“Yeah.” He glared at Dan, his eyes shooting back and forth as he surveyed his face. “Who are you?”
“Her bodyguard.” Dan leaned forward. “And I take my job very seriously.”
“Oh, yeah? So do I. And I have business with her.”
“What business?”
“She has a fucking fortune and it’s mine!” His black eyes burned. “I want it back.”
Dan lifted the gun and touched it to Ramon’s sweaty forehead. “Get out. Don’t come back.”
He stood, keeping his arm steady, then slammed the door and kept the weapon aimed straight while Ramon dug under the seat for the keys, turned on the engine, and drove away.
Just as the car pulled out of sight, he caught movement in a doorway to his left. He instantly braced his weapon and locked on the shadow; then Maggie stepped onto the street.
Her face was pale, all light gone from her eyes, her generous lips drawn to a tight line. “I want you to leave.”
That was a fine thank-you. But he swallowed the sarcasm and chalked her reaction up to fear of the gun. “Not yet. Quinn’s out there alone, and so is that lunatic.”
“You called me Maggie Varcek.”
Yes, he had. Stupid, but he had. “Let’s go find him.”
Her eyes widened. “No. I’ll find him and you… you . . . just stay away from me and my son.”
“I can’t, Maggie.” He hated to do it like this, but there was no time. “Because . . . he’s not your son.”
“What?”
“He’s our son.”
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CHAPTER SIX
AS IF HER whole insides had exploded from the shock, Maggie’s brain went blank, and her heart just… stopped.
“Who are you?”
“Later. We need to find Quinn and get him home. Ramon wants something, and it might not just be revenge.”
He was right, but— “Not until I know who you are.”
“You knew me as Michael Scott.”
The entire world rolled, taking her along with it. He must have seen her sway, because he lunged forward to grab her as she lost her balance. Instantly, she wrangled out of his grip.
“You’re dead,” she spat the words. “He’s… dead. I saw his body. I read about the . . . trial. He was shot by another agent. Michael Scott is dead.”
He just shook his head, as if he had no words to counter that.
And honestly, words weren’t necessary. Because she was staring at Quinn, twenty-five years older. How could she have missed it?
One by one, the pieces, and truth, fell into place as she covered her mouth and a fist-size lump formed in her throat. “You were in disguise.”
He nodded.
“You weren’t really killed that night.”
He took a step forward, lifting his hands in a slight gesture of surrender. “Maggie, listen to me.”
Her heart thundered so loud in her ears that the words sounded garbled. “No, no. You get out of here.”
“I’m sure you hate me right now—”
“Right now? I’ve hated you for so long, I… I can’t even tell you. I don’t know how to tell you how much I hate you. You have no—”
“We have to find Quinn.” He grabbed her arm again, but this time his touch wasn’t playful or friendly. Oh God, had she really been flirting with the monster who’d used her and betrayed everyone around them? Kissing him, practically begging for sex? Dreaming of more? Worried he could trace her past through the FBI?
Trace her past? He was her past.
“They know where you are, Maggie. If Ramon does, then any of Viejo’s men do, too. It wasn’t that difficult to find you.” He tightened his grip, engulfing her wrist and leaning closer to drive his point home. “You can skewer me after we get that boy home and safe.”
As numb as she was from shock, she knew he was right. She let him lead her to the street, but questions bombarded her.
“But why now? No one’s tried all these years.” Not even you. “Now two of you show up in the same week?”
“Ramon just got out of prison. That’s why I’m here. And they could know more about you than I did. That you have a son. A son who is out there right now walking his dog, oblivious. Does he have a cell phone?”
“Sometimes.”
She hesitated one more second. Shouldn’t she go on her own? Or get someone from the bar? Someone she trusted? Should she get in a car with a man who lied and used her? Made her fall in love with him and then betrayed her?