Double Vision (Unknown Identities #2) (6 page)

"No doubt
in my mind." In the shadows enveloping them both, Ben explained how he'd tracked the car. "End Game is living out of that car."

"Guess the program isn't paying like it used to."
He thought with more than a little pride about the UI pay he'd managed to secret away. It would help all three of them stay off of Messenger's radar. "What else have you found?"

"Haven't seen him with Messenger, yet, but h
e's been tailing a woman, so I've tailed him. He hired a purse snatcher, but I intercepted the delivery." He shifted and handed John a big, oversized purse. "Name is Selena Vaccaro."

John did a quick inventory.
"Quite a watch collection in here. Has she got a problem?"

Ben laughed. "
End Game is tailing her, what do you think?"

True
, John agreed with a shrug. He pulled out the phone and checked the recent logs. "Shit. That doesn't look good." He showed Ben the most recent text message, a picture of a woman tied to a chair, mascara staining her cheeks under the blindfold. The sign in her lap read, 'Please, Selena. The watch is ticking'.

"Aw,
hell," Ben mumbled. "Someone's using her."

"Could it be one of ours –" John stopped. He wasn't with the program anymore. "I mean is it one of Messenger's?"

"Don't think so. According to the roster, the only other UI agent in town besides me is End Game."

John marveled that Ben knew so much about the
inner workings of Messenger's system. Despite the oddities, Ben was becoming an invaluable asset. The shadows rippled and John heard the scuffle of Ben's boots on the pavement.

"Don't sweat it, Ben."

"What do you want me to do?"

John
heard the guilt in his friend's voice. "Any idea where End Game is?"

"Oh, yeah.
Sure."

"Stay on him and keep me informed.
Don't let him kill anyone if you can help it. I'll take this to Amelia and see what she can do."

"Sure thing, boss."

John stayed in place until he couldn't hear Ben's footsteps anymore, then he left in the opposite direction. Messenger, End Game, potentially another UI operative in town… this holiday was quickly turning into a nightmare.

In the coffee shop, Selena followed Adam back to the table furthest from the door and smothered a grin when he pulled out a chair for her.

"I guess chivalry isn't dead?"

"A few of us are dedicated to keeping it alive." He slid into the seat opposite hers. "Miss Vaccaro," he said pointedly.

"Selena," she corrected
. "We've definitely reached a first name stage of the program."

"Pretty name.
It suits you."

"It's a family name," she said, uncertain how she wanted to accept the compliment. "Tradition is important in my family tree."

He was trying to help her relax and she appreciated the effort. There was nothing more she could do right now but wait for Galloway's next move. Her mind countered that fact with the notion that since he'd breached the agreement, she could call in the police or outsiders, or whoever she damn well pleased, but she forcibly turned those thoughts aside.

With the police, she'd be more likely to get herself detained than accomplish anything positive for Renata. If she alerted the
members of her family who were connected, that opened a whole new can of worms. If she contacted Torry or anyone who stayed on the legal side of the fence, it would only put more innocent people smack in Galloway's sites.

"Hey," he waved a hand, "
Selena? Are you there?"

"Yeah."
She scrubbed at her face. "Sorry."

He shook his head. "No need to apologize. Does a hot
chocolate and a sugar cookie combo sound good to you?"

"Sounds more l
ike something my uncle would serve my younger cousins."

His thick, brown
eyebrows inched up, but his eyes sparkled with amusement. "I'm open to suggestions."

"Kid's hour or not, it
does sound good," she admitted.

"Great. Stay put."

She gave him an arch look. "I think we've established I'm not going anywhere."

It seemed like the good-guy routine was legit and if she wasn't so jaded by
Galloway and the recent ups and downs of city life, she'd take Adam at face value.

She told herself she'd feel better if she could talk with Galloway. If the bastard had her purse, surely he realized why she was out of touch.

When Adam came back she would borrow his phone to call Tom. Despite the quiet street and lack of alarms at the showroom, she wanted to see for herself that everything was fine. Galloway had already threatened Tom, so it was too late to protect him. Besides Tom was a night owl and likely still out somewhere having a grand time.

