Stolen Chances (26 page)

That would never happen, though. She knew now, no matter what he attained, he’d never completely let her go. She was a trophy to him, just as
La Malinche
was a treasure to be acquired. He’d never leave her alone as he’d promised. Once he had the statue, he’d still covet her until he won.

It came down to one simple fact: he would never stop, not until she took the steps to make him stop.

Breathing deep, she opened her eyes and picked up the phone. She dialed the number, waited, and tried to put on a smile when Candace answered.

“Maren? Thank goodness. I’m glad you called so soon. I was afraid it might be days.”

“Is everything okay there?”

“Yes, everything’s fine. Isabel’s great.”

“Good.” Maren swallowed around the lump in her throat. “Can I talk to her?”

“Yeah, hold on.”

There was a pause, then Isabel’s laughter rang through the line. The sound sent a wave of much-needed warmth through Maren’s whole body. “Hi, baby.”

“Mom! I miss you. I’ve been waiting for you to call.”

“I’ve missed you too, sweetheart. How’s your adventure?”

“It’s great. Candace and I are having so much fun. We’re staying in the Chinook suite.”

Her mother would die if she knew Maren was letting Isabel have the run of their most luxurious suite. But in a matter of days, that would be the least of her mother’s worries. “Sounds fun, honey.”

“Is everything okay? You sound...sad.”

Tears pooled in Maren’s eyes. “Everything’s fine. I just miss you, that’s all.”

“How’s Grandpa?”

She didn’t want to talk about Patrick. She just wanted to listen to Isabel’s sweet voice and soak it in. “He’s fine. Everyone’s fine. He’s still ordering everyone around. The grad students are all afraid of him.”

“That sounds like Grandpa.” Isabel hesitated, as if she sensed something wasn’t right. “I love you, Mom.”

The pressure in Maren’s chest squeezed tight, threatening to choke the life out of her. “Oh, I love you, baby. Every minute of every day. You are everything to me, Isabel.”

“Are you sure everything’s okay, Mom? You sound funny.”

Maren nodded to reassure herself. “Yes. Everything’s fine. Everything will be fine.” She wiped the tears from her good eye, feeling confident for the first time in years. “Now, I need you to put Candace back on the line. And Isabel, I need you to promise me something.”

“What?”

“Promise me you’ll do whatever Candace asks. Even if it sounds silly, go along with her. She’d never hurt you.”

“Okay,” Isabel answered in a wary tone.

Maren let out a deep breath. “Okay, put Candace on.”

The phone changed hands. “Maren?”

“I’m here. Listen carefully, Candace. I need you to go ahead with the plan.”

“Maren, what—?”

“I don’t have any other choice. If I did, I’d take it. Use cash only, no credit cards, nothing that can be traced. The passports are in the envelope as well. Stay small—no airplanes. It’ll be harder for him to track you that way. You’ll need to fool Isabel. She’ll pick up the passport has a different name on it.”

Candace was silent for a moment, and Maren’s heart felt like it might explode. If her friend wouldn’t help her like she’d agreed so long ago…

“I’ll...I’ll handle it,” Candace said. “Don’t worry.”

Relief was as sweet as a summer breeze. “I know you will. I have faith in you.” Her mind spun again. “Go to the rendezvous point and wait. On the twenty-seventh, if nothing’s changed, I’ll wire the money. After that, take her and go, and don’t look back.”

“I’ll be praying that you don’t wire that money.”

“Don’t pray,” Maren said in a thick voice. “It’s useless.”

“Maren—”

“You make sure she knows, Candace. Make sure she knows I never abandoned her. When she’s old enough, you explain it to her, but not now.” Maren’s voice hitched, and she knew it wouldn’t be long before tears spilled over she wouldn’t be able to stop.

“I will. I promise.”

“You make sure she knows I love her too. I always loved her, I will always love her.”

“I promise.”

“Okay.” She took another breath. “I have to go.”

“Are you going to be all right?”

Maren looked down at her toes, lost in the thick fabric of the carpet, so much like her life. “I’ll be fine. As long as I know Isabel’s safe, nothing can hurt me.”

“
S
he’s in Cancun.”

Thad let the screen door to Patrick’s cabin slap closed behind him and looked toward Maren’s father.

Patrick pushed out of his chair and pulled his glasses off his face. “Cancun? Are you sure?”

Thad yanked off his ball cap and raked a hand through his hair. He’d been useless on the boat today and had finally given up and come back to shore. Maren wasn’t answering her phone, and he had a knot in his stomach when he remembered the way she’d bolted yesterday morning. “I talked to the pilot at the airstrip who flew her there. And Sullivan contacted his whiz-kid brother, who hacked into her cell phone service provider. She’s made calls from an area around the airport over the past two days.”

Patrick’s brow lowered. “I thought she was heading home. She shouldn’t still be in Cancun.”

“Did you talk to your wife?” Yesterday, when Thad had been ready to go after her, Patrick had told him something had probably happened at the hotel and to trust Maren. She’d said she was coming back. But Thad’s instincts screamed something wasn’t right. The Maren who’d rocked his world in that stateroom was a completely different woman from the one who’d fled like she’d seen a ghost.

“Yes,” Patrick answered, brow lowered. “But Sophia’s in Seattle on business. She called the hotel yesterday, but Maren hadn’t arrived yet.”

“That’s because she never planned to go there.” Thad’s worry amped another notch. Whatever had spooked Maren into running had to do with the secret she was hiding. He felt it. And he wasn’t about to sit still and wait to see
if
she changed her mind and came back.

