Evidence of Passion (Shadow Agents #7)(38)
Author: Cynthia Eden

Rachel nodded. “Jack’s in custody. He won’t hurt anyone else again.” She swallowed. Her throat ached. Probably due to all of the water that she’d swallowed. “So, yes, I’m definitely all right now.”

She wouldn’t think about the dark water or about the burn in her lungs. She’d gotten tangled in some kind of rope down there. She’d managed to break the surface once, to wave for help, but the rope hadn’t let her stretch out enough to actually suck in air.

So she’d gone back down. She’d fought, twisting and turning, and she’d finally managed to yank her way free of the rope.

There were so many boats docked at the harbor. The rope could’ve come from anywhere…

And it almost killed me.

By the time she’d gotten free… “I just didn’t have the strength to get back to the surface.” She’d tried. She’d kicked.

Her lungs had burned.

Rachel exhaled slowly. The last thing she remembered was trying to surge for the surface and then— “Dylan.”

Noelle glanced toward a black van that had just arrived on scene. Thomas and Dylan were loading a handcuffed Jack—Aidan?—into the van.

I talked to him. I had drinks with him. I never suspected the truth.

Jack had fooled her again.

“When I got here,” Noelle said, “Dylan was under the water. You were both down there for a very, very long time.”

Rachel’s eyes were on the van. On the men there. Jack looked back at her.

He was right in front of me at the pub. And she hadn’t recognized him.

Jack had darkened his hair. His nose—it had changed, been broken a time or two. His jaw was different, harder. He must’ve had some surgery done to alter its appearance. He’d worn contacts, lost weight and changed his voice as he adopted an Irish accent.

He seemed like a totally different man.

But he’s the same.

Jack smiled at her. Then he climbed into the van. Thomas followed him inside.

Dylan slammed the door shut. He watched the vehicle as it sped away. His shoulders were tense. When the taillights vanished, Dylan turned back to face Rachel. His gaze held hers. Then he stalked toward her.

Rachel pulled the edges of the blanket closer to her.

Noelle stepped in front of Rachel, blocking her view of Dylan. “Are you afraid of him?”

Rachel shrugged. “Jack’s a dangerous man, but showing fear won’t—”

“Not him. Dylan.”

Maybe she was. He had the power to hurt her more than any other person.

“You are.” Noelle seemed surprised.

Rachel glanced up, meeting her eyes. “Even the good guys can be scary.”

Noelle glanced over her shoulder. Dylan was just steps away from them now. “You should let the EMTs take you to the hospital for a more thorough check.”

Rachel stood. Her clothes were still damp and a chill skated over her flesh. “There’s no way I’m stepping foot into a hospital again.” She was breathing. She was alert. The EMTs had checked her five times for goodness’ sake.

“But you need someone to watch you.” Noelle’s worry was obvious.

“I’ll watch her,” Dylan said. He brushed by Noelle. He didn’t reach out to touch Rachel, and she was glad. Part of her feared that she might shatter if he touched her. “Rachel’s coming home with me.”

Her eyes widened. “Since when?”

“Since I thought you’d died in my arms… Since I realized that I’m not letting you out of my sight tonight.” He came even closer to her. His clothes were wet, just like hers, but he didn’t seem cold at all. His eyes blazed with emotion. “What the hell were you thinking? You went out that window with him!”

Yes, she had. She’d known the water was there, so she’d thought her odds of survival were fair. Her chin lifted. “I was thinking that if I didn’t move, you were a dead man. There were only four feet between you and Jack. He wouldn’t have missed that shot.”

“You mean the way you did? Three years before?”

His question seemed to come out of nowhere, and Rachel flinched.

His eyes widened and a look of what could have been horror flashed over his face. “No, Rachel, wait, I didn’t mean—”

“I’m sure Mercer will want you at the EOD.” There would be questions—dozens of them. Reports to write, a massive interrogation to conduct. Jack was the killer, but he’d been hired, paid for his crimes. The EOD would want the names of the people who’d been in contact with him over the years. Now that he was in custody, Jack would become a tool for Mercer to use.

Rachel knew how the game was played.

She was just tired of playing it.

“I don’t really give a damn what Mercer wants right now,” Dylan said and he put his hands on her. She flinched at his touch because fire seemed to leap through her body.

She’d always been too sensitive when it came to Dylan. Too aware of him. She had to start pulling away from him. The job was done. Dylan had his vengeance.

And she…she could finally stop looking over her shoulder. She could have a real life again.

I never even told my family about Jack. I didn’t want them to be afraid. So she’d kept all of the fear to herself.

“I’ll…um, let you two talk.” Noelle nodded briskly and hurried away.

Rachel didn’t want to talk with Dylan, though. She wanted to escape. To collapse.

I want to start building my life again.

“You’re what matters to me now,” Dylan told her.

Rachel found that she couldn’t look in his eyes. So her gaze swept the scene. So many people were there. EOD agents. Techs. “I thought you wanted to get rid of me. That was the whole point in transferring me to Atlanta, right?”

“No.” His hold tightened. “The point was to get you away from Jack.”

“Then I guess that plan didn’t work so well, did it? Maybe we should’ve stuck to my plan, you know, when I said that Jack might try to take me again.” And he had. “But you wanted to be the bait.”

The plan had gone to hell. They were both just lucky to be able to walk away. “But my idea wouldn’t have worked, either,” she heard herself whisper. “He knew about the GPS chip. He cut it out of me right away.” Her shoulder still throbbed.

“Rachel…”

Enough. She had to get away from him. Rachel pulled from his arms. She started walking blindly. Thomas was gone, but there would be another agent on the scene who could give her a ride home.