All or Nothing: A Trust No One Novel (23 page)

Cara nodded and handed him the phone.

“Murphy, your little plan backfired. Keep that in mind the next time you think you might fuck with us… Don’t worry. You’ll get what you need. It’ll just cost you more now. You’re going to arrange for private transportation out of the country. The first three months, she’ll move every week. Make them really nice hotels, and no two in the same country. After that, she can decide where she wants to stay for the long term. She’ll let me know, and I’ll pass the information on to you. She’ll need fifty thousand dollars until you arrange for the kind of job she wants. Don’t scrimp. I guarantee you don’t want to piss me off again.”

He hung up abruptly then smiled grimly as he tossed the phone on his desk. “He’ll come through. He knows what I’ll do if he doesn’t.”

Conflicting emotions flitted across his face. Hurt, anger, regret—obviously he wasn’t happy with her plan. Cara wasn’t sure she was either. She hadn’t thought it through completely, hadn’t thought of him. It was a knee-jerk reaction to Murphy’s betrayal. She should have talked to Joe first. He’d asked her to give him a chance. Instead, she’d stubbornly plotted her own course.

In a very short time she’d come to feel she belonged here, but she didn’t—not really. This was Joe’s home. Her presence could bring violence down on it if she made the wrong decision. It’d be best for everybody if she pretended adopting a new identity and disappearing was exactly what she wanted… but could she pull it off?

“Thanks. I… I didn’t know what to say. This is all new to me.” She searched his eyes and the rough plains of his face. “I’ll never be able to repay you for everything you’ve done.”

Dark, stormy eyes stared back at her so intently she flinched. A muscle flexed in his jaw and his body tensed. “I don’t need your gratitude,” he growled as he stepped toward her.

Cara jerked away from him, but he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her roughly against him. His mouth came down on hers, hard and demanding. She braced for the panic attack, but none came. Instead, heat surged through her. She clung to him, pressing her body into his. He raised his head to look at her, fire in his eyes. Her hand on the back of his head pulled his lips down to hers. He devoured her, moving over her lips with reckless desperation. She inhaled audibly when he moved from her lips and nuzzled her ear, biting her earlobe.

As suddenly as it started, Joe grabbed her arms and shoved her away.

It was so abrupt, she swayed before catching herself. “Joe?”

“If you’re not coming back, you better pack your things. We’ll leave for Portland at noon.” He turned away and stepped behind his desk.

Pain and anger surged through her. Why would he kiss her like that then thrust her aside and turn his back? Obviously, he was getting even with her in the most humiliating way he could. Damn him! He was probably laughing at her. Well, she wasn’t going to be the butt of his joke again, and someday she’d learn the lesson fate had been trying to teach her for a long time—don’t trust anyone.

At the door, she glanced back and caught him watching her. Irrationally, she wanted him to know she could be just as detached and distant. After all, this place was just a stopover. She needed his protection for now, but soon she wouldn’t even need that. She drew herself up and raised her chin as she met his gaze. It was his job to keep her alive—he might as well start with Sam.

“Garrett,” she said. “Sam’s last name is Garrett.”

Joe nodded and turned away, his expression blank.

In her room again, she hauled her bags from the closet and inspected her pathetically small wardrobe. She’d packed for a weekend at Lincoln City. She had her running clothes, a couple of pairs of pants, three shirts, a pair of shorts, and her little black dress in case they went somewhere nice for dinner. Now it would have to double for office attire, although the straps could be thicker and the neckline a little more modest. Perhaps Rayna or Irene would loan her a sweater. Otherwise, it would just have to do.

She threw the rest of her things in her bags and went downstairs in search of Irene. She was in the kitchen, busy with lunch prep. Irene stopped slicing cheese when Cara stood in the doorway.

“You’re leaving us—so soon? I was hoping you might stay.”

“News travels fast around here. I have to go sooner or later, Irene. I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk more.”

“I guess we’ll have to get used to Joe being all dark and gloomy again.”

Cara laughed to cover her surprise. “You’re exaggerating.”

“Maybe, but he’s come alive since you’ve been here. I’ve noticed the way you look at him too. I just hate to see you both miss out on a good thing.”

