The whole time she watchedhim, he kept his eyes on the road. She was sure he knew she waslooking at him because, she knew now, nothing escaped him. He wasgiving her that time to reflect on everything he’d told her.Despite how hurt and angry she was with him, he did save her life,twice. He kept his promise to protect her and he could have justleft her back at the house with those horrible men that worked withher sister. Her sister! She would confront her about this. Itwasn’t over.
They were never reallyclose growing up. It wasn’t that she was mean towards her. She wasjust indifferent. Anna was six years older than her, and once shegraduated, was hardly ever home. Katya felt like an only child mosttimes. So that night she asked her to go clubbing with her, sheaccepted thinking that Anna wanted to get to know her. If onlyshe’d known it was a setup. That’s the night they werekidnapped.
Ryan was right. They had tofinish this or she’d never be free. It would have been so easy justto leave with him, but as he said, others would suffer.
He pulled into an expansiveparking lot of a mall and drove the SUV around like he was lookingfor something. Suddenly he pulled into a parking spot with a quickcrank of the wheel, cut the engine which was still smoking andopened his door. “Come.” He grabbed the weapons and gotout.
“What are wedoing?”
“Changingvehicles.”
“Seriously?” She wasconfused, but again, knew not to hesitate. She followed him out ofshot up SUV, walked around and took his outstretched hand. He ledher a few vehicles away to a silver jeep.
“Are we stealingthis?”
“Not quite.” He bent downand felt under the front driver’s side fender, pulling out a set ofkeys.
“How—?”
“Get in.” He unlocked thedoors with the fob, opened the rear door and took out what lookedlike fresh clothing.
She watched as he tossedthe guns on the back seat and literally changed rightthere.
He then grabbed the guns,shut the rear door and got in the front. He was fast. Really fast.People were in the parking lot, either leaving or approaching theirvehicles but no one even noticed.
He tucked the guns in themiddle console, started the jeep and pulled out of the parkinglot.
“Who’s jeep isthis.”
“Mine now.”
“Ryan, I asked you aquestion back there and you never answered me. Who areyou?”
His jawclenched.
“No more secrets,” shereminded him. “If you care about me, you need to behonest.”
After a moment he nodded.“I’m nobody.” He glanced at her. “And everybody.”
“That makes nosense.”
“I work for thegovernment.”
“You’re a cop?”
“No, I’m an agent, soldieror spy—however you want to look at it. I do things that needfixing.”
“FBI?”
“No.”
“CIA?”
He shook his head.“Something higher, more powerful. We don’t really follow rules. Weget sent in to do things others can’t. Mostlyanti-terrorist.”
“That’s really dangerous,isn’t it?”
“Always.”
“So that’s why the threatsmy father throws around doesn’t bother you and why you can killwithout hesitation, and blow up an entire house without a secondthought.”
He didn’t like where thiswas going. “I didn’t blow it up.”
“Oh please, it’s not likecomparing apples to oranges. You initiated it, and that’s just thesame. You act like a psychopath, Ryan; like my father.”
“I know.”
“You don’t even denyit.”
“I do it to protect mycountry Katya. Do you have any idea of how many terrorists a yeartry something?”
“No I don’t.”
“And that’s why I exist, sothe public doesn’t find out. It’s why people like my brother wasable to raise children and go to work each day without worryingabout them. I do things like this to protect theinnocents.”
Patriotism like this didn’texist anymore. She stared at his handsome profile. He possessedrighteousness the likes of which she’d never seen. He’d saved hereven though he had another agenda. He was also willing to walk awayfrom it all, for her. She was wrong, he was completely opposite ofher father. That was a true psychopath. “Why would he do that witha family?”
“I asked myself that athousand times. Georgy wanted to make a difference too. He workedundercover before he was married. Maybe it was all he knew. It runsin our blood.”
“You offered to walk awayfrom this if I said the word.”
“I did.”
“I know you care about meor you wouldn’t offer to abandon something that means so much toyou. You’re the first person to ever make that kind of sacrificefor me.”
He didn’t look at her orspeak, but he did nod. She just kept surprising him. God they madea twisted couple though. The emotionally traumatized fucked upgirlfriend, and psycho killer-patriot. Sounded like perfection tohim. He suppressed a smile. To do so probably would have seemed alittle disturbing in light of what had just happened.
“Thank you.” She couldn’tremember another time in her life that someone was willing tosacrifice so much for her.
He reached over andsqueezed her hand.
It was nightfall when hepulled up to the gates of the estate and buzzed theintercom.
The camera focused on himand gates opened.
“What are you going to do?”Katya asked. She looked at her father’s mansion and shivered. Shehonestly didn’t want to go back in there after what she’d justlearned.
“We’re going to carry on asnormal until I find out who actually pulled the trigger on Georgy.I want you just to go to your room when we stop. I don’t want yourfather to know about Anna, and I don’t want you questioned by him,so keep hushed on that.”
“Why?”
“Because it will work to myadvantage.” He pulled the jeep around to the front. Five armed menwere waiting for them on the front steps.
Her father came out of thehouse at that exact moment.
His eyes flicked to theolder man through the passenger side window. “Katya, you need toact tired and traumatized. I can’t have him dragging informationout of you when you’re vulnerable. He will want to speak with youbecause he doesn’t trust
