Читать книгу Way of the Shadows - Cynthia Eden - Страница 9

Chapter One

Fifteen years later...

The plane dipped, hitting another hard patch of turbulence, and Noelle Evers locked her fingers around the armrest on either side of her body. The private plane was currently flying over an area of pure-white land in Alaska, and Noelle was afraid they might be diving right into that snowy landscape at any moment.

“Relax,” a low, gravel-rough voice told her. “We’ll be landing in just a few more minutes.”

The voice—and the guy who went with that voice—pulled Noelle’s attention from the narrow window. She looked at the man seated directly across from her.

Thomas Anthony.

Tall, dark, deadly...and, currently, her partner on this assignment. Thomas “Dragon” Anthony was a man who seemed to always put her on edge.

“If you’re going to be working with the EOD,” Thomas murmured as he lifted one dark eyebrow, “rough flights will be the least of your worries.”

Noelle forced herself to take a long, deep breath. She didn’t want to show any weakness in front of Thomas. The man made her far too...nervous. Too aware.

Noelle was new to the EOD—the Elite Operations Division. She’d been recruited by EOD Director Bruce Mercer a few months back. Normally, the agents in that secretive group were all ex-military. They belonged to some of the most elite military units operating in the world. The agents were recruited to join the EOD because of their skills and because they were deadly when it came to their missions.

Noelle wasn’t ex-military. She didn’t specialize in killing or hunting prey. Instead, her specialty was getting inside a killer’s mind. Before Bruce Mercer had used his pull to get Noelle into the EOD, she’d been working as a profiler at the FBI.

But then one of the EOD agents had gone rogue...and Mercer had brought her in to profile the agents there.

To hunt a killer within the division.

“You don’t fit, you know,” Thomas added in that deep, dark voice of his. A voice that made her tense and think of things she really shouldn’t.

The plane bounced again. Noelle swallowed. “You mean because I lack the military training?”

“I mean because when we get into a life-or-death situation—and we will—you won’t be prepared to take the necessary action.”

Her eyes narrowed at those words. Way to insult your partner on the first case. “Look, I might not be an ex–Army Ranger—” as he was “—but I worked at the FBI for five years. I’ve been in plenty of dangerous situations, and I’ve handled myself just fine.”

Thomas’s lips quirked a bit. They were sensual lips, with a faintly cruel edge. Thomas was a handsome man, if you went for the deadly, dangerous type. As a general rule, Noelle definitely did not go for that type. She preferred safe guys, with a capital S.

And everything about Thomas spelled DANGER. From the top of his midnight-black hair down to his well-worn hiking boots, the guy just oozed a threat. Maybe it was because she’d read his file. She knew just what he was capable of doing—what he had done. Thomas didn’t need any weapon when he went after his targets. He could kill—and had—quite easily, with his hands. He’d earned the nickname of Dragon while at the EOD because he was a martial-arts expert—he attacked with brutal control, and his opponents never had a chance against him.

Cold. Hard. Dangerous.

Thomas had a firm, square jaw, a blade-sharp nose and sculpted cheekbones that gave him a strong, fierce appearance. His deep, golden eyes reminded her of a lion’s gaze. Maybe because every time she looked into those eyes, Noelle felt as if he were a predator and she was his prey.

We’re partners. Partners. Mercer had sent them on this trip to Alaska because they were supposed to be hunting a killer. Together.

“You’ve never killed anyone,” Thomas said as he tilted his head to study her. “Death is a way of life for EOD agents.”

“Yes, well, I’m sure this will shock you, but FBI agents see plenty of death, too.” Death was rather her specialty. “I know killers, and you can trust me to do my job.”

Her job... Her job was to question the suspect they were pursuing. To break through the very public façade the man presented and to determine if Alaskan Senator Lawrence Duncan was the man who’d recently plotted the destruction of the EOD.

Thomas’s eyes narrowed just a bit as he gazed at her.

And there it is again. He was looking at her with a touch of familiarity. As if he knew her.

Too well.