“Is there anything you don’t see around here?”

“Not much.” She grinned.

Cara gave her a hug. “I came to see if I could borrow a sweater. The only dress I brought is too revealing.”

Irene’s eyes lit up. “I’ve got just the thing.”

Cara stirred the sauce cooking on the stove while Irene scurried off to her room. She returned with a white bolero-style sweater that fit Cara perfectly.

“Thanks. I may not see you again. I’ll make sure Joe gets this back to you.”

Tears welled in Irene’s eyes as she hugged Cara a final time and walked her to the door, an arm around her waist. “You’ll always be welcome here. Come back if you can.”

Cara nodded, unable to speak, and left Irene standing there. She didn’t realize it would be so hard leaving these people she’d only just met. One other good-bye would be equally as hard.

She headed outside to Dillon’s kennel. The big German shepherd twirled around her legs when she released him. It was just another day to him. He didn’t know it was the last time she’d come to let him out. She threw a ball for him until he tired of it, coming to lie in the grass beside her. Leaning into him, she stroked his thick fur and buried her face in his neck, willing him to know she’d miss him.

“Come back and see him anytime you want.” It was Joe’s voice, strangely thick, but she didn’t dare look at him. He’d see how sad she was and guess it was more than just leaving a big, furry dog. He mustn’t know how hard it was for her to go.

She waited until he walked away before she started for the gym where she’d find the others who’d made her feel welcome and who deserved a proper good-bye. All in all, it was shaping up to be a lousy day.

A little before noon, she lugged her bags downstairs, wearing her sparkly Oregon Coast baseball cap and sunglasses. This time the glasses disguised her red, puffy eyes. Rayna wasn’t fooled. She gave Cara a knowing look as they loaded their gear in the back of the Hummer. Tyler and Rayna sat in back with her, and Walker rode shotgun while Joe drove them to the small, private airstrip where Murphy’s jet awaited them.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Thursday, 12:41 pm

O
NCE ON BOARD,
Joe caught her elbow, ignored her efforts to pull away, and guided her to the seat next to his. “We’ve got things to go over.” He wanted her close so he could tell if she was really prepared for this or not. Any indication she couldn’t handle it, and he’d call it off. As soon as the plane was airborne, he pulled a set of plans for Sinclair Arms Distributing from his bag and spread it across their laps.

Everyone gathered around, and Joe deferred to Cara for the details of where everything was located inside the plant. He listened quietly as she showed them where Brian’s office was and where Charlie had worked. She told them how many executive offices there were, where they were, and who occupied them. She explained Brian hired his own security people and there were three on duty at all times—one at the front gate, one in a tiny office on the second floor monitoring the security cameras, and one who constantly moved throughout the building in a random search pattern.

“What do the cameras cover?” Joe asked.

“The front and back entrances, the main hallways on both floors, and the elevator that goes down to the firing range.” She pointed to each spot on the plans. “There are cameras down there, too, plus the elevator takes a special code to activate.”

“Do you know the code?”

She nodded.

“Tomorrow at oh eight hundred, you’ll arrive at the gate like it’s your first day back from vacation. You’ll be wearing a small device that will enable us to hear you and you’ll be able to hear us. If anything goes wrong, we’ll get you out.” Joe paused and studied her, then frowned. He couldn’t see through those damn glasses. “At eight ten, Walker and I will enter as telephone repairmen, come to fix a problem with the lines Murphy should be creating as we speak. We shouldn’t have any trouble getting in, but if we do, you may have to authorize us. As soon as we’re in, Rayna will cause a scene at the front gate, something big enough to draw all the security guards and keep them occupied for a few minutes while Walker disables the cameras.”

“What if the guards don’t go?” Cara sat up straighter in her seat.

Everyone laughed.

“You obviously haven’t seen Rayna’s hooker outfit,” Walker drawled.

“Then the three of us will start searching, starting with Sinclair’s office. Any questions?” Joe looked at Cara again.

“Sounds simple enough.”

Everyone dispersed and went back to their seats, but he continued to study her.

