All he knew for certain was she was meeting with one of Slade’s contacts. He assumed that meant CIA, though she hadn’t said for certain. Most definitely it wasn’t Slade, and he wasn’t entirely sure if he should be ticked or relieved by that fact.
Questions about Slade lit off in his brain as he pulled to a stop in the Lincoln parking area of Fairmount Park and killed the engine. The sprawling 1400-acre park was full of leafless trees and dense underbrush. Ahead, abandoned play equipment sat like dinosaur bones in the brisk November breeze. Though no snow covered the ground here, the temperatures were near freezing, keeping even the most active kids indoors.
He glanced over his shoulder at the trees on the opposite end of the parking lot. They framed a pathway running up a gentle slope. He thought he could hear the rush of water over rock somewhere close. There were no other cars in the lot. No signs of life anywhere in the park.
That didn’t exactly put him at ease.
Kat sat still, staring out at the play equipment. He took in her tense features and hard eyes and knew without even asking something was definitely off here. “What now?”
She checked her watch, and then her eyes swept the landscape. “He should be here anytime. He said to meet him near the bridge.”
He caught her hand before she could open the door. “We’ll go together.”
For a second he thought he saw something like relief flash in her dark irises. “Okay.”
He steeled himself against the stab of tenderness he felt for her, reminded himself what she’d done to him and refocused on the here and now. “Just stay close.”
She nodded, and when he let go, she slid out of the car and reached for the parka she’d stuffed into the backseat.
They headed toward the path in silence. Pete scanned the trees for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing but branches swaying in the wind and the slight echo of traffic rushing by on the street two blocks over.
As they came over the rise, Kat’s feet stilled. He looked toward the bridge that held her attention and noticed a figure standing deep enough in the shadows to prevent anyone from seeing his face.
Not Slade. Even Pete could tell that from this distance, and he hadn’t seen the guy in six years. This man was built like a linebacker.
Kat took a step forward, but he caught her arm again, stopping her momentum. “How do you know you can trust this guy?”
The muscles in her upper arm tensed beneath his hand. “I…Marty knows him. He trusts him. That tells me he’s secure.”
That didn’t reassure Pete any. “And what if Marty’s wrong? Take a good look. Do you recognize this guy at all?”
Her eyes narrowed on the man pacing slowly across the footbridge. His hair was slightly gray, but his face was hidden in the shadows. He stopped and looked in their direction.
So much for blending. They’d been spotted.
“No,” she said warily. “But I don’t think I would. He’s retired.”
“Retired what?”
“CIA.”
“You’re sure?”
She hesitated just long enough to tell him she wasn’t entirely sure of anything. And that little piece of news kicked his nerves up a level. He reached back with his free hand to adjust the gun at the small of his back. “Stay close to me.”
“I thought this was what you wanted. In a few minutes you’ll be rid of me for good.” Her eyes flickered with uncertainty, and a muscle in her cheek twitched like her nerves were in high gear.
Well, that made two of them. His had been on overload since he’d awoken in Slade’s garage and found her alive. And the last few hours with her in the car had been enough. He’d remembered too much, been aware of too much, and the way his body still heated up in reaction to hers pissed him off to no end. The smartest thing he could do was get the hell away from her before he did something really stupid. Like shook her until she screamed.
Or kissed her until he did.
He beat back a temper that seemed to be building from nowhere. “That is what I want. I’m just hoping like hell we don’t get caught in a crossfire because your boyfriend set us up.”
He let go of her arm and took a step around her.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” she said behind him.
“Yeah, you said that once before,” he mumbled. When he’d been stupid enough to