But Noelle hadn’t met Thomas Anthony until she started work at the EOD just a few months before. They were most certainly not intimately acquainted.

No matter how Thomas might glance at her.

“You’re doing it again,” Noelle blurted. Then she could have bitten her tongue when his face tensed. She was normally so much better at controlling her emotions and her responses to people, but Thomas just put her on edge.

“Doing what?” Thomas asked voice totally emotionless.

“Staring at me...as if—as if we’re—” She floundered because what Noelle really wanted to say was...As if we’re lovers. But they weren’t. No way would she have forgotten him.

It was just...the intensity in his eyes...the heat...

“I make you nervous,” he said.

Why lie? “Yes.”

“Because you know what I’ve done.” His gaze slid to the files on the seat beside her. “You read all of our files, right? When you were trying to decide which EOD agent was actually a psychotic killer in disguise.”

That had been her first assignment at the EOD. This outing to Alaska was her second.

“So, what’s the verdict, doc?” The doc was mocking, but Noelle was a doctor, a psychiatrist. She’d been trying for years to understand the demons that chased people.

Ever since she’d woken up in a small, southern hospital with her life shattered around her.

“Tell me...” Thomas continued with his gaze assessing. “Am I dangerous? Am I psychotic? Is that why you tense up every time I get near you?” He leaned forward. “Are you afraid I’ll hurt you?” Then, before she could respond, his jaw hardened even more. “Because that’s not the way things work at the EOD. You trust your partner, or you don’t trust anyone.”

She couldn’t seem to take a deep enough breath. Thomas filled the space around her so completely.

The pilot’s voice floated over the intercom then, announcing their impending landing.

Thomas leaned back.

But Noelle’s hand flew out. She touched his wrist.

Thomas stilled.

“I know you’re not psychotic. You’re a soldier. A damn fine one, at that,” she added because it was true. “And if I seem nervous...” Tell him. “It’s not you, really. I have a...very hard time getting close to people.” Mostly because Noelle had made a habit of putting a wall between herself and others.

Once, that wall had been necessary for Noelle’s survival. But now, she didn’t know how to live without that protection.

His gaze dropped to her hand.

Noelle slowly pulled her fingers back.

After a moment, Thomas’s stare lifted once more to her face. “You’ll be closer to me than you will be to anyone else.”

Goose bumps rose on Noelle’s arms. Was that a promise? Or a warning?

Then the plane began its descent, and she held back the other questions she wanted to ask him.

* * *

THOMAS ANTHONY WAS used to danger. He was used to pain. He was used to surviving any and every hellhole on earth. As an Army Ranger, his job had been to get the mission accomplished, no matter what.

But his job had never involved working intimately with Noelle Evers, not until now.

She doesn’t remember me.

He’d known that, of course, from the beginning. From the first day he’d glanced up at the EOD and found himself staring into her warm, hazel eyes. Just looking at her had been like a punch to his gut. He’d wondered if she’d seen the flare of recognition in his eyes, but...

No, she hadn’t shown any awareness of the past they shared.

That was a good thing. Her not remembering helped him. Because if she ever did remember what he’d done...

She’d be terrified of me.

Even more afraid than she already was.

And, despite her words, Noelle was afraid of him. Thomas knew a whole lot about fear, and he was certain of the emotion he saw in her eyes.

“The senator will see you now,” Paula Quill said as she pointed toward the closed door on the right. The woman’s blond hair was pulled back in a perfect twist, and her face was schooled to show not even a hint of curiosity about their visit. As the senator’s assistant, Thomas figured the woman was used to keeping that mask of hers in place.

They were in the senator’s mansion, a too-big, mausoleum-type place Thomas didn’t like. But they’d needed to track the man back to his lair, even if that lair was in one of the most isolated spots in Alaska.

“He’s waiting in his study,” Paula added. Paula was pretty, a woman in her early twenties, and based on what Thomas knew about the senator, Paula was exactly the guy’s type. The senator was single, and from all accounts, quite a ladies’ man.