Adam returned to the table with a small service tray. Balancing it like a waiter, he set a tall glass mug topped with fluffy whipped cream in front of her, then a matching drink at his seat.
He placed the plate of oversized sugar cookies between them.

"Nice delivery and presentation.
" It was all quite adorable and almost like a date, if she didn't think about the dramatic way they'd reached this point of the evening.

He gave her a wink and a small bow. "I try."

"If I had money, I'd tip big," she said. The cozy scent of chocolate and fresh cookies soothed her. She risked a sip of the hot chocolate and then glanced up at the man across from her.

He was wat
ching her with such intensity, she nearly bobbled the cup. Quickly, set the cup aside and then blotted her upper lip with a napkin. "What? Do I have whipped cream on my nose?"

"No." Once more hi
s gaze shifted to something just over her shoulder for a moment, then back to her. "That's not it." Looking down at his phone, he asked, "Did you ever make a call?"

"Not yet.
I can crash at Tom's place. He's about the only person who won't be upset if I call in a favor at this hour."

"So you've decided not to stay at your own place."

"Not a chance." Galloway could easily be waiting for her there. "It creeps me out to think my keys and identification are just out there for anyone to look at."

"Progress.
That's smart. You're regaining your bearings."

"
I suppose." She watched him take a large bite out of a cookie. He looked relaxed in the chair, but there was a new tension in his voice, the slightest twitch in his hand on the mug. She leaned forward. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."
He smiled, but the dimple was absent. "I'm probably just on edge too. Adrenaline makes you do some crazy sh- stuff."

She grinned at
his quick self-correction. "Are you just saying that to make me feel better?"

"No. Tonight wasn't a picnic for me either."

"Oh. Well, thanks for sharing," she said. "It helps." Somehow it did help. While it was her purse that had been stolen, he'd been in the thick of it trying to do the right thing and rescue a person in need. She felt less like a weakling knowing that the attack at the apartment troubled him too.

"Will you be okay at wherever you're staying tonight?"

"Sure."

She didn't know him well, but
she didn't entirely trust the quick reply. Something behind her had his attention once more. The habit was starting to make her paranoid and she was more than capable of doing that on her own. She started to shift in her seat, but he stopped her with a terse order.

"Don't look."

"Okay." She stretched out the two syllables and took a nervous bite of her cookie. Her knee started to bounce with nerves as she fought the urge to turn around.

"We need to leave," he said quietly, tucking his phone into his pocket.

"Right now?"

"That would be best."

"Fine." He was starting to scare her again and she wasn't sure she could take another ride on that emotional roller coaster. "Then I'll just call my assistant." She held out her hand for the phone, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her up and out of her seat.

The next thing she knew he was holding her
close to his hard chest and whispering in her ear.

"Go to the restroom."

"What? Why?" Her pulse skipped and she tried to follow his gaze, but his hands came up to cradle her face. In that one shocking second she thought he would kiss her. She thought she might enjoy it.

"Please
go." He turned her that direction and gave her a little nudge.

"But –"
Her protest died when a glance over her shoulder landed on the man walking in the door. She recognized him as the man who'd been following her for the past few days.

His cold eyes were locked onto her. She turned and bolted down the narrow hall
toward the restrooms, around the tight corner, only to run headlong into Jeremy Galloway. A startled scream slipped past her lips.

He didn't look at all
like the moneyed urbanite who'd complimented Torry's espresso this morning.

Tonight he'd given
his ruthless streak free rein. It was terrifying. The glint in his eyes was as sharp as the knife in his hand. Her stomach dropped and her lungs felt as useless now as they had in the smoke filled apartment.

"Calm down, Jeremy."

"Give it to me."

"I don't have it." She hated the tremor in her voice.

He sneered. "We had a deal, Miss Vaccaro."

"I know." She held up her hands in surrender. "I had it
I swear, but someone stole my purse."

Jeremy advanced and she took a cautious step backwards, hoping Adam could deal with the stone-faced man in the dining area.

"And so you went out for a coffee to celebrate your bright idea?" The vile oath that followed proved he didn't spend all of his time in posh locations. "How sweet. No elaborate story will change the outcome for you and your cousin now. Hand it over and I might spare your beloved uncle."

