The Mistaken (31 page)

I stared at her for a long time, as if I could
somehow find the solution in her eyes. I offered a feeble grin then
turned my hands and grabbed hers, squeezing her fingers between my
own. I released one hand and stood, helping her up with me. I
smiled again, this one a little more encouraging than the last.

“Forgive my moodiness, Hannah.” I ran both hands
over my face. “Ah, damn, I could really use a drink.” She was just
about to rebuff me for the remark when I threw her a reassuring
glance. “No worries,” I said. “I’ll be good, just for you.”

I touched her elbow and escorted her back to the
door. She hesitated for a second, unsure of my change in mood. She
knew something was wrong and that I was trying to hide it from her.
I could see her anxiety growing into full-blown alarm.

I smiled once more and dipped my head. “Don’t worry,
Hannah. Everything’s fine. I’m just tired. That’s all.”

I opened the door with a gesture for her to precede
me. She shook her head and passed through.

“I’ll drive,” I said as she walked by.

With an exhausted sigh, I followed in after her.

Chapter Thirty

Tyler

Grateful now to have such a high-performance
vehicle, I shifted the BMW into seventh gear and sped down the
highway as fast as I dared, alert for the highway patrol. I tried
to keep a casual smile plastered on my face. Hannah was too
perceptive, and I didn’t want her to worry about what I was
thinking, and especially what I was feeling. I fiddled with the
radio, trying to find some music amid all the static.

“What kind of music do you like?” I asked.

“Hmm, well, alternative mostly, but I have an
assortment on my playlist.”

“Your playlist?”

“Man, you are a Luddite, aren’t you?” She reached
into my side pocket and pulled out her phone. She attached a small
wire to it and powered it up.

“What are you doing? Turn that off!” I
commanded.

“Oh relax, it’s on airplane mode. There’s no signal,
just power.” She made selections as she ran her finger over the
colorfully lighted display. “See?” She held it up for my
inspection. “I keep all my songs on here,” she explained as music
filled the car.

It was soothing, if a bit melancholy, and I enjoyed
it. Hannah tapped her foot and hummed along with the song.

“30 Seconds To Mars,” she announced.

“Thirty what?” I asked.

“30 Seconds To Mars,” she said again, like I should
know what she was talking about. “This is Hurricane, my favorite
song.”

I gave her a blank stare, not recognizing the group
or the song.

“You know, the band…with Jared Leto, the movie star.
Panic Room, Alexander, Requiem for a Dream.
Any of those
ring a bell?”

I shook my head.

“Never mind,” she said with a wave of her hand. She
continued to sing along quietly for another minute, all the while
peeking over at me with another one of her expressions I couldn’t
quite read.

“So I don’t watch movies very often. Something wrong
with that?” I asked.

“No, it’s just… This song, you know. It kind of got
me thinking.”

“Yeah? About what?”

“Well, the lyrics,” she said with a shrug before
reciting them. “
’Tell me would you kill to save a life…would you
kill to prove you’re right?’
They’ve often made me wonder, what
would make a good man do something…you know, really awful, like
kill or whatever. And well, now…I guess I have my answer, don’t I?”
She peered at me like she’d just received all of God’s wisdom. As
if she could read me through and through.

“Hannah.” I paused, unsure of what to say. “It
doesn’t really matter. There’s no excuse for what I’ve done.”

“No, no. You misunderstand. I’m not looking for an
apology. I’m just saying that… I think I get it, you know. I think
I…understand. You, that is. I think I understand why. I mean, I’m
not saying it’s right or anything, but…” She shrugged again. “I get
it. That’s all.”

I couldn’t find an appropriate response, so I just
nodded and returned my attention back to the road ahead, feeling
both humbled and humiliated.

“Oh, and um…there is one other thing,” she added,
her bottom lip pulling down like she was unsure whether to ask or
not.

“What?”

“Well, while I was looking for you at the café, a
couple of people said they saw you on your cell.” She said it like
an accusation.

I arched an eyebrow, uncertain of her point.
“So?”

“So, why is it all right for you to use your cell
when you said it was unsafe for me to use mine?”