The EOD also suspected the man was a killer.

Noelle breezed past the other woman and headed into the senator’s study.

Noelle and Paula...they were night and day. Paula was icy reserve, cold perfection.

But Noelle...with her dark, red hair and her striking face...she was heat. Fire.

Passion.

The senator turned at Noelle’s approach, a fake smile on his face. Senator Lawrence Duncan was forty-two, rich and currently the chief suspect in the recent bombing of the EOD office in Washington, D.C.

Someone with a whole lot of power had hired an assassin—a man known as the Jack of Hearts—to take out EOD Director Bruce Mercer and to destroy the EOD in the process.

Right now, all of their intel was pointing to Senator Duncan as being that person in question.

“Senator Duncan.” Noelle’s voice was smooth, giving no hint at all to her southern roots. “Thank you for seeing us today.” She offered the senator her hand.

And he held it far too long. “How could I refuse?” Duncan murmured. “Though I’ll confess, I don’t quite know why the FBI wants to see me.”

That was their cover. They were acting as FBI agents because even U.S. senators didn’t have clearance to know about EOD missions.

But if this guy is the one we’re after, he already knows far too much about the EOD.

“We have some questions to ask you,” Noelle murmured. “About a killer who was recently hunting in D.C.”

Paula pulled the door shut, sealing them inside the room with the senator as she left.

The senator’s gaze swept over Noelle. He was still holding her hand and looking far too appreciative as his gaze dipped over her.

Noelle was a fine-looking woman, no doubt about it. Tall and curved, Thomas had seen plenty of men pass admiring stares her way. And every time those guys gazed at her with desire flaring in their eyes, Thomas wanted to drive his fist into their faces.

He cleared his throat. “I’m Agent Thomas Anthony,” Thomas said. A full, fake dossier had been created with his FBI credentials, just in case the senator wanted to dig. “And we certainly appreciate your cooperation.” Bull. Thomas didn’t appreciate anything about the jerk, and if the guy didn’t let Noelle’s hand go in the next five seconds—

Noelle pulled away from the senator. “Are you familiar with the killer known as the Jack of Hearts?”

Duncan blinked. “Ah...I read about him in the paper. Wasn’t he the serial killer who left playing cards at the scenes of his kills?”

Not exactly. Jack had been a murderer all right, but he’d been an assassin, not a serial killer. His kills hadn’t been for pleasure. They’d been for pure profit.

“That’s him,” Noelle inclined her head toward the senator. Thomas noticed her gaze swept around the study.

Thomas followed her stare. Duncan was a hunter. The trophies from his kills filled the walls of the room. And so did pictures. Pictures of cabins. Of boats. Of smiling women who stood at his side.

“Ah, well, I’ve certainly never met the man.” Duncan took a seat behind his desk. He motioned toward the couch on the right. “So I don’t see how I can—”

“When the authorities caught up with him,” Noelle interrupted smoothly. “He was planning to escape on your boat, the Dreamer. It was docked in D.C., and Jack had intended to slip away on that vessel.”

The senator’s eyes flared with surprise. “I hadn’t realized that. I heard he was at the dock, but not that he was planning to use my boat.”

Thomas thought the senator’s response seemed a little too perfect. Almost rehearsed.

“Do you have any idea why he might have selected your boat?” Noelle didn’t sit on the couch. Neither did Thomas. They both kept standing. Noelle pulled a photograph from the manila file she carried, and she pushed it across the desk toward the senator. “Take a look at Jack, and tell me...have you seen him before?”

The senator’s gaze darted down to the photo, then right back to Noelle. “I see so many people on the campaign trail. Our paths could’ve crossed, and I wouldn’t know it.”

“Why did he choose your boat?” Thomas demanded because the senator had conveniently not answered that particular question.

Duncan’s gaze—a dark brown—darted toward him. “Agent...Anthony, was it? I have no idea why he chose my boat. Perhaps it was just convenient for him. The right escape boat, at the right place.”

