Riley pulled the SUV onto the paved parking pad outside the home. The square, two-story building wasn’t much to look at, but the sturdy structure would offer them security for the night and a place to make a better plan for the next day. With any luck, they’d be in and out before their neighbors realized they were there.
“Riley, stay here with Erin while we check the place out,” Grant said.
“Copy that.” Riley leaned back in the seat and checked his mirrors.
There was no foot traffic, nothing unusual. They’d only paused at the house on their way through to lay eyes on it, take a piss break, drop off Erin’s bodyguard and the second vehicle.
The other four got out of the SUV, leaving Riley alone with Erin.
The silence stretched on for a few moments. Some assets liked to talk, others cried, some wanted to sleep off the ordeal. He could already tell Erin was thinking. See the occasional glimpse of a shadow in her eyes. He wished he could erase the last few days from her memory.
“Something on your mind?” Riley asked.
“This whole thing—it’s wrong,” she said.
“How so?” He didn’t want to put ideas in her head, but he was of the same mind.
“They jammed your comms.” She turned to stare at him. “An eight-person team breached a well-guarded facility in a heavily patrolled area—for what purpose? I’m not valuable. I don’t have security clearance. Their resources don’t match them. So either they bought the equipment—with what money?—or someone gave it to them because they wanted to hit that location.”
“Why would they do that?” he asked.
“Because someone wanted me out of the way or dead.” She slid down in her seat. “I think...”
“You don’t know for sure they were after you.” What was it about Erin Lopez they didn’t know? Why was she a target? He and the others hadn’t figured out why they’d grab Erin, either.
Erin studied him for a moment. He could feel himself hanging in the balance as she weighed him against something else. Could he say or do something to make her trust him? There was something about her eyes and that crooked smile of hers that made him want her to confide in him.
She glanced away, her mind made up.
“Two years ago, I was an assistant to the Project Manager on a job. It was...they were doing everything wrong. Pissing off the locals. The surveys were done incorrectly. It was a mess. People died.” Erin sat there for several moments without speaking. Whatever she was thinking about, Riley knew he wouldn’t like it. “A few of the people who kidnapped me? I think they were from that town. I think their family members were the ones we killed.”
Well, that escalated quickly.
Riley shifted in his seat and considered his next words carefully. He didn’t doubt that there was a reason for the events happening to Erin, but the logic leap didn’t make as much sense to him as it did to her. Right now, his job was to keep her calm and get her back to the States. That was it. Everything else would be sorted out by the authorities and her bosses.
“Why would they focus on you? And why come after you now? After all this time? Unless—hear me out—they were scared you’d give their Miss Universe contestant a run for her money?” he asked.
“What?” Erin snorted a laugh and looked at him.
“I’m just saying, you’d give her some stiff competition.”
“Yeah. Okay.” Erin shook her head. “If these people are who I think they are, they’d focus on me because after the explosion happened the people over the project gave me a script and put me on the PR round. People saw me as the person behind the incident. I was too naïve to realize what they’d done until it was too late.”
“Okay. That’s...not great. But still, why now?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’m not saying you’re wrong, but hear me out, okay?”
“I don’t think they care about beauty pageants.” She didn’t smile, but she didn’t seem as sad. He’d gotten her to laugh, to break the strain she’d been under. That was good.
“Their loss. Look, the truth is, we don’t know where they got the resources or why they targeted the facility. We don’t know why they grabbed you, and not anyone else. Right now, let’s focus on getting you some rest and back to the States. The authorities can sort this out.” He nodded at the lights in the house turning on. “Maybe your bodyguard has some better insight? He wouldn’t say much to us.”
“You brought Thomas?” Erin gaped at him, eyes wide, lips parted.
“Your bosses wanted him on hand to help us. Why?”
“Shit.” She pressed her hand to her forehead. “Nothing.”
“Erin?” Riley reached across and put his hand on her shoulder. “If there’s something bothering you, tell me. We’re here to protect you.”
“It’s nothing I can put into words. He just...gives me the creeps, okay?” She shrugged.
“I’ll coordinate with Grant and make sure you two are in different transports, how’s that?” After what she’d been through, he was willing to go the extra mile to make whatever concessions she needed. Besides, Mom had always said to trust a woman’s instinct when it came to safety. If Erin didn’t want Thomas near her, they’d comply.
“No, you don’t have to do that. It’s silly.” Erin glanced out the side window.
Riley caught sight of the flashlight in the front window signaling the all clear.
“Hey?” He reached over and put his hand over hers. She peered at him out of the corner of her eye. “It’s my job to keep you safe. If this dude’s a creep, say no more. We’ll handle it. Stay there. I’m going to
