“It doesn’t matter,” Sawyer interjects when I open my mouth to keep giving Jonah a piece of my mind. “We’re all going back to Columbus, where we’ll put Maddie under full protection until we solve this.”
Part of me wants to argue, but I can’t ignore the fact that, in a way, Jonah’s right. I’ve caused enough trouble by going after Harlow solo.
“Yes, it’s time to regroup and reassess,” I agree.
Sawyer doesn’t flinch at my strategy talk. The hard set of his jaw is like a marble statue.Damn, he’s gorgeous. But that up-to-no-good glint flashes through his eyes, which give me a quick once over before blanking again when he turns them to Jonah.
“We can’t change what’s already happened, Joe. We can only be smarter moving forward.” Sawyer places a hand on Jonah’s shoulder, waiting for his stance to relax. “So, you two kids hug and make up, then let’s go home because I need a hot shower and about a gallon of coffee.”
Jonah grumbles something that sounds like “smooth-dog” and Sawyer snorts and shakes his head, calling Jonah a tadpole. Jonah leans back with a gaze that says he’s about to punch Sawyer and even out the black and blue on his face to both cheeks, at which Sawyer breaks into a wide grin, and it all feels ominously normal.
“Can we go now, please?” All eyes in the room turn to me with worry at the slightly panicked request.
Sawyer turns full body in front of me, blocking my view of everything but him. “You okay, Maddie?” he whispers, and under the makeshift privacy, he allows his gaze to turn soft.
“I’m just tired.” My palm rests over his heart for a fleeting second, and he smiles, understanding the words I wish I could hear from him right now.
“Soon,” he promises with a hushed voice, and I nod, the dread settling at the pit of my stomach.
Jonah falls into step with me, him and Sawyer flanking me as we move out to the convoy of armored vehicles.
“I’m sorry, for before,” he says. “I get why you followed the trail, I just wish you would have told Sawyer earlier.”
“Yeah, me too.” I pat Jonah on the arm reassuringly, and Sawyer winks at me before opening the backdoor to the second in the row and signals me to climb in. Jonah takes the driver’s seat, and Sawyer buckles into the passenger seat next to him, shooting me a glance and a wink.
Every part of me wants to lean forward and kiss him, but he’s already engaged in op-talk with Jonah, and the two muscle-bound men sandwiching me make it nearly impossible to move.
We start driving, and I look out the windows and around the vehicle, and there’s a tingle in the back of my brain that starts growing into full-blown recognition.
“I know that look, Techy,” Sawyer says in a curious tone. “What are you thinking?”
“Peak Securities keeps their vehicles up to government code, right?”
“Yes,” Jonah replies, affirming my suspicion.
A quizzical gaze meets mine through the rearview mirror, then Sawyer swears under his breath and rubs a hand over his face with a groan. “You think Harlow is government?” Sawyer asks, sounding almost exasperated at the idea.
“I don’t know what I think, Huckleberry.” I shimmy my arms out from between Tweedle-beef and Tweedle-bulk so I can cross them under my breasts.
“Huckleberry?” Jonah mutters before raising an eyebrow and turning an amused gaze at Sawyer.
“Doesn’t it seem a bittoocoincidental that I picked up this thread on agovernmentcomputer, was contracted by agovernmentagency, and that someone in a titan of a bank has been bypassingevery government firewall and safeguardfor decades?”
“And you don’t believe in coincidence.” Sawyer’s intense gaze fixes on me, the protectiveness rolling off him rapidly filling the car with heavy tension. “Maddie, if you have someonethathigh up on the inside hunting for you, we need to get you off the grid ASAP.”
“That’s a bit extreme, Sawyer.” Jonah frowns, his eyes bouncing between us. “She’s working for the FBI.Wewere retained by the FBI.”
“No,wewere retained by her uncle,” Sawyer counters, throwing his back against the seat with a tired and angry growl. “I don’t like this, Joe. Something feels off.”
“Yeah,” I agree, suddenly realizing what I need to do to get my hands on that crucial piece of the puzzle that I’ve been trying so hard to find for weeks. “But we’re tired and stressed. Let’s get to Ohio and clear our heads a bit.” I look back at Jonah. “You guys can keep me safe for forty-eight hours, can’t you?”
“Absolutely.” Jonah’s white-knuckled grip on the wheel instills a sense of confidence, but I know Sawyer’s right, and once I’ve made that call, I’m going to have to disappear.
Maddie
We pull up into the safe house driveway through a large iron gate. It’s a single-story home with a pretty brick wall around it.
“Nice take on the white picket fence,” I observe, if somewhat cynically, and Sawyer shoots me a look that tells me what he’d like to be doing with me and my smart mouth right about now.