Thomas wasn’t buying that. “Before he died, the killer implied he knew you. That you’d hired him to do work for you in the past.”

The senator’s jaw hardened. “I have dozens of people working for me at any given time. You can check with Paula to see if this—this man was part of our extended staff, but I’ve certainly had no personal experience with him.”

“I’m not talking about hiring him to work as part of your campaign team.” Thomas knew his voice had roughened. He also knew Noelle was carefully studying the senator’s reaction to their questions. “I’m asking if you hired him to kill for you.”

The senator shot to his feet. “This is outrageous!” He pointed toward the door. “Leave. Now. I will not stand for this sort of harassment!”

“It’s not harassment,” Noelle said quietly. “It’s just questioning. And we thought it would be better for you if we did that questioning here, away from prying eyes, instead of back in the limelight of D.C.”

Anger burned in Duncan’s stare. “Now I see why I warranted a personal visit from the FBI. It’s certainly not every day that I’m tracked to my home like this....” His breath heaved out in what was probably supposed to look like an affronted rush. “I don’t like the accusations flying from you two.”

“We’ve made no accusations,” Noelle replied. Thomas had to admire her. She was good at keeping her emotions in check. “We’re simply asking you questions.”

“You’re done with your questions.” The senator stomped toward the door. “You want to see me again, you talk to my lawyer.” He yanked open the door and gave them a hard glare. “Hope you enjoy your trip back to D.C. By the time you get there, I’ll have already talked to your supervisor. You’ll both be lucky to have jobs waiting on you.”

Oh, Thomas was sure the jobs would be waiting. He was also sure they wouldn’t be leaving Alaska anytime soon.

The mission isn’t over. It’s just started.

“Thanks for your time, Senator,” Noelle said. “It’s certainly been enlightening.”

Duncan frowned at that, but Noelle just headed right past the guy.

Thomas took his time following her. He’d been around men like the senator before. Men born with silver spoons shoved deep in their mouths. He often wished those guys would choke on them.

“You and your partner should be careful,” the senator muttered. “This is a dangerous part of the country.”

Thomas froze. Had that jerk just threatened them? He turned his head and met the senator’s dark stare.

“No one comes into my home and tries to destroy me,” the senator spat at him. “No one. You’ve just made a very powerful enemy.”

Thomas fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Right. In case you can’t tell, I’m terrified right now.”

The senator frowned.

It was Thomas’s turn to smile. “Something you should know, too. I’m a bit of a hunter, like you.” He motioned to the trophies on the wall. “Only I don’t hunt animals. I take out the humans who are too dangerous to be walking the streets.”

“I—” The senator’s face reddened.

Thomas leaned in closer to him. “We know what you did. We know what you are. Soon, the whole world will know, too.”

The senator’s shoulders hunched.

Thomas nodded. “We’ll be seeing you again, soon.” Because they hadn’t come all the way to Alaska for some quick turnaround trip. They’d come to Alaska to get the proof they needed. Proof of the senator’s guilt. They weren’t leaving until they’d accomplished their mission.

Satisfied he’d made his point, Thomas exited behind Noelle. Paula watched them with wide, wary eyes. Thomas knew she’d overheard plenty of their conversation. If you’re smart, lady, you’ll get away from the senator, as fast as you can.

But Paula appeared to have frozen in place.

Thomas and Noelle didn’t speak again until they’d left the senator’s mansion. Once they were back inside their rented SUV, Thomas glanced at Noelle.

She was staring up at the senator’s home.

“Don’t keep me in suspense,” he drawled as he cranked the vehicle. A light dusting of snow had started to fall. “What did you think?”

She didn’t glance his way. “It’s too early to tell.”

He didn’t buy it. Noelle made her living by reading people. By looking past the bright, shiny surface they presented to the rest of the world. He pulled out of the winding drive and headed back toward the cabin in town that the EOD had rented for them.

They hadn’t bothered with getting a room in the local lodge—they’d needed more permanency.

They were planning to stay in Alaska for the long haul.

Until we can bury the senator.

