He grabbed her hand, and kissed it. “No way. Not tonight, or any other night. Not in this lifetime. I cannot believe how close that was.”
The tremor in his voice moved her, almost to shivering tears. She fought them back, still petting his tense face. “It's strange,” she said. “I don't mink he meant to kill me. He didn't hurt me all that much, even when I whacked him with the lamp. He knocked the wind out of me, slapped me, and bonked my nose against the wall. That's it.”
“That was enough,” Seth growled. “And don't forget, he threw you headfirst down a flight of stairs. You could have broken your neck.”
“If you hadn't caught me. He knew you would catch me.”
He grunted, unimpressed. “And your point is?”
“No point,” she said thoughtfully. “Just details. Like the fact that he was afraid.”
“Huh?”
“I could smell it,” she explained. “He was scared to death.”
Seth looked doubtful. “Of you?”
She made a dismissive gesture with her shoulders. “I doubt it. But he was afraid of something.”
Seth kissed the top of her head. “He's going to have to have a damn good reason to be afraid when I get my hands on him. Let's get out of here. We've hung around too long as it is.” He scooped her up into his arms and carried her out the front door.
“Put me down, Seth. Don't be ridiculous. I can walk.”
“Stop wiggling.” He deposited her in the passenger side, and stared up and down the street, as if he were smelling the wind. He got into the car and started it up.
“Shouldn't we call the police?” she asked tentatively.
“Police? Sweetheart, do you feel like spending the rest of the night explaining to the nice officer what you've been up to lately? And the many possible reasons why a hit man might have just paid you a visit?”
“I see your point.” She stared down into her lap. “Not really, I guess. So you think that man... is connected with what's going on?”
He shot her an eloquent look.
Raine twisted her hands together, feeling foolish. “I would never have thought that Victor would hurt me,” she said softly.
Seth let out a grunt of derision. “Are you sure he didn't see you plant that thing?”
“Don't condescend to me “ she snapped. “I've had a bad night”
“Yeah, tell me about it,” he retorted. “One thing's for sure, though, sweetheart. You don't need any help from me in hunting down the ghosts from your past. They're saving you the trouble. Stand still for fifteen minutes, and they'll be right on your ass.”
Chapter 22
He had to assume that the car had been compromised. Time to ditch it and get a clean one. His bag hadn't been out of his sight since the day before, likewise his clothing. Raine had to get rid of every stitch of clothing that Lazar had provided, and they could look for someplace to hide and rest. He stared at highway signs, trying to orient himself. He saw signs for a mall, and flicked on the turn signal.
“Seth, how did you know that guy was in my house?”
He'd been dreading that question. He shook his head, considering and abandoning various lies and prevarications.
She waited. “You planted your spy stuff in my house, didn't you?”
Her still, quiet voice revealed nothing. That made him extremely nervous. He let his breath out slowly. “Yes,” he admitted.
“Why?”
He turned off onto the strip mall that led to the neon signs for the mall, noting with relief that there was a car dealership right down the road. “It had nothing to do with you at first,” he said reluctantly. “Victor's mistress was the previous occupant of your house. We were watching her. Then she disappeared, and you showed up.”
“And you watched me,” she finished.
“Yeah.” He pulled into a parking space and cut the motor. “I watched you. After a while, I couldn't stop watching you. Not if you'd put a gun to my head. I don't regret it, and I won't apologize for it.”
He braced himself to withstand fury and outrage, but none was forthcoming. When he dared to peek, she was gazing out at the Home Depot across the parking lot, her face misty and perplexed. She turned to him with worried eyes. “Have other people seen us make love?”
“No way,” he said emphatically. “I saw to it.”
She looked down. “That's good I wouldn't like that at all.”
“Me neither.” He reached for her hand “What's mine is mine.”
She looked down at her slender wrist, engulfed in his big hand. A laugh exploded out of her. “Conan the Conqueror,” she murmured.
He shrugged and just sat there, holding her hand in the dark for forty or so precious seconds that they could not afford to waste.
Her fingers wiggled inside his. “I've told you everything, Seth. It's time for you to lay your cards on the table, too.”
'Truth time has to wait. We've got to shake off your ghosts.”
Her eyes widened. “You think we're being pursued?”
“Let's just say we should definitely cover our asses.”
She bit her lip and stared down at their clasped hands. “Do you promise me that once we get somewhere safe, you'll tell me what's going on?”
“I promise,” he said rashly, popping the locks open. “Let's go.”
They ran hand in hand through the rain to the nearest clothing store. He flagged down the first salesgirl he saw. “We're in a serious hurry. Bring us a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, a wool sweater, underwear, socks, hiking boots, and a winter coat. Size six. Quick.”
The girl took one look at Seth's blazing eyes and Raine's gory, bloodstained sweater. Her jaw went slack with alarm. “Don't you, uh, wanna pick the stuff out yourselves?” she faltered. “Colors, and stuff?”
“No time!” he barked. “Move it!”
She backed away. “Um... lemme call the manager.”
“Never mind.” Raine cast an irritated look at Seth. “I'll pick them out, but stick close so you can ring them up right away, OK?”
A flurry ensued, of grabbing things off the rack, checking labels in breathless haste. Then he spotted the underwear bin. He grabbed a random handful of thong panties. See-through lace, in awesome, lurid colors. Black, hot pink, purple, lime green, lipstick red. He flung them on the counter. “Put these on the tab.”
“Those are thongs,” Raine said, blushing.
He leered at her. “Yum.”
Raine was busy struggling into a navy blue parka when he spotted the nightie. It was a peachy color in a clingy knit that would hit her just above mid-thigh and show off every curve and hollow. And it would peel off. Stretchy, just like he'd always wanted.
He yanked it off the hanger and flung it onto the pile in the salesgirl’s arms. “Ring that up, too. Hurry up.”
“Yes, before he finds something else he likes,” Raine snapped.
He paid out of his thick wad of emergency cash. As soon as they were back inside the Toyota, he was yanking clothes out of the bags and biting off the plastic label tabs. “Off with your clothes, babe. Quick.”
Raine looked at the cars driving past, and back at him, appalled. “Right here?”
“Every stitch. I can feel them breathing down our necks.”
