Page 62 of In Hiding

Erik hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “You might want to ask him.”

He cursed under his breath before following the big man inside. Hearing them, Damien raised his head and smiled. Jake had no doubt he was up to something though he had to admire the man’s reach. Orchestrating Erik’s release took gumption, and a level of influence Jake had underestimated.

“Jakey,” Damien grinned. “What brings you to town?”

“Errands. Did you plan on letting me in on this?” He pointed at Erik. “Or Sarah?”

“I had need of an experienced car salesman, that’s all.”

Jake shook his head. “Bull.” He looked at Erik who only shrugged. Turning his attention back on Damien, Jake waited for some kind of explanation.

The old man raised an eyebrow. “Wills Crossing has needed a car yard for years. I thought I’d oblige.”

“I had nothing to do with this,” Jake explained to Erik. “When I located Sarah, I had no idea my old C.O lived in town.”

“Relax, little buddy.” Erik’s enormous hand patted his shoulder. “I’m just here to sell cars.” The twinkle in his eye suggested otherwise.

Jake shook his head in disbelief. “Do you plan on telling her you’re here?”

“No.” Damien intervened. “And you’re not going to either.”

“I can’t promise that. I’m done with lies and secrets. She deserves to know her brother is here.”

Damien sighed, rolling his eyes at him as if he was a petulant child. “I’m not asking you to lie. Just don’t tell her he’s here.”

“Does her ex-husband know you’re out?”

Shrugging, Erik rounded a desk and sat on a swivel chair. “He thinks I was transferred and I’m not about to expand on that explanation. He’s begun his application for parole and let me tell you, he’s hired a shark of an attorney.”

Jake stared at the pair of them, convinced they weren’t telling him the whole story. It was too convenient for Damien to open a car yard and too scary to consider just how much pull he had to fast-track Erik’s release. Oh, Erik wasn’t a danger to anybody other than Ryan Mitchell. He wasn’t the problem. Damien, on the other hand...

Too nosy for his own good. By his own admission he’d retired. Why couldn’t he have stayed that way? Still, his meddling had brought Erik to them and if Mitchell did happen to show his face, having the Great Dane as back up made Jake feel a whole lot better.

“She believes he’ll come for her.”

The expression on the Erik’s face hardened. His jaw turned to steel and his eyes darkened. “He will.”

“There was never any talk of that,” Jake reminded him. “Not even a whisper. How can you be so sure?”

“His ego won’t let her go. She was trying to leave him before the attack. Trust me, man. If he can’t have her, he’ll make sure no one can.”

The conviction in his voice sent a shudder down Jake’s spine. It was all the more reason she needed to know Erik was in town. “You need to go to the house. She needs you.”

Uncertainty owned the Dane’s face for a moment before a glance at Damien wiped it away. “In good time, Jake. In good time.”

He didn’t understand and he said so, but neither Erik nor Damien made an effort to explain themselves. Plan or no plan, their steadfast silence annoyed him. He hated playing games—head-games especially, and he wanted none of their bullshit. For now, he allowed their presence to assure him he had assistance if he needed it.

He decided it was time to go. “I should get back,” he said.

Erik stood. “I’ll walk you out.”

Outside, heavier rain threatened to drench them. “I know it sounds odd,” Erik explained as they weaved their way through the growing number of cars on the lot. “But it’s best this way. At least for now.”

“Best for who?” Jake stopped at his car, shaking his head in complete confusion about Erik’s insistence on staying out of the picture. “Mate, she’s terrified. If she knew you were near, it would make her feel better.”

“You’re going to have to do, Jake. You trust me, don’t you?”

He had—when they’d shared a prison cell. “I do.”

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