“Do I have spinach in my teeth or something?” She glared at him coldly.

“Could you lose the dark glasses, please?”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t tell if you’re okay.”

“You could just ask me. Besides, what do you care?”

Joe sighed and leaned back. If she didn’t know he cared about her yet, there was no sense in telling her now—days, or maybe hours, before she disappeared from his life.

She mimicked his sigh but, to his surprise, she removed her sunglasses. As he’d expected, her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen.

He turned in his seat and leaned toward her. “Are you having second thoughts about going after your brother? Because if you are, we’ll figure something…”

“No, that’s not it. I want to do this.”

“Then what?” Something in the way her eyes slid away from his gave him the answer he needed. “Damn it, Cara. If you don’t want to go, stay. Surely it hasn’t escaped your notice I want you to stay.”

For a moment, he thought she’d give in and admit what he was certain she wanted. He felt her determination waver as she watched him.

So close, and yet it slipped away as her expression hardened and her gaze dropped to her hands. “I want to go.”

A spark of hope grew within him, fanned by the winds of her conflicting emotions. He could tell it was a lie by the way her hands clasped and unclasped nervously. The truth was in her eyes, but it didn’t matter that she wasn’t telling the truth. The result would be the same. She was leaving the country, leaving him, even though she didn’t want to. The only plausible explanation he could come up with was she still didn’t trust him to keep her safe from Dennelli. Joe was really getting tired of that guy’s grip on their lives. As soon as he finished with Sinclair, he’d see what he could do about the bastard.

Cara glanced at him and, in the moment before she put her dark glasses back on, sorrow and regret reflected in her eyes. He could make it easier on her by letting her go. He could say all the right things, do all the right things, and watch her walk out of his life.

The hell he would! Not this time.

“You’re a lousy liar, you know.” He kept his voice low as he leaned toward her. “I don’t believe you want to go, any more than I believed there was anything between you and Walker.”

“I never said there was.”

“No, but you wanted me to believe it so I’d let you go without a fight—didn’t you? I know you better than that, and I sure as hell know Walker. Besides, even if I’m wrong, I’m just stubborn enough to think I might be able to change your mind.” He grinned lazily.

“Not a chance.”

His grin widened. “We’ll see, won’t we?”

He leaned back again, stretched his long legs and fell asleep.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Thursday, 2:30 pm

C
ARA COULDN’T SLEEP
on the plane, knowing what lay ahead tomorrow. Something nagged at the back of her brain. Brian had to be frantic, considering he’d hired assassins to kill her and somehow they failed. Then she disappeared. Surely he had to wonder what she knew and whom she’d talked to. He couldn’t possibly believe she’d escaped his hit men on her own. Her brother wasn’t a fool. It just didn’t seem like this was the best time for him to take an extended trip. The south of France? Yeah, right. Brian never cared for overseas travel. Something wasn’t right. She could feel it.

Murphy met them at a private airstrip with five room keys for a motel two miles away. They loaded their things in the back of a black Expedition and everyone but Joe climbed in. Across the tarmac, Joe argued heatedly with Murphy, gesturing angrily as he towered over the shorter man. For just a second, she felt sorry for Murphy… until the underhanded way he’d blackmailed her surfaced in her memory. Then she almost wished Joe would deck him. When they finally parted and Joe jumped in the front seat, he spun out of the parking lot before his door was even closed.

The motel was old but clean and well taken care of. It even boasted a heated swimming pool. The antique elevator bumped and jerked its way to the second floor. Was it possible all five of them shouldn’t have gone at the same time?

“What the hell?” Walker said. “I can see the headline—‘Man survives Korean torture chamber only to die in an elevator accident’.”

Tyler and Rayna grinned, but Joe’s irritated expression didn’t change.

Cara breathed easier when they arrived at their floor and the doors opened. “I’m taking the stairs next time.” She slung her bag over her shoulder and practically charged out of the elevator.

Joe handed out keys to the others but unlocked Cara’s door for her and followed her in. She sat awkwardly on the edge of the bed and waited for the brunt of his anger to fall on her.

Instead, he handed her an envelope. “Your travel plans.”