He tugged his hat back on. “I’m going after her.”

“Leighton.”

Thad stopped with one hand on the screen door. “Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

Maren’s father was as worried as Thad was. No matter what Maren thought of him, the man loved her. He just had a really bad way of showing it. “I’ll call when I have news.”

M
aren stood in the cosmetics aisle of the drug store, contemplating her choices. The swelling in her eye had finally gone down, but the bruises were still clearly evident.

She’d bought the biggest pair of sunglasses she could find and was able to hide her appearance the few times she managed to venture outside her hotel room. But if she was ever going to get back to the dig, she needed to find something to cover most of the bruising.

Glancing over the selection, she finally decided on a yellow concealer that claimed to hide even the toughest under-eye circles and a taupe foundation to smooth out her uneven skin tones. She tossed in another bottle of alcohol to clean the massive gash in her shoulder and paid for her items at the counter.

She wouldn’t be able to dive, but she’d figure out a way to stay on the boat and work the artifacts they sent up. And she’d keep to herself. That was key now. No more fooling around with Thad. No more making things worse.

Her chest pinched at the thought of him, and she drew a deep breath that did little to ease the ache as she stepped off the elevator on the fourth floor of her hotel. Looking down at the key card in her hand, she rounded the corner then drew up short when she saw two familiar long legs dressed in faded denim stretched out on the carpet near her door.

Her breath caught, and she drew to an abrupt stop. Slowly, Thad unfolded himself from the floor where he’d been sitting and stood.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” she managed.

“Looking for you.” His eyes narrowed, and she thanked her lucky stars she’d kept her sunglasses on.

“How’d you find me?”

“Illegally.”

She had no idea what that meant.

“What the hell’s going on, Maren? Why are you holed up in a hotel near the airport?”

Panic pushed in. The same panic she’d felt every time she thought of him. Only this was worse because he was here. “I have my reasons.”

She slid around him, slipped her key card into the slot, and waited for the light to turn green. It flashed red.

Come on, you piece of shit…

She slid the key card through the reader again.

“You walked away without so much as an explanation,” Thad said. “And I want to know why.” He grasped her right arm and turned her toward him.

Pain radiated outward from her shoulder, and she grimaced, trying to ease away from his grip. His brow lowered. With his free hand, he pushed the sleeve of her shirt up.

His eyes grew wide. “Holy hell, Maren.” He pulled the collar of her shirt over, exposing the long row of stitches. “What happened to you?”

She wrenched free of his hand and turned back toward the door, desperate for him to just leave. “Nothing. I fell and cut my shoulder. It’s no big deal.” She slipped the card into the slot again. The damn thing finally turned green. Quietly rejoicing, she pushed the door open. “Thanks for checking on me. Tell Patrick I’ll see him in a few days.”

The lies were coming easier. Her stomach rolled.

Thad slapped a hand on the door, preventing her from locking him out. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. What happened?”

“I already told you.” She tried desperately to keep calm. She didn’t need this right now. Dammit, she’d made up her mind. “Now I’d appreciate it if you’d just leave.”

“What are you hiding?” He pushed his way into the room. The steel door snapped closed at his back. “Take off those ridiculous shades.”

Her pulse shot up. “No.”

“I want to see your eyes when you lie to me,” he said calmly. Way too calmly. “Take them off.”

“No.” Hesitantly, she took a step back.

He pulled them off before she could move out of his reach, then gasped.

Her adrenaline shot up. She scrambled for the glasses, but he held them out of her grasp.

A muscle in his jaw twitched. And as she watched his eyes harden, her stomach contracted.

“Son of a bitch,” he muttered. “You didn’t fall. Tell me who did this to you.”

“It…it doesn’t matter,” she said quickly.

“It sure as hell does. Tell me.”

She hated that he, of all people, had seen her like this. For so many years, she’d dreamt of him coming after her, and now it was too late. “It’s none of your business, Thad.”

“Dammit, Maren. Why are you protecting the bastard? Some jerk uses you for a punching bag, and you’re protecting him?”

Her, a battered woman. No one who knew her would ever believe it. Disgust slithered through her, and, unable to stand still anymore, she moved across the room and shifted a book on the table, a feeble attempt to keep her hands from shaking.

“Is the bastard your boyfriend? Is that who you’ve been talking to on the phone when you think no one’s around?”

She closed her eyes on a wave of pain more intense than the ache in her shoulder. He’d heard her talking to Isabel. He’d thought she’d been talking to another man?

When she opened her eyes and didn’t answer, he leveled her with a look that made her feel about as big as a pea. “Does he beat you all the time? Is that why you bolted out of my bed? Because you knew your lover wouldn’t like it?”

How could he think she would want to be with anyone else after what had happened between them?

“He’s…he’s not my boyfriend,” she managed.

“Then tell me who
he
is and why you’re protecting him.”

His jaw clenched and unclenched with such controlled fury, Maren knew she was cornered.

Oh God.
She sank onto a chair and pressed trembling fingers against her eyes. She had to tell him. He wasn’t going to leave until he got it out of her, and she didn’t have the strength to fight him anymore.

“I’m not protecting him. He doesn’t mean anything to me. I’m...” Oh God, here she went. Her stomach felt like it might explode. “I’m protecting my daughter.”

“Your
what
?”

Hearing the shock in his voice, she forced herself to look up at his wide, surprised eyes. “My daughter. I...I have a daughter.”