LITMIR.BIZ

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you at the safe house in thirty minutes.”

      Pierre hung up and the line went dead. Kate clicked off the phone and set it down. “We’ve lost them.”

      “Are you sure?”

      She nodded as she caught the hint of anger in his eyes. He’d warned her not to come. Told her to stay in Dallas and let him and the police handle the situation. And she’d done the opposite. And potentially almost got them both killed.

      “I’m sorry,” she started.

      “Sorry? This fiasco you just involved us both in could have got us killed.”

      * * *

      Marcus drove around the block three times until he was certain they’d lost their tail—and his anger had managed to subside slightly—before heading toward the safe house.

      He glanced at her expression out of the corner of his eye. He could tell she was upset. Her hands were still shaking and her face had paled to a snowy-white color. At least she’d found the courage to do what he’d asked her to, but that didn’t excuse the fact that she’d disobeyed his instructions and flown halfway around the world on some mad quest to save her niece. If the police hadn’t been able to find the young girl yet with all of their resources, why in the world did she assume she could?

      And how had her situation somehow managed to penetrate his normally fortified heart?

      He mentally discarded the last question to deal with later. Or not at all. His focus was on closing this case. Period.

      “Do you know where we are?” Kate asked.

      He fought back a sharp retort. Before she jumped on his navigational skills, she had some explaining to do. “Yes. And I’m taking you to a safe house.”

      “I checked into a hotel this morning. I’ll be fine there.”

      “If they can find you on the street, don’t you think they can find you at your hotel?”

      The question silenced her.

      He gripped the steering wheel, regretting the tone of his response. He needed time to think, because he didn’t have time to take on her responsibility on top of everything else. But now he was going to have to arrange to send her back to the United States and ensure her safety in the meantime.

      He kept his gaze straight ahead, watching the maze of cars around him while at the same time glancing frequently into the rearview mirror to ensure they weren’t being followed again. “I know you’re scared, but I need some answers. Start from the beginning. What in the world are you doing in Paris?”

      “I—”

      “Because I remember specifically telling you to stay in Dallas with your sister,” he continued, not giving her a chance to answer. “And yet somewhere you got the crazy notion that you could take care of things by yourself.”

      A taxi flew past them, forcing him to swerve into another lane, adding to the tension in his gut. The next time he went out he was going to forget driving, stick to Pierre’s advice and use public transportation. Because if whoever was after them didn’t get them both killed, driving in Paris certainly could.

      Her voice matched his own frustration when she finally answered his question. “What did you expect me to do? Sit in that hospital and wait? The doctors aren’t sure Rachel will ever wake up. And no one has found Sophie yet.”

      “Listen.” He worked to soften his voice. “I really do understand that this is hard for you, but it’s not your job to go running after a bunch of felons. You’re lucky you’re not dead, because these guys mean business.” He glanced at her again, fighting to hold in his irritation. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself involved in.”

      “I didn’t choose to get involved in this.”

      She might be right, but his anger had yet to fully alleviate. “Even so, it didn’t mean you should just hop on a plane to track down a man with known criminal ties.”

      She stared straight ahead out the window at the passing shops, her frown deepening. “It seemed like the right thing to do twenty-four hours ago.”

      “This isn’t a game, Kate. You saw your sister. And you saw what happened just now. These guys play to win.”

      “Do you think I don’t realize that?” She gripped the door handle and turned to him. “They just tried to grab me off the street in broad daylight.”

      “I saw them grab you. That’s why I came after you.” Marcus slowed to a stop, waited for the pedestrians to cross, then turned into the underground parking garage and proceeded down the narrow entrance, which explained why all cars in this city were compact.

      “Tell me what I should do now.” Her voice shook, despite the determination in her voice.

      He squeezed into an empty parking space, then shut off the motor, his mind still running through his options regarding what he was going to do with her. His first choice was to send her back to Dallas on the next flight.

      “We’ve got a safe house set up. You can stay there until I can get you a flight back to the States.”

      “I’m not going back.”

      He frowned, but he hadn’t expected an easy fight. “You don’t have a choice, and besides, you’ll be safe—”

      “Safe?” She unbuckled her seat belt and turned to him, the panic in her voice back. “I’m not sure there is anywhere safe. They found Rachel. And now, for some reason, they think I’m involved and found me here. And the crazy thing is that I don’t even know who I’m running from. But I do have a choice as to whether I stay or not.”

      “I told you not to get involved, and from what I’ve seen this morning, I was right.”

      “And you think I’ll be safer in Dallas? My sister wasn’t safe.”

      “Listen, Kate. I know you’re scared.” He pulled out the keys from the ignition and clutched them between his fingers. Arguing wasn’t going to get them anywhere for the moment. He needed to change the subject. “Can you think of any reason why they would come after you?”

      Marcus’s phone rang again. He picked it up. Pierre.

      “Give me a second,” he told her. “I’ll walk you up to the apartment.”

      He stepped out of the car. “Hey. What have you got?”

      “The car you asked me to look up was stolen.”

      “Figures.”

      “And the girl?”

      “She’s with me. Safe for the moment.”

      “What are you going to do with her?”

      “My plan is to ship her out on the next flight back to the United States. I don’t have time to babysit.”

      “Not so fast. We might need her.”

      Marcus leaned against the car and shook his head. “Why? She’s just arrived in the country and brought me nothing but trouble.”

      “My point exactly. Why are they after her? Neither of us believe in coincidences, so she has to be connected to the case somehow.”

      Marcus tapped his fingers on the side of the car, unconvinced. He’d meant it when he’d told her she should leave things up to the authorities. He started pacing the small space between his car and the next. “I don’t know.”

      “You know I’m right. Bring her to the safe house, and let her stay there. You can try to find out what she knows. Use her as a bridge to find Chad.”

      “I’m not going to assume responsibility for her.”

      “What’s wrong with playing the hero who saves the damsel in distress, as you Americans seem to love so much? We need a break in the

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