Page 62 of Fighting for Ella

He had time.

Wasn't like Ella was asking for a marriage proposal.

In fact, he could tell she was being as careful as he was to keep things just friendship even though when he gazed into her eyes, he couldn’t not feel how much she wanted to ask for more.

But she had a lot on her plate, a relationship—especially with someone like him—wasn't what she needed right now. Time. That’s what she needed, what he needed, too. Then, hopefully with time, all the answers he sought would become clear.

Straightening abruptly when he saw someone meandering in front of the rental Piper and Arrow were staying in, something about it, about them, put Miguel on edge.

The person didn't have a dog with them, and they weren't dressed in the kind of clothes one usually wore when they went out for a jog. They weren't dressed for the weather either, wearing black pants and a white blouse.

From the size and shape of them Miguel knew it was a woman.

The mole at Prey was a woman.

Was it possible …?

After initially making a list of three people they thought could likely be the mole, Prey had cleared two of them and one had been found to be set up. After that, they’d gone back to the drawing board, gone through every single person who had ever worked at the company, from the cleaning crew up. They weren'tdoing things by halves, but the reality was, it just took time to go through dozens of people looking for any evidence that they might betray the company and try to steal a drug that was worth millions.

It helped now to know that they were looking for a woman, but that still left a lot of people, and it had only been just over a month since this whole mess started. Even working on it around the clock, Prey hadn't been able to zero in on any one particular current or past employee.

Now someone dressed in work clothes was standing outside a house where his woman was. His woman who had just been threatened into putting her life on the line and almost losing everything.

Anger took hold inside him.

This could be nothing—just a neighbor or local out for an early afternoon stroll—or it could be the answers they’d been looking for.

Shoving open his door he climbed out, doing his best not to draw attention to himself. Lucky for him, the figure in front of the rental house didn't seem to realize they were being watched. Either they were completely innocent and had nothing to do with the mess at Prey or they were cocky enough to believe they were going to remain on top forever.

They weren't.

All it would take was one little slip-up, and the precarious house of cards they’d built would come tumbling down around them.

He couldn’t wait for that day.

Just because the future for him and Ella was uncertain didn't mean he didn't want the absolute best for her. That started with the target on her back being removed so she was free to heal without having to worry at the same time about her life and safety.

While he wanted to streak across the street and barrel into the person still standing there watching the house, Miguel forced himself to move slowly. If this was just some innocent person, the last thing he wanted to do was knock them to the ground and bind their wrists.

Just as he was about to come up behind them, close enough he could get a look at their face and see if he recognized it, the person startled. Knowing that his presence had been detected, he picked up his pace.

“Hey, I need to talk to you,” he called out.

But the person took off at top speed. Confident he could outrun whoever this was, innocent or not—and the running clearly made them look guilty—he followed. Only instead of running straight down the street the person veered to the left. The house four down from the one where Ella was had a broken wooden fence, and the woman headed for it.

Her much smaller body was able to wriggle its way between two of the palings, disappearing just as he reached out to grab hold of them, his fingers instead snapping together around nothing but air.

Nuh-uh.

No way.

If the mole wanted a chase, he’d give her one.

This person didn't get to just slip away.

Not when Ella’s life was hanging in the balance. So long as the mole roamed free, she would never be safe, never be able to find peace or move on.

Grabbing hold of the top of the fence, Miguel heaved himself up and over it. He wasn't giving up until he had the mole in custody and knew his girl was safe.

---