apartment.”
“Perfect.
You go round them up using a napkin or paper towel, and I’ll get some evidence
bags.”
She
stood.
“Maybe
this is a good thing. Maybe this guy’s going to lead us right to Sam and you
might just be able to go back to your old life.”
Chapter Fifteen
While
Dane hadn’t known Melanie that long, he did know her enough to sense she wasn’t
her usual self. On the drive to the lake she’d looked out of the window a lot,
fidgeted in her seat, and chewed on the nail of her index finger.
“You’re
going to love the boat. Just so happens a buddy of
mine knew someone who doesn’t mind us taking it for a trip around the lake this
afternoon.”
She
looked at him and simply nodded.
“Hope you’ve got lots of food on hand because
I’m starving.”
“Yes,
salmon mousse, some asparagus, and green salad with huckleberries.”
He
actually licked his lips. He’d even bought a bottle of wine.
“The
guy at the liquor store said if I tie a string around the wine bottle’s neck
and lower it into the water it will chill it perfectly while we’re sailing. Not sure if that works or not.”
“I
can’t do this,” she finally said.
“You
don’t want to go sailing?”
“Pull
over and turn off the car because we need to talk.”
He
was frozen. Was she breaking up with him? He stopped but hadn’t turned off the
ignition, so she reached across and did it for him.
She
turned to face him. This seemed serious.
“I
know you found those photos in Uggy.”
Damn,
he’d forgotten about those.
He
raised his hands. “I’m nosey and I took a peek. I should have owned up but I
didn’t.”
“Did
you really stumble into the kitchen at the wedding because you were sad and
lost or were you supposed to run into me?”
“What?”
“Have
you been sent here to find me?”
“I’ve
no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”
“You’re
not here to hurt me?”
“Shit,
whatever gave you that impression?”
“Your
friend Trent’s been checking up on me.”
Shit,
fuck. He’d told him to be discrete.
“I
was curious about the photos and the man with you in the wedding photo. I just
happened to mention it to Trent and he being a cop said he’d do some digging.”
She
pushed her hair back from her face. He put his hand on her arm. “What makes you
think I’d ever hurt you? That’s the last thing I’d ever do, Melanie.”
She
turned to face him again.
“We’re
being followed here by two agents from the Witness Protection Program.”
“ The what… why…I don’t understand.”
“I
shouldn’t be telling you this, but I guess if you are out to get me you already
know my real identity so there’s no point hiding anymore. On the other hand, if
you’re the real deal and we’re going to continue with this relationship I think
I need to be honest with you.”
Honest
with him. He suddenly felt guilty about hiding a huge thing about himself from
her.
“I’m
not Melanie. My real name’s Chloe Reed and I’m from
Florida. I’m a school teacher who was married to a wonderful man.”
Dane
swallowed. Wow, he hadn’t expected quite this much information all in one go.
“My husband, Mike, was an accountant. One of his clients... Well, let’s just
say Mike figured out he was laundering money. Mike probably should have dropped
him as a client or looked the other way, but he wasn’t that sort of guy, so he
went to the authorities. They promised us he’d be safe. I’d be safe.” She
looked down at her hands. “One morning when he was starting the car…”
Her
head slumped down on her chest and her shoulders began heaving. Dane threw his
arms around her, running his fingers through her hair and touching her scalp.
“They’d
planted a bomb in his car and I suppose they thought we’d both be in it. I
should have been in it, but I was running late that morning.”
“Oh,
Melanie, it’s okay. Just let it out and have a good cry.”
“They
decided to put me
“Perfect.
You go round them up using a napkin or paper towel, and I’ll get some evidence
bags.”
She
stood.
“Maybe
this is a good thing. Maybe this guy’s going to lead us right to Sam and you
might just be able to go back to your old life.”
Chapter Fifteen
While
Dane hadn’t known Melanie that long, he did know her enough to sense she wasn’t
her usual self. On the drive to the lake she’d looked out of the window a lot,
fidgeted in her seat, and chewed on the nail of her index finger.
“You’re
going to love the boat. Just so happens a buddy of
mine knew someone who doesn’t mind us taking it for a trip around the lake this
afternoon.”
She
looked at him and simply nodded.
“Hope you’ve got lots of food on hand because
I’m starving.”
“Yes,
salmon mousse, some asparagus, and green salad with huckleberries.”
He
actually licked his lips. He’d even bought a bottle of wine.
“The
guy at the liquor store said if I tie a string around the wine bottle’s neck
and lower it into the water it will chill it perfectly while we’re sailing. Not sure if that works or not.”
“I
can’t do this,” she finally said.
“You
don’t want to go sailing?”
“Pull
over and turn off the car because we need to talk.”
He
was frozen. Was she breaking up with him? He stopped but hadn’t turned off the
ignition, so she reached across and did it for him.
She
turned to face him. This seemed serious.
“I
know you found those photos in Uggy.”
Damn,
he’d forgotten about those.
He
raised his hands. “I’m nosey and I took a peek. I should have owned up but I
didn’t.”
“Did
you really stumble into the kitchen at the wedding because you were sad and
lost or were you supposed to run into me?”
“What?”
“Have
you been sent here to find me?”
“I’ve
no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”
“You’re
not here to hurt me?”
“Shit,
whatever gave you that impression?”
“Your
friend Trent’s been checking up on me.”
Shit,
fuck. He’d told him to be discrete.
“I
was curious about the photos and the man with you in the wedding photo. I just
happened to mention it to Trent and he being a cop said he’d do some digging.”
She
pushed her hair back from her face. He put his hand on her arm. “What makes you
think I’d ever hurt you? That’s the last thing I’d ever do, Melanie.”
She
turned to face him again.
“We’re
being followed here by two agents from the Witness Protection Program.”
“ The what… why…I don’t understand.”
“I
shouldn’t be telling you this, but I guess if you are out to get me you already
know my real identity so there’s no point hiding anymore. On the other hand, if
you’re the real deal and we’re going to continue with this relationship I think
I need to be honest with you.”
Honest
with him. He suddenly felt guilty about hiding a huge thing about himself from
her.
“I’m
not Melanie. My real name’s Chloe Reed and I’m from
Florida. I’m a school teacher who was married to a wonderful man.”
Dane
swallowed. Wow, he hadn’t expected quite this much information all in one go.
“My husband, Mike, was an accountant. One of his clients... Well, let’s just
say Mike figured out he was laundering money. Mike probably should have dropped
him as a client or looked the other way, but he wasn’t that sort of guy, so he
went to the authorities. They promised us he’d be safe. I’d be safe.” She
looked down at her hands. “One morning when he was starting the car…”
Her
head slumped down on her chest and her shoulders began heaving. Dane threw his
arms around her, running his fingers through her hair and touching her scalp.
“They’d
planted a bomb in his car and I suppose they thought we’d both be in it. I
should have been in it, but I was running late that morning.”
“Oh,
Melanie, it’s okay. Just let it out and have a good cry.”
“They
decided to put me
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