaps and he still wouldn’t talk. Not unless he wanted to. That part she knew for sure.

She assumed a position next to the bed, adopting her most intimidating posture. “Woods had no idea what I was talking about. He had no idea I was alive. I just can’t figure out if that’s related to what you’re not telling me.”

He set his map aside and pushed to his feet, forcing her to take two steps back to avoid his entering her personal space. “You can’t be certain of anything yet, Nessa. Woods may have told you what he wanted you to hear.”

Tiny blasts of annoyance imploded, one by one, deep inside her. He did that, used her old name, just to keep her off balance.

Unfortunately it worked.

“I saw his face, Landry. Saw his eyes. He wasn’t lying. I really want to believe that you’re not.”

He moved closer. Too close. The implosions of irritation turned to anticipation. Her pulse responded.

“I need you to trust me a little longer,” he said, his tone too low, too intimate for comfort.

She firmed her defenses, held her ground. He wasn’t going to influence her with his vast charm. “I still say he didn’t know.”

“We’re not finished yet. There’s still Hamilton and Echols.”

“What about Andrew Page?” she demanded. “Is your former Interpol superior suddenly exempt?”

Somehow he was closer now. She’d scarcely blinked and he’d invaded her territory. She hadn’t noticed him move, but that bare chest felt too close…too inviting.

“Woods might not have been the one,” Landry allowed, “but he turned a blind eye when you went down. Whether he knew the specifics of your situation or not, he understood that something wrong happened. Andrew isn’t exempt, either. He knows things…the same as the others do. The bottom line is, whatever Woods did or did not know, he wanted to take you in today. That much was clear. We can’t let up until we’ve got them all running in circles.”

She backed up a step. She didn’t care if he recognized his effect on her. She couldn’t stand there feeling the heat from his body a second longer.

“Nothing we do is going to clear my name,” she countered. “Vanessa Clark is dead. She died a rogue agent, a traitor. End of story, Landry. No matter if we prove who gave the order, the woman I used to be will still be dead and buried. We need to stick to a single agenda—finding out who wants Olivia Mills dead.”

For the third time since he’d crashed back into her life she failed to see his next move coming. His fingers were suddenly in her hair, tugging her close…his mouth claimed hers in an act so bold, so demanding that she couldn’t assemble a proper thought much less an evasive maneuver.

He kissed her the way he had before, with every ounce of his being. She didn’t have to wonder…she could feel all of him in the act. Holt Landry was a master kisser…an equally masterful lover. She shuddered, tried not to think.

He pulled back just far enough to draw in a desperate breath, the rush of air between their damp lips sending fire raging through her.

“God, I’ve missed you.”

The words…his touch…were too much.

She planted her palms against that bare chest and pushed with what meager strength he hadn’t drained from her. “Don’t do this.”

He wouldn’t let her go. He held on, cradling her face in his hands. “Do you know what it did to me when I thought you were dead? I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. Couldn’t work. Nothing. I searched for you. Talked to a thousand people in an attempt to confirm what I’d been told. I was crazy with grief.” He pressed his forehead to hers. Stroked her cheek with his thumb. “I couldn’t bear the idea that you were gone.”

She pushed harder against him. Had to get some distance between them. The desire to touch him more intimately…to have him skin to skin was almost overwhelming.

She was a fool. A damn fool. How the hell could she still feel this way knowing what she knew about their past? She couldn’t let him change the subject like this.

“They took you from me.” He backed off a little but he didn’t let go completely. His hands rested on her shoulders, maintaining the connection that was tearing her apart inside. “They destroyed all that you were. I want them to pay. I want the people responsible to face up to their crimes. I want you safe.”