“But I do know he was lying to us,” Noelle added.

Thomas wasn’t a profiler, and he knew that. The guy had barely been able to hold eye contact with him, and the senator had reacted far too strongly to their questions.

“So he’s our guy.” Thomas kept his hold steady on the steering wheel. He’d driven on snow-covered roads plenty of times. But those roads were sure different from the dirt roads of his youth.

“I think he could be. The man is controlling, dominating, and he’s—” Noelle hesitated. “I think there may be quite a few layers to the senator.”

“Yeah, well, your job is to peel away those layers, isn’t it? To find out what hides underneath.” That knowledge made him nervous. He didn’t want Noelle to ever see beneath the surface he presented. Thomas had told her before she shouldn’t profile him, but he’d caught her staring at him a few times, her eyes curious.

What does Noelle see when she looks at me? He knew what he saw when he looked into her eyes.

The thing I want most.

But when she stared at him, Thomas wondered if she just saw a killer.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what he was.

* * *

“THEY NEED TO VANISH,” Lawrence Duncan said as his fingers tightened around the phone he had pressed to his ear. “Hell, yes, I know the risks, and that’s why I’m telling you...they can’t make it out of this area.”

His heart was racing in his chest. It had been pounding too fast from the moment his study door had opened and FBI agent Noelle Evers had walked inside. He’d recognized her instantly, even after all those long years. “She’s a threat,” he said flatly. “One that should have been eliminated by now.”

Silence stretched on the phone line.

“Do it,” Lawrence snarled. “Or I will.” Even though he hated to get his hands dirty. But too much was at stake in this situation. They were already too exposed. And when Noelle put the pieces together—

I’ll lose everything.

He heard the rough rasp of breathing on the other end of the line. Lawrence waited, hoping to hear—

“They’ll die tonight.”

He smiled. “The snowfall is just going to get heavier. They’re on their way to their cabin now. That means they are heading your way.” He’d taken the liberty of acquiring all of his information earlier. His assistant, Paula, had a knack for discovering information. Even before the agents had entered his home, Lawrence had known where they’d be staying in town. “With weather like this, it will be easy enough for them to have an accident.”

A fatal one.

The senator hesitated. “Just...don’t leave obvious wounds on their bodies.”

“Don’t worry, there won’t be any bodies to find.”

The words should have chilled Lawrence, but he’d lost his conscience long ago. The first time he’d seen a kill, his life had changed.

And the blood had stained his hands ever since.

* * *

THEY’D BEEN DRIVING for about twenty minutes when the bright flash of headlights illuminated their rental vehicle. Thomas narrowed his eyes as he glanced in the rearview mirror. He could hear the growl of a fast-approaching vehicle behind him.

Even as the snow continued to fall in heavier waves.

“Where’d he come from?” Noelle asked as she turned in her seat to glance back.

Thomas’s hands tightened around the wheel. Adrenaline spiked in his blood as the other vehicle’s engine growled again and seemed to come even closer.

“What is he doing?” Alarm sharpened Noelle’s voice. “Maybe we should slow down, in case he wants to pass.”

The road was narrow and surrounded by trees. Up ahead, an old bridge crossed over what looked like an ice-filled lake.

“We’re not slowing down,” Thomas said because his instincts were screaming at him. A dark road. A driver who was—

The other vehicle slammed into the back of Thomas’s SUV. The impact was jarring, and he had to fight to keep the SUV from swerving off the road. “Hold on,” he growled to Noelle. “Just hold—”

The other driver came at them again, hitting even harder this time. The SUV’s wheels slipped on the icy road as the bridge loomed before them.

“It’s a truck,” Noelle gasped out. “I can see its outline. It’s big and—”

It hit them again. Noelle’s words ended in a scream because the SUV flew across the slick road. They were heading for the bridge. The SUV started to spin as the tires slid right over the ice.

“Thomas!”

The SUV slammed into the side of the bridge. The impact was on Noelle’s side, and Thomas’s gaze immediately jerked toward her as fear clawed through him.