I sniggered. “Look, I don’t know if any of Alexi’s
men are near or not. If they were and I called from a payphone, it
would pinpoint our exact location.”

“Okay, but why isn’t it safe for me to use my
cell?”

“Because I don’t want them to have a conduit
directly back to your son,” I replied, wary of how she might
respond.

As expected, Hannah sucked in her breath, instantly
alert, panic spreading across her face. “Oh my God, is that really
possible? Can my signal be traced back to Conner?”

“Possible, yes, but unlikely, I think. I’m just
trying to cover all the bases. I don’t want to take any chances.
Though they know I have the wrong person, I don’t think they
actually know who you are. That’s the whole problem. Your identity
and Erin’s are intertwined and confused because of your
husband.”

“What about that man back at the motel? He probably
saw my car. He might have given someone my plate numbers. Maybe
they’ve traced the car to Beck. Now you’re telling me I shouldn’t
be worried about Conner being with his father? They could both be
in trouble.”

“Hannah, try to stay calm, all right? You just
talked to Conner and he was fine. There’s no reason to suspect they
would be interested in your son, or your husband, for that matter.
We’ll just keep calling from time to time to make sure nothing has
changed.”

My suggestion seemed to appease her as she thought
it over.

“Okay, but in the meantime, what exactly is your
plan?” she asked. “I need to know where we’re going, what we’re
going to do.”

I couldn’t look her in the eye and lie, so I kept my
eyes on the road. “I’m working on that and will let you know when I
have it figured out.”

“That’s not good enough, Ty. This is my future in
jeopardy, and maybe my family’s, as well. What are you hiding from
me? I know something happened back at that café. I saw it all over
your face. You’re scared. Why won’t you just tell me what’s going
on?”

Why?
Because
I
didn’t know what was
going on. I had no idea what might happen.

“Ty, answer me.”

I didn’t know if Alexi’s men were still on our
tail.

She touched my arm. “Tyler.”

I didn’t know if we’d been setup, if we were walking
into a trap.

“Tyler, I’m talking to you.”

I didn’t even know if Nick was still alive.

She drummed her fingers along my bicep. “Tyler,
what’s
wrong
with you?”

What could I tell her? There was nothing I knew for
sure.

“Why are you ignoring me?”

I wasn’t ignoring her. I wanted to reassure her, to
make her feel safe.

“I need to know what’s happening, Ty.”

But I didn’t have an answer. Not one. I couldn’t
think with all the noise.

“Tyler! Why won’t you tell me?”

“Godammit, Hannah! You don’t need to know right now,
all right? When the time is right, I’ll tell you everything.”

She gaped at me with her mouth open then snapped it
shut and crossed her arms over her chest. “Yeah, well, it’ll be too
late once you’ve fed me to the wolves!”

“I told you I wouldn’t do that.”

“Well, I don’t know if I believe you. Why should I
after what you’ve done and the plans you’ve made?”

“Hannah, please, just drop it already.”

“No, I think I have the right to know exactly
what’s—”

“Shut the hell up, will you. Good God!”

“Don’t you dare talk to me that way. I’m not your
wife.”

“No, you’re not. Not even fucking close.”

“Yeah, well, thank God for that or I’d be dead
already, wouldn’t I?”

That was it, strike three. The rage burned through
me again like wildfire through a eucalyptus grove.

“Fuck, fuck,
fuck!”
I pounded my fists
against the steering wheel with each curse. “God damn you, Hannah!
God damn you!” Angry tears blurred my vision.

Hannah clasped her hands over her mouth. “Oh God,
Ty, I’m sorry.”

“Why, Hannah? Why would you
do
that? Why
bring her up?” I wiped the back of my hand across my damp cheeks.
“You know what that does to me, godammit.” I struck my fist against
the wheel twice more. “
Godammit!”

“I know. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I
didn’t mean it. Really. I didn’t. I’m just… I’m so…so
frustrated.”

I took deep breaths to calm myself and swiped my
sleeve across my eyes and beneath my nose. Everything was crumbling
around me—
everything
—and I was completely helpless to stop
it. It was as if my life were caught in a current, drifting further
away from shore, away from home and everything familiar to me. I
was hopelessly lost.

