Wyatt, you really need to relax.”
“All of you can stop with this protecting me crap. I’m a grown-ass woman.” Claudia heard her voice rising and a hot flush ran to her cheeks. “This conversation is over, Wyatt. I’ll call you from D.C., but we are leaving. Good night.”
“Come on, little one, let’s go,” Trey stated brusquely, grabbing her hand in his and pulling her out the door.
Since she’d met him, every one of Trey’s touches always seemed to fill her with a flood of powerful sensations, but none of those moments had anything on the fierce impact, which came from his palm on hers for the whole world to see.
Trey shifted the black Mercedes S600 sedan Stephen had hidden behind a cluster of trees for them into gear, and eased onto the road. His heart was still racing from the surreal combination of his argument with Jenna and Wyatt, mixed with the adrenaline racing through his bloodstream from Stephen’s bombshell.
“Why aren’t we taking my car?” Claudia asked suspiciously, as she examined the view from her window and side-view mirror.
“We needed something new.”
“I checked the area before we left and didn’t set eyes on any threats. Do you think we’re being followed?”
“I can’t be too careful. And we aren’t going by your place either. There’s no time.”
“How come?”
“Just trust me.”
“Damn it, Trey. I do everything you say…follow you around like an obedient freaking puppy. The least you can do is tell me why you had to drag me out of my brother’s place and start a McCoy civil war.”
“From my viewpoint, you were more than happy to take up arms.”
“Maybe I was, but it doesn’t change that I need you to be honest with me in return. So tell me what the hell is going on, or I swear I’ll…”
“David’s dead.”
“What? He can’t… I don’t understand…”
“He was found hanging in his cell.”
“That’s bullshit. He was too much of an egomaniac to kill himself.”
“My thoughts exactly. Which means someone took care of it for him.”
“We need to get to the office. There’s going to be a debriefing. They’ll be looking for you to help.”
“No.”
“Just, no…”
He turned to her and apparently the worry on his face must have been enough to shut down all her anger.
Looking back at the road, Trey explained, “I have reason to believe someone may be targeting you because of your theories on this case. You were the next person scheduled to meet with David. If the killer knew that, you could be next, and I can’t let that happen.”
“That’s no reason to abandon my obligations to the Bureau.”
“It’s the only one, which matters to me. Period. It’s just too unsafe to have you in Pittsburgh right now. David’s dead, nothing will change that. We’ll never know what he might’ve told you. But I can’t care about it right now. The important thing is you don’t end up like him. Got it?” he added, his voice raised and taut.
“Okay,” she answered softly, placing a hand on his knee, rubbing a tight circle on the side of his leg with her fingers, which was at once soothing, and insanely hot. He looked at her from the corner of his eye, and saw a slight smile gracing her pretty face. His breath skipped in his throat in response.
“Good,” he answered, letting his shoulders loosen slightly, as he picked up speed on the parkway out of town. There were no other cars in sight, but he couldn’t get too complacent.
“So we’ll deal with it in D.C.? I guess headquarters does make the most sense now.”
Trey remained silent, working the inside of his lip ring with his tongue, rather than respond. He’d already told her more than he’d intended.
The constantly fluctuating temperatures of Pittsburgh in autumn had brought a heavy blanket of fog to the world around them. It lay against the asphalt with tendrils arching into the inky black sky, reaching for the curved branches of the trees above, providing the deceptive appearance of security.
Claudia’s voice broke through the silence.
“So, where’d you get this ride? Did you knock off a drug lord?”
“No. My friend Stephen picked it up for me. I gave him access to my emergency cash, so he could help us get out of town. We’d planned on having a little more time, but luckily Stephen is great at spending my money.”
Trey grabbed her hand from his knee and kissed her knuckles lightly, one at a time, before laying her hand back down on his leg.
“What do you think?” he