Page 159 of Enigma: The Complete Collection
“All right.” Hugo’s reply is reserved like he's dying to say something, but unsure if he will. “What time are you arriving?”
My gaze lifts to the sky. “If the rain holds off, we should be there around four o’clock. I’ll drop Isabelle off in the underground garage of her building. Until Regan gets the IA’s case dropped, we can’t be seen together.”
“All right. I’ll wait for her in the hallway of her apartment at four.”
I cough, warning my throat it better not rattle with nerves before saying, “Isabelle is unaware of the surveillance camera that was in her apartment. I want it to remain that way. She’s dealing with enough issues at the moment, we don't need to add more.”
“I understand,” Hugo replies coolly. “Won’t say a peep.”
“Because I don’t want her left alone, I’ll have you stay with her during the day, and I’ll stay with her at night. She's still rattled about what she witnessed yesterday.”
“Okay, that’s understandable; it was pretty horrific.” Hugo nervously coughs before asking, “Is Izzy aware of the circumstances that led to your arrest yet?”
My jaw tenses. “No, and I trust since I made you privy to that information, it’ll remain that way until I decide otherwise.”
“I'd never say anything, Isaac. I just know she’d prefer to hear it from you than another source.”
“I plan on telling her when the timing is right.Nowis not the right time.” My tone indicates this isn’t up for further discussion. “I'll see you in a few hours.”
I'm lowering the satellite phone from my ear when I hear Hugo say, “Before you go.”
“Yes,” I snap, my agitation over his line of questioning clear.
“Hunter hasn’t stopped since he arrived at Parkerville. Cut him some slack.”
My back molars grind together when he hangs up on me. I understand what he’s saying. Hunter is a loyal employee, and he’s a hard worker, but he missed critical information about Nick’s stalker, stuff that could have been fatal for Nick and his unborn son. If a mistake affects those I love, I refuse to let it go unpunished. Col’s righthand man learned that the hard way.
CHAPTER29
ISABELLE
Iflop back with a huff. It only took me two minutes to pack, but since I told Isaac I'd give him twenty to finalize his calls, I have to spend the next eighteen minutes sprawled on a rumpled bed that smells like Isaac and sex mixed together. It’s a scent that could be bottled up and sold for millions, but it’s making me more restless than calm. I don’t even have a phone to occupy my time since Hunter smashed it. A few rounds of Candy Crush would have killed more boredom than brain cells right now.
As my head lolls to the side, I spot Isaac passing the bedroom window. He has a large phone attached to his ear, and his lips are moving. As much as my heart ached that he didn’t want to make personal calls in front of me, I understand his hesitation. I deceived him for months, so it’ll take even longer than that to regain his trust.
With that in mind, I roll onto my opposite hip, so I can count the petals of the wildflowers in a vase on the bedside table.
That takes all of ten minutes—a very dull and boring ten minutes. With my boredom paramount, I snatch my satchel off the bedside table and dawdle toward the front door of the cabin. Ten minutes is close to twenty, right?
When cold winds blast through me, I drop my satchel to the ground to fasten the buttons on my Burberry trench coat. No, I didn’t pay thousands of dollars for the jacket. Just like my Juicy Couture sweatpants, my coat was another San Francisco thrift shop diamond in the rough. It’s amazing what people give to charities when it's no longer in season.
“Dammit!” I murmur when my satchel snags on a nail in the wooden deck, causing a hole approximately the size of a quarter in the bottom right-hand corner.
Wanting to ensure there isn’t anything small enough to fall through the hole, I search my satchel. Considering how much it usually houses, it’s reasonably empty. There are chocolate wrappers, my Kindle that hasn’t been charged in months, my purse, and my FBI-issued pistol.
I stuff the chocolate wrappers into the front pocket of my jeans to ensure they don’t slip out before securing the zipper on my satchel. When I take the last three stairs of the porch, in the quietness of the forest, I hear Isaac’s deep voice penetrating from around the corner. After hooking my satchel onto my shoulder, I quicken my pace, eager to be near him again. His tone is flat, revealing his mood has somewhat dampened the past twenty minutes.
Panicked it could be something to do with his brother, I walk even quicker. He notices my approach in an instant, encouraging it with a summoning wiggle of his fingers. When I reach him, I wrap my arms around his midsection before nuzzling my head into his chest. His seductive scent overtakes the dampness in the air compliments to the rapidly-forming clouds. He tugs me in closer before returning his attention to his caller.
“Henry, I have to go. I’ll call you again tomorrow morning,” he says into a phone that looks as heavy as a brick. “Yes… okay. Bye.”
“You and Henry have grown friendly since our weekend away.” When he stiffens, I lift my head off his chest to peer into his eyes. “That was Henry, wasn’t it?”
Dread rains down on me when he shakes his head. “No, it wasn’t.”
I just heard him say Henry as clear as day, didn’t I?
Oh no.