I shook my head. “What am I doing?” I asked myself.
“What the bloody hell am I doing?” I screamed the second time, as
if to wake myself from a bad dream. I bit my lip to stop myself
from sobbing. But it didn’t work.

Hannah looked over at me and put her hand on my
wounded shoulder. “I don’t know, Ty, but I might be able help if
you would just let me in and tell me what’s going on. You wanted me
to trust you, and I did. Now I’m asking you to do the same.”

Her words reminded me of my last conversation with
Nick; how desperately I wanted to help him, and how he wouldn’t let
me. I sighed, feeling defeated all over again. Then I dried my eyes
one last time and sat up as straight as I could.

“All right. Fine. Have it your way. Once we check in
to a hotel, I’ll tell you everything. I hope you’re right. I hope
you
can
help me figure this out. Because God knows, I can’t
seem to do it on my own.”

Chapter
Thirty
-
One

Tyler

It was early in the evening when we pulled up to the
valet entrance at the upscale Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco.
As I jumped out of the car, an attendant opened Hannah’s door and
offered his hand. The valet handed me a claim ticket then placed
Hannah’s bag on the curb.

“Will you be staying with us tonight, ma’am?” the
valet asked Hannah.

“No,” I jumped in before she could reply. “We’re
just meeting some friends for dinner.”

Hannah threw me a confused glance. I tipped the
valet, grabbed Hannah’s bag, and escorted her into the hotel. The
lobby was elegant with walls finished in contemporary paneling and
adorned with modern art. The crisp white marble floor was dressed
with thick area rugs bordered by elaborate patterned tile. A
considerable step up from the last place we’d stayed. But Hannah
ignored it all, her eyes pinned on me.

“Why did you tell him we wouldn’t be staying?” she
asked.

There were people all around so I leaned in close to
whisper. “Because I don’t want your plates associated with our
room. No loose ends. It’s safer that way.”

She finally looked around, soaking in the richly
decorated interior with awe. “Why are we even staying at such an
expensive place anyway?”

“Again, it’s safer,” I explained as I scanned the
lobby. “They have better security, lots of cameras, plenty of staff
twenty-four-seven. It would be much more difficult for an intruder,
like the one we had last night, to get past all that.”

I smiled down at her, hoping my precautions made her
feel safer. I reached for Hannah’s hand and led her into the
lounge, back to a table in a dark corner. Perhaps she saw the
perspiration along my forehead or felt the way my hand trembled and
put two and two together, because she resisted and pulled against
me.

“Ty, I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Oh, come on, one drink won’t hurt. Besides, I need
to observe the lobby.”

She wasn’t too excited by the idea, but she sat down
with me anyway. “Okay, but only one drink, something light, then we
go check in.”

A cocktail waitress approached our table, smiled a
polite greeting, and placed napkins on the table in front of us.
“Good evening, folks. What can I get you tonight?” she asked,
looking briefly at Hannah before her eyes settled on me. Her smile
broadened and she winked.

I glanced back over at Hannah. Her eyes were
shooting daggers into the woman’s back.

“Coffee, black,” I ordered without even looking up
at the waitress. “And you, Hannah?”

Her irritation turned to surprise. “Um…yeah, same
for me, thanks.”

The waitress scribbled on her notepad with a muffled
humph. As soon as she left, Hannah smacked me on the arm.

“Ouch! Watch the shoulder.” I wagged my finger at
her. “Remember, I took a bullet for you.”

“You’re a jerk!”

“
What? Would you rather I order
something stronger?”

“No! And that’s not what I’m referring to and you
know it.” She looked away for a moment then turned back with a soft
shake of her head. “I bet that happens all the time, huh?”

“What’s that?”

“That waitress,” she replied, tipping her chin
toward our fleeing server.

I shrugged. “What about her?”

“Oh, come on, Ty, don’t be coy. She was flirting
with you. That is so rude. For all she knows, I could be your
wife.”

I chuckled again, a memory of Jill having a similar
reaction rushing through me. “Yeah, my wife used to get pretty
upset when that would happen.”