Sh
e told herself Torry could hold his own against this bastard. "I don't have it to give. My purse was stolen," she repeated.

"Yes, yes, by your friend out there, I'm sure. You knew what would happen if y
ou didn't deliver as promised."

His
assessment, given as he raised the knife, just pissed her off. "You didn't bring Renata. You weren't at the showroom!" Her Italian heritage surged forward, to hell with common sense. "I didn't promise willingly, you bullied me." When he sneered, she advanced, ready to take a strip out of his hide if only with her words. Her Sicilian upbringing meant that knife or not, she wasn't completely helpless here. "I went in there and got what you wanted, and got attacked for my trouble. I held up my end of the bargain you miserable fu –"

He lunged, but she'd kept her gaze on his chest, not the blade, as the men in her family had taught her. She dodged the swing and in her mind she saw the rest of it work out perfectly.

But instead of rolling into his legs, she was yanked down and away, her body crashing into someone else. Two against one! "
Vigliacco
! Coward!" she spat, fighting against the unwelcome hold until she recognized Adam's scent, the firm and gentle touch.

She heard Jeremy swearing as Adam jerked her away. She stared in awe as he plowed a boot right into Jeremy's midsection when
the double-crossing jerk lunged at her again.

"This way."
Adam caught her hand and urged her back toward the front of the coffee shop.

The table where they'd been
sharing the cookies was crushed, apparently by the body lying on top of it. The aroma of fresh coffee and cocoa was tainted with the sharp coppery scent of blood.

She tried to ask Adam what happened, but he guided her around the service counter and into the kitchen.

"Move. Move. Move."

She did. As fast as she could, she dodged racks and equipment filling the narrow space until they were through the kitchen and out into the alley.

"Left," he barked from behind her. His hand, heavy on her shoulder reminded her of the man who'd snatched her purse. Jeremy was messing with her head. Adam and the purse snatcher were not the same man. Naturally, she doubted her intuition after everything going so wrong, but there hadn't been time for Adam to steal her purse wearing gym pants, change into jeans, and then rescue her from what she'd thought was a fire.

Jeremy could cart himself straight to hell.

Behind them a door banged open and Jeremy's shouts and violent promises bounced off the buildings lining the alley. Her rapid breathing created vapor clouds in the cold night air and she feared their trail was clear to Jeremy. They would never outrun him.

"We have to go to the police," she said.

"Not an option."

It was the only option she could see. "It must be."

He turned a corner, put his finger to his lips in a signal for silence and stared hard in the direction they'd come.

When he shifted his gaze back to her, she shivered. "Are you hurt?"

"No, but as victims the cops should side with us."

"No."

"We can't outrun him."

"We can," Adam insisted.
"If you trust me."

Right.
Like that was going to happen anytime soon.

"Why were you in the apartment tonight?"

"To check the plants," she replied.

He swore and gave her a quick shake.
"The real reason."

"I
went to borrow some of my cousin's jewelry to round out the display for next week."

He rolled his eyes. "Guess that's close enough." He peered around the corner of the building.

Heart hammering in her chest, she could only stare in the other direction – at the dead end of the alley. Hopelessness swamped her, despite the strength in his touch. He was only one man and life kept proving she was in way over her head this time.

"You lied to Jeremy, right?"

"How do you –"

He cut her off. "You still have the item you went in to
that apartment to get right?"

She nodded, giving
in seemed the most expedient choice.

"Stolen property equals no cops. Got it?"

"Got it," she said through clenched teeth. "Who are you?"

"Where is it?" he countered, ignoring her question.

She patted her pocket, her voice unwilling to cooperate. How did he know?

"Good." He released her so abruptly she swayed. "Do you want to surrender it
to Galloway?"

"No," she whispered.

"Good answer," he said.

"But –"

Her voice died at his dark look. She'd never wanted to steal the watch to begin with. "He kidnapped my cousin. We were supposed to trade Renata for the watch at my showroom tonight.

"I won't let that happen. He cannot have that watch."

"He can't keep my cousin," she argued.