Her hair had fallen over her face, and the echo of her scream seemed to shudder through his whole body. “Noelle?”

Thomas could hear the other vehicle’s motor growling again. The SOB was going to come at him again. And if the truck hit them, they could easily plunge into the frigid water.

They had to get out of there, fast. “Come on, baby,” he said, the endearment sliding from his mouth without thought because it was her. “We have to move.”

The bright headlights were on them again. Coming fast, too fast.

Noelle’s head lifted. She blinked at him. “Thomas?”

He yanked her free from the seat belt. He was already out of his, too. He shoved open his door.

The vehicle slammed right into Thomas’s open door. Metal crunched, groaned—and the door ripped away as the truck drove their SUV harder into the side of the bridge and its old railing.

“Climb out the back!” Thomas yelled. “Hurry!” He pushed her into the rear seat. He had his weapon in his hands, and he turned back, aiming toward the other driver.

Who are you? What in the hell is happening?

His bullets blasted through the other vehicle’s windshield. The truck stopped its advance. Noelle had made it into the backseat. She forced open the rear door, and Thomas followed her, barely fitting in the small escape space because the vehicle was wedged so closely to the railing.

He’d just cleared the vehicle when—

The truck hit them again. Only this time, the railing broke. Glass shattered. Metal crunched. And the wooden barrier splintered.

Thomas grabbed tightly to Noelle, and he lunged forward with her, hurtling them toward the woods near the edge of the bridge. They hit the snow and rolled down the ravine, tumbling again and again as they flew toward the bottom.

The SUV crashed into the frozen lake, sending chunks of ice into the air.

Thomas and Noelle finally stopped. They were about two feet away from that lake. Noelle was on top of him, and he quickly reversed their positions, holding her tightly. He could hear the growl of the other vehicle’s engine, and then...

“He’s leaving,” Noelle whispered.

Yes, he was. Because he thought he’d gotten his prey?

The engine’s snarl grew softer as the truck drove away.

The snow kept falling.

Noelle pushed against his shoulders. Thomas rose slowly, and he pulled Noelle to her feet. Their SUV was partially submerged and sinking fast. Damn it.

“Are you all right?” Thomas asked her as his eyes swept over her. He didn’t see any injuries, but he wanted to be sure she was all right.

“He just tried to kill us!” She sounded incredulous.

She was also shaking.

Because it was cold out there. He shouldered out of his coat and pushed it toward her. When she tried to refuse, Thomas just wrapped it around her shoulders. “Senior agent,” he snapped at her, still remembering the flash of fear he’d felt in the SUV. “That means you do what I say. Right now, I’m saying...take my coat.”

She pulled the coat closer. Thomas yanked out his phone. They’d rolled a good twenty feet from the road. A heavy darkness was already sweeping over the area. He lifted the phone—and realized it had been smashed to hell and back during the tumble.

“Tell me your phone’s working,” he said.

“I...I think it’s in the SUV.”

Hell.

The temperature was too low. It was getting too dark. No one was going to see them down there, and if anyone did happen to come along that lonely stretch of road again, it could very well be the same jerk who’d just tried to kill them.

Noelle started to climb back up toward the road. He caught her arm, stopping her. “Was your gun in the vehicle, too?” Thomas demanded.

She gave a grim nod. “Yours?” Noelle asked softly.

“You know I don’t need a gun to kill.” She was still shivering. They had to get to safety, fast. “But I’ve got the weapon.”

“Stay to the shadows as much as possible,” Thomas told her, keeping his voice quiet, too. In this area, any noise would carry easily. “He could come back, but we have to travel close to the road because running through the wilderness sure isn’t an option for us.” Not unless they wanted a slow death.

“I thought I saw a turnoff, a mile or so before the bridge,” Noelle told him. When she spoke, a small cloud appeared before her mouth. It’s too cold out here. “Maybe there’s a cabin there. Someone who can help us.”

Maybe. Right then, that turnoff sounded like their best chance. He kept his hold on her arm, and they started walking through the darkness.